Need your opinion please...

[Keetoman393]

Dealing with Chinese "crap" every day, I must say their quality is getting better, but I would not be wasting my money on it right now. Another thing - look for the prices to start increasing because the Chinese. I've been getting emails all month about it at work. Chinese prices are going up to the point that they aren't going to be as competitive soon.

[ossagp]

I think I mentioned every thing seems to be shipped loose on them. I am not sure that crashing and ruining a tank is something the majors would recall. A sprocket that came loose ruined the whole bike for that man? I am thinking that maybe something you power with pedals may be more for his brood, if a spun off sprocket is going to send his rigs to the salvager.

Seriously, when something costs about 35-50% of what comparable bikes cost, I would kind of expect to have to do a little setup and maintenance before they are ridden.

Well, I have lots of crash damaged items from my motorcycles and snowmachines. All from big name manufacturers, LOL I will box them up and see if I can get warranty!!

[hardlydangerous]

[QUOTE=pjg351;509484]

Originally Posted by hardlydangerous

Back to what I was sayin about where you buy them and warranty on the machines. I've personally seen the same thing with most of the big name brands as well. Anyone remember the 660 raptor tranny issues?
Polaris 525 recal?
Honda TRX450ER/R recal
Kawasaki KFX50 and KFX90 recal?
etc etc (see more here [Only registered and activated users can see links. ])

And that's the difference allright! The big brand names recall their bikes if there is a problem, do your chinese brands do the same?

Yes the CPSC or who ever is incharge of consumer safety has recalled chinese ATV's and bikes. Some modles have been rejected for sales in North America others that are capable of being street legal do not meet DOT approval. As far as i know if it passes CPSC inspection it's ok for sale in canada and the US.

I will not argue these bikes are made cheaper then many if not all japanese atv's and bikes but that's all part of a budget bike. but that's not to say they can't and won't be approved.
As for the sprocket issue... many ATV's i've seen have seen chains jumping off the sprockets and chain adjusters flipping over.. think about this... these are trail ATV's and not designed to be jumped, wheelie and endoed. The suspension was not designed for it. the dirt bikes are trail bikes not motocross bikes and won't stand up to it.
In a case where an ATV keeps throwing the chain I install a simple $30 chain guide... end of problem Should have been there from the get go but if the bike is just used for a trail machine like it was designed and not bottomed out every 3 seconds it would never be an issue just as it is with most of my customers. I have also replaced rubber bushings and brass bushings with steel, and added grease fittings in some places, I use only synthetic lubricants and together these small things make a huge difference when it comes to reliability. Not to mention the shop rates are 1/2 of what the big name dealers charge.
If you can afford an brand name bike/ATV by all means don't cheap out... but for MANY prople who would love to get out there and ride or beginners just starting out on a budget the chinese products can be the perfect ticket to years of fun if you buy from the proper shop and not a hole in the wall seller and maintain them properly and ride them how they were designed to be used.

[ossagp]

i would agree that you get what you pay for most of the time. I don't plan to buy chinese or korean in the near future. But if I needed three trail bikes and one adult size for uner 3500 it would be a pretty good alternative.

due to no fault of my own (I mention that because I seem to see some more youthful posters feeling youth itself is a laudible accomplishment) I was around when Japanese motorcycles began hitting our shores in numbers:

The first Honda "shop" I visited was actually a Flying A gas station. The first Yamaha shop I visited was also a do it yourself laundromat. I went to a Tohatsu dealer who worked out of his house. The first Suzuki dealership I was in shared a garage with a guy who put nose cones on rockets for vandenburg ab, and repaired about anything.


My friend bought a yamaha. He was directed to a non brand auto shop for warranty when the rotary valve broke.

Any of this sound familiar. Those bikes cost way less then than the ones the established riders were riding. One of the ones I heard said "those things are junk, nuthin but junk. I will never get off my Greeves for one."

Who knows, in the meantime, if approached right, I think they have a place.

[spiii]

Most Chinese dirt bikes that are sold over here in Sweden have a four stroke Loncin or a Lifan engine. These engines are quite good actually. They are blatant copies of Honda engines, many parts are in fact interchangeable. I have used a couple of 110 (107cc) Loncin engines with horizontal cylinder for special projects and they have worked really good, especially if you consider the low price. They do not have a gearbox as smooth as a Honda and the clutch is a bit heavier to use but otherwise they hold together really well. Warning though, don´t buy the racing engines, because they are not up to par with what I would call racing standard. Stick to the engines with a lower degree of tuning and you will be fine. (Sachs Madass 50 uses Loncin engines)

A couple of friends have bought chinese minibikes, quads, pitbikes.... for themselves and for their kids. All have two things in common:
1. Engines work fine.
2. Cycle parts are not good to say the least.
For example: The rear brake caliper on a 200cc quad was not assembled correctly. The bolts that hold the two halves of the caliper was not tightened and the caliper itself was rattling on its fasteners! I tried to help him put it together properly by tightening the bolts, no big deal I thought... Then the brake refused to release! I tried to fix it in all ways that I could think of without taking things apart (it was a brand new quad, warranty you know...) It was impossible to get the brake working!
The dealer was very helpful, he gave us a complete new brake system assembled, filled and ready to mount on the quad without discussion, he did not even want to have the faulty parts in return!
So, if you decide to buy a chinese bike, check all cycle parts thoroughly, the engine will most likely not give you a headache, but the rest might.
I agree with others on this issue, buy a Honda or a Yamaha if you are willing to spend the money, otherwise buy a bottle of loctite and a couple of handfulls of nuts and bolts, because screws often seem to be made of cheese in china!

[husky610]

Originally Posted by CanadianRider

I"m not sure about you brand new, right out of the box mini dirtbikes for sale real cheap - around 599 for a 70cc. their ads claim that these bikes are manufactured by "professional motorcycle manufacturers", which I guess could be taken many ways....i've put a link in for you to look at. What do you think about these for a relative beginner to riding? Is it the same with bikes where you usually get what you pay for, or would these possibly be an ok deal? Thanks for your help guys and girls...

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

this is the link for the red 70cc bike we're looking at picking up for a 12 yr old...

I bought 2 of these things...1 quad 1 mini bike. WHAT A WASTE of $1000. They work fine for a few weeks.....then died. scout about for a decent 2nd hand JAP mini bike and rebuild what ever needs rebuilding. I am wishing i did.