Ktm moving some production to China

I heard some guy named Sum Ting Wong will be overseeing the plant.

Their 2-stroke cylinders and heads are having problems, I assume with the Kymco cylinder. Check out the ‘23 Gas Gas MC250 grenaded failure on here. Blew a hole through the head a little bigger than a golf ball. The dealer wouldn’t replace it or assist in any way. This was his second catastrophic failure.

https://www.vitalmx.com/forums/moto-related/grenaded-gasgas-2-stroke

Great business decision 

Will be using 6 Sigma to resolve quality issues- specifically the 3W method (what, went, wong)..

Their street bikes are already having problems. e.g. countershaft seals. electronics. they're sorta where the german car mfgs were 15-20 years ago. this will complicate things. not to mention if brandon goes to war over taiwan with poo and their supply chain gets obliterated. 

WTF?

Everyone is leaving China but “Premium” brand KTM moves in? 

This is why they charge more than anyone else? 

Like most companies the one I work for sources parts from all over the world and many right here in the USA (and Canada)..

Truth be told the level of quality is suspect everywhere…Including the USA, Canada and Europe..We have quality problems with everyone. Yes the low cost labor countries like China and India may be worse..

That being said, it’s much easier to work with a supplier “right down the road” (or in country) when you do have quality issues- Those issues can be quality resolved.  Versus trying to deal with your Chinese SQE who is more or less a “vendor defender”..

Bang Ding Ow will be the product tester aswell !

If things go really wrong, you have to talk to Ho Lee Fuk.

I see I'm not the only one who remembers the news channel that got punked.         Tragic story overall...but that was some funny shit and shows you how messed up the news is we are fed every day.

On the funny names....true story.

Previous big name semi-conductor company I worked for would announce new hires in our all hands quarterly meetings.  Company was hiring a lot in Asia back then.    The VP of the company is on the video conference screen at headquarters in Silly-con Valley.  Our group was in a satellite office here in San Diego....thankfully so at that moment.       The VP is reading down the list of names one by one.... and then paused for a moment.   

The next words out of his mouth were "Phat Kok".   He had no choice but to say it...then he gracefully continued....the auditorium at headquarters probably all pee'd their pants trying to not laugh.  I can only imagine the VP had a good chuckle in private later on. 

....but our satellite office,  we all hit the floor with laugher when it happened.

One of those epic career moments for sure.

'24 KTM Group 65's are having cylinder issues due to Chinese castings.

Lot of junk comes from China and that gets the headlines...but they are no joke when quality is required.  

Junk can come from any country.   I bought parts for my ADV bike from Hepco Becker (German company) having had good experience with German products.    The Hepco Becker products were junk.

Thought we learned this lesson 🤷🏿‍♂️

The Kymco cylinders are the good ones.  I don't think they are using the Elko one's anymore.

And Kymco is in Taiwan.  Big difference from China.  Taiwan is where the state of the art computer chips are made.  

You guys realize it isn’t 1985 anymore and China can and does produce some the highest quality goods and equipment in the world

It’s the companies (like KTM) that try to cheap out and build to a price point that are to blame, not the fact that it’s made in China 

Switching to LingLong tyres too?

Actually those cylinders are from Italy

Oh My Word...

all the big  4 Japanese brands produce bikes in china or other Asian countries as well,  but the high end MX bikes are still all produced in Japan, presume it will be the same with the KTM,  

Just curious how do you guys find out where these cylinders are made?

You guys are killing me. I about had a stroke laughing at some of the posts above.  I needed it !!  Thanks. 

Expensive trash now

It’s all about supply chain management. Most business can’t resist the siren song of lower costs in China. Some business are re-homing production because of the effort it takes to manage quality. Easy to have severe quality issues underestimating what it takes to manage a supplier on the other side of the world. 

I know of one Australian  company that has a rotating roster of its own Australian Quaulity control personnel living near, and working daily with its Chinese vendor, just to keep the product within specific, expensive in the short term, but well worth the long term piece of mind, with virtually zero rebatches.

Really?

Like what?

I am personally not pleased I pay more for a brand and get told their concern is switching out parts for cheaper from China. 

Deal was put together by Cha Ching

Lot of truth here.

The story about Honda 50 "replica's"(Chinese version) has always been that the dies and molds for these bikes were "worn out" and sold to the Chinese....or some version of events. The Chinese have been accused of being industrial espionage experts....

Ok. The Chinese are pretty good replicators. Pretty good. Some things just require "good enough". A dirt bike by design is designed to be good enough for a period of time. Parts wear out and are expected to be replaced over time etc. Even the vaunted Japs limit availability for replacement parts(Ask Service Honda). They and every other manufacturer want you to buy a new bike.....preferably every year in theory. Do they care if a 2007 KTM 250 blows up? Nope. MOF good chance a brand new 2024 KTM 250 could blow up and nothing would be done from KTM. Why? "Race bike" No warranty implied". Most bikes are rebuilt/refurbished by the will and determination of the owner....otherwise they sit.The Chinese Air Force is mainly supplied with "copies of Russian planes". Even a copy of our F-35. But they are just good copies. The metallurgy, avionics are good(not exact) copies. The Chinese are communist(like Russia once was). If something wears out, make another. And make a lot of them. They have billions of workers and resources. 

Chinese, Korean whatever crap bikes are just that....crap. Hell, it's hard to find replacement cables for these bikes. And for some, that's the end. By design. A handmade custom cable at $40 is hard to justify on a $500 bike, quad etc. Even a $1500 one. It quits running after a few years of no maintenance and abuse.....buy another one. You can see them in fields everywhere.

For those that don't have a clue about the world of motorcycles and such.....there are literally tens of millions of motorbikes(of various kinds) made all over the world. Millions, Not thousands of mx bikes. Every year. You can buy a minibike at Tractor Supply....for most folks that is good enough. Why? They go to KTM/Honda whatever and say what? $10k!?

I'll admit to buying Chinese bling bits for some of my bikes. Everyone knows these bits found on Amazon, Ebay etc. You know the "quality". But hey.....you choose. They are so cheap...why not? Example: I just can't buy bolts etc at my local hardware store. At a couple of bucks per bolt....Go on Amazon and buy 600 of the same thing...shipped to my door. They are "good enough".....and exponentially less. Probably made in China anyway(both).

The point? Global manufacturing? Ask Good ole Red blooded American Harley Davidson......

I have read where China is getting closer to producing an electric car at the $14k price point......intended for the USA.

I've been building injection molds for almost 25 years ,it's no secret in the industry if you send a job to China to be built or or run parts they will sell their own version of it if there's money to be made on it. Straight up crooks . Their craftsmanship sucks too.

KTM group’s reputation already isn’t what it was just a few years ago during the Dunge run. This isn’t going to help.