Hey guys, I was thinkig of getting a clone from Retrobikes. They make a little trail in 110cc and it is street legal. I think it would be a fun littlle bike
I have yet to meet anyone who bought one of these Chinese knockoffs that was happy with it. I've worked on a dozen of them owned by friends and neighbors and the build quality is pretty atrocious when compared to the real Japanese versions.
Expect to have problems and since there is no real dealer network, expect to deal with them on your own.
Personally, I'd rather get a real Honda trail bike from the 70s. At least once you've fixed it up, you know it will last awhile.
I've been happy with the one that I picked up on ebay a few years ago for my son. It was dirt cheap and I knew that I was taking a risk, but I figured that I wuld give it a try. When I received it, I took it out of the crate, put the wheels and handlebars on it, put some fuel in it and pushed the started button......nothing. So I gave it two kicks and off it went. After a short ride around I stopped and noticed an electricla connector hanging out from the back of the bike. I plugged it in and pushed the starter button and it instantly sprang to life. It has not failed to start since.
You get what you pay for however and the quality of hte bike is poor (other that the engine which seems great). The chain adjuster stripped the first time that I adjusted it, and when the clutch lever bracket got broken you are down to making something out of aftermarket parts in order to make it work.
At the same time that I bought the Chinese bike for one son I also bought a brand new Suzuki 50 for the other. The Suzuki was nothing but headaches for the first year of ownership (although the quality of components is light years better). All of these issues were down to the Mikuni carb (did I mention that Mikuni carbs do not like me?), I found it ironic that the bike I was always working on out on the trail was the Suzuki that I paid twice as much for.
The real issue with Chinese bikes is the lack of a brand name. Everyone and their dogs are manufacturing bikes out of reaily available components in China. They load them on to a container with no name on them and the end user often calls them what ever they choose. This way you are never quite sure if you are getting a good one or a bad one.
