Chinese bike ?

[Celerity]

I kinda dig these things... It's a Chinese bike, but they are opening a manufacturing facility in my town by the end of the year. The company is Lifan. lifan makes chinese scooters and mopeds. They have entered into the sport bike realm with a cute little 200 cc sport bike. Observe:

It's cute. 5 speed, 75 mph top end.

$900 to the door in a crate.

I mean, I love the looks, the bike is going to drive me 5 miles to work during the summer, and it's pocket sized. But it's Chinese and thus poorly made by a country that I can't stand.

Should I let that get in the way ?

 

[AHHVTEC]

damn thats a good price but it looks lioke it will fall apart any second

 

[Celerity]

damn thats a good price but it looks lioke it will fall apart any second

In comparison to ... what ? My friend's Ninja runs for about 200 miles before something catastrophic happens. Another kid's R6 swallowed a valve at 2000 miles.

And Harleys don't even run for a single run without something going wrong.

The retail on these are $2300, so my 900 price may be kinda shady. If I can't get it below that, then Ninja 250 is what I'll look for next.

 

[AHHVTEC]

do these ppl make the ninja also, i wasent comparing it to nothing i was just saying thats what it looks like

 

[Celerity]

heh.. The ninja is a Kawasaki. It's one of few bikes in the sub 250 range that was able to make it to the US. No one was buying them for their small size.

The problem is that I'm looking for something with small size.

Everyone tells me to go spend more and get the Hyosung:

 

[AHHVTEC]

yea that one looks a ton better

 

[Celerity]

4 times the cost ROFL

I just talked to a guy about buying his Honda Ruckus. Not fast enough though.

This whole thing sprang today when I found a new way to work - it's a wormhole. It's all rural by farms and through the forest and stuff. Twisty, no traffic. And I'm in the Yaris and the Yaris is a neat little car, but it's not fun in the sun, if you catch my drift.

So I got the bug up my ass.. the CRX is almost done, the Vega is almost done, I need something small and cheap.

I am going to stop by that house near my parents that always has a 1985 Honda Interceptor 500 out front, see if they are still selling it. But when I get my first mortgage payment out of the way, I'm going to seriously look into this.

 

[AHHVTEC]

yikkes, it dont look that good to pay 4 times aas much, yea i love bikes of all kinds for the last year or so ive been kinda trying to find so old guy with a 1979-79 cbx that dont know what he has so i can get it cheap, or mabe the same year kz1000

 

[phunky.buddha]

Considering that millions of Chinese ride to work and back every day on small scooters and motorcycles MADE in China and Taiwan, I think the quality would actually be decent. The fit and finish may not be up to par with what's being put out by the top Japanese factories, but it will definitely be workable- and Chinese build quality has come a LONG way in the last 10-20 years.

 

[Celerity]

Stopped by (Well, actually SLAMMED ON THE BRAKES) at a bike dealer today and walked in. Wanted to talk to people to see if they know anything about the Korean bikes.

They had a 2007 Ninja 250 there. Black, 0 miles. $3000 out the door.

 

[phunky.buddha]

Oh wow, are they that cheap? Maybe I should start riding...

 

[hazzardboy95]

Stupid fucking chinese bikes. I work at cycle world and all day I hear about people who bought little chinese bikes and now they cant find parts for them. Its so annouying. If your gonna buy it dont go to any cycle shop for help because they will probably be ignorant as hell to you. Buy something with a name you have heard before. Suzuki, honda, kawasaki, yamaha.

 

[reckedracing]

one tells me to go spend more and get the Hyosung:

i was gonna say you can get a ninja 250 for a comparable if not cheaper price but i guess you found that out already

last i heard lifan was not getting DOT papers
i would without a doubt consider it for 900 bucks if you can get it on the road
and people that can't find parts suck at the interweb

 

[phyregod]

I finally sold my harley! Guess I should update my sig. But yeah, harleys are trash.

I'd stay away from that first bike, looks very cheaply made, small brakes, doesnt look durable.

Grab that ninja. Hell, make em find you a used 250 ninja for $1k and call it a day.

 

[Celerity]

Riding a harley has never been about the reliability, performance, or even ridability.

It's an image, a club, and the feeling (Until Buell came along) of being on something 100% american made.

I wish they made a small displacement bike. I would buy. I really had a problem with giving the Chinese government money for anything. I know that my $900 USD would go right into the military budget and they would use it to build a missile aimed at Alaska anyway.

The Japanese, at least, will spend my $3000 on a single Sushi meal and a bottle of Saki. And maybe wet their willies with some 10 year old prostitutes. (If they have change from the dinner)

 

[asmallsol]

Last summer I was looking into a low CC bike also. The problem besides the fact that they may be hard to find parts, the fact that its top speed is only 75mph, if you were ever to take it on the highway you would be basically riding it at its limits. Its going to put a lot of stain on the bike. If your going to get a low cc bike, get a little ninja that can go a little over a 100, so that way if your ever in the situation where you need a little speed, you have it.

 

[phyregod]

Thats true, 75mph top end probably indicates a very slow 0-60 time. Which could actually be a dangerous thing.

And you need power at your finger tips, sometimes you literally have to dodge cars and that extra bit of power could save your life.

 

[phunky.buddha]

I've been reading about the Ninja 250 for a good part of the day... I like it a lot! I think that if Katie and I start riding, I'll have to get one.

 

[Celerity]

Go sit on it . They are dated, but I can see that they are considering, overall, the first time user of a bike. Everything is easy to replace on it, and cheap. Plastics, headlights, taillights. It's not the complex and sexy units (Read: Tough as hell) like the Hyosung 250. That way the whole experience of owning a bike is easy and addictive

then BAM they got ya

 

[phunky.buddha]

Yup. So the Hyosung is a Korean copy/improvement of the Ninja 250?