Mutt Mongrel 125

[boothy]

Still looking for my first Bike and have come across this mutt mongrel 125cc. What do people think of the brand? It’s barely been used by the current owner and is going for about 1.2k although it is off the fb market place. What should I check for if I go take a look at it?

https://www.facebook.com/share/9YSYVwFskKuJrhpy/?mibextid=79PoIi

[MarJay]

Tis a Chinese bike rebranded by a European company to sell to hipsters. It may be a small cut above your standard Chinese fare because it may have european quality control, but it still won't be fantastic. Brixton is another similar brand, and I think also the AJS name has been repurposed for this too.
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British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[A100man]

[stinkwheel]

It's a better overall design for a first bike than the cruisers you've been looking at.

As above, still Chinese but with some QC input and spares backup so you could do worse.

I would budget for a set of proper road tyres instead of the things it has on if you value staying stuck to the road over aesthetics. Those big knobblies will be all kinds of unpleasant and something you could do without when you're learning. They are a slightly oddball size (4.10 x 18 front and rear). I'd be tempted to get a good quality road tyre with a 120/90 18 on the rear and a 110/90 18 on the front. Something like a Michelin Road classic or Avon roadrider. Or if you want to keep the knobbly look, a set of Sirac or mitas E08 or similar which appear knobbly but have more of a road bias.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[A100man]

[WD Forte]

I'd say its a better choice of first bike because it's simpler with less frills
I believe it has a Suzuki clone engine that should be easy to get parts for.
As said, it's tarted up gn125 and the knobbly tyres are a stupid affectation that need changing for road tyres asap unless you live on a farm
check it's got oil in it and
it should start easily with no smoke or rattles
the mileage looks too good to be true so check the odometer on the
clocks is functional
not a deal breaker if it doesn't and its in otherwise good nick
but getting a new on could be a PITA

Ahh I see it has 'new clocks' fair enough, but one has to wonder why it needed them
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bikers smell of wee

[Villers]

[lingeringstin...]

What I've discovered in dabbling with Chinese Honda clones and derivatives is that these days the engines are actually quite good but they keep the prices low by skimping on the quality of everything else.

Chinese chrome is more rustworthy than anything else and the paint jobs are thin and crap. The metals used for frames and things is pretty low budget so they're quick to corrode and rust through. But a newer model should look fine for a few years anyway, just don't expect them to age and hang around for decades like vintage CG125's etc.

However, if you can find something like a knackered Honda to bolt a Chinese engine into (they're cheap to get all over the place even new) then you'd end up with a pretty good bike.

This isn't "the old days" any more when Chinese engines were complete rubbish. What they make as engines for small bikes these days is about as good as anything the name brand companies were doing 20 or 30 years ago and I've found that you can often even mix and match parts from Chinese and Honda engines together which is what I use now. I have an engine that's some kind of Honda/Chinese 50/50 abomination of disparate parts that's every bit as good as anything Honda ever made, but I did have to build it myself and you probably aren't wanting to get into all that faff.

I'd say if you're going with a Chinese bike for the cost factor then get something as uncomplicated as possible, like a CG125 clone (that Mutt looks like the sort of thing). I'd stay away from the cruisers and anything with too many whistles and bells. Less shit to go wrong.