$795.00 150cc trail bike.

[trailbuster30]

I don't know how widespread these things are but in Spokane at our Shucks auto supply stores they are selling what looks like a Chinese replica of the Honda CRF150. I'm sure It's not quite as refined as the Honda but at over $2000.00 less could a person go wrong. Has anyone bought one of these things? I'm thinking it would be great for a trail bike in the hills around here, kinda like my old SL 125 with a bit more punch.
Dan

[Howboucha]

Be very, very carefull. They are indeed a Honda copy, a result of what the Chinese do best, reverse engineering. The problem is that they use inferior raw materials, poor casting and chince on manufacturing. The companies avoid many US importation laws by shipping a bunch in, then "closing" the company. For example, Ching Yeng for the first round, then "Happy Racoon" for the second. The also do this to avoid any potential product liability.

Most importantly, they are disposable. You will not be able to get parts for it unless you have a very understanding Honda dealer that is willing to take the time to superceed the imitation parts with OEM parts.

If you are in the $800 range, you should be able to find a nice-used XR or CRF.

Buyer Beware

B.K.

[trailbuster30]

Thanks B.K. for the info, makes sense. I only hope our Chinese friends aren't listening. :D Dan

[MNwilly]

The info I have is a little different on these. My understanding is that Honda sold the plans for these to the Chinese manufcturer. The story I saw said they are nearly the same bike to the point that the Honda parts will fit and this was part of Honda's plan all along. I don't know about the matierials used in the production of these but they seem to be cheap enough though. I guess it all comes down to "You get what you pay for."

[Motornoggin]

The are fine for the money and are imported by a reputable company. They are indeed copies of Hondas, in fact Honda sold the licensing to them as well as the tooling for the engine/transmission. They have had very few warranty issues and parts are available from the importer via a 1-800 number. They are not state of the art by any stretch of the imagination, but again they are only $800. I would think them to be a good choice for a youngster starting out.

[Howboucha]

Don't want to argue but are you sure Honda sold the plans, tooling etc?
I have studied the imports for several years, and I stand by my original post. At the dealernews show there were 19 of these companies, all selling knockoffs.

BTW, Honda has been producing "third world market" bikes for many years. They started manufacturing in China around 1982. They do indeed license their products to other manufacturers, just like Mercedes does for Steyr (G-Wagen) and Jeep does to a UK and Brazilian manufacturer, etc. Anyone wanna guess who makes the Porsche Boxter? I will give you a tip, our finnish members can give us the answer!

Check this article out: http://www.detnews.com/2004/autosinsider/0406/08/autos-174235.htm

Brendan

[chris swann]

most honda play bikes are built in brazil . all the crf air cooled ones any way . at work all our mercedes benz trucks akso have made in brazil stickers on the engine . if i was you i would buy a used honda

[pvwheeler]

I bought my son a Giovanni 125 dirt bike last spring..:mad:
It runs great (so far) but has less than 10 hrs total on it.The first time he dropped it (~10mph) almost every piece of plastic shattered.About 5 rides later the rear spokes decided to let go,piercing the tire and of course destroying the rim...luckily no one was hurt as he was just tooling around the yard in first gear:oops:
While parts are available from the internet supplier,I still wish I had bought an old Jap bike,far better quality ,and resale is usually pretty good too.
IMO,chinese bikes cost WAY more than they are WORTH....
Oh ya, forgot to add,go over every fastener TWICE,and grease everything that should have grease!
Also updated the spark plug to ngk,and replaced all the fuel lines.Steering head bearings were loose as well as dry.the exhaust is brutally loud (on his anyways)
Tires suck big time.Replace the tubes too,apparently they suck as well although other than the broken spokes I haven't had a problem (yet)....
Also replaced the rear shock due to no damping....replacement sucked just as bad...

[Bisbonian]

They guidance I have received on Chinese scooters (probably goes for motorcycles as well). First thing is to go over every bolt and make sure they're torqued. The final assembly is usually done in a slipshod manner. Change out all fluids. It sounds strange but normally the fluids that come in these things are of inferior quality and can cause problems. Make sure to go over the bike carefully, cable & hose routing especially can be an issue.

Many times the Honda clone scooters can use parts from the appropriate Honda version. So replacement parts may be as close as your local dealership. Many people get thousands of miles out of these things at a fraction of the cost. The Chinese stuff will only get better as consumers demand it.

An interesting side effect of the cheaper materials: the Chinese copies use thinner plastics and such to keep costs down. This makes them lighter in many cases and have found to actually be faster and better performing than the real deal....if you can keep them running.

[Scootertrash in Paradise]

There are a bazillion pasolas (scooters) and motos (small mc's) in the DR. For a long time, Yamahahaha, Suzukme, Kawasaki and Honda were it, all you saw. Then the last 3 years a whiole explosion of Chinese bikes came in, brands you never heard of, all slick and tech looking, and at like 1/2 or 2/3 of the name brands. Dominicans, being fairly poor, bought them; after all, they could buy new for the price of well-used.

But the damn things turned out to be a POS. Busted parts, stuff breaking all the time, parts in short supply, etc.

Not sayin', just sayin', based on my observations.

Caveat Emptor. Nobody bitches about quality.