Page 1 of 1

chinese bikes in u.s.

Posted: Sun Nov 09, 2008 7:17 am
by racinrich
I own and have ridden a wildfire 200 enduro 2500 miles this season.It is similar to lifan 200 gy5. People say the motors are clones but if you do the history you will find honda has used lifan power in all their small bikes for years i e 50 80 100 cc.Lifan is one of the top scooter and small bike manufactures in china.They had a falling out with honda and only have limited involvement,Yamaha has some involvement with them now.True it is not a serious off road racer but for the money it can't be beat. I have contacted the U.S. distributor and they assure me parts are here in country and available. I use this as a commuter.I have swapped out the knobbies for avon distanzia.The bike does well in traffic and it gets 80 to 92 mpg!Top speed is 68 to 70 mph.It's got enough accel to stay out of trouble.It is true you have to check tightness regularly and have to be mechanically inclined but this should be done on any bike! I have had no electrical or mechanical issues other than loose bolts. In closing I would buy another chinese bike especially if they up the cc.The American market demands this and I am sure they want to get into this market.

Re: chinese bikes in u.s.

Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2008 5:38 am
by HYPERR
racinrich wrote: if you do the history you will find honda has used lifan power in all their small bikes for years.
Blashphemy! Honda would never ever use such a garbage motor in their vehicles. Honda is extremely proud of their engines and arguably are the best engine builders in the world. Honda is superior to Lifan by a margin the length of the Nile River. Lifan motors are nothing but cr@p and totally inferior copies of Honda engines. In fact, Honda is contstantly in battle with them for trademark and patent infringements.

Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2008 11:19 am
by ofblong
sorry but chinese bikes are crap. I mean look at the junk they come out with when it pertained to DVD players. I mean the $40 dvd players they came out with usually only lasted a couple weeks before they were broke. No thanks I would rather have a japanese bike anyday over a chinese one.