Inside Bikes News: “Sachs have launched a 125cc 4-stroke scooter that will sell in the shops for just $1,299 (pounds) on the road. The news, from Germany’s oldest motorcycle manufacturer, comes hot on the heels of the introduction of the sub- $1,000(pounds) 49er 50cc scooter.
The retro-styled Bee is the result of a long-term agreement between the German company and a major Chinese factory to produce a range of budget scooters that will offer European consumers German quality and dealer support at prices to rival Internet direct unbranded products.”
In other words… Sachs is rebadging the same Chinese scooter that TNG is selling. YOU remember, the one that got Schwinn in trouble. Anyway… Those things are usually built using parts spec’d by the client, so I hope Sachs didn’t cheap out on us (and by US I mean, the people over in Europe who are going to see this in the shops). It’s good that they are offering support at least.
My advice to Sachs. Call your designers back in to work. Ask them to brainstorm something “Sachs”! I know it takes some time/money to get a new design to market, but it pay off in customer loyality. People buy Oakly sun glasses, not because they look like the Sunglasses in a Target store, but because they look like Oakleys. People are intrigued by Sachs because they came out of no where with the MadAss… not because they stuck their name on a TNG. We know you can do it Sachs!
8. May 2006 at 2:12 pm
We won’t be carrying this model. We used to do warranty work on TN’G products. Run away!. Run fast & far!
8. May 2006 at 3:02 pm
HA, it went right over my head that it was a Vino/TNG clone, I didn’t even look at the photo, i just saw a boring twist and go. Nice going, Sachs.
BTW-I wouldn’t say Sachs “came out of nowhere,” they’ve been making bicycles for over 100 years, and they’ve sorta been the briggs and stratton of europe since the 1920s. When I was in junior high school in the mid-80s, every kid in my neighborhood (but me, which explains a lot) had a Sachs moped.
Once again, though, this story makes you wonder about the whole relationship between design and manufacturing and branding and the limits of “domestic production” It may well be that the Madass was designed and manufactured in China all along, and Sachs simply bought the rights to sell it under their name. Which brings back the “are PX150s made in India” debate. Who knows?
9. May 2006 at 12:10 am
What doesn’t come out of China these days. I was blogging (http://scootersnoop.com/archives/7) about our Western Australian VMoto, which is really just the same bike as so many cheap other Chinese imports around the world. The VMoto has become the biggest selling scooter in Oz and they are listingon the stock exchange. They are making a killing…but I have it on good authority, some of the dealers are struggling to keep up withtheir warantee commitments
9. May 2006 at 12:53 pm
Sachs is Germany’s oldest motorcycles manufacturer if you accept that their heritage is linked backed through the Hercules company they bought and overlook the ~50 year period when they didn’t build any motorcycles. Other than that..
9. May 2006 at 1:26 pm
I guess I should clarify… By “Came outta no where”, I meant specifically with the MadAss. They weren’t following a trend of naked scooters/nopeds. When it came out, the MadAss, unlike its new Chinese clone cousin, looked like no other scooter/noped out there.