Chinese Motorcycles / Scooters? (ride, moped, bike, Japanese)
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Are any of them decent quality? What are your unbiased opinions on them?
Never really considered them until recently when looking into trikes / scooters. And there they are! Lots of them, inexpensive and ready to go. I read if a local dealer is in your area with available parts and service they can be good deals. And while they may not last forever, if bought from one of the better Chinese makers its said they won't fall apart and you will at least get your monies worth from them. I read some makers even make parts for and supply major Japanese and European makers. So, why not build and sell them, too?
Anyway looky here for wholesale (why prices are lower) bikes / trikes / scooters
Everyone I've heard of that got a Chinese atv or motorcycle says they're junk. Parts start breaking right away, resale value very low. Pay a little more and get Japanese.
ok i will look at Japanese, as well. i wonder if japanese make scooter trikes?
however, this place is close to me so i may drop by just for a look. if for nothing else just to get an idea about scooters and things. they seem legit and well established. maybe some can take a look and tell me what they think about this place and its merchandise?
I think they will get there, someday (and that goes for Korean firms such as Kymco and Hyosung as well). Chinese firms are *capable* of exquisite production when that is the goal. That almost never is the goal, at least right now. They seem to lack the relentless drive to refine that has been the hallmark of Japanese design for over two decades. And innovation is way behind imitation so far.
Would I buy one? I'd like to say I'd give it a shot if the price was right and reviews were positive, but honestly the Japanese alternatives are so plentiful (new or used) that I doubt in practice I would do that any time soon. I have respect for early adopters though.
Resale value is definitely going to be very low. I don't know of any Japanese production trikes. Piaggio (Italian) has the MP3 scooter.
Here's an interesting review of a 250 single manufactured in China to specifications designated by a Texas distributor:
I bought a cheap Chinese motorcycle, purely as a learner vehicle, we're restricted to 125 cc while we learn.
It came in a crate, brand new, all I had to do was build it, then register it.
It was less than half the price of a used Japanese bike, and was brand new.
It was quite easy to assemble, it comes with the engine/frame unit, so really all I did was fit the bars, lights etc.
It didn't look too bad, but wasn't exactly a pretty thing. Because they basically copy other makers, the final design can look a bit "hotch-potch".
It seemed to drive OK, but there was quite a lot of vibration coming through the frame.
The biggest fault with it, and, so far as I can tell, all Chinese bikes is that it had an awful habit of bolts working themselves loose.
I had a problem with the front brake caliper falling off as I was driving along, I was lucky it got jammed against the rotor !
After that, I went round the whole bike and removed every single bolt, coated it with threadlock, and refitted it.
I only ran it for 6 months after that before I sold it, but nothing else came loose after that.
Parts quality wasn't brilliant, after only 3 months, and 300 miles, there was already rust appearing on some of the chrome parts.
Aftermarket mechanical parts were readily available from the importers.
In short, they're a cheap stopgap. I wouldn't advise buying one as a serious daily rider, and they are maybe not ideal if you're not handy with a spanner.
That said, they are progressing in terms of quality recently, and will begin to catch up with other manufacturers.
Look at how we used to laugh at Kia and Subaru and the likes !
Believe it or not, my Daughter WON one of those little 49cc Chinese scooters at a horse show!
It came crated and in a box.
The tires were flat and I had to do some minor assembly along with adding fuel and oil. It was actually a pretty cool little thing which looked like a retro scooter....kind of a miniature Vespa styled like from the 60s.
The motor and carb were fully enclosed inside the "body" and when she 1st tried to rise it, the things refused to start. Of course I checked everything out 1st but the most obvious thing. The fuel line wasn't attached to the carb! It was kind of tough to reach back in there so I ended up using a long set of locking forceps to re-attach it.
It has actually been pretty dependable for what it is, although I think I could bend the bars with my bare hands and the body panels rattle at certain RPM. She only uses it at horse shows like a paddock bike to run between the stables and the motorhome. It'll even haul two smaller people if you aren't in any hurry.
Would I buy one? I'd like to say I'd give it a shot if the price was right and reviews were positive, but honestly the Japanese alternatives are so plentiful (new or used) that I doubt in practice I would do that any time soon. I have respect for early adopters though.
Now that gas prices are back down again there probably are quite a few used, low mileage scoots available. I'd hedge that the OP could probably find one of those for near the same price as a new Chinese. Personally, having dealt with a few malfunctions - once when I was 400 miles from home, I'd rather go with a bike that has a wide distribution of dependable service.
As far as triking the scoot, Voyager has a conversion kit
We converted one of our Silverwings with that. I thought it was OK; it had a bit of a traction problem on gravel. The Voyager isn't a rigid conversion, the rider still has a 15% lean.
I admit to being biased, but if someone wants a three-wheeler, I'd go for a sidecar conversion like mine
The Scrathack. Purty, ain't she
You get the benefit of a stable vehicle with the addition of storage, though the way of riding is different than a trike - more of a challenge, IMO. Mine is a 600cc bike, just enough power to pull a tub of that size alongside, but there are sidecars for smaller scoots. I got the chance to pilot a 250cc Helix with sidecar and found that it rode fine.
For about $6 k you can get a Yammie 650 V Star. I rode one for a few years before trading it for $1k less than I bought it for and upgraded to the 950.
Remember you get what you pay for! While the imported Chinese Scooters may be fun & cheap too,it will be short lived as the quality is poor and getting parts are even worse.
If you view them as disposable, you won't be disappointed. For my money, I'd buy something decent used over new and disposable.
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