New to everything, looking at a few bikes. . .

[Daeouse]

Greetings! I was directed here by "culcune" over at mychinamoto.com.
Because I'm lazy, I'll repost my original thread here:


I am a newcomer to the motorcycle world, as I have always loved them from afar, but never got too much into the culture and the mechanics until recently. I decided that since I would be new to riding, I would start out on a simple beginner type bike, and go from there later on. I had my eyes on a few models of "china bikes", and found this forum when doing background research on them. I know you fine people here probably get asked a veritable plethora of stupid questions, and possibly even a dusting of educated ones, so I hoped to cultivate a resource for an informed purchase down the road, and a place to share tech-tips, mods, and other info!

The bikes I'm currently looking at are fairly standard:

Sport Bikes:
JinLun JL250P-2
DONG FANG MC-D250RTC
Roketa MC-113

Cruiser Bikes:
Dong Fang D250RTD Streak
Lifan 250F V-Twin

Dual-Sport Bikes:
Lancer D250RTE-B

Any input would be greatly appreciated, as I have found videos, articles, and other publications on these bikes, but rarely mature, honest reviews of the bikes. The comments on videos are less than helpful, as the internet motorcycle trolls pipe up who've never owned one, but "totally had a friend who has one and it sucked and burst into flames and blah, blah, blah".

Thanks in advance!

[FastDoc]

Welcome to the forum.

Are you mechanically inclined? If not you may do better with a used Japanese bike.

Although CB's make excellent beginner bikes owning and maintaining one is for intermediates. As we say here sometimes, it takes a bit of a sense of humor, resourcefulness, and a community to run a CB. The community we provide, everything else you have to source ;-)

How much do you want to spend? If close to or over $2,000 we recommend a used Japanese bike.

Where do you live? Where do you plan to ride? On or off road or (as many of us prefer) both? Do you have ANY need to ride on the highway? If so a CB is NOT appropriate for you or safe. Again consider a used Japanese bike.

I don't want to discourage you, not at all. I like CB's a lot and have owned many, probably more than anyone else on this forum, but we want you to get what suits you best.

Give us more data and we will give you more advise.

[FastDoc]

FWIW unless you have a strong preference one way or another, even if you don't plan to ride off road at all I recommend the dual sport bikes.

Because, they are every bit as good on the road as the streetbike (styled, looking) genre, and much more capable and likely easier to take care of and find parts for. Like wise, when the time comes to sell, you'll have a larger pool of buyers.

[Daeouse]

I like the "Dual-Sport" look quite a bit. The Honda caught my eye, but its so darn expensive to buy and maintain. I'm open to other reccomendations, however I rarely have any large sums of money available and I refuse to finance a bike. The Vstrom is very nice, but very expensive, as they retain their resale value fairly well it seems. I'm going to be looking in a few more places for a bike before I resort to a full-on China bike, so I am keeping the option open.

[FastDoc]

I would never recommending borrowing money to buy a bike, or any luxury item for that matter. You are already smarter than 90% of Americans, and 99% of American government.

What is your budget?

Were are you?

I COMMONLY (I'm the King Of Craig's List :-) see good used Japanese D/S's in the sub $1,500 range here.

I just sold a perfectly clean like new Chinabike for I think $800, but new ones are closer to $2,000.

[Daeouse]

Originally Posted by FastDoc

I would never recommending borrowing money to buy a bike, or any luxury item for that matter. You are already smarter than 90% of Americans, and 99% of American government.

What is your budget?

Were are you?

I COMMONLY (I'm the King Of Craig's List :-) see good used Japanese D/S's in the sub $1,500 range here.

I just sold a perfectly clean like new Chinabike for I think $800, but new ones are closer to $2,000.

I've learned my lesson the hard way about borrowing, so I refuse to make the small problem of my debt even worse. My hard work will free me, not more debt! I wish the Government would learn that. . .

As I will not borrow, my budget is around $1,000 and I may not be able to drop that immediately, so I don't want to waste anyone's timeif I can help it. If I have to wait a while to get a decent bike, I will. I can be patient.

[culcune]

I spent $800 for my used TMEC enduro. I have gone over 8000 miles in the year and couple months I have owned it. I don't know how many miles it had prior to me. I have had to change a few things here and there, but Excalibur, the exclusive distributor, have always had what I needed. I would buy another one, but I think they retail for $1700, but that includes shipping.

[SpudRider]

Welcome; we are glad you joined us.

Somebody, I think it was Recracer, posted a great Craigslist deal on a Zongshen 200GY-2 motorcycle for $250. You can find good deals on Chinese bikes, as well as Japanese bikes.

Of the bikes you listed, the Lifan 250F V-Twin gets good reviews. Have you found dealers for these bikes? If so, please post a link to the vendor, and we can give you more advice. If you haven't looked for dealers, I suggest you do so. The bikes you listed might not be easy to purchase if you haven't already found a dealer.

[FastDoc]

$1,700 for a TMEC delivered is a good deal. Remember you also have to budget for tax, license, insurance, etc. though.

The Virago clones are excellent bikes, but I thought they were closer to $3,000.

CL is your friend...

[Daeouse]

Originally Posted by culcune

I spent $800 for my used TMEC enduro. I have gone over 8000 miles in the year and couple months I have owned it. I don't know how many miles it had prior to me. I have had to change a few things here and there, but Excalibur, the exclusive distributor, have always had what I needed. I would buy another one, but I think they retail for $1700, but that includes shipping.

Link to distributor, please?

Originally Posted by FastDoc

$1,700 for a TMEC delivered is a good deal. Remember you also have to budget for tax, license, insurance, etc. though.

The Virago clones are excellent bikes, but I thought they were closer to $3,000.

CL is your friend...

I'd love to look at the TMEC more, however Google fails me when I look for the "Excalibur" distributor mentioned above. Never been so stymied by a motorcycle. . . LOL!

As for the Virago Clones, are there any other manufacturer names I should look for besides DongFang?

Originally Posted by SpudRider

Of the bikes you listed, the Lifan 250F V-Twin gets good reviews. Have you found dealers for these bikes? If so, please post a link to the vendor, and we can give you more advice.

http://www.extreme-scooters.com/lifa...Motorcycle.htm

[SpudRider]

I'm not familiar with that particular dealer; however, he seems to carry a lot of different Chinese motorcycles.

He lists the Roketa DB-05H as selling for $1,199, with free delivery. If he honors that price, I think that's a pretty good deal.

http://www.extreme-scooters.com/motorcycleStore.htm



I wouldn't have any problems whatsoever getting a license plate for the DB-05H in Idaho. However, you might have problems elsewhere. Where do you live? We can help you determine if you will have problems with the local DMV.

I agree with FastDoc. I think you will be happiest if you choose a dual sport motorcycle.

[culcune]

I linked to Excalibur on mychinamoto.com; www.atv4usa.com
They won't sell directly to the public IF there is a brick and mortar dealer nearby. Otherwise, they will sell you one directly.

There is a dealer in Florida selling TMECs as Denali-TMEC. They are called Ocala Atv in Morristown. I don't know Florida, so don't know how close or far they are to you. www.ocalaatv.com. They are listed at $1899, which is getting further out of range for you, but I would negotiate down, and out the door. I am not a fan of the lettering they put on the bike. I do know that TMECs are DOT/EPA certified for 49 states, so registration is no problem in all states but California ( ironic that Excalibur are out of Cal.). If you call Excalibur, you will speak with either Alan or the owner, Wade. Both have heavy Chinese accents, but both understand English very well. Tell them 'Simon' sent you. I have had the pleasure of stopping at Excalibur to pick up some body panels and an ignition on the way home to Yuma from L.A. They are good business people, especially considering the sub-par quality inherent with Chinese bikes.

I am of the opinion that a single-cylinder bike is a much better learning tool than a twin. The Dong Fang bobber is a single, and has a good following as evidenced by the huge thread on mychinamoto. 'Barnone' started that thread, and is a member here if you had a chance to read any of that thread.

[Daeouse]

Ok, that Roketa Enduro looks pretty decent. I hate the beak on it, but style is second to functionality, I guess. LOL! I do, however worry about its ability to handle "highway" driving. I don't want to blow a hole in the top-end after a few days of driving on US-19. LOL!

culcune, the TMEC-Denali 200 looks pretty darn nice. You mention you have/had one, what was/is your impression of it? Is it a good "daily rider"? Are parts difficult to find? Are there any mods for it, or after-market support?

I'm also doing more hunting on Craigslist, so I may chime in with something there when I find it.

Thanks so much for your help, guys! I appreciate it!

EDIT:
I found a thread on here for the Roketa: http://www.chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=8280

[SpudRider]

In my opinion it is unsafe to ride any 200cc, air cooled, carbureted motorcycle on limited access highways or interstate highways. If you want to do this kind of riding, you need at least a Kawaskai Ninja 250 or Honda CBR250R.

If the speed limit doesn't exceed 55 mph, the Roketa DB-05H will work for you. I have inspected the TMEC bikes up close, and they are decent motorcycles, but they are not worth $500 more than the Roketa DB-05H.

If you dislike the 'beak' on the Roketa, you can easily install a new front fender and/or headlight. I like the Polisport Universal Supermoto fenders.

If the vendor will honor the $1,199 price, including shipping, that is one of the best deals on Chinese motorcycles I have seen in a while. Once you start approaching $2,000, you are better off to look for good deals on slightly used, Japanese motorcycles. If you want to ride limited access highways, forget about Chinese bikes, and start looking for a good deal on a Kawasaki Ninja 250.

[FastDoc]

Brilliant advice. People who have been around for a while, know that I personally was almost killed riding a 200 cc Zong bike on the highway,. Although I was doing close to the speed limit, I was still rear-ended by a girl talking on her cell phone at 65 miles an hour. I was unable to accelerate and avoid her. I saw her coming at me in the rearview mirror, and there was nothing I could do