Re: SUNL ATV and go karts are JUNK

On Wednesday, May 16, 2007 at 9:52:41 PM UTC-5, concerned buyer wrote:
> Thinking of buying a SUNL ATV or product? DON'T DO IT!!
> Below is what you can expect!
> Extremely low quality, no after the sale service or parts.
> SUNL is just JUNK!
> =3D=3D
> SUNL's UNSATISFACTORY BBB record
> http://dallas.bbb.org/commonreport.html?bid=3D15000591&language=3D1
> =3D=3D
> http://forums.atvconnection.com/messageview.cfm/catid/10/threadid/513487
> Glad to have found this site to vent on. My son bought one of these from =
NYDiscountmotors on Feb. 19 on ebay. Nothing but problems since it came out=
 of the crate. Starter wouldn't work, so he was jump starting it for about =
two weeks. Place was going to meet us halfway between NY and CT to fix prob=
lem, then tells me to take it somewhare and they will reimburse cost. Did t=
hat and the day before we took it all of a sudden the starter worked. Guy u=
p here looked at it, couldn't find why it wouldn't start before, needed hea=
dlight replacement. Was never sent. Then they won't reimburse him the $90 b=
ecause it was now working. Then agreed to pay half, still haven't gotten it=
. Body parts are broken off, cheap plastic, In March the chain broke, $38 t=
o replace that with a good chain. By beginning of May, rear brake pads comp=
letly gone. Another $68 to replace them, once the guy found ones that match=
ed. Yesterday, the front wheel is now sheared right off the axle. Luckily h=
e was going around a
> curve and not going fast. These are a piece of $1000 junk. He rides in th=
e woods on trails he and his friends have made and these bikes are just not=
 rugged enough for that. He had a Polaris 90 Sport we got used for $600. Th=
at on had been flipped, crashed, drowned and never broke off a body part. O=
n this piece of crap the entire right side from front feder to back is in p=
ieces and other parts are cracked. He has sure learned a hard lesson for a =
14 year old. NY Discount motors response is basically you get what you pay =
for. They are really mad because I left neutral feedback on them. Just said=
 good sale, shoddy product, email for info before bidding. Ruined there 100=
% positive rating. Have asked me to recind it, was considering it, until th=
e wheel incident. Sorry to go on so long, but just needed to vent. I guess =
buyer beware is really true. Thanks=20
> http://forums.atvconnection.com/messageview.cfm/catid/10/threadid/518264.=
cfm
> All the bad things you have read about SUNL are correct, why bother with =
JUNK!
> Things I've had go wrong in the first 3 months:
> 1.) Chain broke after the "guard" squashed against it after casual trail =
riding...and I mean CASUAL.
> 2.) Bolts to the swing arm axle adjuster fell out after a day of CASUAL r=
iding, used red thread lock to fix it, took an hour to find them in the fie=
ld.
> 3.) Throttle cable got stuck after a day of attempted mud riding...my son=
 held on for dear life!
> 4.) Frame developed a crack near the lower swing arm joint...hmmm.
> 5.) Gas tank developed a hair line crack after another day of CASUAL ridi=
ng (this is when I decided it was no longer safe for my son to ride it).
> So, bottom line, if your having good luck with your SUNL, your among A FE=
W. Don't waste your money...that's all I'll say.
> http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/sunl-c869.html
> Buyer beware!
> In April of 2006 I purchased 6 ATV's from a SUNL dealer thru EBAY. This d=
ealer, who I will not name, has been so very helpful. I have no complaints =
at all about him. He has sent me box after box of parts for free. What abso=
lutely floors me, is how incredibly poorly these things are made. My kids a=
re all average sized, ranging from 6 yrs old to 11 yrs old. They only ride =
them on the weekends in our 4.5 acres of flat as can be grass yard. No jump=
s, tricks, rough riding, nothing. These things have been an endless headach=
e for me. I seriously can't tell you how many hours and hours I have spent =
trying to make these things work. Here are just a few problems I have encou=
ntered: CONSTANT carb problems-float needles sticking open causing the carb=
 to empty the entire fuel tank all over the ground/floor. Needles sticking =
shut causing the engine not to start. Fuel lines cracking and leaking all o=
ver the hot engine after only one month of riding. Dead batteries every wee=
kend causing me to need
> to jump start them off of my battery charger just to get them going. All =
of them have had the chains break at least once. The frame on one of the 11=
0's broke in half where the swingarm meets while my 60 lb daughter was ridi=
ng it, luckily she was not hurt. All of them have had parts break, fall off=
, loosen up, etc for no reason. I got to the point where I was putting Loct=
ite on everything! I could go on and on. At this point, only ONE of the SIX=
 I purchased is running. They are parked permanently. Now, I knew that thes=
e were not going to be as good as the Hondas that I originally wanted to bu=
y (the Hondas are 5 times the $), but I didn't think these things would be =
so terribly made and downright dangerous. In the end, I guess you do get wh=
at you pay for. BUYER BEWARE!
> http://chinariders.net/modules.php?name=3DForums&file=3Dviewtopic&p=3D646=
2&highlight=3D
> I was a SunL Dealer couldn't get parts at all and filed against them thro=
ugh my credit card company. Endless Journey Cycles Ohio
> http://myvento.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3D3544
> Just picked up a brand new 150cc scooter by SUNL. Got it cheap, but as I =
am finding out, getting replacement body panels are difficult to come by. I=
 email SUNL in Texas but they don't respond. I email a distributor in City =
of Industry, California, and they too don't respond. It would appear the SU=
NL is another fly by night company or run out of someone's bedroom.
> http://www.atvnation.com/forum/lofiversion/index.php/t11020.html
> Run away from anything that says SunL on it. We used to deal in their sco=
oters also and they were nothing but problems.
> http://www.myvento.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3D1763
> Arg! Well I still don't have the parts I need to fix my kickstarter. I ca=
n't get a hold of SunL's parts division (the switch board at SunL only pick=
s up the phone when the parts division is closed, HA!). Brian, If your smar=
t you will tear up Sunl's number and never call them again. They are THE WO=
RST company when it comes to scooters.
> http://www.myvento.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3D849
> One important message to you. DO NOT look for any support from
> SUNL. They are the worst in my opinion and I have been trying to deal
> with them since buying the bike last October.
> http://www.thesqueakywheel.com/complaints/2007/FEB/complaint11889.cfm
> I purchased several mopeds to resale in my powersport shop. Sunl has made=
 promise after promise to send necessary parts which I ended up buying from=
 a parts house.
> http://www.gokartsrus.com/go-kart_forum/viewtopic.php?t=3D443&sid=3D42ac0=
a15abd4b1b62fe155bc9c1c6090
> Many many phone calls all over the country dealing with rude receptionist=
s and ignorant peaople, finally yielded the name and phone number of the GM=
 over thier 4 US branches, Jeff Boudreaux at 1-866-423-1072. I spoke to him=
 on Feb 14th and thought i was finally going to get somwhere, he refered me=
 to Chris the Parts and Tech manager in Texas. Now about 10 e-mails later I=
 have not gotten any resolution. Lotsa "gonnas" but no action. when I am do=
ne with this post I plan to get on the phone to Jeff again. Really a shame =
if they want to build a brand in the US, if they don't change and begin to =
listen to customers problems, address them with manufacturing changes and t=
hen stand behind thier product and make parts accessable they won't last lo=
ng.
> I have had alot of communication with SUNL in Texas and do not get the re=
sponses I had hoped for, especially considering they are trying to build a =
brand here in the U.S. For example I have tried to get the missing washer t=
hat holds on the dust cap on the front hub for over a month now.... Nuthin.=
 I have tried to find out if there is a clutch rebuild kit.... Nuthin. I co=
uld go on but won't.
> http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/sunl-c869.html
> These karts are junk. And if that isn't enough, just try getting parts fo=
r them. Even as a dealer, I couldn't hardly get any parts. I finally gave u=
p and dumped the line. Stay away from SUNL. You will be doing yourself and =
your family a great favor.
> http://www.texasatvs.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-14204.html
> stay away from me and my buddy used to sell them they have alot of proble=
ms Chassis breaking carbs falling off and sticking wide open one kid .. got=
 hurt noto long ago and sunl is being sued over defects spend the extra mon=
ey and buy name brand
> http://www.powersportsnetwork.com/enthusiasts/review_detail.asp?rv=3D4846=
1&veh=3D40198
> -- Pink Piece of Junk --
> I can't believe I actually bought this for my 8 year old daughter. She wa=
nted to ride with me at the local track but I didn't want to spend any more=
 money on an expensive quad so I decided to buy this. I am extremely disapp=
ointed because it only rides for a few hours before something goes wrong wi=
th it. Everything about this quad is awful. I would never buy another SunL =
ATV ever again.
> http://www.powersportsnetwork.com/enthusiasts/review_detail.asp?rv=3D4772=
4&veh=3D38999
> -- SUNL Junk --
> Purchased a Hanma R6 for grandson for Christmas. Purchased 12/22/2006. We=
nt through all the pre-ride checks and he received atv on 12/26/2006. No ro=
ugh riding, no jumping, no high speeds and unit falling apart everyday. Wel=
ds breaking and bolts coming loose. Returned unit on January 4, 2007 and pr=
obably out the money, but SUNL is junk - DO NOT BUY IT. No warranty, no par=
ts, and no service. Somebody needs to get a class action suit started on th=
ese guys to shut them down or get them straight before somebody dies.
> http://forums.atvconnection.com/messageview.cfm/catid/10/threadid/518264.=
cfm
> You get what you pay for...I bought a ATV 109 for my son, it served it's =
purpose for a couple of months. I got tired of fixing it after every ride. =
In general, they are junk.
> http://www.atvtime.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=3D106869&sid=3D253c69a37fd4=
2071a81a35477649ac99
> We bought a little SUNL about 2 months ago, something has fallen off or b=
roke everytime we go riding. This last time, it was the frame. So we are se=
nding it back and are looking at getting the Unison Desert Cat 90. So far I=
 have heard alot of good stuff. We ride in sand mostly. My son is only 35 l=
bs and will be 8 this summer. We want something that we wont have to fix or=
 tighten things on every time we ride.
> http://ridingarizona.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=3D24677&#246517
> We have some experience with "Chinese Quads". While they are cheaper, you=
 have to be willing to put in the time in maintaining them. They take A LOT=
 more maintenance than regular bikes. Things rattle off and parts break eas=
ily on a regular basis. You have to know how to fix them and it is difficul=
t to get certain parts. It takes a lot of patience in getting on line and c=
alling places to find parts. Many times we have ordered parts for them to b=
e back ordered for months and we never get them. It was really hard to find=
 tires and wheels for our little one and we ended up having to wait about 7=
 months before we found the right ones.
> http://ridingarizona.com/forum/post.asp?method=3DReplyQuote&REPLY_ID=3D21=
1831&TOPIC_ID=3D21612&FORUM_ID=3D10
> I bought a SunL 50cc quad for my 5 year old stepdaughter less than a year=
 ago. I too did not want to spend $2k on a 50cc quad, especially if she tur=
ned out not to be interested in riding it. My first impression was that it =
had a stout motor for a 50cc., had a decent looking rear disc brake, electr=
ic start, remote start, remote kill switch, pretty neat I thought. I soon r=
ealized that what I had was a total pile of crap.
> * The suspension is nothing more than springs - there is no appreciable d=
amping in the "shock". Makes for precarious handling characteristics thru a=
ny sort of appreciable bumps.
> * The throttle stop, at its full-in position, still allows the bike to ha=
ul a**.
> * There is no parking brake, and it will walk away at normal idle levels.
> * Not that the brake is much use, which was surprising, as it's a hydraul=
ic disc brake (rear only, no front brake at all). It will slow the bike dow=
n eventually, but it's not even strong enough to lock the rear wheels pulle=
d fully to the grip. Yes, I bled it, no improvement.
> * There is no gas tank petcock. A piece of plastic from the cheapo gas ta=
nk lodged itself in the float seat, causing it to piss gas out the float ve=
nt. There was no vent tube, so the gas was leaking on the hot cylinder head=
. Only solution given a lack of the right tools to remove the plastics at t=
he time was to drain the gas tank before putting it back on the trailer.
> * With the help of the springboard suspension and some uneven bumps (comm=
on to offroading), my daughter managed to flip it over. Now the steering sh=
aft is bent.
> She's ridden it at maybe 8 outings total, and it is now a total piece of =
garabage. During the last 4 outings, I've spent more time fixing it than sh=
e has riding it, cutting out my riding time as well. Now that I know she's =
into riding, she will be getting a quality quad for her birthday in a coupl=
e months.
> So, in conclusion, if you don't ride very hard, or if you do ride hard bu=
t don't venture far from camp and can put up with a constantly breaking mot=
orcycle or quad, the chinese models may be what you're looking for.
> http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/sunl-c869.html
> 7 days ago by Brandy Jenson
> I bought 2 four wheelers for my two daughters for a Christmas present fro=
m sunl the first thing that happened was when they were delivered one of th=
em was the wrong color it was suppose to be pink and it was a hunters camo =
yellow for a boy and this was a Christmas present for my daughter and i han=
d her this boy looking four wheeler i contacted sunl and they said they did=
nt have the one i ordered so just sent me the wrong one hoping i would be h=
appy well i was not it took from the end of nov. To just a few days ago to =
get the new body that i ordered i am so disappointed with these four wheele=
r every time we attempt to ride them they literally fall apart both of them=
 are a piece of junk all the problems i read you had i have had the same th=
ings wrong with mine and every time i try to contact them they are full of =
excuses i think they're waiting for the year warranty to be up so then ther=
es no chance of getting any help from sunl we bought these and they dont ev=
en run and were suppose
> to just say oh well we got ripped off its not fair we should get a refund=
 or something i feel like we totally got ripped off.
> 33 days ago by Jennifer McArdle
> The fact that these four wheelers are poorly made is absolutely true, and=
 to add headache to injury, the dealer who sold my daughter's to me neglect=
ed to mention the laws and statutes concerning appropriate size for age cla=
ss, the required education classes and registration documentation. So not o=
nly is the product poorly constructed, but due to the laws where I live and=
 the fact that I would use it at public locations, my child is completely u=
nable to use it. Which I guess isn't so bad considering the safety issues t=
hat other Sunl owners have experience. Stay very far away from the Sunl pro=
ducts!! do not make the same mistake that I did.
> http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/hanma-r6-atv-poor-quality-c3998=
.html
> HANMA R6 ATV - poor quality
> Complaint Rating: 67 % with 3 votes
> Purchased SUNL Hanma R6 December 22, 2007..given as Christmas gift to 6 y=
ear old 54 pound (24.49 kg) grandson. He received gift on December 26th.
> The recommended inspection before riding was completed on December 24th p=
er the checklist in the owners manual. In addition to pre-ride inspection a=
ll bolts and nuts were checked for tightness. One bolt was found missing in=
 rear muffler hanger and a number of bolts were loose. The nuts that attach=
 the muffler to the engine head were loose and also tightened. Lug nuts on =
wheels were also checked for proper torque.
> During pre-ride inspection what looked to be a small crack was noted on r=
ear rack bracket.
> Per instruction booklet motor break in procedures were followed by settin=
g throttle at approximately half throttle for first ten hours. Youngster ro=
de with father who was on a Kawasaki quad and father insured that engine sp=
eed was varied and that constant low speed was avoided However, unit was ne=
ver broken in due to a total of ten hours not being completed. The vehicle =
held together only long enough for one tank of fuel and part of another tan=
k to be used.
> December 26th: Rear muffler bolt came loose and was lost. Bolt replaced. =
Rear rack bracket broke and rack went forward into plastic body housing bre=
aking plastic body.
> December 27th: Keeping muffler tight continued to be a problem and muffle=
r was wired because muffler bracket broke. Battery case latching system bro=
ke.
> December 28th: Chain came off and had to be replaced and retightened and =
muffler continued to work loose at engine head.
> December 29th: front rack mounting broke and bolts holding muffler on eng=
ine head came loose and were lost, This was the end of using the unit. Unit=
 was returned to dealer on January 4th,
> The unit is sold as an all terrain vehicle for off use road only. This un=
it was never subjected to any excess weight, nothing was carried on either =
rack, and the unit was never subjected to any severe treatment such as jump=
ing or high speed operation in rough terrain, or for that matter even over =
mild terrain.. Unit was operated in field and pasture conditions in a rural=
 area. None of the areas would be considered extreme or severe terrain. Ove=
rall the unit was operated in what would be considered mild territory for a=
ny off road or all terrain vehicle.
> The dealer has stated that the damage to the unit appeared to be "impact"=
 damage. There was never any impact with any object other than those that w=
ere attached to the unit and fell off and impacted some other part of the u=
nit such as the rear rack hitting the plastic body.
> I have absolutely no complaints at all about the engine other than the mu=
ffler not staying on the unit. Engine started easily every time and ran exc=
ellent. Brakes worked well and transmission seemed to perform flawlessly. H=
owever, I would add that the unit has not operated the full 10 hours as rec=
ommended for break in.
> The major problem I see is that the tubing used in the construction of th=
e frame and racks is of extremely poor quality. With such little operating =
time under such mild conditions and seeing all of the welds break and other=
 frame problems I am concerned that a major frame component could fail. Fai=
lure of a major part such as swing arm or other steering component could re=
sult in sever injury or even death to the rider and even low speeds. Don't =
waste your money, or chance your kids life.
> =3D=3D=3D
> Broken axle
> http://forums.atvconnection.com/messageview.cfm?catid=3D10&threadid=3D502=
256&highlight_key=3Dy&keyword1=3Dsunl
> Broken frame....SUNL stalls
> http://forums.atvconnection.com/messageview.cfm?catid=3D10&threadid=3D488=
738&highlight_key=3Dy&keyword1=3Dsunl
> SUNL 90....another broken frame
> http://forums.atvconnection.com/messageview.cfm?catid=3D10&threadid=3D495=
060&highlight_key=3Dy&keyword1=3Dsunl
> SUNL mini 90....broken swingarm
> http://forums.atvconnection.com/messageview.cfm?catid=3D10&threadid=3D480=
312&highlight_key=3Dy&keyword1=3Dsunl
> SUNL 250 .... engine and welds break
> http://www.buggynews.com/topic3638.html?highlight=3Dsunl
> SUNL class action lawsuit
> http://www.buggynews.com/topic7088.html?highlight=3Dsunl
> http://www.buggynews.com/topic2812.html
> SUNL 250 motor mounts breaking
> http://www.buggynews.com/topic2358.html?highlight=3Dsunl
> http://thesqueakywheel.com/complaints/2006/SEP/complaint10071.cfm
> http://thesqueakywheel.com/complaints/2006/AUG/complaint9789.cfm
> http://thesqueakywheel.com/complaints/2006/AUG/complaint9797.cfm
> http://thesqueakywheel.com/complaints/2006/MAR/complaint8614.cfm
> http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff189635.htm
> http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff229543.htm
> http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff184006.htm
> http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff103437.htm
Does anyone out there have a Sunl  SLGK-250-2A go kart that has a good fron=
t suspension.  I need the right side "turning organ" which is the part that=
 bolts to the upper and lower control arms and the brake caliper, rotor and=
 wheel bolts onto.  If so please message me at [email protected]