Chinese Americans debut at the International Motorcycle Show

When it comes to motorcycles, "Chinese" has pretty much become synonymous with "cheap" when it comes to the products that have so far been imported to the U.S. But a couple of manufacturers that are participating for the first time at this weekend's International Motorcycle Show in Long Beach may help to change that derogatory view. Johnny Pag, based in Irvine, had eight shiny bikes set up on the black carpet under his own banner. And scooters from CFMOTO, out of Minneapolis, were parked within spitting distance of a Vespa in the new scooter pavilion at this year's event.

"I don't buy Chinese product," said Pag, the goateed and inked 27-year-old who designed the four different 300 cc models he currently sells. "I manufacture in China." That's an important distinction, since so many of the Chinese scooters, motorcycles and ATVs that have rolled through U.S. ports in the last few years have been unknown brands lacking formal distribution networks, proper emissions controls, replacement parts, warranties or -- for that matter -- any sort of customer accountability.

According to Pag, his local warehouse has all the component parts -- including "every nut and bolt" -- for the three models he currently sells: the Spyder (chopper), Raptor (cruiser) and FX3 (sportbike). It's a standard he plans to continue when he rolls out his Barhog (bobber), Pro Street (muscle cruiser) and Raptor X (tourer) next year.

Clearly, Pag is doing well to be introducing so many models. Capitalizing on the current trend toward entry-level and low-cost motorcycles -- his bikes costs $3,399-$4,200 -- Pag says he will have sold about 10,000 bikes In the U.S. this year. That puts him in the same league as Ducati.

CFMOTO sees a similar upward sales trajectory for its 10 on-road models, which range from 150 cc scooters to its bestselling automatic transmission scooter-motorcycle hybrids, the V3 and V5. CFMOTO projects sales of $7 million for 2008 and $30 million through the end of next year.  CFMOTO is the U.S. distributor for ChunFeng Holding Group, a 25-year-old Chinese brand that quietly entered the U.S. market three years ago. 

"Are we guilty by association that we manufacture in China? Yes," said Matt Clayton, western regional accounts manager for CFMOTO. "But we are a true factory. This is our product. We make it. We manufacture it. We distribute it. It's one line."