Zontes panther 125

[DannyPc]

I'm looking to get a 125 soon and I only have a budget of £800 (low I know) but I've seen Zontes bikes for sale and other makes like Sinnis (friend recently paid 1200 pounds for one), Lexmoto ect. Are they any good? What is the Zontes panthers top speed, should i look for a second hand jap bike? Whats your thoughts

[rhys99]

Buy a used jap bike, ybr, cbf etc
____________________
21:16:02 Fin: I got a girl to believe I have a huge dick today, she's going to be so disappointed
K̶5̶ ̶S̶V̶6̶5̶0̶S̶ K3 SV650N

[Andy_Pagin]

Is £800 purely for the bike? Anyway go used Jap as rhys99 said.
____________________
They're coming to take me away, ho-ho, hee-hee, ha-haaa, hey-hey,
the men in white coats are coming to take me away.
Yamaha Vity -> YBR125 -> FZS600 Fazer -> FZ1-S Fazer

[linuxyeti]

No reason to not go chinese, if you find a bike that you like, in your budget range and is in good nick. Also, Zontes seem to get pretty decent reviews, although I can't vouch for them myself, as I haven't owned 1.

[Rogerborg]

At that price level, you can't afford to be choosy. If you can bag a YBR, an unrusted CBF125, or even a low mileage late model Varadero within budget if you're very lucky, great. But you can't afford to turn your nose up at anything that comes up locally.

Buy the best bike with at least a year's MOT that you can find in budget, first checking that you can get insurance and spare parts for it. And I include Japanese bikes in that - there are plenty of Honda XLR125s out there with rusted out exhausts that "will sail through the MOT with a little TLC".

[MahatmaAndhi]

I owned a Zontes Monster for a while. Bit taller, bit wider, but the same engine as the Panther. It was pretty good.
I bought mine for £600 on a 13 plate. It had done about 7,000 kilometers.

It went forwards, backwards, left and right well enough.
The handlebars bent where I manhandled it, getting it around a bend in to my backgarden every day. But I called Zontes and bought some new ones for about £30.
The electric start on mine never worked (even when I bought it) so it was kick-started every day. Never had the inclination to fix it.
They were my only two niggles. There's two Zontes dealers in Peterborough where I live, so I knew that there was someplace to take it if I needed to.

In the end, I passed my test and sold it. Sold it for £650 too, so that was a bonus.
____________________
2008 Aprilia Sportcity 250

[CBFcarl]

When my YBR clone was nabbed, I was bidding on fleabay for a Zonte, which went for £400 ('12 plate in 2013).

They look ok, and I have heard good things from people that own them.

Alternatively, I have a CBF125 (2011) - I like the bike but definitely check out for excess rust. Also, the Varadero is a great shout if you can find one. There is (was?) one for sale near me recently that looked like it had been used for trekking around the world, had scratches, dents, tears in the fabric and was still up at £1200.
____________________
thx1138 wrote: Well if you had a car, I'd bet it would smell like urine had had drunken sex with vomit and made a poo baby.
Polarbear wrote: They are all old now. Probably had more abuse that a Rotherham schoolgirl.
Hellkat wrote: I want to know if Nigella smells of garlic, or just minge.

[Rogerborg]

Mmm, I threw the 'Dearo in there as a fantasy suggestion. If you see one in budget, snap it up. Short of that, it doesn't really matter what you get.
____________________
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

[MahatmaAndhi]

There's a Varedero near me for £250. I reckon this is an error.

https://www.gumtree.com/p/other-motorbikes-scooters/125-honda-varadero/1208309167
____________________
2008 Aprilia Sportcity 250

[arry]

[Rogerborg]

If that's still for sale, it shouldn't be tomorrow when you turn up with a van.
____________________
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

[mas101]

[kgm]

Nothing wrong with a chinese bike if you can find one that's been looked afters, is in good nick, and is cheap.

Quality control is more important than where it's been made, hence the 'Jap' bikes built in China are generally better than the Chinese branded stuff. The exception to this is the CBF125 (not to be confused wiwth CB125F, the newer one). Those seem to rot pretty badly.

4 years ago I bought a 2001 Honda CG125 for £400. Used it every day for 4 months and apart from needing new tires and some very simple maintenance jobs it was solid, if a little rusty looking. I rebuilt it completely last year (including frame power coating and professional painting) at a cost of about £600 and it's great now. Solidly dependable. There's plenty of perfectly serviceable CGs around for about £500 that will never die if looked after.

[Rogerborg]

[Copycat73]

[Fizzoid]

£800 should bag you a decent ish YBR, especially this time of year.

There was a chap in Bristol selling one on FB for £800. Looked clean, 2008-09 I believe it was

However, if all you care about is top speed, I'd suggest taking a test instead
____________________
Rogerborg wrote: It'd certainly make it easier to ego-find my own posts on pages, given the number of fags (gay like traps) who insist on putting my name in their .sig

[thx1138]

does anyone know what bike the Zontes Panther is based on? I'm assuming CG-125 engine?

I'm helping a friend of a friend get theirs going.

14 plate, clean, tidy on first glance. But with parts of swing arm, and lower frame shocking amount of rust, bike kept in a carport out of the rain, with not many miles on the clock, though bought second hand

Owner did CBT, passed CBT last winter, went out on their Zontes later the same day had a major wobbly, scared themselves , locked it up and left it locked up and never rode it again, now are feeling brave cos sunny.

"Wheels seized, and won't start". I was told

Well, I put it on a centre stand, and rotated the wheels by hand, a little bit of resistance I think from rust/pads, but now spin freely. Tried to kick start it, but couldn't, I think cos alarm/immoblizer which started to make feeble beeping noises as I kicked the bike over.

I now have their battery charging, and will try again tomorrow for them.

[Rogerborg]

[Polarbear]

Do you have any mechanic type skills? Are you handy with DIY. If no to these questions then steer clear of Chinese Chinese made bikes.

It's not just about where they are made, it's quality control. A Chinese YBR is quality controlled by Yamaha, has a dealer network of support and a wealth of spares available.

The Chinese aficionados will say 'So do Zontes, WK, Lexmoto etc. have the support. I don't agree.

IMO the worst thing you can have as your first bike is something that keeps breaking, is stuck in the shed awaiting parts and to be honest could be downright dangerous.

My hat goes in the corner of the Japanese badged 2nd hand bike.
____________________
Triumph Trophy Launch Edition

[Rogerborg]

Lexmoto in particular seem to have been dropping parts support for their own bikes. Very disappointing, considering they started out as parts suppliers for other marques. I used to cautiously recommend them because of their parts support - not any more.
____________________
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

[Westbeef]

[Rogerborg]

[331X2]

I picked a Sinnis Trackstar up last year for my Mrs for 600 quid, 3 years old and lived outside under a cover for all of that yet apart from the slightest rust staining on the rims (which you don't really notice after a clean over with an oily rag) it's in very straight condition.

I can't comment on reliability as she's not used it much due to buying it towards the end of summer and it just being a summer toy but fit and finish looks at least as good as any of the branded 125's we looked around.

[Westbeef]

[Rogerborg]