Are all Chinese scooters junk?? By stevenbich (Read 16,367 times)

[stevenbich]

I want to buy a new scooter but am afraid to buy Chinese. Anyone out there have a great working Chinese scooter?

[Bashan]

Welcome to the forum Steven. You've really got to come out of that shell and learn to express yourself. Yes, there's decent Chinese scooters out there but you get what you pay for. CF Moto makes very dependable scooters and to answer your second question I have two CFs that work great. Znen is a good manufacturer and any Motorino will be made by Znen. The Linhai group has established a good line especially with the Aeolus bikes. If you see a dirt cheap scooter online you'll get a dirt cheap scooter with a lot of potential problems. Cheap Chinese scooters are coming up in quality though as the Chinese try to shake the bad rep. Now, if you're willing to put a little work into a cheap Chinese scooter and fix the potential problems you can get a heck of a deal. If you don't know how to turn a wrench buy an upper tier Chinese, Taiwan, or Japanese scooter. Be careful of "clones", they are knock offs and usually a lot of trouble. Maybe some other guys could chime in here with their thoughts and tell us which scooters they feel are decent or a lemon. Rich

[tvnacman]

welcome to the fourm Steve !!!!
The first thing to do is see if there is a local dealer , see if they are willing to work on chinese scooters . If they tell you yes then you have someone to work on the scooter . If they tell you no then chances are if you have any problems your on your own . So chances are you will be on your own . It will be frustrating at times .

I'm a cheap charlie, I bought cheap and buy cheap parts .

John

[smutty]

ill sell ya mine----cheap-----cf moto--250cc

[mike6736]

Just look around ya and you will lot ocf them on the road. L inhai makes some good one, I almost got one than went with a Honda, pay more gt more

Mike

[kz1000st]

Tao Tao also seems to be making a good product. www.gsmotorworks.com

My scooter is doing well at 6,100 miles but it's done a couple of goofy things that challenged my skills. You can pick up used CF Moto scooters on www.craigslist.org for about the cost of a new Chinese scooter and live happily ever after.

Or find a dealer with some overstock for a few bucks more.
rochester.craigslist.org/mcy/2728639693.html

[leenark]

Wow Steve...you are going to get good and bad both ways. I have a 300 IceBear Magnum and I love it. Initially it was painful but after about 30 days of fine tuning I have had no problems at all with it. I only drive it in good weather (too old for crappy weather driving). I only have a little over 1100 miles on it but it's been great. I do a lot of short mileage stuff 5 to 10 miles. It's never left me stranded but I check everything on it all the time. Bolts and screws have a tendency to loosen by themselves, but if you locktite them after you find them over time you will no longer have a problem. They are very finicky when it comes to air fuel ratio being just right and idle being just right. Valve adjustment is a must. When they are off you'll know it...because it probably won't crank. For around town driving you just can't beat it. For the interstate I have my Honda CB 900. As far as the scoots you're going to hear hate it/love it. Bottomline if you can do minor maintenance yourself they are worth it. If you can't then I would not recommend getting one. Hope I've helped. vr,

[scooter12]

Ya, some bad and some good. The Roketa MC-13-250 scooter seems to be a good scooter, but a person buying one has to know how to work on it themselves. I have over 5000 miles on mine, runs good but I do my own work on it. Now Roketa makes 150cc scooters and well as 49cc scooters, some good some bad.. I rode mine today at 35 degree outdoors. I took the wheels off my scooter and brought to a car tire place to have them changed. You can have work like the done, but not bring your entire scooter into a car place to have them change the tire that is on scooter still. They expect you to know how to take off a wheel, change fuel filter, gas lines, do a valve adjustment, adjust carb, ect.. Most scooters are pretty simple to work on. I love working on my own scooter, to save me money and learn about it.. Not everyone enjoys it and if not, well don't buy a chinese scooter.

[sprocket]

Buying a main stream Chinese scooter is fine, but as others have said get a reputable brand. The 2008 that are still around can be and very likely will be a huge pain in the butt, however the quality of the 2010 and 2011 scooters is far better...

Don't get side tracked into some weird sized engines either because parts can be a problem. Generally, a 50, 125 or 150cc is the way to go...

I ride Lifans and other than a loose steering bearing that needed tightening I have never had a problem...

[niedzwiedz]

Sprocket makes a good suggestion;

Don't get side tracked into some weird sized engines either because parts can be a problem. Generally, a 50, 125 or 150cc is the way to go...

I can not honestly say when I bought my Dazon Diamondback 50, I thinking I getting close to 4 years I did not know a lot about any of these scoots back then. I knew Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, were made in Japan, but, I not even bet money on that.
This the website on the Dazon, my Flagfox shows their server location as Hong Kong;
www.peoplesmotor.com/

I was @ a local Gander Mountain store one day and there were 2 scooters on clearance. One was the Dazon 50 and the other may been a Dazon I not know but, it was a 125/150 for $200 more. I paid about $650/750. I was where my Title and sales receipt are yesterday and forgot to look, I want to be honest on these numbers.
Anywho, I bought the 50 as it was cheapest to learn more. At that time I did not think anything about where to get parts

Luck was on my side as the Big Scooter in the sky blessed my ignorance of what I was buying all I have done is change my oil, inspect and adjust things like the rear brake. The speedometer cable came off once at the gauge and I think it getting ready to do it again. I guess hand tightening was not my best option the first time and my battery bit the dust this past September, probably because I did not check the water level during some really hot weather
For the price I paid, this scoot has already paid for itself in fuel savings, parts and regular maintenance, compared to my Chevy pickup w/350. I sold the truck this year to a friend. Would have give it to him, but, he offered some money. One day I tell him how I got the best of him! ;D

What I have learned; I probably should have been more educated as to what I was buying, then I would have spent the extra $200 and got the bigger scooter.

Take some of the advise given here by these people and learn, browse these threads and if a question comes to mind, ask these people here and know the answers
Read through the Library (members only) and learn the simple mechanics required to fix some things yourself. My motto is; "if you can not fix it, do not buy it", in today's world labor is what kill us not the parts, learn how to put them on yourself (I not trying to devalue good dealer services, just, I can not afford them). When you can look at an engine and know that a 139QMB, 157QMJ or a GY6, then you ready to go hit the Scooter Dealers or maybe feel confident enough to buy a nice used one

I can not recommend a brand or even what size engine. At least do as Sprocket mentioned and find something common you can get parts for, the banners you see flashing up top. Check those places out and see what parts they have and find others to browse and learn. You can learn a little about the mechanics, electronics and actual engines and the many places to get parts.

[Kaveman]

I will add this : Chinese scooters are eaiser to learn both mechanicaly on how they operate and how they operate on the road while out and about. It is a totally new ballgame when switching over to an Italian style Vespa PX series and Stella as I just did. The twist and go automatic tranny helps those who have never rode a scoot before . My stella has a manual 4 speed transmission compared to the automatic I had on my recently deceased Roketa. This forum is great for reference and help should you need the advice from the more expierenced riders .
will

[leroysunl]

I have three SunL 150cc scoots, 2007 &8(one is a parts scooter). All mfg. by Shanghi Shenke. Both have been very dependable/reliable. Minor problems, bulbs, regulator/rectifier, flat tire, replace battery, but otherwise fine. No local cycle shop will work on/service them so I do all mechanics. Parts redally available on line. Perhaps I am lucky but haven't used parts scoot at all so far. LF

[sprocket]

@ leroysunl I agree... if you enjoy tinkering on scooter and know how they work or are willing to learn they can be great hobby and reliable transport...BUT

You MUST keep up with the preventive maintenance...do a good 'after delivery prep' and change the oil, change the oil, adjust the valve gaps, change the oil...change the belt...etc...

Gee I sound like my Dad

[bigkahuna427]

So where does Kymco fall into the the list of better quality scoots? I know they are Taiwan but I think they may have built some in China too. I think maybe I read that??

[kz1000st]

This should answer most of your questions about Kymco.

scootinfool.blogspot.com/2011/10/three-years-with-kymco.html

Yes,Kymco and SYM have plants in China. Kymco builds the Like 200i, Super 8s and Agilities there. SYM builds the Mio, Fiddles and I think I read Symba there. SYM also builds scooters for Tomos in their China plant. From what I've read they're better than the rank and file Chinese scooters-so far.