Foreigner importing 2nd hand big bikes....and other B.S

Life Cars & Motorcycles
#1

My roommate told me about this other foreigner he met who was importing 2nd hand big bikes for selling. I met the guy myself this weekend at a club.
The guy tells me how he already has a few bikes being shipped he’s just finishing up on the paper work. He then tells me that he’ll have a 1995 GSXR 600 for sale for ONLY 450,000. And that’s cheap…because a bike like that would cost over 650,000 here. :loco:

Let me clear something up. A NEW 2005 GSXR would run you around 450-480k. I believe that he was serious, and that he had already put some effort into this. But it was amazing that he had done so little market research.

My roommate who was with me as I was talking to the guy. Volunteered the information that I already have a “big bike” (good friends are supposed to brag for you…allowing you to seem humble). I wish he hadn’t told the guy because I knew he would then ask me how much I paid for it. I added about 70k on to the actual price I paid and told him that…and he still seemed shocked that I got it for so cheap. A few sentence later the guy says “No offence intended, but I think anyone that rides a “big bike” here is crazy. It’s a waste.” :unamused:

Kind of reminds me of when I first moved here. I saw groups of “big bikes” in the mountains. Which unbeknownst to me were all illegal. I asked a foreigner who had been here over 10 years how they were able to ride big bikes when others weren’t. He told me that big bikes were only legal if you were in a “club”, but to join a “club” the membership fees were very high. This was all complete bullshit…and I don’t know if he was making it up on the spot or what. But you’d be amazed at how many times foreigners have told me stuff as if it were fact…only for me to find out on my own that it was complete garbage.

#2

Sounds like a lot of those around these parts. You should have offered to sell him your bike for $500,000, he would have thought it was deal. I can’t count the number of times I’ve talk to people about bikes, and find out they were talking out of their a$$ses.

#3

:laughing:

Indeed.

#4

[quote=“Mordeth”]My roommate told me about this other foreigner he met who was importing 2nd hand big bikes for selling. I met the guy myself this weekend at a club.
The guy tells me how he already has a few bikes being shipped he’s just finishing up on the paper work. He then tells me that he’ll have a 1995 GSXR 600 for sale for ONLY 450,000. And that’s cheap…because a bike like that would cost over 650,000 here. :loco:

Let me clear something up. A NEW 2005 GSXR would run you around 450-480k. I believe that he was serious, and that he had already put some effort into this. But it was amazing that he had done so little market research.

My roommate who was with me as I was talking to the guy. Volunteered the information that I already have a “big bike” (good friends are supposed to brag for you…allowing you to seem humble). I wish he hadn’t told the guy because I knew he would then ask me how much I paid for it. I added about 70k on to the actual price I paid and told him that…and he still seemed shocked that I got it for so cheap. A few sentence later the guy says “No offence intended, but I think anyone that rides a “big bike” here is crazy. It’s a waste.” :unamused:

Kind of reminds me of when I first moved here. I saw groups of “big bikes” in the mountains. Which unbeknownst to me were all illegal. I asked a foreigner who had been here over 10 years how they were able to ride big bikes when others weren’t. He told me that big bikes were only legal if you were in a “club”, but to join a “club” the membership fees were very high. This was all complete bullshit…and I don’t know if he was making it up on the spot or what. But you’d be amazed at how many times foreigners have told me stuff as if it were fact…only for me to find out on my own that it was complete garbage.[/quote]

Get the guys phone number and we’ll arrange to go with him when he tries to get these bikes smogged…I’ll bring a video camera, the look on his face should be priceless at 60k per failure… :smiling_imp:

#5

:laughing:

Indeed.[/quote]

Yes. the WINGMAN principle at work.

#6

[quote=“Mordeth”]My roommate told me about this other foreigner he met who was importing 2nd hand big bikes for selling. I met the guy myself this weekend at a club.
The guy tells me how he already has a few bikes being shipped he’s just finishing up on the paper work. He then tells me that he’ll have a 1995 GSXR 600 for sale for ONLY 450,000. And that’s cheap…because a bike like that would cost over 650,000 here. :loco:

Let me clear something up. A NEW 2005 GSXR would run you around 450-480k. I believe that he was serious, and that he had already put some effort into this. But it was amazing that he had done so little market research.[/quote]

and they say only 1 out of 2 start up businesses fail… looks like this guy’s making sure he weighs his odds heavily in the wrong direction… even in the old heady days before everyone and their dog jumped on the “big bike bandwagon” there was nothing but piss poor margins out there for private importers… that’s why in the beginning bikes were so much more expensive than they are now, since everyone rushed headlong into importing them and only really did the maths later and figured out they’d need to overcharge the hell out of each and every customer to make selling privately imported bikes worthwhile… that lasted for exactly as long as it took the official dealers to set up a half competent operation and as you’ll notice the prices have been dropping ever since, although the level of competency still fluctuates around about the half way mark…

it’s a pity nobody bothered to vote for that bike riding legislator guy… the guys with the FJR1300 Yam… if he was still in there prodding the worthless cronies in the legislative yuan/fight club, we’d be on a more accelerated path towards the govt. being forced to drop some of their la-la-land taxes and import/licensing fees which are effectively nothing “non tariff barriers” to keep protecting Kymco/SYM/et all, and flagrantly undermine the rules under which Taiwan was admitted to the WTO…

anyway… good luck to that guy, I hope for his sake that “entrepreneur” isn’t the only item on his skills list… :doh::roll:

#7

[quote=“plasmatron”]if he was still in there prodding the worthless cronies in the legislative yuan/fight club, we’d be on a more accelerated path towards the govt. being forced to drop some of their la-la-land taxes and import/licensing fees which are effectively nothing “non tariff barriers” to keep protecting Kymco/SYM/et all, and flagrantly undermine the rules under which Taiwan was admitted to the WTO…[/quote]Agreed, but then there would be pressure to reduce the very similar barriers to the import of cars, and then you’re talking real money.