Sinnis motorcycles

gibsont · L Plate Warrior Joined: 26 Sep 2011 Karma :

Has anyone had any experience with them? I was thinking of buying one and was wondering what they're like.
____________________
Duu.

ClockworkJesu... · Nitrous Nuisance Joined: 31 Jan 2011 Karma :

No experience, but the Sinnis Stealth has a Suzuki engine. Should be pretty sturdy upon that note. Thumbs Up

Paulington · World Chat Champion Joined: 11 Mar 2009 Karma :

D O G · World Chat Champion Joined: 18 Dec 2006 Karma :

Paulington · World Chat Champion Joined: 11 Mar 2009 Karma :

You cannot have exceptional build quality at a low price, it's not possible.
____________________
"Four wheels move the body, two wheels move the soul."
Current Vehicles: '89 Kawasaki KDX200, '99 Yamaha XV535, '00 Honda ST1100 Pan-European, '08 Suzuki GSX-R1000, '08 Mitsubishi Lancer GS4 2.0 TDCi, '15 BMW 1 Series 116d Sport Turbo.
CBT: 27/08/08. Theory: 04/09/09. Module 1: 16/09/09. Module 2: 01/10/09.

D O G · World Chat Champion Joined: 18 Dec 2006 Karma :

Aaaah, but that is something entirely different.

/pedant

Teflon-Mike · tl;dr Joined: 01 Jun 2010 Karma :

Nai · World Chat Champion Joined: 18 Apr 2010 Karma :

Theres a guy on here who had a Sinnis Apache for a while, sold it on to someone up the road and at last sighting was still going strong. I would quite like a Trackstar from them myself. Man points can be lost on this but squee.

https://www.motorcyclenews.com/upload/270462/images/300x200/02sinnis-trackstar.jpg

Rogerborg · nimbA Joined: 26 Oct 2010 Karma :

Nai · World Chat Champion Joined: 18 Apr 2010 Karma :

Curious to know Roger, was it you that had the 2 Chinese bikes here? If it was, how did they work out?

P. · Red Rocket Joined: 14 Feb 2008 Karma :

Rogerborg · nimbA Joined: 26 Oct 2010 Karma :

Nai · World Chat Champion Joined: 18 Apr 2010 Karma :

Aha, cool. With insurance, Sinnis suffered a similar problem until this year from what I understand. They have however now been accepted and insurance for Sinnis bikes is on a similar level to European and Japanese bikes.

Mr_Cynical · Nitrous Nuisance Joined: 15 Apr 2010 Karma :

A chap I work with has a Sinnis Max. He's had it for 3 years or so (He's one of those odd folks who keep resitting their CBT...) and says he's never had any major problems with it.
____________________
Bikes: '05 Better BT125-20 => '79 Honda CB750KZ (Now a project bike) => '99 Suzuki Bandit 600 => '01 Triumph Tiger 955i
"What's my motto? I like ham."
"It's a good motto, sir."

andyscooter · World Chat Champion Joined: 30 May 2009 Karma :

lad i used to ride with had a sinnis pulse scooter

never broke but had a 45 mile fueltank range used to cost £1.50 to fill it up from empty
____________________
gilera runner vxr200 (chavped)
if its spelt wrong its my fat fingers and daft auto correct on my tablet

Doomsnite · Traffic Copper Joined: 19 Nov 2013 Karma :

kramdra · World Chat Champion Joined: 28 Oct 2010 Karma :

Old thread is old.

Still have mine in back of garage. It was nice to ride, one day might fix. Few things to note:

The dealership - who I belive are also the importer? "Onthewheel", are utter cunts, and will happily sell dangerous, broken parts as new - referring here to brakes. They would not warranty the parts either. If you need bits, try eBay first.

Engine is a Suzuki copy, not a real one. That makes it almost equal to any other chinese copy, parts and spare engines will not be as common. Top speed is about 55-60 but often much less, struggles for 40 up hill Laughing

Brakes - good design, let down by dangerous quality. I'm refering to the painted master cylinder piston here. One day I plan to replace with a cbr600 master, or similar. Having a rear disc brake is nice.

Doomsnite · Traffic Copper Joined: 19 Nov 2013 Karma :

Blame me for ressurection.. I saw one for sale and wondered if they were of the same ilk as other chinese that people dont rate.
____________________
Triumph Street Triple-R
Sold: Honda Hornet CB600F-Y / Yamaha YBR125

Rogerborg · nimbA Joined: 26 Oct 2010 Karma :

I can't get my head round the concept of a premium Chinese-made bike.

The YBR gets away with it because of the Yamaha name, warranty and dealer network.

I actually like Lexmotos because they started right, by building a parts supply business. I may even have been very slightly tempted by a used Lexmoto Arrow today.

But the Arrow is the cheapest bike that they do, which is where I'd start looking with a modern 125. With the Varadero not being sold any more, the 125 market looks to be almost entirely cheap and nasty sweatshop bikes, sold with amounts of markup varying from the reasonable (Lexmoto) to the risible (KTM).

Sinnis, I wouldn't touch at anywhere near what they're asking for them. Who the chuff are Sinnis? Just another ropey little UK outfit run hand-to-mouth that'll be as likely to fold as to prosper.
____________________
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

Doomsnite · Traffic Copper Joined: 19 Nov 2013 Karma :

£735 doesnt sound too bad for a 1 yr pld. But lexmoto are just under 700 for the same price. Mite be ok if just plan to use for 6mths
____________________
Triumph Street Triple-R
Sold: Honda Hornet CB600F-Y / Yamaha YBR125

Sable · World Chat Champion Joined: 27 Jul 2012 Karma :

Mines Sinnis Trackstars still going strong after 20k in a year and a half. Mixed citys, motorways and open roads.

Black Dog Motorcycles are a good Sinnis dealer. I have heard some horror stories from a few dealers in Scotland (not Victor Devine).

Have a search for the Chinese Bikes thread in News & Issues, I did a review thing at about 12k and everything I said then still stands. On mobile so hard to find and paste a link right now. Thumbs Up

I am happy with mine. For 1500 its done everything I have asked of it.

Edit :

Update to Sables Sinnis mega post. Explosions and shakey photos included. Also a dog.
https://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?p=3786693#3786693

Depleted · Two Stroke Sniffer Joined: 28 Feb 2013 Karma :

I have the Sinnis Max II I got it on the 1st march last year, at first it was great, no problems at all for 3 months, then the exhaust cover plate broke off - one of the two bolts holding it in had sheered completely and im LUCKY it was the one at the rear of the bike and not the one closer to the front.

Then the side stand spring flew off somehow on the same day and i nearly came off at a round about on an industrial estate near where i work.

Edit: I forgot to mention the clutch cable had nearly completely sheered off one day - it was foggy and i was riding to work, i got to Weedon crossroads and i couldnt get my bike out of 1st into 2nd so i had to lean down and manually shift the clutch lever on the engine case while riding - scariest fucking thing i've ever done. The cable was hanging by a single thread and i had to call out RAC for repairs.

Month/two month later the electronics went, my brake light was constantly on as if i was braking all the time - so after some fiddling i found out the rear brake was causing it so i disconnected the rear brake from the circuit and i had a normal brake light again.

Then more electric problems only after 6-7 months of owning the bike from brand new. The head light power went down if you revved the bike past 4k, so its either fog light or high beam only - no middle ground.

And then I came off of it at a round about outside mcdonalds in Daventry and i smashed the right mirror, brake lever, and handlebars.

Avoid Sinnis, yeah they're cheap but here's me mr £1400 brand new 125cc all mine, but it has problems and it can't even push past 65 on a good day, I wish i got a jap bike instead.

stevo as b4 · World Chat Champion Joined: 17 Jul 2003 Karma :

My take is this,
If you want to spend say £700 on a new or nearly new Chinese 125 that is a gamble that could go either way then fine. What is fairly certain is that a £700 new bike will be worth nothing after 3years really.

Or go out and buy a running 20year old bike lets say a Honda XL125R, and spend a few quid replacing tired parts and giving a clean up etc, for much the same price. The 20year old Honda will start to creep up in value soon, maybe even over 3years as they become rarer and harder to find.

I'd much rarther buy a buy that has bottomed out and can only maintain or go up in value now than the other way around.

MarJay · But it's British! Joined: 15 Sep 2003 Karma :

I've been against Chinese bikes for a while now, mainly due to their build quality and the false economy of purchasing something that will be worthless in a year or two.

However... have a look at this:

https://www.motorcyclesupermarket.com/images/bikes/images/10578.1369390245.IMG_8027.jpg

That is a Sinnis Cafe Racer. That looks nice.

Not saying it won't still dissolve in a years time, but it looks very much like significant progress has been made, particularly in the area of design. That is a pretty bike.
____________________
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.

stevo as b4 · World Chat Champion Joined: 17 Jul 2003 Karma :

Looks wise that is nice enough, but I find that style and looks are quite easy for them to get reasonably ok. Even some of those AJS chopper twins look ok and have all the style you would expect of a custom chopper etc.

But two things I am not keen on:

1, The clone Honda/Suzuki engines always seem down on power to the original Japanese engines, and are often based on the oldest designs and not the late updated models. In the bike you linked why does it use a nasty knock off piston slide carb, when the late Suzuki engine's had a CV carb etc?

2, The cycle components might look the same, but thinks like copy brake caliper's and shocks and fork internals might just not be up to the job, or be as strong, reliable or corrosion resistant as the Japanese bike parts brands.

You can still have problems with KYB, Showa, Brembo, Tokico Nissin parts etc, so what are the chances of a cheap copy part being up to the same standards.

I'm old fashioned too, and while I think Korean brands have got pretty good these days, I still would not want to spend my money on a cheap Chinese new bike, when I could buy something less funky but with all Japanese parts fitted second hand.