|
|
| Author |
Message |
| mashy |
This post is not being displayed .
|
mashy
L Plate Warrior
Joined: 16 Sep 2012
Karma :  
|
|
| Back to top |
   |
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
 |
| UnspeedySam |
This post is not being displayed .
|
UnspeedySam
World Chat Champion
Joined: 25 Nov 2009
Karma : 
|
 Posted: 18:56 - 25 Nov 2012  Post subject: |
 |
|
Which Lifan model? If possible post some pictures as you've put this in 'Show & Tell' 
Anyway some of the Lifans seems to be decent enough quality. The thing with Chinese bikes is that you can't get away with skipping maintenance, which many new riders have a tendency to. The key things to keep on top of are changing the oil every 1000-2000 miles, keeping the chain properly adjusted and lubed and the valve clearances correct. The bike should have a manual with all this stuff and how often you need to do it, if not you might be able to find it online if you know the exact model.
If you're keeping it outside and/or riding through winter some corrosion preventative stuff like ACF50 (greasy stuff you spray over the whole bike to stop rust in crappy winter weather). The chinese bikes do have a tendency to rust a bit more than some of the jap bikes.
If you're unsure on anything, post in the workshop section and I'm sure people will help you out!
____________________
Riding: BMW R1150RT `02 bought mildly crashed
Fixing: Also the BMW as I get less broken bits
Gone: ZZR600 '00, TRX850 '97, RXS100 '93, JS125-6B '07, BMW R1100RS '93, Kawasaki ZX-6R-J2 '01, Honda Bros NT400 NC25 '88 |
|
| Back to top |
| |
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
| MaybeGuy |
This post is not being displayed .
|
MaybeGuy
Super Spammer
Joined: 12 Mar 2007
Karma : 
|
| Posted: 20:55 - 25 Nov 2012 Post subject: |
|
|
They're shit. Bin it or sell it on to some mug and buy a proper japanese 125.
____________________
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
|
|
| Back to top |
| |
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
| UnspeedySam |
This post is not being displayed .
|
UnspeedySam
World Chat Champion
Joined: 25 Nov 2009
Karma :
|
|
| Back to top |
| |
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
| MaybeGuy |
This post is not being displayed .
|
MaybeGuy
Super Spammer
Joined: 12 Mar 2007
Karma :
|
| Posted: 21:37 - 25 Nov 2012 Post subject: |
|
|
Are you honestly comparing an RXS to a chinese nasty?
____________________
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
|
|
| Back to top |
| |
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
| Pie-Roe |
This post is not being displayed .
|
Pie-Roe
World Chat Champion
Joined: 05 Feb 2007
Karma : 
|
| Posted: 21:41 - 25 Nov 2012 Post subject: |
|
|
| beechbone wrote: | | mattsprattuk wrote: | They're shit. Bin it or sell it on to some mug and buy a proper japanese 125. |
Someone saying that was a bit inevitable. 
Even the ones that are a bit shit and have been thrashed and abused can make a good learning experience for a new biker that is interested in doing their own maintenance. They are just so amazingly simple to work on!
My RXS was pretty shagged when I got it, and most of what I know about bike mechanics I learnt from fixing it. |
I've had experience of chinese pit bikes and monkey bikes, they aren't great. I wouldn't say replacing everything is a good experience for new bikers.
Oh and IIRC matt's lifan's frame cracked in half.
____________________
Previous: GSF600, FZR600 x2, ZXR750, XT600 Tenere, CB125, CZ125, ETZ 250, ER5, CCM R30, DRZ400, RF600x4, RF900x2, GS500, VTR1000F, 640 SMC, CB250 NIGHTHAWK, GT550x3, GPX750 TE610, CB500, X11x2, SV650, ZING 125, TL1000R,CB250 Superdream, CBR1100XX |
|
| Back to top |
| |
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
| rzsteve |
This post is not being displayed .
|
rzsteve
Borekit Bruiser
Joined: 17 Oct 2012
Karma : 
|
|
| Back to top |
| |
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
| rzsteve |
This post is not being displayed .
|
rzsteve
Borekit Bruiser
Joined: 17 Oct 2012
Karma :
|
| Posted: 21:54 - 25 Nov 2012 Post subject: |
|
|
PS, I also bought a couple of Hongdu's, tip for anyone buying chinese, replace wheel bearings and dont expect any welder except a Jedi to be able to weld the crap plasticy metal they are made of! If something metallic breaks, sell it for parts/scrap and buy a new un! And if the tappets dont make a noise, expect about 1200 miles out of the engine, they will drop/burn a valve out by then.
____________________
Current bike: Honda Goldwing 1500/6 (dont hate me!) Thunderace gone to South Africa!
Current headaches: 89 KMX200, RZR250/350 Hybrid
Puch Magnum, Minimoto and Moto Minarelli thingy! |
|
| Back to top |
| |
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
| UnspeedySam |
This post is not being displayed .
|
UnspeedySam
World Chat Champion
Joined: 25 Nov 2009
Karma :
|
| Posted: 22:06 - 25 Nov 2012 Post subject: |
|
|
| mattsprattuk wrote: | Are you honestly comparing an RXS to a chinese nasty? |
The RXS needed a fair bit of work doing when I got it. New forks, a partial re-wire and a few other odds and ends that took some doing for a newbie.
| Pyro. wrote: | I've had experience of chinese pit bikes and monkey bikes, they aren't great. I wouldn't say replacing everything is a good experience for new bikers.
Oh and IIRC matt's lifan's frame cracked in half. |
I am well aware that there are some pretty terrible bikes out there from China, and a a frame cracking in half is a pretty good reason to be put off Chinese bikes. HOWEVER quality control is improving and whilst there are still some real shitters about, my experience of bikes built in the last 4-5 years is largely good.
From what I can work out the AJS, Jianshe and some Lexmoto bikes (they rebrand a few difference Chinese brands) are amongst the best.
Each to his own anyway. I don't want to start an argument and I know there are some really crap bikes!
____________________
Riding: BMW R1150RT `02 bought mildly crashed
Fixing: Also the BMW as I get less broken bits
Gone: ZZR600 '00, TRX850 '97, RXS100 '93, JS125-6B '07, BMW R1100RS '93, Kawasaki ZX-6R-J2 '01, Honda Bros NT400 NC25 '88 |
|
| Back to top |
| |
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
| Teflon-Mike |
This post is not being displayed .
|
Teflon-Mike
tl;dr
Joined: 01 Jun 2010
Karma : 
|
| Posted: 00:28 - 26 Nov 2012 Post subject: |
|
|
| rzsteve wrote: | Remember what happened to the British bike industry when the Japs started copying us? This is slowly happening with chinese bikes. They are getting better and better, Japan, watch out! |
No... the Japs never 'copied' British designs. The Defacto-Standard Brit-Bike was a 360 crank, 500 or 650cc parallel twin, with push-rod valve actuation... name ONE such Jap 'copy' of the pre 1972 era?
(there is one.... and it was actually a BSA licence copy! It was the only one!)
Japanese were very quick to innovate, and bringing more advance technology to the mass market, very quickly.
They were making technically 'advanced' motorcycles often more advanced than british or european offerings, and they were not 'cheap' either... for the technology they offered, they were good value; The Jap lightwieghts were more expensive than most similar capacity euro-bikes; difference was that they offered the performance of bigger more expensive euro metal, and often the technology they lacked.
British industry was also not 'killed' by the Japanese 'imports'. Until 1972, Britain imported & registered very few Japanese machines. The 'battle ground' was the American market, and there, Edward Turner, Chief engineer of Triumph commented on the Japanese Threat, that they saw the same thing from the 'Cheap' Japanese imports that Harley had seen from Triumph & BSA imports; the cheap import bikes, stiumulating the market, and creating buyers for the incumbant makers when they were ready to 'step up'.
British bike industry imploded... it wasn't even the much suggested management complacency, labour 'trouble', or lack of investment.
ONE thing brought down the Brit bike Industry.... The BSA Fury.
Contrary to all the allogations, BSA had the most up to date, state of the art motorcycle manufacturing facility in the world at the time, in Armory Road, Small Heath. They had invested millions; learning from the Ford-Cortina project, and Ford gutting the Dagenham works to optimise the line to make the new car; and had invested in the latest IBM computer inventry management system, to run the works. System was so advanced that twenty years later it was still an industry standard.
Models? BSA Fury was an overhead cam 350 single. Styling was not avante-guarde, but it was contemprary and well recieved. Design allso had a lot of potential, to be sleeved down to 250 or bored to 500, to increase model range, while a certain degree of modularity was incorporated to allow spin off tripples or even fours to be made using common components. Wasn't lack of design innovation either.
All the ingredients were there, BUT for compound error.
Developed at Umberslade hall, BSA's techology & research centre; lead times saw engineers assemble prototypes as parts came in, by hand.
When they switched to seriel production at armory road, however, they discovered an unrealised flaw in the design. Engineers at Umberslade had had lacked cylinder heads for the engines, due to a diesign revision, so had assembled the bottom ends and waiting for the heads, put them in the fream, built the bikes up around them, then fitted the heads when they arrived.
At Armory Road..... they discovered that complete built up engines, wouldn't go in the frame!
Remember this is in teh days before catia modeling, computer aided design or any of that kind of thing; bikes were still 'developed' in the metal by blokes with files and saws and welding torches.
Design had to be sent back to Umberslade, for revisions, and the project 'put back' six months.... that slipped, and became nearly 18months. which wouldn't have been a major set-back; bike was still a good design and could have done well in the market.
But compound errors..... no one told the computer.
Computer automatically loaded purchase orders to sales forcasts, and issued them to suppliers, without human intervention.... and it was linked to the banking system, so it automatically paid for them once recieved.
Computer bought millions of quids worth of parts that were no use..... before any-one noticed.
OK.. well its still the biggest and most advanced motorcycle company in the world, its still a viable business entity.... so, lets do a salvage job.
Compound errors; Winter of discontent; miners strikes, power outages; huge labour government over spends, and the costs of bailing out the British-Leyland group.... the Labour government were in enough trouble without taking on board another ailing british conglomerate. It was left to its own divices, and the banks, in panic called in the debts and put the company into recievership.
Recievers paying out penies in the newly decimalised pound to creditors, mainly parts suppliers hit the sub-contractors... who started going out of business.
Even healthy ones, like Lucas, started dropping products when BSA orders reduced the demand by 2/3 and rendered the component uneconomical to produce.
Other Brit-Bike makers, consequently couldn't buy bits; thier suppliers were either going out of business, or putting prices up, or dropping parts from catalogue. Every-one was suffering the bankers panic, and over-drafts were being shortened, loand called in and investment not forthcoming.
The industry imploded in a domino effect from that ONE fuck up of the BSA Fury / Triumph Bandit.
ALL ON ITS OWN.
No help was needed from the Japanese, who most decidedly were not making inferiour quiality copies of british bikes, like the Chinese have for the last fifteen years, with VERY LITTLE sighn that they are doing ANYTHING remotely inovative, or anything to improve product quiality; just stacking them high and selling them cheap.
____________________
My Webby'Tef's-tQ, loads of stuff about my bikes, my Land-Rovers, and the stuff I do with them!
Current Bikes:'Honda VF1000F' ;'CB750F2N' ;'CB125TD ( 6 3 of em!)'; 'Montesa Cota 248'. Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?' |
|
| Back to top |
 |
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
| SpookyJam |
This post is not being displayed .
|
SpookyJam
Renault 5 Driver
Joined: 23 Nov 2012
Karma :
|
|
| Back to top |
| |
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
| mashy |
This post is not being displayed .
|
mashy
L Plate Warrior
Joined: 16 Sep 2012
Karma :
|
|
| Back to top |
| |
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
| Alpha-9 |
This post is not being displayed .
|
Alpha-9
Super Spammer
Joined: 19 Jan 2012
Karma : 
|
| Posted: 18:09 - 27 Nov 2012 Post subject: |
|
|
Don't spend more money than is absolutely necessary and it'll be a good deal 
End up spending over £500 total and you might aswell have got a CG
____________________
Fzr-600 1999 |
|
| Back to top |
| |
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
| MaybeGuy |
This post is not being displayed .
|
MaybeGuy
Super Spammer
Joined: 12 Mar 2007
Karma :
|
|
| Back to top |
| |
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
| Teflon-Mike |
This post is not being displayed .
|
Teflon-Mike
tl;dr
Joined: 01 Jun 2010
Karma :
|
|
| Back to top |
| |
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
| Tim.. |
This post is not being displayed .
|
Tim..
World Chat Champion
Joined: 11 Oct 2006
Karma :
|
|
| Back to top |
| |
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
| MaybeGuy |
This post is not being displayed .
|
MaybeGuy
Super Spammer
Joined: 12 Mar 2007
Karma :
|
|
| Back to top |
| |
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
 |
Old Thread Alert!
The last post was made 13 years, 37 days ago. Instead of replying here, would creating a new thread be more useful? |
 |
|
|
Help & FAQs
Search BCF
Members
Groups
Events Calendar
rating
rating