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| Is the Lexmoto Venom worth it? |
| Yes |
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33% |
[ 4 ] |
| No |
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66% |
[ 8 ] |
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| Total Votes : 12 |
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| dfarrant81 |
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dfarrant81
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NJD
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 Posted: 13:35 - 27 Jul 2015  Post subject: |
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dfarrant81
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NJD
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| Posted: 14:08 - 27 Jul 2015 Post subject: |
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| dfarrant81 wrote: | I was just wondering if anyone actually owns one or has ridden one, so can give me a genuine opinion? |
Page 2, 3rd post from the bottom by llexter, might be worth a read?
In as few words as possible, it's a sheep in wolfs clothing.. nothings going to be more disappointing than rolling out the showroom having spent almost £1400 (maybe that including OTR fee's) to roll on the throttle only to find out you're in 5th gear before you know it. The entire bike is made to look sporty when I can only imagine how it would fair as an all weather bike (based on my Arrow) and soon bring a frown to your face when you wonder how your precious mode of transport became a potato in-front of you. If you want to buy it because it looks nice then do so, just don't expect high performance and good re-sale value, I'd advise ACF-50 out of the showroom on Day 1 to give it the best chance, my exhaust is looking in a sorry state because of not doing this.
I think it's a safe bet that at least one during your ownership you'll encounter a form of electrical issue whereby you'll have to take it back to the shop. The first service will also be at 300KM or 186 miles, do you have the required funds for a service that soon depending on how much you'll be using it, that is if you want to keep up warrenty, of which I'd advise up until the 2000km service or at least long enough to have gotten all the small niggles out of the way, that being said I recently took mine back after several months with an issue (Arrow) so is debatable if you want to do the work yourself or not. |
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| Rogerborg |
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Rogerborg
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| Posted: 15:18 - 27 Jul 2015 Post subject: |
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It's too new to have any useful owner reports yet. Someone will have to take a gamble on it, ride it over a winter and put some miles on.
This is just a factual statement - I have no axe to grind here, I've had two Chinese branded bikes.
____________________
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 |
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dfarrant81
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Pigeon
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Posted: 19:12 - 27 Jul 2015  Post subject: |
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Not hugely scientific:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xDfWrt7C2c
EDIT:
Having said that, they did dyno it and it came in at 12bhp
Having said that, is it possible this one had a 150 kit....
12bhp is certainly as good as it gets from the majority of Chinese 125's
Most are nearer 9-10bhp. |
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NJD
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| Posted: 19:39 - 27 Jul 2015 Post subject: |
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A giant advertisement well done by lexmoto, donate two cheap as chips bikes to a highly viewed youtube channel in an attempt to hopefully increase sales of new models. Can't take it all that seriously though because (a) the people making the video and (b) the fact they've done stuff in the past for manufactures as a way of advertising (KTM Competition for an example).
Ragging the bikes around shows nothing really as they're cheap as chips anyway not like lexmoto would make a huge loss at any damage caused, I'd like to see them do that to a brand new sports bike or something worth a few thousound.
(My view on the video, nothing against you linking it).  |
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dfarrant81
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NJD
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Posted: 20:12 - 27 Jul 2015  Post subject: |
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| dfarrant81 wrote: | I'm more towards something like a honda or a Yamaha, that will be more reliable for commuting through town, as the last thing I want is to be broken down in Central London, in the middle of rush hour! |
Have you ran insurance quotes to see what you can afford rather than what you'd like, I had to bite the bullet with my Arrow because when I weighed up all the possible costs it came back as a limited choice of bike that I could afford to buy and keep rather than having to sell because costs would eventually get to much, that includes serving etc.
Any bike can brake down, I'd appreciate the general opinion would be chinese bikes more than others, as before it seems from what I've read and heard from other chinese bike owners that the electrics cause trouble at least once in their lifetime, usually from new, applies to both scooters and bikes. If you're worried about breaking down then there are topics about the reputation of different companies such as green flag, aa etc, might be worth a read if you can't find insurance with a decent level of cover or cost?
The choice of bike also depends on how long you plan to keep it, if you're looking at buying a brand new lexmoto for £1.3-£1.4 then I'd advise against the idea if you're only on it for a year or two until you do the full license, why not get yourself a vixen?, I own the Arrow.. can't say I think much of it, has its quirks.
I only recommended because £850 (not including OTR) means you'll be loosing far less money at re-sale, again ACF-50 form factory and you'll have a better chance of keeping it in a good condition post winter, Borg has pictures of an ACF-50'd Vixen (or similar), looks nice compared to my non ACF'd arrow after several months. £400-500 seems a decent resale price depending on condition. I'd apply that to the Venom as well, although no one (as from what I can see or assume) is trying to sell there's second hand yet people at attempting to sell the ZSX for £900 and struggling.
I'd say a 125 is a good choice for London, build up your confidence and familiarity with the bike and then attempt filtering, from videos i've seen of rides around London the only thing that power does is get you to the next red light faster. |
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Rogerborg
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| Posted: 20:13 - 27 Jul 2015 Post subject: |
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I'd gamble on the Venom over a CBF125.
Plenty of good ones out there, but far too many rustbuckets, kangaroo-hoppers and seized engines as well.
____________________
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 |
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dfarrant81
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| Posted: 20:40 - 27 Jul 2015 Post subject: |
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I'd probably keep the bike for about 3-4 years depending on what I am doing (work situation etc) but if im still commuting through london, and the bikes still running, I'd probably keep it longer. The vixen isnt really my style, I perfer a modern, plastic look (hence the venom appealed to me), so i'd probably get the zsa if I got a cheap Lexmoto. It just seems that the more digging you do online, the more problems you find, so I am very reluctant to go down that road. I know any bike can break down, and I have RAC cover for my car, but i'd rather hava a bike that *should* be very reliable (not saying it will), like a CBF.
There are a lot of crap, neglected CBF's out there, but after a bit of ebay-ing, it seems you can pick up a decent, low miles one for under £1500, some as little as £1100.
Power will get you nowhere in London, unless you are lucky enough to find an open road, where due to all of the cameras, it will get you a speeding ticket. But I'd like something I can ride at weekends aswell, not just for commuting.
Whats your arrow like for reliability, has it fallen apart, or is it good? |
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Rogerborg
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| Posted: 20:50 - 27 Jul 2015 Post subject: |
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| dfarrant81 wrote: | I'd probably keep the bike for about 3-4 years |
If you really intend to do that, do not ride anything bigger.
Once you do so, you'll know why not, but then it'll be too late. 
| dfarrant81 wrote: | There are a lot of crap, neglected CBF's out there |
Rusting after 6 months:
https://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=278136
Rusting from new:
https://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=281543
Kangaroo hopping:
https://cbf125rider.wordpress.com/2011/06/27/the-dreaded-kangaroo-hopping-problem/
Seized engine:
https://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=235042
You'll find more examples of each of these if you look, they're all common issues with CBFs. They're cheap Indian bikes with fuel injection and a ropey fuel pump bolted on for Europe.
Honda have just replaced them with a bike that's itself only a temporary stopgap (as from next year all new-design 125s will need to have linked brakes or ABS). That speaks volumes.
____________________
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 |
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NJD
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| Posted: 21:06 - 27 Jul 2015 Post subject: |
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| dfarrant81 wrote: | Whats your arrow like for reliability, has it fallen apart, or is it good? |
 Stock gearing is horrible, go up a tooth or two (if you don't mind doing some research as a 17t and the sprocket cover require some fiddling with to get back on), helps the bike out a lot and makes 30mph possible in 3rd gear.. high revs but an increase over stock.
Had an electrics issue that left me stranded on my way home form work out the blue, only sign of the issue was a day before when it wouldn't start (warmed up engine turned off for at most 10 minutes) and took a few attempts, anyhow, pootling along and it cut out, pressing the electric start and nothing happened, eventually after a few miles of pushing it got going again one last time before it died back at base. Was fixed by disconnecting and reconnecting all the wires (by the dealer) and securing with ties, I always found that funny, I got stranded because of a bike that was put together like a toy, I don't trust PDI's because of this, despite having a very good dealer IMO.
Had a corroded clutch after winter, end of January, due to not using ACF-50 road salt worked its way inside engine casing and was making the arm stick, I continued to use it as I found a temporary fix of adjusting the clutch lever until I realized on the way to the shop what it was 
Exhaust after several months has one rusted stud, as well as rust along the top end of the exhaust down-pipes, non ACF-50'd but cleaned after every ride during winter. I don't baw over it, bound to happen, £100 for a replacement if I wanted one but it's no where near in an unusable state.
Stock indicators where replaced from the same set after they vibrated loose (another build issue), good old trust electrical tape at the side of the road.
Top speed (indicated) is about 52-53mph, never tried to go above that due to speed limit, doesn't get there easy and revs high to achieve that, feels dead with power after that though.. and yes the throttle is wide, wide open at that point.
Gearbox isn't great, even the mechanics don't hesitate to tell me how it isn't the easiest of gearboxes to get along with.. makes me smile knowing it's the bike rather than me being a tard when it throws a wobble.
Fuel indicator stopped working and then started working again after draining the tank, or carb.
Stock tyres are starting to feel a bit "er" "uh oh" "urrm" in the wet when cornering.
On the plus side..
It's naked, easy to clean and work on and costs next to nothing to run and service in comparison to others.
Is fuel friendly, I've managed about 160-170km per tank, although that isn't even hitting reserve as I always fill up at that point, of which costs around £6-7 currently.
Gets compliments on "nice looking bike".
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All in all, it has its moments, it doesn't inspire me with confidence and hasn't done since it threw a wobble form new only a couple of weeks after buying. I'd get another one for the fun of it but not from new, even looking after it and putting all the money it needs into it I still get the "why oh why" feeling when I look at it, that being said I recently went without it for a few days, was glad to have it back, it's a good little run around, not fast and not hassle free, but offers a cheap entry into biking if you don't find welding the spanners from time to time out the blue.
| dfarrant81 wrote: | I'd probably keep the bike for about 3-4 years |
Hmm, in theory maybe, but in reality.. one day of DAS made me want to swap bikes, I went back after doing my Module 1 and asked to swap keys, they didn't agree 
Outside of the lack of power if you can provide it with a decent service life then it all run regardless of what it looks like (this is any bike, not the Arrow). If you do really want to keep it that long then purchase whatever one you want better to smile at something that looks nice rather than something fugly just to save some money.
..
Sorry for the length of post! |
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dfarrant81
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| Posted: 21:06 - 27 Jul 2015 Post subject: |
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These are all problems with cheap chinese bikes aswell, cheap parts are used that just break and cheap paint, so the metal rusts. If the bike is maintained properly, ie. acf 50, oil checks, regular servicing etc, it should run with no problems, but I guess that could be said for any bike, including chinese bikes. I don't desperately need one right now, as I am going away soon, but I thought i'd do some research into them now, but it seems whatever you buy, its going to have problems (probably). The main factor that drew me to the venom, is that it is assembled in the same factory as Yamaha. Weighing everything up, it seems a decent bike, but as previously said, its too new for any genuine reveiws. |
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Pigeon
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Rogerborg
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| Posted: 21:32 - 27 Jul 2015 Post subject: |
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| dfarrant81 wrote: | These are all problems with cheap chinese bikes as well |
Are you talking about the CBF125?
The fuel pump issues are a design/manufacturing issue rather than a maintenance problem.
You can't ACF-50 life into a bike that's rusting in the dealership.
The CBF125 makes a great argument in favour of spending half its new cost on a Chinese bike.
| dfarrant81 wrote: | The main factor that drew me to the venom, is that it is assembled in the same factory as Yamaha. |
Lies, damn lies, and YouTube reviews.
It's a nice looking bike, it's cheap-ish, and if you had any sense you wouldn't be thinking about getting on any bike in the first place. Do eeeet.
____________________
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 |
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dfarrant81
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Pigeon
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| Posted: 21:36 - 27 Jul 2015 Post subject: |
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Hello, my edits above have crossed over your posts.
It's almost certainly NOT made by the Yamaha factory.
BUT it might be faster than your average Chinese bike, see above  |
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NJD
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dfarrant81
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| Posted: 21:50 - 27 Jul 2015 Post subject: |
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| Rogerborg wrote: | | dfarrant81 wrote: | These are all problems with cheap chinese bikes as well |
Are you talking about the CBF125?. |
Yes the CBF 125
| Rogerborg wrote: |
The fuel pump issues are a design/manufacturing issue rather than a maintenance problem. |
There are manufacturing faults with chinese bikes aswell, like electrics.
| Rogerborg wrote: |
You can't ACF-50 life into a bike that's rusting in the dealership. |
If the bike is rusting in the factory ... don't buy it!
| Rogerborg wrote: | | dfarrant81 wrote: | The main factor that drew me to the venom, is that it is assembled in the same factory as Yamaha. |
Lies, damn lies, and YouTube reviews. |
I don't have a reliable source that it is made in the yamaha factory, its just something I have heard. however the ZSF 125 is made in the same factory as the Yamahas, so it may be true about the venom aswell...
| Rogerborg wrote: |
It's a nice looking bike, it's cheap-ish, and if you had any sense you wouldn't be thinking about getting on any bike in the first place. Do eeeet. |
A bike would take about 35-50 mins off my journey time, and save me about £25 per week in travel costs! |
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Old Thread Alert!
The last post was made 10 years, 212 days ago. Instead of replying here, would creating a new thread be more useful? |
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