Chinese 350 barrels

[Striker1423]

These kits are getting cheaper and cheaper. Get 'em while they're hot I guess. Here's the lowest I've found for one of these so far:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/356202482019

$148 shipped lol.

[IR8D8R]

Check this seller's feedback. 53 negatives in the past year. and 3 times as many Neutrals. Sounds like a roll of the dice whether you'll receive your order. Looks like a drop-shipper selling whatever they can.  It's mighty tempting anyway but a calculated risk.
 There are several sellers with this price, though they all seem to be about the same kind of outfit/feedback.

IR8D8R

[Striker1423]

Check this seller's feedback. 53 negatives in the past year. and 3 times as many Neutrals. Sounds like a roll of the dice whether you'll receive your order. Looks like a drop-shipper selling whatever they can.  It's mighty tempting anyway but a calculated risk.
 There are several sellers with this price, though they all seem to be about the same kind of outfit/feedback.

IR8D8R

I got a set for 178. So that was nice enough. All looked good too.

[SoCal250]

Pretty good deal. Almost worth buying just to have an emergency back-up top end.

Recently a lot of Chinese sellers on eBay seem to be shipping from warehouses in Chino, Rowland Heights, Rancho Cucamonga, etc. so they can claim on the listing that they're a "US Seller". It makes for fast delivery to my location since I'm only about 30 miles from there.

[m in sc]

theres different ones out there that look similar. one listed has a stepped sleeve at bottom near transfer.. these are the ones i got. Ive been happy with mine, but i am sure they are NOT all the same.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/284796177040?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=zjv9VNORTRa&sssrc=2047675&ssuid=9DXeqLNdSLW&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

[RDnuTZ]

theres different ones out there that look similar. one listed has a stepped sleeve at bottom near transfer.. these are the ones i got. Ive been happy with mine, but i am sure they are NOT all the same.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/284796177040?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=zjv9VNORTRa&sssrc=2047675&ssuid=9DXeqLNdSLW&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

I bought 2 sets last year from the seller in this link provided: Kveldwulf. 1st class transaction all the way and quality looks good. Have not installed yet, but not worried about it all.

[Striker1423]

theres different ones out there that look similar. one listed has a stepped sleeve at bottom near transfer.. these are the ones i got. Ive been happy with mine, but i am sure they are NOT all the same.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/284796177040?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=zjv9VNORTRa&sssrc=2047675&ssuid=9DXeqLNdSLW&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Oh interesting, what would a step on the bottom of the sleeve do?

[m in sc]

it should help transfer flow, the idea is to get it in there faster. but, that doesnt speak tot he rest of the quality of the barrel either.  They may be just fine, but the point i'm making is they arent all the same.

[Striker1423]

it should help transfer flow, the idea is to get it in there faster. but, that doesnt speak tot he rest of the quality of the barrel either.  They may be just fine, but the point i'm making is they arent all the same.

Yea, that makes sense. I guess I was under the wrong assumption that most of the sellers were peddling the same items. They all seem to use a similar set of stock photos.

[m in sc]

they might be the same. i would guarantee the main castings are the same, might all come out of the same factory.. who knows. I do know the indian reproductions were just absolute garbage years ago though.

[TeeZee]

My brother had one of those India/Chinese/Taiwanese reproductions. While it was good to have them for running a newly built motor, there were a waste as the bike would loose compression once hot. I guess the quality of alloys wasn't up-to the par.

We changed them to Japanese/US cylinders in no time and never had any issues since.

[mixedbikes]

I got a set just to play with for a 350 build I am doing. The guy on ebay selling them is close to me, I believe he is in Pacific or Eureka Missouri. They look just fine but I have not installed them yet. They were $194, we will see, will build engine this winter.

[m in sc]

My brother had one of those India/Chinese/Taiwanese reproductions. While it was good to have them for running a newly built motor, there were a waste as the bike would loose compression once hot. I guess the quality of alloys wasn't up-to the par.

We changed them to Japanese/US cylinders in no time and never had any issues since.

as said, not all are created equal. mine have been on almost 2 years, zero issues. others i have seen were on more that 3 years and were ok. ive seen others (early) shift liners, break pistons, etc.

[IR8D8R]

Chinese contract manufacturing. It's like the Wild West. I went to Shanghai and used a consultant when I was considering having some parts made. They explained the routine:
 The products get contracted to a manufacturer through a broker. The factory tools up, makes one big lot and ships your goods. Usually they produce 50%-200% more than what the contract calls for, hoping that the buyer comes back for more. If they don't, they release the parts onto the market through independent West-facing seller/export networks they use. They sell through Ebay, Alibaba, Aliexpress, etc. These sellers keep reducing the price until they are all gone.
 Unit cost is negligible. I doubt these cost more than $5 over the value of materials to make. A majority of the Chinese goods you see for sale online come from this process. These are private sales of unbranded goods. No legal problems. If you declined the offer of more they don't feel any obligations to exclusivity. Besides, you don't usually know who actually made them because your broker is your contact.
 The contract manufacturers tool up, produce, and then move on to the next contract. One and done. It's cheap for them to make extra parts while they have the tooling set up. These cylinders are likely to have been from one single lot. That's why the details seem similar. It's much higher quality than it was 20 years ago FWIW. Many of the factories and their equipment are new.

IR8D8R

[The Red Scourge]

Chinese contract manufacturing. It's like the Wild West. I went to Shanghai and used a consultant when I was considering having some parts made. They explained the routine:
 The products get contracted to a manufacturer through a broker. The factory tools up, makes one big lot and ships your goods. Usually they produce 50%-200% more than what the contract calls for, hoping that the buyer comes back for more. If they don't, they release the parts onto the market through independent West-facing seller/export networks they use. They sell through Ebay, Alibaba, Aliexpress, etc. These sellers keep reducing the price until they are all gone.
 Unit cost is negligible. I doubt these cost more than $5 over the value of materials to make. A majority of the Chinese goods you see for sale online come from this process. These are private sales of unbranded goods. No legal problems. If you declined the offer of more they don't feel any obligations to exclusivity. Besides, you don't usually know who actually made them because your broker is your contact.
 The contract manufacturers tool up, produce, and then move on to the next contract. One and done. It's cheap for them to make extra parts while they have the tooling set up. These cylinders are likely to have been from one single lot. That's why the details seem similar. It's much higher quality than it was 20 years ago FWIW. Many of the factories and their equipment are new.

IR8D8R

Wow, that's pretty interesting.  It explains a lot of what we've been seeing on eBay for a lot of stuff.