Chinese motorcycles?

Question

I was considering a chinese motorcycle for my daily commute to work,they seem to be good value but i have heard some bad press about them,has anyone had genuine experience of any bike,not a moped but around the 200cc mark

Thanx for all the answers,i did suspect these bikes were too cheap to be any good

Answer 1

Typical Chinese 125cc copy of ( Honda/Yamaha/ whatever)

They are great run abouts.

You will be running about all over the place picking up the pieces that fall off.
They are thrown together and not very well lubricated at assembly.

The electrics are flimsy and badly designed allowing earth leaks and all sorts of problems. Only one fuse!!
The charging systems are barely adaquate and the battery will go flat in about a week if you ride with lights on and use the electric start.

The chrome work is like kitchen foil and the engine laquer blows off in no time at all. The exhaust pipes will go brown with rust, and if you can find and importer who has not gone bust, you will MAYBE get replacement parts.

More often than not you will have to bodge the bike with Honda or Yamaha parts.
Apart from that they are OK I guess!
( I got one!)

Answer 2

I owned a Lifan 250cc for 8 months now. NOT one problem, lots parts supplyers on line once you look. The LF 250cc is a Virago 250cc clone. ALL parts on a LF250cc can be replaced by Yamaha parts.
Other motors are Honda clones, use Honda parts.
Honda was junk in the early 70's when firts brought here. Most you could find were 50 to 90 cc, look where they are now. Lifan is suppose to introduce cars here in 2008.
Lifan is building a strong network of parts an dealers slowly.
I own the Virago 250cc also, both are fine bikes. The Lifan carb is made in Japan just like the Virago. Lifan is one of the top 3 motorcycle co. in China. LF 250cc will average 70 to 85 M.P.G. an excede 80 M.P.H.


Virago Jim

Answer 3

The excellent of Chinese motorcycles is making improvements to however they've obtained an extended, lengthy, lengthy, lengthy, lengthy, lengthy, lengthy, lengthy, lengthy, lengthy, lengthy, lengthy technique to move earlier than they fit the excellent of Japanese bikes. The the very first thing you have to appreciate is that the guarantee isn't valued at the paper it's published on; if the motorbike breaks down, it's ONLY the misguided side that's blanketed. This implies that first you need to pay a mechanic to determine what is unsuitable with the motorbike; then you're making a declare to get a substitute side (that could be a broken nut & bolt valued at approximately 10p) and then you definately need to pay a mechanic to make the fix. So, if the motorbike is a lemon while you purchase it, you are crammed. There isn't any come-again. A lot of persons write optimistic stories approximately their Chinese motorcycles and there are one or 2 committed Chinese motorbike boards, however I surprise what number of persons are completely satisfied with the motorbike for 3 months just for it to then begin falling to bits beneath them. My recommendation is to stretch to £1500 and purchase a secondhand Japanese motorbike - move the entire technique to £2000 if you'll find the money for it. Trouble is, 125cc motorcycles have approximately the equal degree of complexity and the equal quantity of constituents as complete-sized bikes, so it is not like a 125cc motorbike charges 10x lower than a 1250cc motorbike. You've obtained to spend round £1500 to be certain of having a well one.

Answer 4

China is the new Japan. don't be afraid to save some money & give them shot. 10 years ago they could'nt get a rocket off the ground 10 years from now there will be a chinaman on the moon. just stick with an established brand with an actual dealership theres a lot of people over there just starting out that wont make it. I bought a Jap bike 35 years ago just to be different, turned out to be a pretty good little bike it had a funny name that everybody made fun of HONDA

Answer 5

Bought a Vento 250cc (VTHUNDER) for the wife and it was complete junk Nice looking Bike but put together very cheap ,Was only 3 grand new ,Dont wast money on China Bikes ,Hopefully they will get it together in the future cause it did look good /peace

Answer 6

If you are looking to get a motorcycle around 200cc's you best off getting a new or used Kawasaki 250 or any other Japanese made motorcycle they have a much higher quality

Answer 7

Let me give you an example. Almost everything in China is reverse engineered from products from other countries. When they don't think a part or procedure is necessary, they skip it to save costs. That's why a Chinese skill saw doesn't have a safety brake and will cut your hand clean off and then you won't be able to sue, because multiple factories in China make duplicate products.

Answer 8

Stay away from them. Parts and service are a major issue, and the Chinese standards of quality control are not good. Stick with a known Japanese make like Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, or Yamaha. You'll be glad you did.

Answer 9

They are junk!
Stay away!
When they break, you can't get parts for them.
Only authorized dealers of that brand can order parts.
If you buy it through a catalog or web site, they do not repair them.
No shop will work on them cause shop manuals aren't offered to the public and no one can get parts.
If you do find a place that can buy parts, it will take over a month for China to send a shipment of parts to another country to save on shipping.
STAY AWAY!!!

Answer 10

Why would anyone want to purchase any Chinese product? They have poisoned our pets, tried to poison us with poisoned toothpaste, stuffed dolls with oil soaked rags for our children and generally manufacture inferior products.