Preparing for a Chinese scooter By nards (Read 4,745 times)

[nards]

So I'm going to be getting a Chinese scooter. I'm going into this as prepared as I can be. I already own a motorcycle so I have all the necessary tools and am not afraid to turn a wrench.

I've found a great YouTube video series about Chinese scooter PDI as well as a few very in depth help guides. I plan to follow those almost to the letter. I also know that despite this, the scooter won't be a Honda, Vespa, etc.

But I'm still stuck on which Chinese scooter brand to go with? Do I go with a higher end brand like Binitelli? Or just stay cheap with something like a Roketa?

I guess my question is, in the world of Chinese scooters, does the price difference really matter? Or are they all junk and in need of serious re-manufacturing? If so, why bother spending the extra cash.

Thanks!

[cyborg]

There are decent Chinese scoots available,,, want real reliable , fast ? But don't want to spend a ton of dough?,, get a used Sym,,, they are stones,,,

[richardv]

I'm still researching myself so will defer to those with experience. The Taiwanese built seem to be the most reliable and also pricier from my exposure. Sym, Kymco, TGB (Taiwan Golden Bee).

Then there is a lot of support for Jim's Rapid Repair listed at the top of the page.

But then, I've been wrong before. At least once. OK maybe twice.

[Bashan]

If you want to stick with Chinese go with Znen but they are still not SYM quality. The Taiwanese are worth the bucks.

[rks]

As far as Chinese scooters go, I believe the biggest problem, and the most difficult to fix, is the ineptness of so many operators. Most feel... all you need to do is keep gas in the tank, and everything else will be just fine.....a 50cc should run 50 mph....a 150cc should be able to do 65 - 70 mph...and so on. Seems like everyone wants to rocket down the highway....so they go out and buy a 4 or 8 hp scooter....then try to prove to the world they are the fastest thing around....wot all the time.

Then there are those that don't where to find their spark plug, or what is meant by check your valve clearances.

But you don't sound like a member of that group....you have a motorcycle (as many of us here do), and you know how to turn a wrench...so I think you'll do fine with a Chinese scoot. Just operate it the way it was intended to be operated, and keep up with the maintenance.

My little plastic 150 will be 3 years old in 5 days.....has never let me down....and still amazes me how well, and economically it runs. In another month or so, it will be out of the hibernation, and starting season number 4.

[Alleyoop]

All you do is just do you basic maintenance on them and they will run run run. I bought my Ice Bear 150 Trike back in march of 2009. First year I fixed and went over some things and since then now going on 6 years it is boring. I mean I go into my garage turn the key and hit the starter and it purrs like a kitten and away I go. In the winter It stays in the garage and I start it and let it warm up for about 15-20 minutes once a week sometimes once every two weeks. It is ready to ride 24/7 365 days out of the year(BORING I TELL YOU)..LOL
Alleyoop

[Bashan]

Alley, I'm sorry, you are a little beyond the new Sino scooter owner. You built race cars and rode many bikes. Your level of expertise is above what most people bring to the forum. You're going to catch things before they turn into a problem and that's above simple maintenance. IMO, Chinese bikes take a level of mechanical ability above what a newcomer needs. It seems easy for you because it is, the tyros are going to need help. But then again, that's why we're here.

[Kaveman]

I'll add this quickie ! Pray ! You may need it and this forum for any troubles you might have in the future ! This forum is and has been a huge help to those (including myself ) who have had issues with their Chinese manufactured scoots past and present .
willc,

[nards]

Thanks for the good info so far. I'm trying to have reasonable expectations about what the scooter is. I know it will be maintenance heavy , and that right off the bat before I even start it up I will need to replace a host of small parts. I'm just hoping to avoid some of the major Chinese scooter horror stories I hear about.

In my research I keep seeing Znen built scooters come up as being the best Chinese built scooters. While I realize that "best Chinese scooter" might be a pretty dubious honor (sort of the NBA's sixth man award), everything I've read says they have a better likelihood of being decent than most other Chinese scoots.

So what about SSR scooters? There's very little factual info on them- but I'm to understand they are Znen scoots.

[jerryscript]

I have two Znen scooters, a 50cc "Patent Model", and a 150cc SSR branded model. The only stock part I had fail was the head on the 50cc, but that was after installing a BBK and taking my large nephew on a ride (together we were about 125lbs over the GVWR). I will continue to purchase Znen built scooters based on the results I've had with my first two.

SSR is also Lance, basically just a brand they are using to ride the coattails of the automotive SSR reputation.

[cookees]

Here's my take on the whole subject. I've been riding a scooter since 2005 and have sold them since 2008. We sold mostly Chinese scooters. Over the years we handled, Wildfire, JCL,Qlink,Linhai,Cfmoto,Zen's ( BMS,Bintelli,Puma,Wolf) Icebear from China and Lance and SYM from Taiwan.

Most of our buyers were new to scooters and chose the Chinese scooters because of their price point. A lot of those sales were spur-of-the-moment purchases and knee jerk reactions to gas price spikes. The repeat customers tended to upgrade to Taiwanese.

There really is a quality difference in the scooter world.

The best??? Hands down...Honda.

I ride a Lance/Sym.

[richardv]

I hope no one leaves because of this open discussion. It's is the reason I came and stay here. To learn about the various brands. What I have learned so far is that if I want a good ride over 150cc it will be Taiwanese or Japanese.
Best wishes no matter what your choice.

[cyborg]

Cookies,,,no offense meant,,,the reason the Honda scooters are so good ,,,is because they are made by Sym,,,and all of Hondas small bore cb series bikes were rebadged Sym made,,,all of bmw's scooter engines are Kymco and vespa/piaggio engines are taiwan made too,,,Sym and Kymco and Honda taiwan were all the same company and they split ,,,there is fierce competition between Sym and Kymco for "who's the best" and market share in taiwan,,,,,in my opinion the taiwan made scooters are the best in the world for right now,,,china is coming along but it's not quite there yet,,,i hear even the metropolitan Honda is chinese made now, so it won't be long before china is right there

[nards]

It will be a 150cc, really just to go to work here and there plus the occasional beer run. I'll have my motorcycle anytime I need to use the highway or as a backup.

I know the quality of the Taiwanese scooters is superior. But is it worth double the price? Are they that good, or are Chines scooters, even the better ones, just that awful?

[cyborg]

I'm a long time motorcyclist,,, I made a huge mistake by getting a Vespa ,,, have a genuine Stella now,, my next one will be Taiwanese If I decide on a twist and go,,, Sym or kymco,,, and worth every penny,,, I'll probably get a lightly used one for little more than half of new retail,,,, in my opinion they make the best scooter available,,,, the Chinese are getting better but not there yet,,, you want to ride buy a Taiwan scooter,,, I mean people are getting mileage out of Chinese trust me,,, but for any kind of serious riding other than having the scooter around as a toy it has to be Taiwanese for now at least,, but they are a large buy in ,,,double and triple of a Chinese rival,,, that's why I say get a lightly used or a year or two leftover to scrub off a little of the pain of paying 4 grand for a scooter,,,,, that hurts just thinking about it,,, if your just using it as a "spare" for the runs to the store for brewsters or the hardware store or short medium speed commutes to work by all means get a quality Chinese scoot but if your a rider and it sounds like you are I think a chino scoot is going to be a huge letdown