Post by kz1000st on Aug 4, 2013 17:42:37 GMT -6
This past week I celebrated the fifth year of owning Chinese rolling stock. While it came in two days earlier, the Bashan finally was ridden on August 1st, 2008. Those were the first days of $4.00 a gallon gas and we bought the scooter for my wife to use to save gas money. I chose GS Motorworks because they were only online company to talk about source inspections, quality and real parts warranty, plus an extensive set of instructions on registering and getting your scooter on the road. I came to see they could be counted on to make their customers happy.
The Cub clone came a year later at about the same time and it was a revelation. It was (is?) assembled about as well as many Japanese bikes I've owned and was tight as a drum. It took several hundred miles to loosen up and show its true self. Its advertised top speed was 30 mph and I believed it the first few months. As it broke in that became a private joke as it topped 40 mph regularly.
The Fashion arrived on July 29th of last year and has been a model citizen (OK, a transmission shaft broke but it was a four hour repair job) and has acquired over 4,000 miles in the last year. I expect many years of service and am saving a bundle on gas money over my cars. It's proof positive that you don't always need 150 hp and a 700 pound machine to travel on.
I've learned several things in the past five years. 1) These are not machines you can flog. Ridden within their limits they will last as long as anything. A 150 will run all year at 45 mph, beyond that you're pushing it. The Fashion, and probably many Chinese 250s, are happiest at 58-60 mph and will run for decades if kept there. 2) Epoxy is your friend. The plastic doesn't age well and cracks from heat, vibration and being dropped. JB Weld should be in your drawers or tool box. 3) These are great bikes and have a "Mystique" that rivals Harley Davidson. They're peppy, have a great sound and are real easy to work on. 4) Motoman is an idiot. He advocates hard fast break in. Maybe on his bikes but Chinese machines are built extremely tight in the engine bay. All three of my machines have loosened and strengthened over time. My 150 and Fashion were completely different animals at low mileage as they are now. I've found that the scooters needed about 4,000 miles to get close to their potential, the Cub Clone about 2,000 since it's a bike.
Lastly, there are many snobs who will always think their Japanese or European scooters are so vastly superior that they can't believe people would want anything else. Ignore them. As more and more Chinese equipment stack up more miles they'll shut up. They don't ride any more than you do and accumulate similar mileage. They won't have a lot to say when your odometer reads 25,000 miles, same as theirs.
I was getting bored with the appliance-like nature of my last Japanese bike and was tickled with the 150s sporty nature. I've gone from riding less than 2,000 miles a year to almost 5,000 in the last five years. I'm riding more and loving it.
What does the commercial say? Priceless.
The Cub clone came a year later at about the same time and it was a revelation. It was (is?) assembled about as well as many Japanese bikes I've owned and was tight as a drum. It took several hundred miles to loosen up and show its true self. Its advertised top speed was 30 mph and I believed it the first few months. As it broke in that became a private joke as it topped 40 mph regularly.
The Fashion arrived on July 29th of last year and has been a model citizen (OK, a transmission shaft broke but it was a four hour repair job) and has acquired over 4,000 miles in the last year. I expect many years of service and am saving a bundle on gas money over my cars. It's proof positive that you don't always need 150 hp and a 700 pound machine to travel on.
I've learned several things in the past five years. 1) These are not machines you can flog. Ridden within their limits they will last as long as anything. A 150 will run all year at 45 mph, beyond that you're pushing it. The Fashion, and probably many Chinese 250s, are happiest at 58-60 mph and will run for decades if kept there. 2) Epoxy is your friend. The plastic doesn't age well and cracks from heat, vibration and being dropped. JB Weld should be in your drawers or tool box. 3) These are great bikes and have a "Mystique" that rivals Harley Davidson. They're peppy, have a great sound and are real easy to work on. 4) Motoman is an idiot. He advocates hard fast break in. Maybe on his bikes but Chinese machines are built extremely tight in the engine bay. All three of my machines have loosened and strengthened over time. My 150 and Fashion were completely different animals at low mileage as they are now. I've found that the scooters needed about 4,000 miles to get close to their potential, the Cub Clone about 2,000 since it's a bike.
Lastly, there are many snobs who will always think their Japanese or European scooters are so vastly superior that they can't believe people would want anything else. Ignore them. As more and more Chinese equipment stack up more miles they'll shut up. They don't ride any more than you do and accumulate similar mileage. They won't have a lot to say when your odometer reads 25,000 miles, same as theirs.
I was getting bored with the appliance-like nature of my last Japanese bike and was tickled with the 150s sporty nature. I've gone from riding less than 2,000 miles a year to almost 5,000 in the last five years. I'm riding more and loving it.
What does the commercial say? Priceless.
.....im pretty sure thats a honda reflex.
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