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petemell
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PostPosted: 20:44 - 25 May 2008    Post subject: Chinese motorcycles. Reply with quote

I could do with a cheap bike for going to work on, these Chinese bikes look pretty good and cheap, but are they any good.

Much cheaper than Japanese stuff, but are they worth it?

What is the best thing to do?


Last edited by petemell on 17:12 - 27 Nov 2008; edited 3 times in total
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Faraz
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PostPosted: 20:50 - 25 May 2008    Post subject: Re: Chinese motorcycles. Reply with quote

petemell wrote:
What is the best thing to do?


When offered a chinese bike.. run.

Run far far away and dont go back.


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Itchy
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PostPosted: 20:52 - 25 May 2008    Post subject: Reply with quote

False economy TBH , and many BCFers who bought on the low price tag regretted it trying to find parts to fit,

Gaz used to hate Chinese made bikes , he'd see them in his workshop on a regular basis.

Give it 10-15 years and they MIGHT be world class, al la Hyundai/Honda etc. Thats IF peak oil hasn't hit and the tendancy for China to ban motorbikes in cities doesn't spread oh and the economy there doesn't tank , which is probably will seeing as they rely on the US and Europe to buy their tat, we hit recession they hit recession even harder.
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19van71
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PostPosted: 21:07 - 25 May 2008    Post subject: Re: Chinese motorcycles. Reply with quote

Faraz wrote:
petemell wrote:
What is the best thing to do?


When offered a chinese bike.. run.

Run far far away and dont go back.


Thumbs Up


+1 Thumbs Up
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grassby2001
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PostPosted: 21:14 - 25 May 2008    Post subject: Re: Chinese motorcycles. Reply with quote

When offered a chinese bike.. run.

Run far far away and dont go back.


Thumbs Up[/quote]

+1 Thumbs Up[/quote]

+2 Thumbs Up
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m0l0t0v
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PostPosted: 21:26 - 25 May 2008    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ok, talking from experience on Chinese bikes.

I started biking and bought myself a brand new Better BT125 for £650. Good deal I though.

Couldn't have been more wrong.

Biggest piece of shit in the world. The make "Better" is extremely ironic. Rusted the whole time on everything. Finish is pathetic. It breaks down far too easily and if you need parts expect months to wait. I waited 4 months for a bloody battery. The bike in the whole was shit. You will never ever be able to sell it as no one will want to buy it and it will break down from the moment you start to ride it.

Really really don't buy Chinese.

You can /however/ buy Korean. IE Hyosung. My friend bought a 250 and I put 1k miles on it. My only complaint is the standard tyre sthat come on it (shinko - which are absolutely shit for any weather riding) and the brake pads. Pads can be easily upgraded though so it's no biggie. Hyosungs are hard to find quite cheaply though as the first couple of batches were a bit shit but '04 onwards were good. I rode the GT250R in an '06 plate. Would still ride it given then chance. Thumbs Up


I would recommend getting a cheap Japanese 4 stroke 125 as you can find plenty second hand for around the price of a new Chinese piece of shit and will last 100x longer (no bullshit either) and with relatively low maintenance.

There are LOADS of second hand Japanese 125's for under a grand. Ebay, Bike trader, etc.

Really really stay away from Chinese bikes. Thumbs Down
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19van71
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PostPosted: 21:35 - 25 May 2008    Post subject: Reply with quote

m0l0t0v wrote:
Ok, talking from experience on Chinese bikes.

I started biking and bought myself a brand new Better BT125 for £650. Good deal I though.

Couldn't have been more wrong.

Biggest piece of shit in the world. The make "Better" is extremely ironic. Rusted the whole time on everything. Finish is pathetic. It breaks down far too easily and if you need parts expect months to wait. I waited 4 months for a bloody battery. The bike in the whole was shit. You will never ever be able to sell it as no one will want to buy it and it will break down from the moment you start to ride it.

Really really don't buy Chinese.

You can /however/ buy Korean. IE Hyosung. My friend bought a 250 and I put 1k miles on it. My only complaint is the standard tyre sthat come on it (shinko - which are absolutely shit for any weather riding) and the brake pads. Pads can be easily upgraded though so it's no biggie. Hyosungs are hard to find quite cheaply though as the first couple of batches were a bit shit but '04 onwards were good. I rode the GT250R in an '06 plate. Would still ride it given then chance. Thumbs Up


I would recommend getting a cheap Japanese 4 stroke 125 as you can find plenty second hand for around the price of a new Chinese piece of shit and will last 100x longer (no bullshit either) and with relatively low maintenance.

There are LOADS of second hand Japanese 125's for under a grand. Ebay, Bike trader, etc.

Really really stay away from Chinese bikes. Thumbs Down


Never had one myself but, this is the kind of reviews I have only EVER seen on Chinese bikes. Probably why so many people are trying to sell them cheap on eBay.... Rolling Eyes

Get A CG125 of the 'HONDA' variety Thumbs Up Very Happy
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m0l0t0v
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PostPosted: 21:41 - 25 May 2008    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yup, exactly.

Honda FTW
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Dragonfly
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PostPosted: 22:02 - 25 May 2008    Post subject: Reply with quote

Do not go near them! I owned a lifan and learned my lesson the hard way. Worse made bike ever. Well mine was anyway, good luck getting parts for mine eveb failed its very first MOT due to the faulty swimgarm that was an accident waiting to happen. Skyjets are horrible also a mate had one of them and have a go on it, sold it as soon as he relised it was a mistake.

dont be dazzled by low prices and shiney bits they are as cheaply made as they cost and less.

get a proper bike even if its seconds hand like honda or suzuki least you know you can get parts and it will last.
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----
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PostPosted: 06:24 - 26 May 2008    Post subject: Reply with quote

I agree with all the above except the availability of parts.
That's the one area i had absolutely no problems with at all.
I bought the chinese trial bike style,and had a number of small faults.

Spokes snapping(you have to expect to upgrade these for jap ones as soon as you buy the bike)
Bolts rattling free or snapping (another fairly cheap fix)
And on mine the engine died.
Nothing major there either,it had bent an inlet valve.
Replaced with with a new head (about £70) and it was running again.I should mention that it only had a few hundred miles on it when the engine went,so i blame that on myself for not running it in properly.

I think there was a few other little things that e went wrong aswell.
Problem is,you never get them to ride right,no matter what you do they vibrate like hell,and the whole bike just does'nt feel right,like it's gonna fall to bit's at any time!
The difference between riding a chinese bike and jap bike is really HUGE.
But having said that,if i was literally just going from home to work,with NO ride out's for fun on it,i would get one.
Mine (other than when i blew the engine)got me 80+mpg and never failed to start.Even the snapped spokes were probably due to me off-roading it Wink .
But as a bike to cruise round on for fun, IMO the chinese bikes not it.
HTH[/b]
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twpd
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PostPosted: 06:30 - 26 May 2008    Post subject: Reply with quote

Chinese bikes are absolute junk.

Regular dealers refuse to work on them. The quality of build is shocking. They have absolutely no second-hand value if you want to sell on and getting parts can be hard because regular bike dealers won't touch them. I've seen one or two new ones in dealers with a label on them saying "no warranty". I am not sure where they stand from a legal point of view on that, but the fact that they are no prepared to offer a warranty speaks volumes.
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Ariel Badger
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PostPosted: 07:29 - 26 May 2008    Post subject: Re: Chinese motorcycles. Reply with quote

petemell wrote:
As an enthusiast I like to maintain bikes, not scrap them.


No problem then as the bike will quickly scrap itself. Steer well clear they have the build quality of a B&Q wheel-barrow.
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Madmanx
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PostPosted: 07:37 - 26 May 2008    Post subject: Reply with quote

I got one and would never recomend another to anyone.
Mine started rusting after 6 months and bits literally fall off.

Cheap shite , but you only get what you pay for.

https://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll9/manxhornet/Nikkisphonepictures120.jpg


I,m selling mine to get a sr 125 for the wife but can't find a buyer for my 2006 model gy.
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19van71
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PostPosted: 08:22 - 26 May 2008    Post subject: Reply with quote

Here's what you need.... Thumbs Up

https://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1989-HONDA-CG125-BR-J-WHITE_W0QQitemZ280230227221QQihZ018QQcategoryZ9806QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting
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Moonie
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PostPosted: 08:26 - 26 May 2008    Post subject: Re: Chinese motorcycles. Reply with quote

1930 Ariel wrote:
petemell wrote:
As an enthusiast I like to maintain bikes, not scrap them.


No problem then as the bike will quickly scrap itself. Steer well clear they have the build quality of a B&Q wheel-barrow.



Careful what you say, B&Q might sue you for slander Razz

Chinese bikes are horrible.

They break all the time, sometimes in very dangerous places.

I had a chinese pit bike for about 3 weeks until the chain snapped and punched a hole in the side of the engine Thumbs Down
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squishio
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PostPosted: 08:35 - 26 May 2008    Post subject: Reply with quote

I had a Sanya sy125 (ybr125 copy)

It was my first ever bike. I got it of a guy on gumtree for 400 squids which was a pretty decent price and then I had it for about 4 months which it was pretty good and it got me too and from work with no problems.

Then.... the london to brighton rally came along and I decided to ride down to brighton on it. BIG mistake.

I was really pleased with the bike as it had been managing the trip quite well.

Untill I got to about 11 miles outside of brighton along the A23 going about 70ish trying to keep up with everyone else and BANG I was slowing down extremly rapidly. clutch in and coast about 300m in the middle lane and nearly hit a bmw trying to get to a layby.

So sat for about an hour sitting by the side of the road waiting for the RAC.

they leave me in crawley at a bike garage which is closed. yey!

then a week later me and my dad take a van down there to pick it up and bring it home. I strip the engine down (first time ever) and something in the crank/gearbox is fucked and seizing the engine from turning over.
So stuck it on ebay and got £200 for it.
Which I dont think is too bad.

So the outcome of all this is Chinese bikes I think are good to get a bit of experience on the road but just dont expect them to last long when you push them too hard.

I have heard horrible things like suspension falling off whilst riding but I still think they are good for experience in riding and fixing bikes as you will be doing both fairly regularly.

here she is....

https://w3.bikepics.com/pics/2007%5C12%5C09%5Cbikepics-1110864-full.jpg

cheers,

Rich.
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spike_Alike
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PostPosted: 12:02 - 28 Sep 2008    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just don't get Chinese. If you ignore the advice everyone is giving you you'll regret it in 2 months time.

I told a friend 100 times not to buy a Chinese moped, he didn't listen. I didn't have to wait long before I could say "I told you so". Ran far too rich from the moment he got it, he broke the kickstart off by just kicking it, electic start went right away. When he tried to take it back to the dealers he got nothing but hassle (although they eventually fixed it free of charge because the kid's Dad is a stubborn nutcase - how long untill it breaks again though?).

Even when it was working it was underpowered with shit tyres and crap lights. It did look quite nice but for £650 he could have just brought a second hand jap scoot that would be faster and much better finished.

I'd honestly rather chance it with a proper 20 year old bike thats been around the clocks than a brand new Chinese motor.

Anyway, its embarrasing to have to say you ride a ChingChong rather than a Honda etc.

Don't Buy Chinese !!
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moog
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PostPosted: 14:36 - 28 Sep 2008    Post subject: Reply with quote

I considered going for a cheap chinese model but after seeing and riding a 2 year old Hongadou 125 moto x style thingy I wouldn't touch them with a bargepole...especially as it's just blown up after a whopping 4600 miles and requires a whole new engine.

CG125 FTW.
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petemell
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PostPosted: 14:47 - 28 Sep 2008    Post subject: Reply with quote

I like the Japanese bikes bikes and they are great quality, but they are getting well expensive. Nothing for sale at much less than £2000 nowadays.

The price is ok on the Chinese stuff, suppose I would have to worry about parts availability.


Last edited by petemell on 17:17 - 27 Nov 2008; edited 2 times in total
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MaybeGuy
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PostPosted: 16:59 - 28 Sep 2008    Post subject: Reply with quote

looks good! theres a full rebuild guide with pictures of every step somewhere on this forum, so that might help with the non-running thing.

before reading that you had a project, i was going to suggest an RXS100 or a GP125.
the old jap 2 strokes that cant die, and are pretty nippy and cost shit all.
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Greenychris
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PostPosted: 17:04 - 28 Sep 2008    Post subject: Reply with quote

My mate has this Kinrod cruiser type thing

Its less than a year old with 800 miles on the clock and we have had to replace everything from the clutch cable to the gear lever which kept falling off

That and its covered in rust.
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Mr Hammers
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PostPosted: 09:27 - 29 Sep 2008    Post subject: Reply with quote

Talking to a friend's neighbour the other day, he was polishing up the chrome on his Chinese Harley lookee-likee. Couldn't help but bring the subject of the reliability of dodgy chinese bikes, but he said he's heard the rumours, but his bike had been built with the permission and blessing of Harley D themselves, so he wasn't expecting any problems.

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killa
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PostPosted: 09:46 - 29 Sep 2008    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have no idea why we're talking about Chinese bikes here...

Support Jap manufacturers...the chinese should have never been aloud to bring them here.

Fuck em Middle Finger
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