[Wheels]

I work directly with the factory in China. I'm not a dealer or end user. I sit in personal contact with the day to day office workers.
I could spout out alot of things that are coming or will be shortly. But that is why I'm included in RD, it's a game of cat and mouse. You guys try to figure out what's coming and we try to keep it quiet.
Hope that answers your questions of how I get my information.

[Zforce800]

Gotcha. So is the machine going to hit market early next year or later? Did they fix things like the thermoswitch and quality control? I dont want to buy one and deal with the same stuff ive fixed with mine all over again.

[WalkinTarget]

QC will never be something that can be fixed, its incumbent on each individual dealer to properly prep the units once they are assembled. They arrive bundled into a shipping pallet and are partially assembled by each individual dealer. So if you have an improperly trained assembly mechanic, you could very well have A-arm bolts or lug nuts that are not tightened to factory spec. As a buyer, you want peace of mind that this was done properly at a dealer, but I can assure you that most of the complaints we've read about here in the forums are from owners who found loose bolts in the locations I listed simply because it was not properly addressed here in the US.

The thermoswitch, while being issue #1 in my book with the CF Moto, may run fine when tested in mainland China, but to accurately gauge how it works in the US under harsh field conditions is probably an entirely different animal. I'm purely speculating here, but it really is something that is hard to test out and say its now completely solved. 

[Jogon30]

QC will never be something that can be fixed, its incumbent on each individual dealer to properly prep the units once they are assembled. They arrive bundled into a shipping pallet and are partially assembled by each individual dealer. So if you have an improperly trained assembly mechanic, you could very well have A-arm bolts or lug nuts that are not tightened to factory spec. As a buyer, you want peace of mind that this was done properly at a dealer, but I can assure you that most of the complaints we've read about here in the forums are from owners who found loose bolts in the locations I listed simply because it was not properly addressed here in the US.

The thermoswitch, while being issue #1 in my book with the CF Moto, may run fine when tested in mainland China, but to accurately gauge how it works in the US under harsh field conditions is probably an entirely different animal. I'm purely speculating here, but it really is something that is hard to test out and say its now completely solved.

.

I agree !!!! Never!!

[Wheels]

The thermoswitch has been updated.
Walking Target is dead on the money, most of the bikes are put together in a rush by untrained techs.
Each unit has a check list and that takes about 4hrs,I'm not sure how many do it, but sounds like very few.
Once the dealers step up the game there will be alot less problems.
I'm not taking blame from were needs to be directed" straight to factory", They also need to step up their game bigtime.
There alot of outside eyes now standing in the factory.
USA buy in bulk so you guys always have  to wait to see the updates.
Most other countries buy as needed monthly, and get faster updated parts.

[Zforce800]

I talked with my local dealership today and because the only salesman I like was off I ended up talking to the owner that is in charge of sales. There are 2 brothers that run the whole thing. Anyway, he said that they are looking at having the z1000 in a couple months. The only issue he is having is they are requiring a minimum order of 16 units. He is weighing the gamble because they deal in Can Am, Honda, Suzuki, SSR, KTM, and CFMoto and the machine is edging into Can Am maverick price territory so he isn't sure if he can move that many or if another dealer would want to pick up some units as well. He told me he has had no issues moving the 800's on price point alone. I guess my point is, the z1000 is coming very soon.

He did confirm what I've been mulling over a lot lately though. I want more power and a better overall machine. I bought the z800ex to get into a sxs for less money to see if it was a hobby that the wife and I could enjoy together. It is, so we would like a bit of an upgrade. I am interesting in the z1000, but for $14k I'm not sure its the right machine. For another $3k I can a Can-Am maverick XC w/PS which has the same width (60"), is what I need for the trails here, but 101hp, which I can utilize is this area. Up 15hp and 29ft lbs torque to with z1000 or up 39hp with a maverick. So, to upgrade a bit, where is my money best spent?

[Wheels]

Can't go wrong with a canam. Nice units.
They also come with their problems. Nothings bullet proof in the offroad world.
USA CFmoto seems to really feel like they can sell at a higher price point.
I personally think this will backfire as they don't have a stable platform to get dealers to hold the parts and prepare the units for delivery.
 Also the price point that the unit exits the factory closely reflects the price of materials used.
 For CFmoto to improve their metals, plastics and electronics the price has to rise. These things are not changing (Electronics are changing)
$2000 plus price increase for a updated motor. Crazy!!!!!!!!
I hope time will prove me wrong.
This is CFmoto's second push into the US market. So Maybe.

[Bobbed06]

It looks like the Z1000 is gonna have the single spring style shocks, so at least the thermoswitch and shocks are updated. I think the price jump is gettin greedy and will price em right outta the game. Bigger pistons dont add cost to the manufacturer, so no reason to up the price much at all. $500 more, yes, 2000 no

[Struens]

I am going to wait a year or two and see what CF MOTO comes out with for future UTV's.  It seems like they just threw this out there to give the public something to mull over and prove that they are "trying" to keep up with the big boys.  I feel like they are working on something a little bit better then this.  The had to put something out there with "1000 cc" on it.

[gfmoto]

In any case, no one starts out on top. Anyone trying to break into the market at this point will have a battle on their hands.  There are some major players in this field and have made a big mark on this sport.  Cfm needs to find only ONE niche or angle that hasn't been exploited yet. That's where they will get their foothold. From what I can see with our group, I'd personally market it to " the working class guy" " the DIY guy" meaning keep the margins of sales low enough to turn a profit yet high enough to not be labeled "junk" unfortunately if they keep the price too low they will be considered CHEAP. Get it too high and buyers will go with a more well known brand. More effort in training the dealers on proper assembly will show these units can stand up to the test. The customer service has been great to me so far, that's sometime more important than the product itself. Would like to see SOME ads on these just to get some brand recognition. They really need to put an ad out with a ton of suspense. "The new SXS on the block is coming to your town soon"

[flash]

Very well said gf. They really need to step up the brand recognition, it really is a very good product, just not recognized as much as the others. We love ours and have had very little problems with it, we also have a Polaris sportsman 700 it also has had it share of problems
New engine at 1450 miles, so it's not just cf that has all of the problems..

[Zforce800]

gf, you said it best. My biggest attraction to the 800ex was bang for the buck. Remote shocks, locking diff, winch, roof, style, for the money, awesome. Here's my biggest reason for the purchase though: I wanted to get into a sxs add to see if it was a hobby the wife and i would enjoy together. I've had jeeps and rock crawlers and it wasn't fun for both of us to do together. I didn't want to commit to a $20k machine if we didn't like it and re sell on atvs is not strong. We got into it and love it. Yeah I'm not happy about having to turn a wrench on the thing all the time, but we all deal with that. If it had been any more expensive I would looked to the big brands, cheaper and I would have been more leery as you only cut so many corners. CFM is walking a thin lime line with their products and I agree, they need to push the brand more but what I'm becoming nervous about is dealers and parts. We have a big dealer here and they are already starting a log of back ordered parts. If we can't get parts or service, all our machines become junk we can't get rid of and the brand folds.

[NMKawierider]

It's a vicious circle with parts. If the parts were of better quality, failure rate would be lower making the demand lower which makes availability higher. Long ago I was told the real money was in the parts. CFM is proving that true...IMO.   

[Bobbed06]

In all of my tire kicking, internet lurking, test riding and general banter with various side by side owners I still have yet to have a warm and fuzzy feeling about dropping 10-20k on ANY side by side regardless of brand. I do get a warm and fuzzy feeling when I look at certain utility ATVs and the price being more in the 8k range makes it more appealing.

A local dealer just picked up ODES brand, and they are loaded for the money, yet do a little internet search and geez people hate them.....

[WalkinTarget]

A local dealer just picked up ODES brand, and they are loaded for the money, yet do a little internet search and geez people hate them.....

They show up regularly in CraigsList searches near me, as the dealers game the tag system in CL and include every conceivable name in the tag field. They aren't as solid as the CF Moto brand, but if you buy one I assume you are quite handy with your toolchest and know you will need to put some effort into checking torque specs and whatnot.