Gladiator 300XT *** Certified Chopper

The scooterteq Gladiator 300XT mini chopper is totally FMVSS Compliant. It has been placed on the Texas Department of Public Safety Certified Moped List for licensing as a moped. This bike and its companion model, the Spartacus 400XT are powered by a highly reliable 50cc engine patterned after the famous Honda 50Z, one of the most durable engines of its kind in the small bike business. The clutch is fully automatic. Safety features include an extra large auto-on hi-lo beam headlight and tail-light assembly for maximum visibility and large turn indicators. The front hand operated hydraulic disc brake uses a large motorcycle grade rotor. The rear brake is a large foot-controlled drum brake to insure stopping power in accordance with *** regulations. Tires and rims bear the *** markings. 69" in overall length with a 50" wheelbase the bike has a large frame designed by former Honda engineers and manufactured by a supplier to Honda. All parts are made to motorcycle specifications. Stock colors are Black/Red, Black/Blue, Black/Green, Black/Silver and Black. For full details about the Gladiator XT visit http://scooterteq.com/***_compliant.htm.

Am I getting this right; one can get a license plate for those choppers and ride them on the streets? woot

You are correct. They can get a license plate and can be ridden on the streets as long as you have the proper license for your location. The license requirements vary from state to state. We will also have approval very shortly for Canada. However they do not have "homologation" for Europe at this time. Each bike comes with a Manufacturers Certificate of Origin and has the US FMVSS Certification Label attached. Each unit has an internationally recognized VIN number.

I noticed that you are a distributor only, do retailers have these yet?

badazztoys fell free to chime in

These are so new that our distributors are only now ordering them. Please keep posted and we will advise when they are expected to be available. They have now been added to the Texas Department of Public Safety Certified Moped List.

http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/msb/certmoped.htm

Both models will now use the large headlight and the tail-light assembly shown in the pics. The 300XT uses Z-bar handlebars and blade rims. The 400XT uses drag bars and a narrow spoked front rim. The 300XT mirrors are round, the 400XT are rectangular.

Freakin sweet! Keep us updated on these, if they are competetively priced, I want one for sure.

On a side note, i would be even more excited to see a 110cc model, since they are classified as motor driven cycles in the state of CA anyways. Any chance of that or a rolling chassis available?

Already designed and have the green light from *** on them. They will coming along right behind the 50cc models. We also have another model on the drawing board as we speak, a "bobber" style bike that rides higher than the choppers.

They will be available from All Toy Motorsports at the end of April. Check the www.scooterteq.com website to see color charts and get contact information for All Toy.

Just as another version of the Banshee came out of China with another name (the H20 version) but same exact bike, can we expect the same with these *** Approved choppers?

These choppers are freaking sweet, but is it likely that if we wait a few months, another distributor will have them cheaper than what the Scooterteq authorized dealers are selling them for?

Not trying to rattle anything here, I just really want a Banshee, and noticed that they are becoming more affordable through other dealers. Is the same going to happen to these Choppers?

Since the market for street legal mini choppers is practically non-existant, obviously this one will be a little pricey. My guess is that a chunk of the cost is getting the bike *** compliant, FMVSS, etc, not just the bike itself.

If I wanted a parking lot cruiser, I could get one for less, but I'm smiling just thinkin about how sick it would be to cruise this legally down the street.

No you cannot expect the same. The Gladiator and Spartacus choppers are the fruit of over a year's effort while others copied the appearance of them. This is a joint venture between Scooterteq and PowerEagle International of Shanghai. We are not a broker, we are their absolute agent in North America and also what is called the "Agent for Service of Process for a Motor Vehicle" with the US Dept. of Transportation. There is lot of work involved in getting the FMVSS Certification in order. Only a few Chinese companies know how to go about this and they do not share the information with their competitors just as we do not. This is a very high cost of doing business. The cost of the bikes reflects the additional cost of *** approved parts and the cost of obtaining and maintaining compliance. Because these are classed as true motor vehicles there is a lot of record keeping involved on everyone's part from the manufacturer to us as their agent and all the way down to the dealer level. This is reflected in every transfer of the MSO which is required to be recorded and every transfer of the title to the vehicle which you obtain from your local DMV using the MSO as proof of origin and compliance. You will note that these models have been added to the Texas Dept. of Public Safety Certified Moped List and are being approved as compliant by other states as quickly as they are presented, most recently by the Washington State Police Compliance Unit. This is a whole different ballgame, not those silly little bikes that are restricted to use in driveway or parking lot. The name of the Chinese manufacturer is here and on our website for all to see. Anyone can contact the factory if they choose but they will be quickly rebuffed. This is the motor vehicle business, not the toys business, and it is conducted under completely different rules.

You are correct. It does represent a big chunk of the cost. Manufacturers of the cheap choppers are not prepared to pay those costs because it requires the use of much higher grade parts. A great deal of documentation is required and a substantial amount of ongoing record keeping. Because these are classed as motor vehicles they are subject to product recall if ordered by the Dept. of Transportation to correct any safety defects that may appear at any time down the road.

Please do not confuse these with the little 50" long toy mini-choppers that everybody has seen running around the streets and that are now banned from them just about everywhere. These are actually larger than most mopeds and are almost 6' long toe to toe. They also have large and highly visible lighting systems that comply with motorcycle regulations, not just the lower moped requirements. The turn signals can easily be seen from over a block away and the large h-lo beam headlight much further than that. You do not have to be afraid to ride it on the street, it is made for it. You do have to follow the rules, keep your eyes open at all times as with any kind of motorcycle, and wear the required safety gear. These are not $20,000 Harley Davidsons, they are a cool, reliable and economical method of local transportation, an alternative to the traditional moped look and most important of all, they are legal to use on the street.

The image shown is a Banshee pocketbike, not a Gladiator *** Certified Chopper. We have discontinued production of both of these models.

May i ask why you discontinued the banshee pocketbike? Now all the chinese bikes are lacking the quality that the banshee beheld.

We discontinued the Banshee precisely because the factory would not submit to our rigid QC requirements and dumbed it down in order to lower the price. That is why they appeared from non-supervised, non-Scooterteq vendors. Our aim was to get a superior pocketbike at a fraction of the cost of the Italian pocketbikes. We succeeded in this until the dumbed-down versions ruined the market based solely on price. You only get what you pay for. If you want cheap, that is what you will get.

I purchased one of the early versions of the Banshee with the two piece rims and this bike is very reliable. I ran the original engine for almost 2 years without a problem. It was still running strong when I replaced it with a Polini series II. My Banshee runs just as good as my five other Euro bikes....