So I bought a Chinese Scooter.
Discussion
I'd been looking at a getting something to commute to work on, I was considering getting a new Chinese scooter but was put off by the servicing times as would have equated to £500 in servicing in the first yr of use. So was looking at options when I see a 15 plate used Lexmoto FMS 125 on ebay a couple of miles from where I live. So thought sod it put in a bid and won.
The guy even delivered it me, result. So same as below for £450, we will see how it goes, my logic was at that price if it lasts the year it will have paid for itself.(Was spending £60 a week and 1 hr+ in traffic).
So that was 2 weeks ago now, 200 miles in so far £8 fuel in 2 weeks and half the journey time ) its got just over 2000kmm on it so I've booked it in to a local bike shop for a service next weekend and from here on I'll service myself.
So thoughts so far. I've had a Pug speedflight 100 and a Gilera runner 125 before to compare.
Performance wise its about on par with the speedflight 100 top end is 60 ish but on the 10 mile each way journey I'm doing that's plenty for now, although I'd like the acceleration to be a little better (gilera was much quicker off the mark).
It doesn't rattle anymore then the pug or gilera did. It feels a big to ride as the gilera, quite comfy plenty of space under the seat but not enough for a helmet, but I keep waterproofs,a cover and lock under there anyway so not a problem for me. Other than that it rides and steers as it should. I shall report back how I get on as time goes by.
The guy even delivered it me, result. So same as below for £450, we will see how it goes, my logic was at that price if it lasts the year it will have paid for itself.(Was spending £60 a week and 1 hr+ in traffic).
So that was 2 weeks ago now, 200 miles in so far £8 fuel in 2 weeks and half the journey time ) its got just over 2000kmm on it so I've booked it in to a local bike shop for a service next weekend and from here on I'll service myself.
So thoughts so far. I've had a Pug speedflight 100 and a Gilera runner 125 before to compare.
Performance wise its about on par with the speedflight 100 top end is 60 ish but on the 10 mile each way journey I'm doing that's plenty for now, although I'd like the acceleration to be a little better (gilera was much quicker off the mark).
It doesn't rattle anymore then the pug or gilera did. It feels a big to ride as the gilera, quite comfy plenty of space under the seat but not enough for a helmet, but I keep waterproofs,a cover and lock under there anyway so not a problem for me. Other than that it rides and steers as it should. I shall report back how I get on as time goes by.
When i bought my Gilera the guy in the shop told me to spray the exhaust,etc with WD40 at the weekend when not in use so I'll be doing the same with this . Covered every night. Pessimists the lot of you 
....
I know a lot of people will say should have bought a jap something of the other, but for the money you just cant get anything i was looking to spend upto £1k and for that all the honda's etc had 20/30,000 on the clock, to me on a 125 that got to be close to end of life. like i said we'll see how it goes, nothing ventured.. And i wanted a scooter over a bike as I dont see the point of gears on a 125 done that when i was 17 on a RD125 and its tedious in traffic.
....I know a lot of people will say should have bought a jap something of the other, but for the money you just cant get anything i was looking to spend upto £1k and for that all the honda's etc had 20/30,000 on the clock, to me on a 125 that got to be close to end of life. like i said we'll see how it goes, nothing ventured.. And i wanted a scooter over a bike as I dont see the point of gears on a 125 done that when i was 17 on a RD125 and its tedious in traffic.
Fleegle said:
The difference is though, a £1000 Honda will be worth that in 6 months time. All you will have to show for your £450 is a pile of something that doesn't work and worth only its value in scrap
The Chinese bikes are a consumable. They just aren't built to last
I'd agree to that a little, I looked at the couple of jap scoots and they are not as nice as the picture,etc would have suggested so 50/50 on some good some bad, I've had big bikes and scoots, normally look after them myself, and they go ok, I'll keep this one as long as it works, and when it stop's I've seen 4 yr old Chinese scoot's sell for £200 on ebay. so i'll loose some but I also didnt pay £1000 for it, so no biggie. The Chinese bikes are a consumable. They just aren't built to last
CG125 every time IMO. Once over about 5 years old lose no value and are almost impossible to kill. Chinese scooters are not worth it IMO, ever since my wife had one that lasted less than a month. It took longer to take the seller to court than she had it. We were young, poor and it was the early days of Chinese scooters. In the end we just got a Suzuki 125 and borrowed the money, as it was cheaper than buying a car or getting the bus in the long term and she needed to get to work somehow.
Fleegle said:
The difference is though, a £1000 Honda will be worth that in 6 months time. All you will have to show for your £450 is a pile of something that doesn't work and worth only its value in scrap
The Chinese bikes are a consumable. They just aren't built to last
I bought a chinese 125 for £650 and sold it for £300 two years later. It was a consumable and wasnt built to last, but it still had valueThe Chinese bikes are a consumable. They just aren't built to last
OP, I bought a second hand chinese scooter about 18 months ago for the same reason - commuting. Paid £300 for an 18 month old bike with 1600km on it. My commute is a little shorter and I spend £5 every 2 weeks on fuel. Crucially, the time saved is around 45 minutes a day.
Its used all year round and just got it through it's second MOT. It had been dropped when I bought it so wasn't pristine, and it looks about the same now (other than fork chrome corrodes so would recommend some gaitors). These things can last a while if serviced - I reckon most are killed by 17 year olds not checking the oil. They only take a litre so can run low pretty easy.
Spares are cheap and readily available (and often interchangeable with other models). I have only needed to buy a new stator and rectifier at a cost of £25.
So ignore the naysayers and enjoy the time and fuel saved.
Its used all year round and just got it through it's second MOT. It had been dropped when I bought it so wasn't pristine, and it looks about the same now (other than fork chrome corrodes so would recommend some gaitors). These things can last a while if serviced - I reckon most are killed by 17 year olds not checking the oil. They only take a litre so can run low pretty easy.
Spares are cheap and readily available (and often interchangeable with other models). I have only needed to buy a new stator and rectifier at a cost of £25.
So ignore the naysayers and enjoy the time and fuel saved.
I'm a fan of Chinese scooters.
If you're not scared to get the spanners out and do a bit of maintenance then they are actually bloody good value.
Valves close up a bit at first but soon settle down, cables and bearings don't have enough lubrication so need either oiled, greased or replaced, bodywork is brittle and cracks easily if dropped or bent, but otherwise they are fine.
Parts are all on ebay and cheap as chips too; what's not to like?
If you're not scared to get the spanners out and do a bit of maintenance then they are actually bloody good value.
Valves close up a bit at first but soon settle down, cables and bearings don't have enough lubrication so need either oiled, greased or replaced, bodywork is brittle and cracks easily if dropped or bent, but otherwise they are fine.
Parts are all on ebay and cheap as chips too; what's not to like?
mudster said:
Any update OP? Has it been reliable?
Been using my chinese scooter all winter and its still reliable, but fancying a change, I bought a second hand Honda PCX125. Not started using yet though as I am going through the mechanicals making sure everything is ok.
4600 km in and so far so good, 1 puncture put me off the road for a week as the scooter wax 15 miles away from me and the only mobile dealer wanted £180 to replace the tyre with one costing £30. Not the scoots faultBeen using my chinese scooter all winter and its still reliable, but fancying a change, I bought a second hand Honda PCX125. Not started using yet though as I am going through the mechanicals making sure everything is ok.
The only other issue has been a knackered carb , replaced under warrenty but cost me £10 as I chose to upgrade to keinh carb. The main reason for this was that it's a better carb to later upgrade to a 180 cc kit (£150 fitted)
Costs about £5 a week (100 miles a week) , gets ragged all the time 60 tops 45 up hill. No complaints at all with it
You get what you pay for generally. A friend of mine tried selling Chinese scooters and stopped last year because the quality was so poor, was giving him a bad reputation with customers who didn't understand they were buying a product with a 24 month life not a Honda which would last 10 years.
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