Jasper
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| posted on 18/9/09 at 03:03 PM |
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Cheap Chinese scooters, anybody had one?
Wanna get a 125 scooter for a number of reasons, popping into town on, something for the missus to learn to ride a scooter on, and eventually have on
the back of the motorhome.
I was just going to get a secondhand Vespa/Peugeot/Gilera, but then noticed for the same money you can get a new chinese made, put it together
yourself one for about £800.
Just had a quick look at reviews online which don't seem too bad. Has anybody got any first hand experience of them?
If you're not living life on the edge you're taking up too much room.
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speedyxjs
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| posted on 18/9/09 at 03:05 PM |
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DONT DO IT!!!
A friend of mine got one. 3 days of driving and the engine gave up. 6 months  later, he got it back. A week later the electric starter gave up and
tuesday the kick start gave up. It was quite funny, three of us pushing him to get it started 
How long can i resist the temptation to drop a V8 in?
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blakep82
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| posted on 18/9/09 at 03:10 PM |
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no experience, but chinese says to me, get a 2nd hand vespa
________________________
IVA manual link http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?type=RESOURCES&itemId=1081997083
don't write OT on a new thread title, you're creating the topic, everything you write is very much ON topic!
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Jasper
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| posted on 18/9/09 at 03:12 PM |
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I've had 3 Vespa's in the past and they were all completely unreliable and always breaking down!!! Mind you, they were all twist gear
models, not the later auto ones.
If you're not living life on the edge you're taking up too much room.
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Peteff
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| posted on 18/9/09 at 03:27 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Jasper
Just had a quick look at reviews online which don't seem too bad. Has anybody got any first hand experience of them?
Buy one, somebody has to get lucky and find a good one. The two local bike shops won't even repair them. I had the carb off one to get it going
for my nephew and they are abysmal quality, even the tyres are crap. The only good thing about them is the plastics, they seem good at that bit.
To add my niece just bought a Peugeot Satelis 250cc and I fetched it from the shop for her and it purrs up to 70mph without you realising but it was
a bit more than £800
[Edited on 18/9/09 by Peteff]
yours, Pete
I went into the RSPCA office the other day. It was so small you could hardly swing a cat in there.
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whitestu
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| posted on 18/9/09 at 03:28 PM |
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This is what you need!!
 
90
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Peteff
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| posted on 18/9/09 at 03:32 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by whitestu
This is what you need!!
90
Yes but you can't buy a new one any more  It's been replaced with the 125cc Innova.
yours, Pete
I went into the RSPCA office the other day. It was so small you could hardly swing a cat in there.
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splitrivet
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| posted on 18/9/09 at 03:57 PM |
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Ive got a 50cc jobby you can have for £300.
Cheers,
Bob
I used to be a Werewolf but I'm alright nowwoooooooooooooo
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smart51
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| posted on 18/9/09 at 04:08 PM |
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A guy at work was a fan of eastern European and Chinese bikes. He recommends replacing the tyres straight off. He had a friendly importer, though,
who factored in the cost of an extra scooter in each container to be dismantled as spares. Even if you buy 2 and use one for parts, its still cheaper
than a piaggio.
The other thing he used to say was that chinese copy engines don't rev as high as the japanese motors they copy and they aren't as
efficient so the power isn't as high or the economy as good.
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MikeRJ
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| posted on 18/9/09 at 05:01 PM |
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Get a s/h Japanese scooter, and you know if will be reliable and safe (or as safe as a scooter gets). People should just stop buying the Chinese crap
until they get their quality control up to scratch.
EDIT: I know someone who had quite a nasty accident on a cheap Chinese quad where the rear axle casing split open due to a combination of incredibly
poor design and a very porous casting.
The Chinese scooters and motorbikes are no better, the fit and finish of many parts is beyond a joke.
The other aspect is that a s/h Jap bike will depreciate less than a new Chinese one.
[Edited on 18/9/09 by MikeRJ]
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Dangle_kt
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| posted on 18/9/09 at 05:10 PM |
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buy japanese, if its anything more than a toy then you want it reliable.
The cheap chinese scooters will be made from crap materials in my expeirence and so they break down real easy and are very hard to get parts to
fix.
There are some good brands of chinese scooters where they is some form of quality control, but these arn't much cheaper than a 2nd hand
"proper" brand.
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big-vee-twin
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| posted on 18/9/09 at 05:48 PM |
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If you want the real opinions then visit link I have a small 50cc chopper from china that my daughter
rides see it in my photos.
You have to be prepared to do a few things once you get one as the Chinese dont know what quality control is but once your done the bikes are ok and
at less than half price of Japanese.
Such as change the engine oil - Chinese stuff is poor.
Change the spark plug as it is likley to be counterfit
Attend to bits of wiring all this is well documented on the above forum I reccomend you go have a look.
Ours has been reliable so far.
I would say though if its for every day use and going to get abused then buy Japanese.
[Edited on 18/9/09 by big-vee-twin]
Duratec Engine is fitted, MS2 Extra V3 is assembled and tested, engine running, car now built. IVA passed 26/02/2016
http://www.triangleltd.com
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StevieB
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| posted on 18/9/09 at 06:19 PM |
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I;m looking at buyijng something similar myself for pretty much the same reasons (with the addition of being the quickest way back onto 2 wheels until
I get the full test passed).
Best bet is either a Honda C90 or CG125 for total bullet proof reliability. A slightly more grown up option (and a little more pricey) would be a
Honda Varadero 125. Personally I'd spend the extra money on passing my full test and buy a CB500 for £500 and run it till it fails then buy
another...
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r1_pete
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| posted on 18/9/09 at 06:21 PM |
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Cheap Chinese Scooter, made of:
Cheap Chinese Suspension.
Cheap Chinese Steering.
Cheap Chinese Bearings.
Cheap Chinese Brakes.
Do you want any of those letting go whilst you or any of your family are on a stretch of busy road. Its probably a good thing the engines are no good
either.
Ashphalt hurts even at 30MPH, where two wheels are concerned buy wisely not cheaply.
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splitrivet
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| posted on 18/9/09 at 06:28 PM |
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My daughter has used a Korean scooter on a daily basis, same as Ive got up for grabs and has had no problems at all for the past 3 years.
Whether the Chinese stuff is a lower quality than Korean I dont know.
Cheers,
Bob
[Edited on 18/9/09 by splitrivet]
I used to be a Werewolf but I'm alright nowwoooooooooooooo
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Cousin Cleotis
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| posted on 18/9/09 at 06:58 PM |
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Peugeot rebrand a cheap chinese scooter and sell it for twice the price, same engines with different outer cases.
Kymco are the best of the cheap makes i have worked on, and i work on quite a few. Kymco People 125 is worth a look.
Paul
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owelly
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| posted on 18/9/09 at 08:07 PM |
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I would have said avoid them like the proverbial but a guy I work with bough a cheap chinese 125 and has done 10,000 miles in the past 20months
without any problems. But...I'd still get a cheap Honda C90/CG125........it will still be worth the same after a few miles whereas the cheapy
chinky will be worthless.
http://www.ppcmag.co.uk
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Jasper
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| posted on 19/9/09 at 09:01 AM |
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That's what I thought, I'll get me a nice 125 Gilera Runner then, thanks for the feedback 
If you're not living life on the edge you're taking up too much room.
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DarrenW
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| posted on 21/9/09 at 08:20 AM |
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I can get you a container full. Got the costs etc earlier in the year.
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