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zongshen sports bike...it worth the money?

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donniemateno
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PostPosted: 14:57 - 01 Mar 2012    Post subject: zongshen sports bike...it worth the money? Reply with quote
saw this on ebay

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2011-250cc-250-cc-Zongshen-Sports-MotorBike-Motorcycle-/110617140289?pt=UK_Motorcycles&hash=item19c14b9c41

looking to upgrade from ym xr125. does that seem a good bike? seems abit iffy to me
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DrDonnyBrago
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PostPosted: 15:01 - 01 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
It will be shit.


Buy a CB500. It will do more than that for less money and when you go to sell it in a few years time it won't be a motorbike shaped rust stain on the pavement outside your house.

There is no scenario where buying that is a good idea.

Last edited by DrDonnyBrago on 15:03 - 01 Mar 2012; edited 1 time in total
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donniemateno
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PostPosted: 15:03 - 01 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
lol from reading reviews on net is seems the general opinion.

damn looking for a bigger cc big for a reasonable price is proving a pain >_<
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chris-red
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PostPosted: 15:03 - 01 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
I was going to just say no but TBH that actually looks pretty good (for a chink mobile)

I might consider it if I was after that sort of thing.
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DrDonnyBrago
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PostPosted: 15:07 - 01 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
donniemateno wrote:
lol from reading reviews on net is seems the general opinion.

damn looking for a bigger cc big for a reasonable price is proving a pain >_<




Look for a reasonably priced CB500, ER5 and a GS500 - in that order.


All can be had for under a grand (£1500 (OTR price of chinkmobile) will get a very nice one), all are better bet than a Chinese 230cc zingchengzongchengshengzion. Insurance should be pretty cheap and they have enough power to be fun.


Plus:

Engine 230cc, single cylinder, 4 stroke, air cooled overhead cam (OHC) with CDI ignition
Max speed 85mph
Starter Electric start
Cooling method Air cooled
Max power 13 kw @ 7000 rpm - 17.5bhp
Drive 5 speed manual gearbox
Seat height 720 mm
Wheelbase 1385 mm
Brakes Front Disc
Brakes Rear Disc
Dimensions 2015 mm x 765 mm x 1095 mm
Wheel size front 17"
Wheel size rear 17"
Gross weight 188 Kg



Laughing

Last edited by DrDonnyBrago on 15:13 - 01 Mar 2012; edited 1 time in total
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P.addy
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PostPosted: 15:11 - 01 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
I picked up a CB250 for next to nothing, might as well go for a 500cc twin though
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carlosthejack...
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PostPosted: 15:28 - 01 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
Er....wut?

https://img2.moonbuggy.org/imgstore/ching-chong-nip-nong-nong.jpg

Ummm.....nope. Don't do it.
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pepperami
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PostPosted: 17:16 - 01 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
A little while back I had a few bob burning a hole in my pocket so I decided to get a 250 for the stable Confused .
Like you , everything I looked at at a price I could afford was a pile of cack.
So I looked into other avenues, including buying a Chinese bike.
I looked at that very same advert.
I looked into the spares situation and dealer support? , and could`nt find any so decided against buying it.
There are a couple of Chinese bike spares web-sites but they did`nt list a lot for the Zongshen.

I sat on my hands and held on, and as luck would have it, I got a very good deal on a Hyosung GT250r .

That Zongshen is not even a 250, it`s a 230?.
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Cheeseybeaner
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PostPosted: 17:30 - 01 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
DonnyBrago wrote:

Look for a reasonably priced CB500, ER5 and a GS500 - in that order.


All can be had for under a grand (£1500 (OTR price of chinkmobile) will get a very nice one), all are better bet than a Chinese 230cc zingchengzongchengshengzion. Insurance should be pretty cheap and they have enough power to be fun.




Laughing


I don't disagree with what you're saying but its amusing how Chinese brand names get received, I bet that people found Japanese brand names equally worthy of taking the piss out of when they emerged.

Its funny how we're accustomed to outlandish Japanese names like Kawasaki and Yamaha neither of which exactly sound western yet the Zongshen can still be joked about for its name before anything else!

Have they got that right about the gross weight though? 188kg!?

'zingchengzongchengshengzion' ha I like what you did with that!
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P.addy
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PostPosted: 17:30 - 01 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
pepperami wrote:
That Zongshen is not even a 250, it`s a 230?.


Pfft, my CB250 is a 234cc, what! ...say somethin' Cool BOOYA!
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pepperami
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PostPosted: 17:33 - 01 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
My 600 is really a 599 Shocked Embarassed .
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P.addy
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PostPosted: 17:34 - 01 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
pepperami wrote:
My 600 is really a 599 Shocked Embarassed .


My 750 is a 748 Cool

Think the hypermotard 796 is 800+ cc Laughing
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carlosthejack...
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PostPosted: 17:42 - 01 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
pepperami wrote:
My 600 is really a 599 Shocked Embarassed .


Mine too. Denied.
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nowhere.elysium
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PostPosted: 17:57 - 01 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
pepperami wrote:
I looked into the spares situation and dealer support? , and could`nt find any so decided against buying it.



Laughing
The last thing you buy a Chinese bike for is dealer support.
Parts can be found here, however, which is the same site I list every time the question of Chinese bike parts comes up.
While there are several reasons to bash Chinese bikes, parts availability just isn't one of them.

Also, one of my 650s is actually a 673, so Razz
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Polarbear
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PostPosted: 19:07 - 01 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
My 675 IS a 675. I feel cheated Sad
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pepperami
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PostPosted: 19:15 - 01 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
nowhere.elysium wrote:

Laughing
The last thing you buy a Chinese bike for is dealer support.
Parts can be found here, however, which is the same site I list every time the question of Chinese bike parts comes up.
While there are several reasons to bash Chinese bikes, parts availability just isn't one of them.


Yes yes I know? I looked anyway Embarassed I just briefly considered the Zongshen and Shineray do a 250 at a similar price.
If I going to part with cash, I dont want it to be off the road because some common/trivial part is not availible.
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janner_10
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PostPosted: 00:05 - 02 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
It will be a sack of shit guaranteed (almost) for that money you could get a few year old low mileage Fazer/Bandit etc etc which will just better alround.
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T0MMY
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PostPosted: 00:17 - 02 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
To put this in perspective, because I always buy sub-£1500 japanese bikes, I reckon the combined depreciation cost of the 10 or so bikes I've owned in the last 14 years added together is less than the depreciation cost of owning that monstrosity for a single year. In other words it's considerably cheaper to own something actually good like a ZX6R or CBR6 than it is to own that thing...does make you wonder why anyone buys them...
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Cheeseybeaner
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PostPosted: 08:36 - 02 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
junglejim wrote:
The engine in that looks like a CB500
Shocked


It does look very similar to a faired CB500S doesn't it.
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Shinigami
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PostPosted: 08:55 - 02 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
chinese bikes...avoid at the mo they're nowhere near good enough. Will cost you a fortune in repairs and lost most of it's value before you even get to fart on it's seat
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Teflon-Mike
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PostPosted: 09:21 - 02 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
£1500 OTR.... OK, lets forget the brand name and think about this.....

First thing that struck me was the prominant mention of
Quote:
BUILT, PDI'd, SAFETY CHECKED
Then breakdown £1349 for the bike, £150 OTR Charges...

So, this is another cunning loop-hole dodger;
- you pay £1349 NOT for a motorcycle, but a box of motorcycle 'spares'.... that avoids new vehicle import duty... fair enough
you then pay £150, for them to
- 'assemble' your motorcycle spares into a working bike..... that avoids New Vehicle Sales Taxes... so far only the tax man is loosing out here
- fill out the registration forms for YOU to register it as a 'self built vehicle'.... CATCH 1
- Provide Certificate of Conformity to say its 'like' something that has been previousely 'approved' and is constructed from all new parts..... Catch 2

These two catches avoid the bike having to be 'Single Vehicle Approved' as a self built vehicle, and allow it to be registered as a brand new vehicle, gaining 3-year 'new vehicle' MOT exemption.

So, selling through these loop-holes there is absolutely NO garantee you have bought a road worthy motorcycle,m and little assurance that it meets C&U or even MOT standards.....

AND, any come back on that is on YOU... becouse you haven't bought a motorcycle, you bought a 'kit of parts' and paid some-one else to put them together for you.

THIS is common Chinky bike 'Dodge'.....

BUT.... accepting that; its still only £1500!

Forgetting the name on the tank; and knowing what we are getting by way of it not 'really' being a dealer supplied ready to ride road-bike.... how does it fare JUST as a bike?

You dont get many brand new bikes for £1500. So its definitely 'cheap'. Lets compare to the Honda CBR250, which has a list price of about £4K, and is a similar sports styled single cylinder 250 single.

There the similarities stop. CBR250, claims 27bhp, and is accused of being rather 'uninspiring' as a sportsbike with that little power.... this thing makes barely 17bhp....

Yamaha YBR250? another 250 four stroke single, though commuter styled. £3700, and err... 21bhp.

Yes; this thing is Woefully under-powered for something wearing fairings!

But still. it IS cheap.....

And err... that is really about the only thing going for it!

Its a self built motorcycle, from China. So theres little or no back-up of meaningful warranty; and you to make one work for you, you have to be prepared to put up with a power output barely higher than a 125 learner legal, and less than most 'full-power' 125's that could be de-restricted.

CRIKEY, we aren't even talking frantic two-strokes here, like the TZR that might deliver something in the order of 22bhp, let alone an RS or Mito that are likely to deliver 27/28ish... The 1977 Honda CB125T, four stroke had 17bhp!

So, you have under-powered bike, without the 'real' benefit of the reliability or come-back of it being 'new', we HAVE to compare this to second hand bikes.....

What can you get 2nd hand for £1500?

A Heck of a lot, actually!

Hyosung GT250, according to MCN has a list price of £2700 and a more reasonable 28bhp, from twin cylinder engine. It IS a new dealer supplied bike, with all the back-up and support that implies... even if the brand doesn't have the reputation for it, Honda might!

Used prices for these things are provided as £1000 up.

So for the same money; you ought to be abloe to get a pretty 'recent' GT250, that does have the power, does have the support and ought to do what is expected of it, second hand. If its a 'sporty' styled 250 you really want.

Stepping away from them; the usual suspects of 33bhp restrict bike; the 500 commuter twins offer just as much or more for similar money; Older GPz500S command £500 up for ratty just about roadable examples, with the full £1500 suggesting a very respectable example. Likewise the Suzuki SV650.

So..... TRYING my hardest, to give the thing a fair crack of the whip... I cannot find ANY reason to suggest its a risk worth taking.

Ignoring residual values; looking at it as a hack to ride into the ground over the next three years, plain simple cheap wheels; It just doesn't offer Value For Money.

Yeah; ride for three £500 a year; chuck it away. BUT, it's not really offering nice new bike riding for the money; its not offering piece of mind for the money; and its not offering performance for the money.

You are paying, basically for a 'this year' registration coding... and something that is about as practically useful as a twenty year old Honda CB 'two-fifty' (which has more power if in decent fettle) or thiry year old Honda CB200 Benley (which has almost as much power), you could pick up for under £600.

Do like the comment though:
Quote:
Zongshen are presently in partnerships with Harley Davidson and Piaggio.


You know, fifty years ago, Harley Davidson were in partnership with italian Armacci, and sold loads of little Armacci & Italjet 'lightweights' in the US with the Harley badge.... Piaggio; licenced manufacture of the 'Vespa' in India.... and I think Douglas in the UK.... and allowed Douglas or Indian Built Vespas to wear the Vespa badge....

Curiouse isn't it; that while in partnership with Zogshen; Harley and Piagio aren't letting them put their names to the bikes!
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Cheeseybeaner
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PostPosted: 09:23 - 02 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
Shinigami wrote:
chinese bikes...avoid at the mo they're nowhere near good enough. Will cost you a fortune in repairs and lost most of it's value before you even get to fart on it's seat


I'm sure in a few years time they'll be on top of the game though when they understand the international bike market a bit better.

They've already switched production of a fair number of Japanese bikes to China so the trend looks set to continue as the quality control improves.
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angryjonny
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PostPosted: 09:35 - 02 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
Cheeseybeaner wrote:
They've already switched production of a fair number of Japanese bikes to China so the trend looks set to continue as the quality control improves.

It isn't about where in the world the bike is assembled (or not assembled in this case). It's about whose quality standards have been used in their manufacture. The Japanese have a track record of producing the most reliable vehicles for decades (even in Sunderland). The Chinese, currently, have a track record of buying or copying designs for existing vehicles and putting something similar together with substandard parts and materials. The Koreans have turned it around. I'd imagine the Chinese will before long. But they haven't yet.
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Cheeseybeaner
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PostPosted: 09:40 - 02 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
angryjonny wrote:

It isn't about where in the world the bike is assembled (or not assembled in this case). It's about whose quality standards have been used in their manufacture. The Japanese have a track record of producing the most reliable vehicles for decades (even in Sunderland). The Chinese, currently, have a track record of buying or copying designs for existing vehicles and putting something similar together with substandard parts and materials. The Koreans have turned it around. I'd imagine the Chinese will before long. But they haven't yet.



Yes that's what I meant.

Once they've got the Japanese standard right I'm sure they'll incorporate it in their own designs and production methods.

I think the thing is they've until now focussed mainly on producing vehicles for the home market and the immediate Asian area so don't necessarily understand the western export market and its demands so well.
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