My Sinnis Trackstar!

[wild_87]

Firstly I will tell you about me before I tell you about my Bike! I 6’2” and weigh 15.5 stone. I firstly did my CBT about 4 years ago and bought myself a Honda CBR 125. I had this for about 6 months and must have ridden it for about 1000 miles in total so not that much. After about 6 months I developed wrist stiffness and pain when trying to lift anything heavy. I put this down to my bike being small and all my upper weight was on my palms and the added pressure of having the use the clutch. I thought over time my wrist would get stronger, but instead it had the opposite effect so after 6 months I sold the bike and didn’t buy another and thus my CBT ran out. A couple of months after this the problems with my wrist went away!

I then did my CBT again in early May this year and bought myself a Sinnis Trackstar. I bought this from a bike dealer about 15 miles away from me for £1499.00. To my surprise the dealer also taxed the bike and registered it (he either made little money on the sale or wanted to get rid). Another company closer to me was selling the bike for £150 more with a £100 admin fee and you also had to pay the tax and registration and it would take them 2 weeks to get it!

The only reviews I have seen on this bike are either people suggesting it as a first bike and then others have put them down calling it a Chinese POS or the one video on MCN so I thought I would give you my verdict after owning the bike for 4 weeks and doing about 600km on it.

Firstly the bike is small, however with this bike you’re more sat up so there’s no strain on my wrist! I travel about 12 miles to work a day and 12 miles back and have no issues from riding it this long. I have clocked 260km on a tank of fuel and then had to switch to reserve which equates to 161 miles. This translates to roughly 73.5 MPG which isn’t too bad with a 15.5 stone windbreaker! The website does say around 100MPG.

From what I believe the engine is a 125cc 4 stroke (air cooled) Suzuki engine kicking out a massive 11BHP so your mistaken if you think you will get anywhere quickly. I manage around 40Mph in 5th gear on a flat straight but I’m never on a straight long enough to get anything more, the top speed is apparently 65mph. I’m hoping this will increase when the engine has been properly run in and I have had its first service.

The bike comes with 24 month warranty which in order to keep you need to get the bike serviced at 1000Km and 2000KM which shows that Sinnis have faith in their bikes! The breaks at first felt a little soft at first but seem fine now (possibly just needed bedding in) the front is a biscuit tin lid disc and the rear is drum. The rear break has a fair bit of travel in the pedal which I will bring up when I get it serviced!

The only issue I have had is that the starter motor wouldn’t tick over which I later discovered that I had accidentally flicked the kill switch! Dumb ass!

Anyway the bike seems to be running nice. It’s a cool looking bike with basic features which I guess you get what you pay for. I would advise anyone keen on a cheap bike to look at these but I would say that I am about as big as the bike can take.
I will update this post if I do get any issues. please post me If there’s anything I haven’t covered or you have any questions!
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“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”

~ Thomas Edison ~

[Sable]

You are the 4th person on this forum to own one Everyone that calls it a POS is going by name alone, its owners seem happy with them. Nothing to whoop and cheer about, but reliable and decent enough to not be a let down.

For what to expect, this post is still largely valid at 12,000km - https://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?p=3498620#3498620

15 stone! Man I want to see a picture of you on a Trackstar It must look so diddy!

The rear drum by the way, follow the pedal down and and along and you should find an adjuster screw. Give it a turn each way and see how your pedal feels.

Also, learn how to adjust your chain. It wont last for 2000km between services without minor adjusting.

Also... Its a pretty bike, post some pictures

[wild_87]

I will post a pic when I get a minute. I feel a little sorry it a little. It looks like it should be riding me. It’s only about 7Kilos heavier!
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“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”

~ Thomas Edison ~

[Lord Percy]

I was very strongly considering going for one of these as my first bike, but was put off because of it's newness in the market, and inevitably tough resale value. Looks pretty cool though, I can see it being a real classic in 20 years or something.

[Rogerborg]

Properly pretty bikes, I feel like I should be rooting for them to be quality pieces of kit. They just look so plucky.

The rear brake will take about 2 minutes to adjust, just turn the nut on the end of the link rod between the pedal and the actuator arm.
____________________
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

[Joeval]

Good man. I own one as my first bike, can't really complain. Runs nicely, nothings exploded yet... But yeah, they aren't stunning in the speed department! Mine will hit sixty, but it takes a while to get there.

As for the guys slagging it off as a pos, sure, it's not Jap quality, but it does beat your normal run of the mill Chinky rubbish.
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CBT Passed 22/04/13

[Rogerborg]

[Sable]

[DrDonnyBrago]

One parks in my work bike park on occasions (2010 plate iirc).

Looks pretty cool. Does have a bit of rust on fixings/components here and there but no worse than the CBF125s that litter the bike park.

[Sako]

They do look pretty nice.

[wild_87]

I find it does turn heads, even people in cars! unless there just looking at how huge I look on it! I have seen a Cafe Racer version which looks pretty damn sexy Thanks for the info on the drum Rogerborg I will have a go!
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“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”

~ Thomas Edison ~

[Rogerborg]

It's dead simple, just push the actuator arm forwards to take the slack out of it, then turn the nut to tighten up the rod to that position. You may have to adjust it a little either way afterwards so that the brake is just shy of engaging.
____________________
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

[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]

I like them and I want one.
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"Life is a sexually transmitted disease and the mortality rate is one hundred percent."

Mobylette Type 50 ---> Raleigh Grifter ---> Neval Minsk 125

[wild_87]

get one get one get one how sweet does the Cafe version look!
____________________
“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”

~ Thomas Edison ~

[Rogerborg]

Lovely. If they did that in a 25bhp+ 250+ version, I'd have it. While I'm dreaming, it will come with a free Alyson Hannigan who will sit facing backwards on the tank with her legs wrapped around me.
____________________
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

[Shaft]

[stevo as b4]

Is there a big logical reason why people seem to actually want to spend £1500 on a new Chinese motorcycle, instead of a 5-15year old Japanese machine instead?

I guess I am massively missing the point of why it's essential for a new rider to buy a brand new bike for typical secondhand bike money?

[sgtcalle]

I suppose new riders want the piece of mind of having a new motorcycle which *should* be reliable. Buying chinese though...only time will tell
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CBR600F '02
Manchester

[Rogerborg]

I got one new in a crate because I wanted a project bike, but not a mucky one with seized up bolts.

In the event, it was disappointingly reliable.

That cost me £730 OTR including delivery, registration, tax and plate though.
____________________
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

[Sable]

[stevo as b4]

Roger, for £730 your really can't complain at that! Your post has made my point annoyingly illogical!

I guess that £1500 spent on a new bike of unproven quality is for many people far more rational than spending £1000 on re-building a £500max bike instead?

Are we totally in a throw away society as long as we start with something new and clean and cheap?

I guess it's wrong and in the minority even amongst bike owners, to want to spend 3-5times the cost of a sub £500 bike on restoring and rescuing them now? Again possibly very logical, but what a boring world if that's the way forward?

[Sable]

Stevo although I do all my own servicing now, when I had the CG I didn't have the time / money / knowledge or ability to keep plugging with a bike that constantly broke and drove me nuts.

I would love an old cheap KE or something to strip, rebuild, and custom nowadays. A few years back though? Stuff that. Give me a reasonable priced reliable bike.

[LMG]

I have one too

I've also done the kill switch scenario, face palm moment for sure

and i've hit 65 on mine, though I max out myself at about 5'3 on a good day so the difference is understandable lol
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Lynsey
Sinnis Trackstar

[bazy_baz]

I have a Trackstar bought it in September '13.
Its my first bike and i chose it for 4 reasons: I like the look of it, it was cheap, it has basic features and as I know very little about bikes and i thought that things are likely to break on it I would be able to learn how to fix the bike.
So far I have had to replace the handlebars - due to an attempted theft, somehow the thieves bent the left side 90 degrees - replaced with a set of Renthal Ultra Lows, makes the bike look a lot better.
Ive attached a picture of the old handle bars, taken about 10 mins after the attempted theft.
I rode the bike through a pretty harsh Scottish winter and the only problem is that the exhaust has rusted really bad,(pic attached) i'll replace it with a chrome exhaust from a suzuki gs125. Sinnis have a licence to manufacture the GS engine so if you are struggling for sinnis parts try gs parts.
there are little bits of rust appearing on the bike but nothing major. I clean and spray protectant on it very regularly so that helps keep the rust away.
The spokes are a pain to clean and I can't get the rear spokes bright and shiny, they are rough and dull. Anyone got any ideas how i can sort that?
I managed to get the bike up to 78mph on a flat, slightly downhill road, it would have went faster if i hadn't had to brake lol

[bazy_baz]

that should read "bought in September '12" lol