geniune manufacturers vs. knockoffs/clones

hey guys i am leaving the world of rc cars to delve into the world of offroad atv's. i am leaning towards dirtbikes. used to ride when i was 13 to 17 years old. anyway i have been looking at have seen an absolute crapload of the knockoffs around. and cheap too. less than half of the cost of the real thing. what has been found with them. are they really cheesy? break all the time, etc... mainly i was looking for the smaller ones for my son. if i get a D.B. he will want one as well. as well i have been looking at the honda crf450f. i believe that is the correct model number. thoughts. mainly going to do trail riding type stuff. i am getting too old for the nutbar stuff i used to do.

IMO...stay away from the cheap ones/knockoffs, you do get what you pay for

What ever you do, don't buy a JetMoto... we bought one from Outback Motor Sports near the VIA Rail station in Edmonton... a couple weeks after buying it the steering went on it.
Took it back there and they said it was a factory problem and they fixed it.

We haven't even really used it since then. It's just been taking up space in our Garage.

if you are looking at the CRF450, and you are an older fella like me (40ish), check out the CRF450X rather than the CRF450R. it has electric start, and a headlight and tail light. I've had mine for two seasons now, great bike. lots of jam, I added a dual sport kit and got it plated for riding on highway.

for the kids' machines, stick with the established brands. as posted above, you get what you pay for.

I bought one of them cheap 50cc knock-offs for my youngest daughter, and I think that it was money well spent. Yes, it is a POS, but for the little bit of riding that she does, it works great. If it craters, then its only another $200 or so to get another one shipped out. If / when she is ready to move up to a 250cc, then I would go for a name brand.

As well, I love getting on that thing and ripping around town. Great for running back to my buddies place across town and getting another bottle of rye!! (Was that my inside voice or outside voice?)

tekim