Cheapo Chinese motorbikes: What do you know?

[PiperCub]

OK, safety catches on gentleman, hear me out.

 

Why do I ask?

Because I'm looking for a cheapo winter hack/back up for the 406 in case it goes lame on me, to get me the short distance to work and to the shops. I'm not about to do a Ted Simon so milage will be pretty minimal.

 

Before anyone says it, yes, I'd much rather have an equivilent Japanese machine such as a CG or better a GS125, a DT125/175, CB/CD125-200, RS250 etc but I simply can't find any suitable locally. Most now seem to be OMGTheyAreClassics so are stupidly priced now, the rest have either disappeared or are OMGBarnFinds (ie: scrappers covered in dirt so worth more). Believe me, I've looked hard for one for a while now.

 

So I appreciate that the majority of Chinese stuff is, putting it politely, a case of getting what you pay for, thus not much cop (reliability, spares avail, build quality,general rot etc take your pick) but I recall a few years ago reading something that indicated that one or two brands were OK and might be worth a punt (I've heard all the stories of how crap many are).

 

So does anyone have any recommendations or good (OK, reasonable) experiences of these Chinese/Far Eastern cheapo brands and can shed any light on this?

[UltraWomble]

Let me know how you get on. Ive two on my radar a Lexmoto 125 and a square headlamp Chinese made CG. Both a little more than I want to pay.

[jonathan_dyane]

Buy my MZ.

 

That is all...

[wuvvum]

Sinnis are supposed to be pretty good.  Although they're not the cheapest.

[bigfella2]

Am sure cavcraft did a thread on this but as mopeds, am sure same will apply. Sure he will give you the facts shortly.

[Eddie Honda]

Buy my MZ.

 

That is all...

+1, but I'll add: a proper ring-ding-ding two-stroke East German MZ and not those cack Turkish Kanuni ones.

[PiperCub]

Am sure cavcraft did a thread on this but as mopeds, am sure same will apply. Sure he will give you the facts shortly.

 

Ah, OK, I'll try to dig that thread up.

[Bone]

Buy my MZ.

 

That is all...

Wot e sez.

 

Much much better tool.

[cobblers]

Let me know how you get on. Ive two on my radar a Lexmoto 125 and a square headlamp Chinese made CG. Both a little more than I want to pay.

 

 

Lad at work has a Lexmoto 125 and it's absolutely fucked at 3000 miles / 6 months old. 

[barefoot]

I know only two things about Chinese mopeds.

A couple of years ago a John O Groats to Lands End thing occurred and folk were buying up non-running Chinese scooters for pennies.

There was apparently an easy fix and all seemed to at least run again. 

Another chap bought a couple of brand new Chinese Monkey bikes that he'd raffle off after the run and front wheel bearings on both did not complete the distance.

[Vince70]

A mate of mine bought a new crated Chinese quad and the engine itself seemed to last ok but everything else seemed to just break fall off or rust...

He had the thing for about a year and does know his stuff when it comes to bikes and did well keeping it going but he learnt his lesson and just went back to second hand Jap in the end..

[Bren]

As a hack I cannot see how you can go wrong.

 

Just be prepared to splodoosh it in the canal next spring.

[Jerzy Woking]

Honleys are very good-basically they are a YBR Yamaha (most of the [parts are interchangeable, such as exhausts, wheels, seat, tank, switchgear, etc), The suspension has damping (some other Chinese bikes seem to have no damping at all). Quite a few bikes I know of used at training schools and that are being despatched have done over 50,000 miles. They seem to have a good finish too, and the only shitty ones I have seen have been because of owner abuse neglect, and that happens with anything.

[UltraWomble]

Buy my MZ.

 

That is all...

Linky?

[sierraman]

The quality of stuff like shockers, bearings etc isn't good. Plus a lot of it is of such shit material it shears etc when you take it apart. With Chinese stuff when it's made under the supervision of western business' it is usually done satisfactorily. When it's a home grown effort it's usually crap. Tyres are a perfect example of this.

[strangeangel]

So I appreciate that the majority of Chinese stuff is, putting it politely, a case of getting what you pay for, thus not much cop (reliability, spares avail, build quality,general rot etc take your pick)

 

 

 

Chinese bikes are a lottery, not just between manufacturers but you will find heroic and utterly hopeless examples of exactly the same model. I've just flogged my old Honda 50, which I'd fitted with a Lifan 110cc motor. I did 10000 miles of hard commuting on that with no bother, but others have lost third gear on those engines in less than 1000 miles. So IMO recommendations for a particular Chinese brand or model aren't massively useful. The one piece of advice I would give is don't buy any Chinese bike unless you are handy with the spanners. As you're on AS, though, I will assume that you are

 

Dunno what your budget is but if I was looking for a Chinese hack I would probably buy new, on the basis that they are cheap, and used examples have frequently been thrashed, neglected and butchered by the skint and mechanically clueless. I would get a CG clone personally, something like this Lifan MIrage at £799 would fit the bill.

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Lifan-Mirage-125cc-125-Naked-125-CG-ex-display-model-available-/191545095210?hash=item2c98fa342a

 

The motor will probably not be an issue as long as you don't cane it & change the oil regularly. The problems you are likely to encounter are rotting cycle parts, perished rubber (fork seals, carb inlets, fuel lines etc.) and fucked bearings. I have never encountered bearings as utterly, utterly shit as the ones routinely used in Chinese bikes. Even Russian ones are better. I once had a Jialing scooter on which the front wheel bearings failed at 1000km, and the main output shaft bearing went at 2000km. The things are made of Wensleydale. On the upside, decent replacements (I use SKF or FAG) are cheap enough. Fasteners are similarly made of cheese; threads will strip and heads chew up if you so much as look at them, again easily and cheaply replaced as you go.

 

Buy something like that, blather it with ACF50 and have a little mechanical empathy (as well as replacing all the bits that fall off) and there's a good chance that it will still be alive in time to see its first MOT!

[Tamworthbay]

My oppo at works best mate runs a small motorbike shop and these things are the bane of his life. Build quality is suspect but the major issue is spares availability. From what I have heard even relatively new bikes can be scrapped because simple parts cannot be obtained. Even stupid stuff like cables and brake pads can be near impossible to find and hard to bodge a replacement.

[f1fan111]

I had a 2011 lexmoto street got it cheap off gumtree check out part availability and cost on any bike you look at. I replaced all wheel bearings for good ones. They do rust but I would buy one brand new then least I know all the history and can put gaiters on fork stanchions.

[fairkens]

Lifan engines seem popular with cubbers. Heard good things. Otherwise agree with what's been said, if you don't want that mz I'll have it!

[Parky]

Have a look at Kymco bikes. They are Taiwanese and they seem to have got the hang of this "build quality" mullarkey. I believe BMW use their smaller capacity engines so must be fairly decent.

 

Their prices are low because peeps assume they are Chinese. But of the Chinese bikes (which won't be a joke in five years time) I think the Lexmoto previously suggested is a good bet.

 

I quite like the Kymco CK1 125 - two grand brand new!

[bigfella2]

When I was in Corfu last year all the quad bikes and mopeds that are for rental were made by kymco, so part availability should not be too bad i would have thought, and I guess they must be reliable and able to take some punishment if they are renting em out, I know the quad bike I rented took some hammer.

[wuvvum]

Kymco are good, so are Sym - another Taiwanese brand.

[martc]

Have a look at Kymco bikes. They are Taiwanese and they seem to have got the hang of this "build quality" mullarkey. I believe BMW use their smaller capacity engines so must be fairly decent.

 

Their prices are low because peeps assume they are Chinese. But of the Chinese bikes (which won't be a joke in five years time) I think the Lexmoto previously suggested is a good bet.

 

I quite like the Kymco CK1 125 - two grand brand new!

 

Now there's a coincidence I was about to say the same about Kymco and would also add SYM - both Taiwanese but painted with the all Chinese bikes are crap brush. They are not Chinese nor crap. This brush is so wide that it also paints Daelim and Hyosung who are South Korean and even better. Hyosung are one of the biggest sub contractors for the Japanese bike makers - in particular making many parts for Suzuki.

 

Honestly why don't motorcycle dealers learn a little geography?

[wuvvum]

Daelim and Hyosung bikes seem to hold decent money second hand though.  Daelim do a nice-looking 125 called the Roadwin, which appears to basically be a modernised Suzuki GS500 with a 125 single fitted - I was after one for a while but never found a decent one cheap.  The Hyosung GT125s are the same - I looked long and hard before I found one at a price I was prepared to pay.

[twosmoke300]

With suzukis current build quality I wouldn't say that being a sub contractor for them isn't anything to brag about

[jonathan_dyane]

Linky?

It hasn't moved since I dragged it out for these photos...

http://autoshite.com/topic/21173-1990-mz-etz125-for-sale/

[martc]

Have a look at Kymco bikes. They are Taiwanese and they seem to have got the hang of this "build quality" mullarkey. I believe BMW use their smaller capacity engines so must be fairly decent.

 

 

 

With suzukis current build quality I wouldn't say that being a sub contractor for them isn't anything to brag about

 

True Suzuki's are the "worst" of the Japs for build quality (tends to be the paint finish rather than componant failure) but I think Hyosung have more bragging rights than who ever supplies componants to the cheaper end of the Chinese market.

 

Not sure Kymco will want to publicise the fact that they make small engines for BMW due to the notorious hot starting (or should that be not starting) problems they suffer from.

 

But to repeat both are far better than the Chinese stuff.