Newbie needs advice on Chinese bike

[splattimer]

I live in the sticks a bit and am looking to upgrade my Honda moped to a geared 125 - so I can do the 15 mile round trip to work at around 45-50mph instead of 25-30mph!
I've only got about £800 to spend though and I am seriously looking at the Huoniao HN 125-8 from LearnerLegal.
Is this the bike for me? It doesn't have to be fast, just reliable, a good beginners bike and give me 3-4 years of good use.
Any advice greatly appreciated.

[.....]

Don't buy a Chinese bike, they're crap.

Buy a second hand, reliable CG or similar.

[splattimer]

If it's secondhand, how do I know if it's reliable? Why is a Chinese bike crap - will it not do what I need - ie 3-4 years of reliable use?

[Alex_B]

General consensus is: It will do what you need, but not for 3-4 years

They seem to have a bad rep but I only know what I read (never had one) and that is they are bad.
Underpowered, fall apart pretty quick and all that horrible shit.

Saying that, if all you want is 50 mph then it might be OK but for £800 you could get a decent CG125 or similar.

TL;DR will be along shortly to extol the virtues of not spending on a bike and doing the tests

If you want to stay on a 125 for 4 years though then that is a different kettle of fish altogether...
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My Lane Position is always AWESOME!!

[Rogerborg]

Hi, I have an HN125-8 sitting in the garage. Not all Chinese-branded bikes are the same, and the HN is generally well regarded by its owners.

See https://www.reviewcentre.co.uk and https://www.huoniao-owners.co.uk/forum

Pros:
It's simple, economical, there's not a lot to go wrong with it, parts are readily available, and it's very easy to ride. The DSA list it as an A2 bike, so there's no problem using it for passing a test. The build quality on my 2008 model is surprisingly good, nothing's gone wrong with it that I didn't deliberately "improve" myself until it stopped working. Putting it back to stock always gets it running sweetly again.

Overall I've really enjoyed owning it.


Cons:
It's not as easy to insure as the Lexmoto Vixen - that's exactly the same bike, just with a different badge on it, as is the Haotian Vixen HT125-8.

The RHS exhaust hangar is prone to snapping from pressure from the brake return spring. Keep an eye on it, replace for £20 or get a Honda CM125 original from a breaker.

The kickstand cut-out switch wiring runs via a connector block that's placed right under the bike and is prone to corroding. Grease it up, re-wire in a straight run, or just take the switch off.

Exhaust studs can be prone to snapping - this is a problem on a lot of the FMI156/157 copy-engines. Keep and eye on them and replace with stainless steel if necessary. Mine have been fine, I should add.

tl;dr version - if you're going to go Chinese-branded, try to find a slightly used Lexmoto Vixen, pay about £400 for it, then ACF-50 all over.

But when all's said and done, if you're looking for reliability, an older Japanese-branded or built bike is more likely to do the job.

The Hyosung GT 125 is another candidate. Korean made, decent quality, but can be had for near-Chinese prices.
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[blade023]

I had a Lifan 125 that faired pretty well for my daily commute. Nothing special. I got a bit carried away replacing parts on it and looked after it.

Saying that, the most trouble I've had is when the nut came loose from the rear swing arm bolt, doing 60 down hill. Scared the crip out of me when my back end started swaying merrily. I replaced it with a nylock nut, and it's been fine.

My review of the LF 125-J (copy of a cg125): the engines on them are pretty decent, and obviously simple carbed jobbies. It's everything that's attached to the engine that feels cheap. The gearbox and clutch in particular, pretty clunky unless you're real gentle with it. They're also rust magnets, so keep em clean and protected. It's also worth checking all the bolts and nuts you can find, and replacing them with stainless steel ones.
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Current: VFR800 2008 13.7k and rising rapidly!
Sorn: 2003 FZS1000 30k(ish) looking to sell.

[P.]

[JoeDougieDoug...]

Yeah, for £800, you could go for something a lot more reliable and well... better like a Honda CG125.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201142422151263/sort/priceasc/usedbikes/model/cg/make/honda/quicksearch/true/postcode/ss38ed/radius/1500/page/1?logcode=p

They're meant to be good runners, and I would imagine that they're a lot easier to get parts for if anything does go wrong.
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CBT Passed - 22 / 10 / 11 >> Theory Passed - 16 / 02 / 2012 >> Mod 1 Passed - 07 / 03 / 2012 >> Mod 2 Passed - 18 / 05 / 2012.

[Paris2]

[Rogerborg]

[splattimer]

Thanks to all of you for your comments - I'm still a bit undecided but really appreciate the advice.

[Rogerborg]

It's a tricky one. Something to bear in mind is that any new bike will depreciate sharply. Granted, you can't lose much (in absolute value) on an £800 bike, but you'll lose less on an older £800 Japanese branded bike.

I got my HN125-8 because I essentially wanted a bike shaped pile of bits to tinker with. I was actually hoping that it would develop a bunch of problems: it's sorely disappointed me by being boringly reliable.

A haven't updated it for ages, but I recorded my experiences over at https://bikeinabox.blogspot.com for posterity. Sadly, I think the HN now comes pre-built, so you don't have the initial fun of unboxing it and bolting it together.
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike