Sumo moto warmers?

I know this is an expensive hobby. Curse my friends for getting me hooked. I've had the SV on the track. My track time is free..ish. I do corner work at Inde Motorsport Ranch in Wilcox, AZ. I'm taking the SV off the track because I don't want to push it on the track with that bike because I ride every day to work and school. I have also contacted the guys at MJ Moto and here is what I got as a reply.

Hey Bill,
Thanks for checking us out. Our MJ Moto warmers are made by the same
company that makes the Sumo brand. We, however, don't repair warmers. If
you have any problems at all during the warranty period we'll replace them
with a new set or give a refund. We offer a risk free trial too - if you
don't like them for any reason we'll even pay return shipping.

As for our reputation as a company, we have over 900 feedbacks on Ebay with
a 100% positive rating. We must be doing something right to keep that many
people happy.


Mike

So on the customer service side at least on the front side they seem good. I sent them a message at the time of my last post. I may be kinda new to this but I do have a good group of people to help me. My question was about a company nobody I know has checked out and it seems there is no one who has looked into them here as well. I understand the technology that goes into these and $500 for a heating blanket seems a bit much. I can even understand the $250 for the Suzuka's. As for being a straight disregard of a company simply off a price seems a bit quick to judge. As for the question I had. I am still up in the air on what I want to do. Thank you for the people that have been constructive in your responses.

 

Chicken Hawks are made in the USA, in Red Hook, NY by American workers who are earning a living wage; this is part of the reason that they are expensive. They also use the highest quality materials and construction. In addition, Chicken Hawk does all of it's own product R&D and testing. They support racers directly at the track, as CHR's owner, David Podolsky races with both WERA and AHRMA in the Heavyweight Twins class and the Northeast division director for Sportbike Track Time.

Sumomoto warmers, otoh, are made by chinese workers, making a dollar or two per day. They are known to use substandard materials and their product R&D is done by Chicken Hawk Racing, as they have flat out copied CHR's designs. Sumomoto even had the balls to produce counterfeit Chicken Hawk warmers and sent them to Dave @ CHR with an offer to do his production. David disassembled them and found that they'd ripped off his designs, but the product was a complete POS because it was so poorly made and the materials were way below the grade that he would use. He essentially told them to pound sand.

Looking at the warmers on the link you provided, they indeed appear to be a near perfect copy of CHR's standard, single temp warmer. If you want to support a company that steals American innovation, be my guest, but for me, I don't care how good the service of the importer is, you couldn't pay me to use those warmers. In my book, they're stolen intellectual property. :down:

 

Dude, seriously.... you don't understand the technology and materials that go into them if you think $500 warmers are out of line and $180 ones are fine. It's not marketing and bullshit.

FYI I don't even run warmers. I'm strictly a vintage and sumo guy now and I run DOTs, but this discussion has been played out on this BBS over several different kinds of products from several different manus over the years.... the new guy always seems to think that the cheap shit that none of the experienced guys in the paddock run is really just a fine product that none of the 'rich guys' or 'sponsored guys' bothered to look at.

It's your money, spend it how you like. You've gotten good advice from several people who've been in this game awhile.

 

warmers

Keep it simple stupid you buy cheap you get cheap.

 

Don't walk...run away.


Or set your money on fire. Whatever's more convenient.

 

In the long run, quality tools are much better than cheap tools. I have Three set of chicken hawk tire warmers. I damaged a rear once and sent it off to be repaired and got it back in a few weeks and has worked great for 2+ years.

If your riding on a budget, their should be a focus on what tires are you running. I know many track day guys in Phoenix, AZ and Deming, MN running Dunlop Q2 tires with great success. The Q2 tires have a longer life than the D211 racing rubber and most are not running warmers.

If you want to pick up $100 take off sets of Race Rubber, then the Tire Warmers are a good investment. The $250 difference can be covered in two or three sets of take off's.

You might also want to contact RunGP/Pirilli/Michelin Dealer for a set of Bickel Tire Warmers. Again Bickel makes a good tire warmer, made in north American. Contact Info : [email protected] / (602)460-6693

Quality Tire Warmers are a great investment, Along with a nice QUIET generator and a pair of PitBull Stands. These three pieces are worth saving up for.

 

Junk... lasted 3 months and couldnt hold a temp.. Not worth $20 a set IMO

 

buy a used set of chickenhawks and be done with it. i try to support co's that support racers/clubs. chicken hawk puts alot into the sport.

 

funny you mention that. a friend of mine, just getting in the sport, against my advice was buying the cheapest shit he could find to get set up. I warned him about those warmers. He was pitted with me at Tally one weekend, and as we're sitting under the ez up, i smell something, look over and his brand new front tire is smoking like crazy. Pulled that POS warmer off, and it had melted about a 3 inch hole in it.

He was PISSED, i just laughed and said "told ya so."

 

Saw this on the Nesba board... Posted from one month ago...

I admit I thought about getting cheap warmers as well. But I'd rather get something that will last. So, I just sent Chickenhawk sales an email inquiring about their used tirewarmers for sale.

 

Thank you to the guys who actually have had experience with this company. As for my understanding. I do know that size, type and quality of wiring as well as how it is placed in the material and what materials are used, will affect the end result. Judging something simply by price is not what I do. That is why I asked my question because I didn't know anyone who had used anything from MJ Moto. Now that I know more about where they come from it does make me question things more. Any idea what the re-manufactured sets from Chicken Hawk cost?

 

Just talked to Chickenhawk. They said that they sell the used warmers to sponsored riders 1st. If you race, you could send in a sponsorship request. If you just do trackdays, they said to check back with them in a couple of months to see if they have any leftovers (but its unlikely). Or you could just watch the classifieds for them. There's a few being sold now for around $200+.

I've heard good things about motogp warmers. Found a set for $200. Anyone had any bad experiences with these?
http://www.flyncycle.com/Motogp_Motorcycle_Digital_Track_Tire_Warmers_p/mgpwarm01-p.htm

I know they aren't as good as Chickenhawk or Woodcraft, but I hear they are much better than the Sumos.

 

*Bawk* *Bawk* *Bawk* *Bawk* *Bawk* *Bawk*

*Squawk* *Squawk* *Squawk* *Squawk* *Squawk*

My personal favorite.

 

This always seems to be the trend with new racers/trackday guys....buy stuff cheap because you are just out having fun.

Problem is you get what you pay for weather it be....stands, leathers, tire warmers, chains, sprockets, rearsets, etc. If people would just spend a little more upfront they would have a product that will last a long time and have a good resale value when you get out of riding......thus being cheaper in the long run!

I battle this conversation everyday with people. They wonder why they have to replace the entire leftside of their aftermarket rearsets everytime they crash instead of buying a really good set and simply replacing a peg..........

 

TyrSox Any constructive comments on these? I found one reference in this topic about them saying they've been used for 4 years by the person. Anyone else?

 

some people just wont listen.

 

Ya.. on a warm summer day they'll be fine.. windy or cold and then you need to use the PITA cozy outter layer to retain heat. I'd rather not hassle with tht seven times a day....

I'd still rather have a set of USED Chicken Hawks than new Tire Sox.

 

you will dread using them...eventually.

 

Reapper, I don't think you understand the significance of what just happened as a result of your post: Hell is freezing over- Todd & Monte never agree on anything!
fwiw, Tyrsox only put out 700 watts, which is wholly insufficient. CHR's otoh, put out 1150 watts to more effectively put a heat soak into your tire.

 

I saw a set of Tyr Sox actually catch on fire once... I don't think Woodcraft or Chickenhawk can claim that. So if you go the Tyr Sox route you'll have that going for ya!.