Time to clarify a few misconceptions
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First of all, thank you for the interest in Premier and our first product offerings, the SR150 and SR300.
I would like to clarify a few misconceptions about our company and our products, and how both came to be. I have been riding snowmobiles most of my life. I grew up riding Suzuki, Bolens, Chaparral, Arctic Cat, Yamaha, and Skidoo. Some of my greatest memories as a kid were from riding with my family (even my grandmother had her own machine). My kids have grown up riding 120cc machines, and riding on jump seats behind my wife and me. As they started to outgrow the 120cc (and getting tired of riding behind us ) my wife and I started to look around at the rest of the families out on the trail. What we found in most cases is the young kids where riding old Phazers, etc, or newer 500-600cc machines. Since most of these machines will run 70mph+ with a 90lb kid, and ergonomically fit and handle for a kid like a 30ft boat, we thought this was absurd. Also, my wife is 5' 2", and frankly the full-sized machines are not the most comfortable size for her either.
In searching for a solution for our kids we first tried sourcing machines from overseas. But as everyone knows, there are design and quality issues with overseas power sports products. So 2 years ago, we started developing machines that would have updated suspensions, 4-stroke powerplants, and all the features of the full-sized machines. The machines that we will debut to the public in a few weeks are fully-conceived, designed and Prototype tested in the US. Production Engineering and Assembly is jointly achieved by our US and China team (yes these machines are produced in China, but we have sourced all components ourselves, have the supplier relationships for quality and replacement parts availability, and have made every effort to make world-class products (yes, I stated world-class products)).
One issue I have heard is quality concerns, another issue I have heard is price. One thing to remember is a person cannot have both. Quality costs money no matter what country a product is produced in. We are using the best parts, components and materials we can find. We are bringing products to market to fill a segment in the marketplace that used to be the foundation of the sport (for you young riders, most machines were 440cc's or less, and Yamaha in the early 1980s sold more enticers (300cc and 340cc) models than any other). And in case you haven't priced a sled lately, the lowest priced fan-cooled 2-stroke machines are $5500-$6500.00. All our machines are 4-stroke technology, use high-quality aluminum t/a shocks, and electric start and reverse as well as full gauges are standard (we are even using LED rear tail lights).
We will be releasing an official press release announcing our entry into the snowmobile marketplace sometime next week. If anyone has any questions about the company or our products, please email me directly at
chrisbell@PremierRPC.com. If you are skeptical about our quality, I would ask you to reserve your criticism until you see these machines for yourself. If you question whether or not there is a market for these machines, you obviously don't have preteens, teens or a wife shorter than 5'4"
Sincerely,
Chris Bell
President
Premier Recreational Products Corp.
