Lifan USA
 

A friend of mine went to visit a friend of his at the Lifan USA headquarters in the So. Cal. area. He told me they are bringing several new bikes to the US, but will be dropping the Pony 100 which I thought had much promise, especially since it appears the CT70 clones are not coming to the US anytime soon.

They are planning to bring their own version in the Grom sector, the KP150 Mini. My friend mentioned they want an MSRP of $2k for it, which I thought was too high, until I balanced my opinion with the fact the bike is a 150cc vs. the 125's in the Grom, the Kawasaki, and the various clones, such as Maxipad's Vader. Also, more interesting, is the fact that the 150 is NOT a horizontal engine but a vertical 150, meaning the bike is similar in spirit to the CSC mini bikes they used to manufacture that were replicas of the old Mustang motorcycles from the 60's (before they became Zongshen's distributor).

http://americanlifan.com/kpmini-track-day/

I guess they are banking on their KP200 and their KPR200 which are kind of bland looking but interesting in that they will have fuel-injection vs. carb

http://americanlifan.com/kp200/
http://americanlifan.com/kpr-200/

I think they are planning to keep their long stand-in air cooled cruiser
http://americanlifan.com/royal-250/

Apparently they are NOT planning to pursue this long-awaited bike, for the US market, which is a shame, I feel.
http://americanlifan.com/fm-250v/

I think some of the other bikes will be scooters.

There are some interesting reads on the site, including a blog on a long ride through Asia on the KPMini 150 as well as some articles and videos on the KP/KPR bikes, but in 150 form.

http://americanlifan.com/

Great stuff, culcune, thanks!

I'm at a loss as to why they don't list a GY (dual sport) bike....unless I missed it. They sold a ton of them back when the Lifan GY5 was top-o-duh-heap in the GY China Bike class.

That fm250 looks awesome..............

In a scooter context . . just doesn't seem like Lifan USA has "their head in the game". Website function also leaves a LOT to be desired . . as compared to SSR (Znen), Bintelli (Adly/Jiajue), or Lance (Sym).

They definitely need to improve their website experience, Tortoise! It is painful to search through it. On the bikes which aren't 'coming soon' it looks like they left out the specs, but you have to click on the tiny '+' and the specs show up.

2LZ--I remember seeing the FM250 a few years ago in photos on mychinamoto when it was introduced in China at their big motorcycle show. My friend told me they are NOT planning to bring it, which is a disappointment, but my guess it wouldn't have made sense financially. We as China bike fans like the idea of low-cost bikes, and my guess with liquid-cooling and fuel injection, it would put that bike in the same price point as the small name-brand sport bikes like the CBR300, Ninja 300, etc., or at least the CB300 (which is a more direct competitor due to the naked design, anyway). I know I would be picking up a CB300 if I had the choice and at the same cost.

I forgot to ask my friend if they will resurrect an enduro here. Duh! That bike was dominating the dual-sport thread for a few years. I even think they could slip one in as an off-road bike, like the Hawk/Magician, which would relegate it to off-road or a loophole for several states, but it would be a nice compromise. However, their last enduro bike was EPA/DOT certified, which did make it a unique bike to us in the US.

Enough of me talking; we will find out exactly (or close to) what they have planned on October 14-17 or whenever the Miami motorcycle show is--it is prominently listed on their 'home' on their site, so I hope one of us goes and takes photos, or they post photos on their site! If their mini can cruise at 60, I might consider it, although one of the forms of their KP200 they show among the rotating photos shows it with a rear rack, and a kind of 'adventure' bike crash bar. I kind of like the delicate look of the bike, and I do like the standard style...

Okay, called Alan today and he confirmed he saw this enduro at their HQ as I forgot to ask...

http://www.lifanmexico.com/deals_xp200.html

Some tease shots before the Florida show...

More shots...

Even more...

No details, just photos, and some repeats (Sorry), but the show is this weekend, so we should probably hear something by next week on American Lifan's site as far as specs and such. Their flagship is the KPR200/KP200 lineup which feature a FUEL-INJECTED 200cc vertical single, which, assuming it works well, should be interesting for the Chinese motorcycle class. I believe their KPMini 150 (which is unique in this class due to having a 150cc vertical single) will also be fuel-injected. We should keep an eye on Lifan, as well as encourage them to bring one of their enduros which are supposed to come but are absent from these photos :(

Good copy culcune. Thanks

I love my lifan 230cc engine, that fuel injection would really wake it up

The enduros are the only interest to me. Not sure about others. Used Japanese sport bikes are just too cheap here on the east coast to consider a Chinese sport bike. Let's face it with a sport bike you want crazy I'm going to die power. Used gixers or r6s are sub 3k before the snow starts falling. And their performance is silly. I think of Chinese sport bikes as just dolled up scooters. Let me know if I'm way off base because my point of reference is a few years old on Chinese sport bikes. The Chinese enduros I feel are a totally different story. Most trail riders like me don't need the performance of a race prepped ktm, I just need something to get me in and out of the woods. That is why I hope lifan promotes their enduros.

Agreed , they are going at this 180 degrees out of wacky. The past post year 2000 performance of the Enduro is their indicator , which was a cool response at best from North American market. I think this is why they are taking a stab at the street.

OK, if you look at the photo with the larger 4 wheel vehicle, behind it, you can make out the back of an enduro; just not directly photographed. We should all check out their website which will not only hopefully improve, but will hopefully show their complete U.S. lineup.

Looks like pure dirt no headlight. Looking at "21" bike in pic

That's cool. I had a 163FML in my black bike like yours. I didn't know they came with the 169FMM!