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Old 23-12-18, 02:50 PM   #1
Seeker
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Default Chinese bikes

I've been browsing ebay for a winter hack, I had no idea there were so many Chinese bikes:

Honley, Hanway, Lexmoto, Keeway, Zontes, Sinnis, WK, CFmoto, AJS (!), Lifan

The early Japanese imports to the UK were (allegedly) inferior but improved rapidly. The Chinese bikes have been here for a while now but the poor quality stigma still seems to dog them.

If you delve into the 125cc forums it seems strange to see people advocating Suzuki's because of their corrosion resistance, makes you wonder how bad the Chinese bikes are.
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Old 23-12-18, 04:20 PM   #2
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I have a Sinnis, they are terrible for rust!
Electrics are not much better, I have had to replace my headlights & rear indicators through rotting away. My rear wheel looks like it is going to rust away and the frame aint much better. Its only a 7 year old bike, i wont buy another chinese pile of junk!
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Old 23-12-18, 10:58 PM   #3
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Default Re: Chinese bikes

Most of the names are UK branding exercises in badge engineering.
The manufacturers are the likes of Qinqi, Shineray, Loncin, Zongshen etc.
There's some fairly half decent stuff already, maybe brexit will be the catalyst for a new wave of bikes coming to our shores?
Here's a few we might be seeing more of: https://autowise.com/top-chinese-motorcycles/
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Old 23-12-18, 11:02 PM   #4
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From an economics point of view, a Chinese 125 for a grand that lasts 12 months and then goes straight in a skip is a better buy than a four grand Japanese 125 that loses a grand in the first month of ownership.
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Old 24-12-18, 02:20 AM   #5
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Default Re: Chinese bikes

Quote:
Originally Posted by Seeker View Post
I've been browsing ebay for a winter hack, I had no idea there were so many Chinese bikes
Wait, how did your search for winter hacks uncover the quantity of bikes produced in China? There is literally NO direct correlation between the two search terms.
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Old 24-12-18, 06:15 AM   #6
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Default Re: Chinese bikes

It's sounding very much like computer manufacturers to me. 15 years ago you hadn't heard of Lenovo or Asus, they were rebranded as IBM etc.

Loncin are engine an supplier to BMW.
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Old 24-12-18, 06:14 PM   #7
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Default Re: Chinese bikes

Quote:
Originally Posted by Seeker View Post
I don't understand why small bikes are less powerful than they used to be. My 1972 CB175 was 20hp and this 2006 CBF250 is also 20hp. 250cc bikes used to be about 30 hp. (both 2 and 4 strokes).
Licence restrictions and emission legislation are the most likely answers to why.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Talking Heads View Post
From an economics point of view, a Chinese 125 for a grand that lasts 12 months and then goes straight in a skip is a better buy than a four grand Japanese 125 that loses a grand in the first month of ownership.
Thats some interesting maths you got there... But I would also consider resale value and reliability which might change the result there.

But then thats the question, how bad are they?

From my experience, bad.

Yes as I understand it the original Japanese bikes had a similar build quality problem but this was fast resolved hence where we are today. However I don't have direct experience of this.

The early Chinese bikes also had a build quality problem, which I have first hand experience of. Having worked on a couple of them I was amused to find a combination of metric and imperial fasteners and parts sizes on the same bike. The quality of the chrome, paint, and metal simply wasnt there. Even a year old bike looked like ten, and that was with no where near the miles you'd expect.

Parts support was also an issue for the early models. I was told this resulted in a lot of these bikes being uninsurable as owners would simply report them stolen after dumping them when the cost of repair or the lack of parts left the bike worthless.

So what of the current crop of Chinese bikes? Unfortunately just the same. I ride with a lot of 125's when out on my Grom so I see the build quality issues that they have. I know of one Lexmoto for example that is waiting on its second warranty replacement engine. A Benelli TNT125 whos rear suspension failed in under 600 miles, as well as having clutch issues. I've also seen a year old Keeway cruiser that looked like it had spent time as a boat anchor.

Now compared to some of the Japanese 125's such as the Grom or the MT125 the build quality is simply leagues ahead as is the support. Yes you can find trash examples of all of these bikes, but thats more self inflicted by the owners lack of maintenance then anything fundamental.

I would say however there is a slight improvement to these bikes over the years, but not at the rate I would expect particularly in support. I still wouldn't own one for sure which is a shame as competition is a good thing for the market. But the most interesting thing to measure the quality of the bikes by is the local main dealer, and its their job to know these things. They will not under any circumstances take a Chinese bike in as a part exchange as its simply not worth it. Until that changes I think thats all you really need to know.
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