Tested cheap Chinese copy parts

[Doctor T]

Am also up for a deal. If i can get bits and pieces cheaper elsewhere i will take a chance. I've always said to myself that i would never recommend anything unless ive used and tried the bits first for a year or so.
Prices are correct at the time of purchase.
1. I bought a front and rear set of crash bars from the Aliexpress site for £150.00. The nice seller stated that the package was worth only £50GBP. This meant I didn't have to pay import tax. Thank you.
To my surprise, these are very well made, the wields are the best ive seen in a long time. These bars are a direct copy of the Wonderlich ones and they even came with Wonderlich instructions but with the name blanked out. Looking on Wonder's site confirmed this. If these come from the same factory am not sure, but have my own thoughts on this. All washers and bolts are made of stainless steel
Fitting was straightforward forward with no bending or fiddling
I've tested them twice on my Devon tour where i dropped the bike fully loaded on the gravel lane to the hotel. No dents or creasing of the pipework and the welds were strong but mostly protected the Tupperware.

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2. Again a Wonderlich copy. The destructions are a direct copy of theirs. A GPS mount. This is made of strong, thick metal. All mounting holes matched up and came with 4 stainless steel longer bolts for the top holes. Mounting is perfect for Garmin or Tom Tom. I have used it with a Ram "X" claw as well. IRC i paid £17.00GBP

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3. Handlebar raisers. Again they look like a well know company with a German name. These are straightforward fits. All holes line up perfectly.
One word of caution with these. Don't use the bolts that come with these. They seem a bit short and as these are items that if fail it could mean life or death, i used bolts that i know can deal with the stresses that impact them.

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I know this is a bit long winded but i hope these can make adding to your RT a bit more affordable

[David.]

If these come from the same factory I'm not sure, but have my own thoughts on this.

I don't think there is too much doubt that the genuine Wunderlich products are made in Germany. What are your thoughts on this.

[Doctor T]

Well ive researched and researched copy stuff from China. Found a lot of the top names do have their stuff made in china due to the cheaper costs. You can find the same items stamped with a name or just left blank. Years ago i visited China as a guest of a large multinational company. One company we visited produces polymer fishing lines. Now i found out there were only 2 companies that make this fishing line. The set up was eye opening. It was like a old rope-making setup. At the end of the production, the plastic reels were labeled from anything from the top name in fishing right down to budget names.
Another factory automotive parts from Alloy. They showed me their process from start to finish. The parts looked really well made and the staff was happy with the quality of the goods. The bit i did not agree with was the packaging stated made from Billet alloy, which i wasn't as like i said id seen the process.
The Chinese government encourages manufacturers to copy others' work and to make it cheaper.

Am not saying that any of the mentioned companies i mentioned in my posts do not have their goods made in China as i don't fancy being sued.
I did ask the seller of the bars if they were from the said company and the reply was"due to contracts they can not confirm or deny if they make them for the selling company it was talking about". I told them that it really didn't matter but said that they look very similar. The only other reply i received was that they manufacture for a lot of companies worldwide.

Take what you want from that

[simbo]

If these come from the same factory I'm not sure, but have my own thoughts on this.

I don't think there is too much doubt that the genuine Wunderlich products are made in Germany. What are your thoughts on this.

[Steve398]

Am not saying that any of the mentioned companies i mentioned in my posts do not have their goods made in China as i don't fancy being sued.
I did ask the seller of the bars if they were from the said company and the reply was"due to contracts they can not confirm or deny if they make them for the selling company it was talking about". I told them that it really didn't matter but said that they look very similar. The only other reply i received was that they manufacture for a lot of companies worldwide.

Take what you want from that

Now if you can get your mates in China to copy the Ilium crash bars I’d be interested!

[David and Sally]

Question. Is it moral to buy copied parts that companies have spent a lot of money developing?

[jackronner]

You have inspired me! I think I'll send away for a set of the crash bars myself. On AliExpress, I think I found the same product, with Lookey Store as the seller. Was that your seller, too? I am about to, rather unbelievably, remove the fairing panels and headlight assembly, etc. just to replace a broken lens on my front turn signal, I was just wondering whether any of these items would have to be removed to install the engine guards. If so, I will put it off until their receipt. Thanks for the feedback.

[Sharkfighter]

In my previous employment I once attended a week long counterfeit seminar in Germany, attended by police from all over Europe, I had my eyes opened as to what is copied, even pocket tissues. It was mentioned that not all counterfeits are in fact counterfeit. What does appear to be happening is that in factories where products are made under licence, once a run has been finished some ‘extra ones’ are made and these are sold at a fraction of the price of the ‘branded’ product.

Yes there are some dodgy products out there, but there are some of the same quality as the more expensive branded ones.

[Doctor T]

Am not saying that any of the mentioned companies i mentioned in my posts do not have their goods made in China as i don't fancy being sued.
I did ask the seller of the bars if they were from the said company and the reply was"due to contracts they can not confirm or deny if they make them for the selling company it was talking about". I told them that it really didn't matter but said that they look very similar. The only other reply i received was that they manufacture for a lot of companies worldwide.

Take what you want from that

Now if you can get your mates in China to copy the Ilium crash bars I’d be interested!

Not my mates. I was just a normal customer.

[Doctor T]

What does appear to be happening is that in factories where products are made under license, once a run has been finished some ‘extra ones’ are made and these are sold at a fraction of the price of the ‘branded’ product.

These are my thoughts too

[David and Sally]

What does appear to be happening is that in factories where products are made under licence, once a run has been finished some ‘extra ones’ are made and these are sold at a fraction of the price of the ‘branded’ product.

The issue I have with that is that the very expensive tooling will be owned by the customer and it’s simply wrong to use that tooling to make products to undercut the owner of the tooling.
If I ever found out the tooling would be out of there pdq and a licence infringement invoice heading their way even more pdq.

[Doctor T]

In manufacturing, the tooling/jigs are usually owned by the designer. The end seller company usually sends the manufacturer the design of the item to be made. The manufacturer makes the tooling required. Hence the manufacturer owns the tooling/jigs but the design companies own the design.
The manufacturer only has to make small changes, which can be mil here or there, or change the shape of a bracket and they can sell the item without breaking any copyrights or restrictions placed within the contracts between the manufacturer and designer.
Due to this, many Chinese companies can make look-alikes. Japan and Taiwan did the same.
The Chinese company that makes and owns the London Taxi also makes so great look-alike cars I.E Merc, Rolls Royce, Mini, etc.

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[David and Sally]

Not in the businesses I worked for. The owner of the tools was the ones that commissioned their design, paid for their manufacture and bore the cost of maintaining them beyond everyday maintenance. The owners sold the finished product with an amortisation on each product for the cost of the tools.

[David and Sally]

Not in the businesses I worked for. The owner of the tools was the ones that commissioned their design, paid for their manufacture and bore the cost of maintaining them beyond everyday maintenance. The owners sold the finished product with an amortisation on each product for the cost of the tools.

The designer was paid to design them. The toolmaker was paid to make and commission them. Some were sent out for third party production but they were not allowed to use them for any other purpose.

[Doctor T]

The studies i did were where a person or company was brought in to design the tooling etc for certain jobs. The copyright of this stage stayed with this person or company.
Different companies run in different ways. If the company is large setup, mostly done inhouse where the company owns the rights