Lifan LF125-30...Any Good?

[tvchimp]

Ok, so it's a 'chinese bike' and I've been told enough about them to make me want to stay clear of them for a lifetime.

BUT! I've been offered one for £300, 07 plate in good condition with 2kmiles on the clock.. its off a friend who's owned it for about a year.. He said theres been no issues with it, apart from he dropped it when it was parked and there is just cosmetic marks on the fairing. After he checked frame chassis etc etc for damage and nothing, so all is well.

I've applied for a job which gives me a lot longer commute to work, roughly about another 20minutes along a dual carriage way. There is noway in hell I want to go on a D-C on a 50cc moped which only hits 40 with the wind behind me and going downhill.

So. I digress and put my life/hands/money in your good BCF hands and ask, do I get the bike? or not.

If you don't think I should buy it, please suggest something. I'm tempted to also look at saving for a CG125 (even though I want something bigger - can't afford a Varedero unfortunatly!) due to the amount of people on BCF who can't get enough of them.


Thanks


Robert.
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Bike: Currently Bikeless... Gahh

[Acemastr]

Stay away, if it doesn't fall apart with you riding it it'll fall apart in your garage. Dangerous build quality.
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2017 KTM 350 XC-F - 2014 Yamaha R6 - 2005 Yamaha YZ125
2016 Toyota Tacoma Limited

[AngelGrinder]

The price may be good, but when your relying on it to get to work and it breaks down (don't worry - it will) you'll soon regret it!

Don't waste your time or money with them, save up for something else.

CG would be best, or Yamaha SR125
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Currently Riding - 2002 Aprilia RSV1000 Mille

[The Original Muzza]

https://www.p45.net/boards/attachment.php?attachmentid=14140&stc=1&d=1249565035

Poll Fail
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Current Bikes: Husqvarna Svartpilen 401 (2020)
Former Bikes: Honda MSX125 (2014), BMW Funduro (1996), Honda VT500 (1983), Yamaha FZR250 (1989), Suzuki GZ125 Marauder(2005),:Triumph TT600 (2002) (stolen)
From then on, I and the bicycle feelings deeper.

[tvchimp]

[Nipedley]

Stay away at all costs. It will slowly but surely break and become a money pit, until eventually the engine or gearbox does itself in and you find yourself with a POS bike that nobody would buy off you for more than £10.

I've seen it happen plenty of times, the worst is young lads with no other source of cash that rely on the bike to get to work. No job, no cash, no new bike. Fcuked.

So yes, stay away. Lay down a couple hundred more and get yourself a 2nd hand Jap 125 that will do the job.

[tvchimp]

Hmmm... Thanks guys. Thinking of getting a CG125. Going to try look at a few at the weekend (will try get pics of me so you can see how stupid I look on it haha). Only sat on 1 which was a pretty new one and not sure how I felt on it, will hopefully get to sit on a few older models so I get a feel of it.

Guess my mates bike will get sold to a 'not-so-lucky' fella somewhere down the line!
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Bike: Currently Bikeless... Gahh

[Bigbaggiesbik...]

For £300 notes I would personally take a punt on it and buy!
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Suzuki VL Intruder 125 - Sep 04 to July 05 (Sold) / Aprilia RS125 - Jul 05 to May 08 (Sold) Suzuki RF600 - July 06 to Oct 06 (Crashed) / Suzuki SV1000S - Jan 09 to August 12 (Sold) / Honda CBR600f Track bike - August 12 to present

[andyscooter]

if you are any good with panners your self and prepared to work on the bike yourself then yes it will be fine

but if you want a commuter that needs a squirt with oil every million miles then id stay clear
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gilera runner vxr200 (chavped)
if its spelt wrong its my fat fingers and daft auto correct on my tablet

[Dragonfly]

Jesus I can hardly contain myself from shouting at my lap top at this moment and I speak from experiance as a former unproud owner of an LF150-a DO NOT GO THERE! ok STAY AWAY! dangerous fecking piece of crap that will fall apart in the rain! dont even be surprised if it was recalled like mine only missed and lifan wont even stand by it.
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All the breast.
Muzza on Binge:
He's too busy beating the everloving shit out of Lizzie to notice this thread has taken a turn down Drama Avenue and stopped off at the popcorn shop.

[Alexio]

I voted yes. The lifan 125 was my first bike. It lasted just 9 months but had waay more milage than that.

My reasoning is that if you look at it as a once off £300 disposable bike, even if lasts you for 6 months (and it could easily last a year or more if you look after it) then it's not bad spending that as a way to get you on the road until it dies.

However, £300 towards a bike like a CG which is definitely a worthy investment makes more sense.
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will never give up his CG. I look at my fuel gauge more as a progress bar than a fuel gauge.
G: With my GSXR I do often effectively use it as a scooter with a clutch in town.
ms51ves3: why does it need 500 miles? Are you teaching it how to be a piston?

[MaybeGuy]

Mine snapped in half
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Blue_SV650S wrote: it was a sh1te wheelie, but it proves that he can get it up in 3rd and can do angles. In summery, mattsprattuk is a gobby little sh1tebag, dopehead tw4t, but sadly for all of us, he probably isn't THAT full of sh1te!!
Kickstart wrote: Hi I tend to agree with Matt. All the best Keith

[teech]

Nothing wrong with a YBR 125 also. I had one and it was bullet proof - never a problem with it.

Be aware though that if you are going to ride it through the winter dark, then pretty much all 125's have crap headlights.
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In everyday life good people do good things, bad people do bad things. It takes religion to make a good person do bad things.

[pyx_e]

Re Matts post; yeah we know but what about the lifan.
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Shiney!
Kawasaki: ER5, Versys, VN900.

[The View Askew]

FFS, these bikes are cheap because they are SHIT.


Please understand this, the welding is shit, the engines are shit, the electrics are shit, everything, is shit.

They are also unsafe, as other BCF users are saying above.

A CG125 is a brilliant choice, as is a CB125 twin for something reliable and cheap.
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"Do what you always did, get what you always got"

[cyberglass]

Another EX owner vote here for stay away from it.

Mine fell apart bit by bit had to make 2 journeys where ever i went 1 to actually get there and another to pick up all the bits that fell of on the first
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DL650 Vstrom 2004
DRZ400S 2003
Yamaha R1 2005

[shadowbiker]

owned a kinroad xt50 chinese sport bike that fell apart and the piston went after 1700 miles i didnt even thrash it

[paddlesat16]

I had a chinese sukida 125, I kept it 6 weeks before deciding what a shit investment of my hard earned dollar... bought an 8 year old SR125 and it hasn't let me down yet and I commute on it 25miles each way. The chinese bike needed constant spannering
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I once saw a bloke shagging a donkey.... in Saudi arabia. Theory Test Passed 26/10/09 Mod 1 Passed 26/4/10, Mod 2 Passed 7/6/10 Current Bikes Suzuki GSX1400 K5, Aprillia Pegaso 650, Suzuki DR350T.

[shadowbiker]

[AngelGrinder]

[Alexio]

Oh I broke down LOADS of times on my Lifan. I well and truly abused my AA membership
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will never give up his CG. I look at my fuel gauge more as a progress bar than a fuel gauge.
G: With my GSXR I do often effectively use it as a scooter with a clutch in town.
ms51ves3: why does it need 500 miles? Are you teaching it how to be a piston?

[metalangel]

My riding school used them, they are absolute shit.
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Previous: 2002 Honda CB500 (sold), 2007 Suzuki SV650SK6 (crashed), 2005 Yamaha FZ6 Fazer (sold). Currently bikeless
"A faired bike will get you 10x more clunge than a unfaired one." -Marlboro Matt

[paddlesat16]

The bike never let me down. I decided to try and make it go faster and broke the exhaust bolt holding the exhaust in place while trying to get the head off. Ended up drilling out the bolt and heli-coiling the head. Was off the road for 3 weeks......hmmm must change my signature
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I once saw a bloke shagging a donkey.... in Saudi arabia. Theory Test Passed 26/10/09 Mod 1 Passed 26/4/10, Mod 2 Passed 7/6/10 Current Bikes Suzuki GSX1400 K5, Aprillia Pegaso 650, Suzuki DR350T.

[tvchimp]

Well.... I went to a few honda dealers yesterday after work and sat on a few bikes, not sure exactly what happened before (I'd sat on a brand new CG about a month ago) as it felt really tiny, but I sat on a few different versions of the CG and they all felt great! The most comfortable one was around the year 1998 (not sure what Mark or Version this is, anyone able to tell me?) .. I'd sat on a 1975 model of a CG too, didn't feel any different. the Veradero is definitly a little too big for me, reckon I'd need to extend my legs another inch or two for it to be comfortable, and the CBR feels like a childs toy when sitting on it.

- The only thing is, Honda are now apparantly phasing the CG out in favour of the CBF. which in my honest opinion looks 'ok' but I wouldnt buy it. Especially when my dad thought it was a bargain at £2400 brand new from the dealer. Told him if he wants to give me £2400 towards it he can, I'll buy a CG for £500 and use the rest for my tests/600cc bike.

I'm definitely getting a CG125.. All I need to do is get the cash together and find a good one. Also, kinda weirdly (I'm not sure if BCF jinxed my mates bike) but yesterday it blew up... haha. Well, not blew up but he was riding it and the engine died... He went off the road and into a wall. He was fine as he wasn't going that fast (15mph-ish?) but the bike was hammered to fuck. He told me it looked like the forks where meant to be the downpipes to the engine and the engine had been pushed back a few inches. Wrote off and due to be scrapped tomorrow
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Bike: Currently Bikeless... Gahh

[tvchimp]

*crap internet bandwidth at my work caused a double post*
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Bike: Currently Bikeless... Gahh