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MGB, Keeway, Benelli or Kawasaki, Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda?

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mithil
L Plate Warrior



Joined: 22 Nov 2021
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PostPosted: 13:41 - 22 Nov 2021    Post subject: MGB, Keeway, Benelli or Kawasaki, Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda? Reply with quote

Hello,

I stay in Glasgow and I am planning to buy a new 125cc motorbike. It is not that I am new to the biking but there was a gap of massive 10 years after which I will bike again.

I have owned a Honda, Kawasaki and seen people own Suzuki and Yamaha. But there were no other choices that time in my country. But in UK I am seeing MGB, Keeway, Benelli also which are way cheaper than Kawasaki, Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda.

MGB, Keeway, Benelli bikes cost less that £2500 while Kawasaki, Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda cost is minimum £4100.



I would like to know people's experiences/thoughts with these cheaper brands.



Thank you.
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A100man
World Chat Champion



Joined: 19 Aug 2013
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PostPosted: 13:45 - 22 Nov 2021    Post subject: Re: MGB, Keeway, Benelli or Kawasaki, Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda? Reply with quote

mithil wrote:
But in UK I am seeing MGB, Keeway, Benelli also which are way cheaper than Kawasaki, Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda.

MGB, Keeway, Benelli bikes cost less that £2500 while Kawasaki, Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda cost is minimum £4100.


To quote Sybil Fawlty, who was 'discussing' the building work of Mr O'Reilly with her husband Basil...

'The reason he's cheap is because he's no bloody good.'

In other words better spend your 2.5k on a second hand Japanese bike than a new Chinese one. This is a widely covered topic on this forum
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Last edited by A100man on 15:25 - 22 Nov 2021; edited 1 time in total
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Evil Hans
World Chat Champion



Joined: 08 Nov 2015
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PostPosted: 14:55 - 22 Nov 2021    Post subject: Reply with quote

The thing is, these bikes are great if you are good at fixing things and can keep on top of the maintenance.

Otherwise, they are a pile of hurt.

I had (still have!) a Jianshe, and it was fairly trouble free, but I was happy to tinker with it and re-attach the bits that fell off.
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Bhud
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Joined: 11 Oct 2018
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PostPosted: 22:24 - 22 Nov 2021    Post subject: Reply with quote

Go for a used Japanese 125
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ThunderGuts
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Joined: 13 Nov 2018
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PostPosted: 16:11 - 26 Nov 2021    Post subject: Reply with quote

Evil Hans wrote:
The thing is, these bikes are great if you are good at fixing things and can keep on top of the maintenance.


Even that doesn't give certainty; many of the parts are likely to be poor quality with a lower life expectancy than their Japanese counterparts (although some "Japanese" bikes are made in China these days, albeit I expect with tighter quality controls).

You get what you pay for (generally). I thought a new CB125F was closer to £3k new anyway?
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Fat Angry Scotsman
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Joined: 12 Jan 2021
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PostPosted: 12:06 - 01 Dec 2021    Post subject: Re: MGB, Keeway, Benelli or Kawasaki, Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda? Reply with quote

mithil wrote:
Hello,

I stay in Glasgow and I am planning to buy a new 125cc motorbike. It is not that I am new to the biking but there was a gap of massive 10 years after which I will bike again.

I have owned a Honda, Kawasaki and seen people own Suzuki and Yamaha. But there were no other choices that time in my country. But in UK I am seeing MGB, Keeway, Benelli also which are way cheaper than Kawasaki, Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda.

MGB, Keeway, Benelli bikes cost less that £2500 while Kawasaki, Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda cost is minimum £4100.



I would like to know people's experiences/thoughts with these cheaper brands.



Thank you.


As a guy from Glasgow who literally bought a brand new 125cc Chinese bike (Zontes ZT125-U) my experience is that the bike is actually made fairly well and it hasn't given me problems (yet) other than the initial issue with the ECU, but that was fixed with the dealer.
I used it as a daily ride all the way through winter last year. Then again I've only had it since November 2020 so my opinion is heavily caveated.

At £2,599 (IIRC) the bike is now just a sunk cost. Bought and paid for. I will keep using my little 125cc as a winter hack.

If I could go back in time though, I wouldn't have bought it at all and just waited till I got my full license. In your case I would probably go for a used Japanese bike if for no other reason than the availability of parts for fixing it myself, which isn't possible with Keeway and Chinese bikes at the moment.
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carbon90
Two Stroke Sniffer



Joined: 10 Mar 2014
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PostPosted: 03:14 - 09 Dec 2021    Post subject: Reply with quote

As per experience here, it's a hit or miss for Chinese bikes. A second hand Japanese bike is way better.
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gbrand42
Could Be A Chat Bot



Joined: 23 Jul 2013
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PostPosted: 22:25 - 09 Dec 2021    Post subject: Reply with quote

And if you do go on to do your test you will get most of your money back on a Japanese 125, a Chinese bike with be worth the best part of fuck all after a year or 3, and good luck trying to part exchange it at a dealer when you get your big boy bike.
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