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Lifan Motorcycles? Anyone own one?

DFW_Warrior

Hmmmm.....
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Apr 4, 2006
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Location
Arlington, TX
First Name
Bill
I'm doing some looking for a friend and wondering if anyone has some real world experience with them. I've heard second hand reports that they aren't too bad, they just don't have the fit and finish of the Japanese bikes. Do that handle freeway speeds fairly well? Any breakdowns to report maybe?

http://www.americanlifan.com/lifan3/products.html
 
A guy showed up on a knock off Honda Helix that was made by Lifan to the Scootercade in AR. He said it was reliable. He had logged couple thousand miles on it.

That's my extent of knowledge, sorry I have no more info.
 
I'm doing some looking for a friend and wondering if anyone has some real world experience with them. I've heard second hand reports that they aren't too bad, they just don't have the fit and finish of the Japanese bikes. Do that handle freeway speeds fairly well? Any breakdowns to report maybe?

http://www.americanlifan.com/lifan3/products.html

Your second hand reports are pretty spot on. Expect to have to tweak a few things out of the crate, but very few problems if any with the engines. The Lifan, i believe, the 200 anyway, uses the OHV motor, but it's a good motor. I've sold a few of the 150s. Expect to put a decent chain on it, maybe a smaller rear sprocket, new tubes (the chinese use poor quality rubber in the tubes they use), and minor things otherwise. I'm in my 4th year with my Diamo and it's running fantastic. It's getting kinda beat up cause I show it absolutely NO love....:lol2: ....but it's still doing the job I bought it for above expectations. Ty wrap that stupid plastic battery holder, too, to better secure it. That's a weak point if you use it rough like I do.

For much more info to any of your questions, go sign on to http://chinariders.net/ . There's all sorts of info there on maintenance, care, weak points of the bikes, cross over parts from Honda or Yamaha, etc. Lots of stuff crosses from old Honda parts. That's where my rear sprocket came from, ebayed, CL175 I think it was, early 70s. It's 10 teeth smaller than what came with the bike. The bikes ain't up to Japanese detail, but they're very reliable engines and replacement parts and even complete engines are dirt cheap. Maintenance is simple and an XR manual will work at least for the OHC models like mine. The OHV is a bit different.

Oh, drill and safety wire the exhaust mount bolt on the frame. It WILL get loose otherwise. :trust: There are little things like that. It's not really a moron's motorcycle. I look at it as something like an improved Indian Enfield. Stronger, better designed motor, but something that isn't quite turn key, but is easily user servicable. More reliable than Enfields from what I've read, though, LOL. For the money, they're great! If you have political reasons not to buy China, well, that's your problem. They're available at great prices and they're well worth it unless you're planning an adventure tour of Big Bend or something. They are, after all, just 200ccs. There are 250s out now and I've seen pix of 350cc bikes, but the 200 is what I wanted for the rack that comes on it. Hauls a lot of corn to my feeders. :lol2: It was my Toyota 4x4 replacement when I sold the Toyota. :tears: Less chance of getting stuck with it, though. That's a plus. And, I've hauled stands and feeders down there and even drug my hog trap in with it, saved me a lot of sweat. Around town, it gets near 80 mpg and that's a good thing, though mileage actually drops to 60-70 out on the highway depending on wind direction. All that WFO, ya know. It runs along at about 60, but gets there eventually. :lol2:
 
Commie bike! I, personally, wouldn't buy one. It's virtually impossible to avoid buying Chinese products as it is, much less consciously going out and buying an entire Chinese motorcycle.

The military dangers of supporting China and its slave-labor economic system:



The human exploitation of Chinese slave laborers so we can have a decadent Martis Gras (censored nudity warning):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kCxvbBsv00

Just something to think about. In my opinion, our current relationship with China amounts to dancing with the devil.
 
I've been thinking about getting a little Lifan 150 for commuting. Something like this, or maybe even this. I would like to see mileage numbers a little higher, though.

What I think would really be cool is getting something like this plated. Would this rock, or what?
110gy-1.jpg

I'm thinking the DOT might not go for it though.
 
I've been thinking about getting a little Lifan 150 for commuting. Something like this, or maybe even this. I would like to see mileage numbers a little higher, though.

What I think would really be cool is getting something like this plated. Would this rock, or what?
110gy-1.jpg

I'm thinking the DOT might not go for it though.


I'd like the shrunken bike net to the Lifan street bike. :mrgreen:
Centerstand and kickstart on street bike? Interesting.
 

Just because one product is crap from a country doesn't mean all of them are. Heck, all my drill bits are German and they are fantastic and they come from the same country as the auto-igniting final drive maker. So for me it doesn't mean a thing.
 
Commie bike! I, personally, wouldn't buy one. It's virtually impossible to avoid buying Chinese products as it is, much less consciously going out and buying an entire Chinese motorcycle.

The military dangers of supporting China and its slave-labor economic system:



The human exploitation of Chinese slave laborers so we can have a decadent Martis Gras (censored nudity warning):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kCxvbBsv00

Just something to think about. In my opinion, our current relationship with China amounts to dancing with the devil.

I would consider them a two pronged threat. Financial and militarily. They do have the largest standing army on the planet, I don't care how many fancy gagets the Inspector has , it the guy with the gun on the ground that does the fighting. To support that gun you need a manufacturing complex, which seems to be disappearing rather quickly from these fair shores.
 
So if you do a search on them you find a site listed in the google ad section (top line of page) there is a place selling this
1181949152874.jpg

$1249 plus shipping Thats cheap!
 
Stopped in a Kaw dealer in OK to get a tire fixed a while back. They had a LF200GY in the shop and I was looking at it, thought it looked pretty good. Wrench walked over and we started talking about it. Told him, that thing don't look half bad. He laughed and said, "Brother, what a piece of excrement that thing is. It's been in here more than it's been ridden". He went on to tell me it's had clutch problems, tranny problems and a carb problem they just can't seem to iron out.

Think I'll just build the bike fund up a little more and go a little more main stream.
 
I would consider them a two pronged threat. Financial and militarily. They do have the largest standing army on the planet, I don't care how many fancy gagets the Inspector has , it the guy with the gun on the ground that does the fighting. To support that gun you need a manufacturing complex, which seems to be disappearing rather quickly from these fair shores.

I hate to say it, but I could really care less when it comes to buying a motorcycle. I'm helping a friend look for a bike that is sub-$2000 and still a decent little street bike to learn on. This thread has nothing to do with me wanting to know about Chinese economics, what they do to their children, how big their military is, which god they worship, how they make crappy self tapping screws, or anything else for that matter.

Plain and simple I just don't give a rats behind. Now if you have some experience with these bikes then go right ahead, I'd love to hear what you have to say. Other than that, it's all just meaningless babble that belongs in another thread.

Have a nice day.;-)
 
Think I'll just build the bike fund up a little more and go a little more main stream.
[/FONT]

That was also my first comment to the soon to be new rider. I just wanted to hear what others thought about them as well.
 
Whats wrong with this picture?


$1995

other than it a strange looking critter.

F650 knock off. Looks really goofy, but it's probably a decent little bike. I think it's a 250 parallel twin.
 
F650 knock off. Looks really goofy, but it's probably a decent little bike. I think it's a 250 parallel twin.

I started a "lets Poke fun at the BMW knockoff "thread. I just coudn't help it:lol2:


I like the dual sport in black and for 1480 to the door it is worth looking into. being that Honda parts may be availble. Affordable knock around bike, prably very servicable if they copied the Honda product. Jack seems fairly pleased with his abused unit. :lol2:
 
Just because one product is crap from a country doesn't mean all of them are. Heck, all my drill bits are German and they are fantastic and they come from the same country as the auto-igniting final drive maker. So for me it doesn't mean a thing.

My step dad used to yap about never buying anything Japanese. He hated the Japanese. However, for some odd reason, he always wanted a Mercedes diesel and my mom had a VW when they got married. Hmm, wasn't Hitler/Germany our enemy in that war, too? The "people's car" was Hitler's pride. Whazzup with dat? :rolleyes:
 
I remember when there was some really crappy bikes on the market that no one in his right mind was buying then they came out with a stupid little saying about you meet the nicest people on a honda........
 
Chongqing Lifan is one of China's top handful of motorcycle manufacturers. They build several million bikes a year and export to 140 countries.

In America, there's American Lifan bikes, Lifan bikes imported by somebody else, bikes built by another factory with Lifan engines, other bikes that look just like Lifan bikes but aren't, and even some use of the "Lifan" name as a description of any Chinese motorcycle* (like "Band-aid" or Kleenex").

Understand: there are bikes in the USA called Lifan that are spec'd different, built out of different materials with different processes and assembled with various levels of expertise. There are up-to-the-minute motorcycle factories in China that are turning out Hondas (Jialing, & Honda advertises that fact in Japan), Yamahas (Jianshe), Suzukis (Qingqi), Piaggios (Zongshen) - and BMW engines (Loncin) - and there are other factories that are little dirt floor shops that assemble sub-contracted parts to the lowest price point and spec imaginable.

American Lifan is the US branch of the Lifan factory back in China. Their headquarters is in N. E. Dallas, up by Garland. They sell only EPA & DOT bikes 100% built by the Lifan factory for the American market through authorized brick&mortar dealers.

HTH,
Tom

*Except for Chirpy's pic, all the other bike pictured so far are not actual Lifans. Ducati and Moto Guzzi - same thing, right? ;)
 
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