Amigo Jax 150 - Sweet ride so far.

iridiumblue · 11-18-2020, 10:48 AM

So I got my Amigo-Jax about a month ago, (This bike is a rebranded ZNEN RX-150, with some important improvements added by American importer Amigo.) Here's my experience so far :

Initially tried to buy from superiorpowersports.com - I have to warn buyers away from this dealer. I should have checked trustpilot first; many customer complaints that they just take your money, ship nothing, and stop answering emails. Which is just what happened to me. (Had to do a chargeback with the credit card company to get money back.)

Then went to bobcatsmotorsports.com who were really first rate. here's my yelp review on them https://www.yelp.com/biz/bobcats-mot...MjmW13jfV7Ih6g. I picked up the bike for $1699.

The bike arrived nearly fully assembled. I was happy to see that all the mounting bolts appear to have been upgraded to stainless steel. I went over the bike and all the bolts were already tight and the electric cables were solidly seated and none were dangling loose. It looked like Amigo does a quick PDI of their own before sending it out, though it might just have been luck.

Just got through the 300 mile break-in. The mirrors were loose but some locktite fixed that. One mounting bolt managed to come loose and fell off. The LCD display has a touch of weirdness; the bottom line on each numeral appears faded, becoming fully visible only at a very low viewing angle. All very minor stuff.

I did encounter a hitch with the drain plugs for both engine and gear oil. They were on so tight they just wouldn't come off, not even with hammer and vice grips. Discovered a
quick fix for this : Run the engine till its good and hot. Then apply ice pack to drain plug.
The plug shrinks from the cold and comes off easily.

The bike is a real pleasure to ride. The larger wheels (both rim-size and width), real duro style tread, decent shocks and brakes all give the bike an unusually 'solid' feel for a scoot. It handles bumps and holes easily (even speed bumps) and doesn't lose traction on a dirt road (or a patch of sand.) Having the added weight of a passenger didn't seem to affect the suspension performance at all. Finally, the brakes are outstanding in my panic stop test.

So now I'm changing out the engine and gear oil. I'll be back to follow up with my experiences - I might even get a chance to find out the thing's top speed!

Oh - one thing I noticed is that there was some mixup with this year's spec sheet from Amigo. The specs list a remote start and anti-theft system, but that's an error. Which is actually fine by me; for anti-theft nothing beats a GPS tracker. And I'd rather have the company focussing on getting the basics right rather than getting distracted installing frills.

(FOLLOW UP 2 months later)

2,000 miles now and not even the slightest problem so far.

culcune · 11-19-2020, 01:27 PM

The Znen bikes are pretty venerable as far as the Chinese scooters go. Several brands distribute them under their own brand names, such as Amigo. SSR and BMS used to sell a whole bunch almost model for model. It seems like both have lessened their reliance on the scooter industry to carry them nowadays. There was an epic ride from San Francisco to New York City detailed in a thread on AdvRider. 'Scooters across America' (or something like that); the dad was on a brand-new Skyteam 125cc CT70 replica (that was coincidentally re-branded by SSR when they sold the Honda trailbike replicas), and the son was on a 150cc BMS (Znen) scooter they found used in the Bay Area for $150. It wouldn't start as it had been sitting a long time, and then the key broke off in the ignition, so as the pair walked away, they guy was desperate and offered it for a lower price, and they bought it for $100! With only a new battery (and I presume ignition, oil change, and grease in the CVT), the scooter started right up, and the son rode it over 2000 miles alongside his dad clear to SF. Znen scooters have had a good reputation for years now, and your review continues to solidify it

iridiumblue · 11-20-2020, 07:13 AM

That's good to know about ZNEN's reputation; I was pretty much hoping for the best as I got all kinds of conflicting info online (along with the usual avalanche of - "Chinese!? You crazy!"

But I had a good feeling even before I started the thing up, It took me an hour to uncrate because of the steel frickin' cage they pack it in to protect it. Then I went over the innards and saw immediately how much care had gone into the final assembly; locktite had been applied to bolts, wires were neatly secured, idle was set to the perfect RPM.

You could tell whoever made this took some pride in their work.

11-18-2020, 10:48 AM	#1
iridiumblue Join Date: Sep 2020 Location: Nashua, NH Posts: 15	Amigo Jax 150 - Sweet ride so far. So I got my Amigo-Jax about a month ago, (This bike is a rebranded ZNEN RX-150, with some important improvements added by American importer Amigo.) Here's my experience so far : Initially tried to buy from superiorpowersports.com - I have to warn buyers away from this dealer. I should have checked trustpilot first; many customer complaints that they just take your money, ship nothing, and stop answering emails. Which is just what happened to me. (Had to do a chargeback with the credit card company to get money back.) Then went to bobcatsmotorsports.com who were really first rate. here's my yelp review on them https://www.yelp.com/biz/bobcats-mot...MjmW13jfV7Ih6g. I picked up the bike for $1699. The bike arrived nearly fully assembled. I was happy to see that all the mounting bolts appear to have been upgraded to stainless steel. I went over the bike and all the bolts were already tight and the electric cables were solidly seated and none were dangling loose. It looked like Amigo does a quick PDI of their own before sending it out, though it might just have been luck. Just got through the 300 mile break-in. The mirrors were loose but some locktite fixed that. One mounting bolt managed to come loose and fell off. The LCD display has a touch of weirdness; the bottom line on each numeral appears faded, becoming fully visible only at a very low viewing angle. All very minor stuff. I did encounter a hitch with the drain plugs for both engine and gear oil. They were on so tight they just wouldn't come off, not even with hammer and vice grips. Discovered a quick fix for this : Run the engine till its good and hot. Then apply ice pack to drain plug. The plug shrinks from the cold and comes off easily. The bike is a real pleasure to ride. The larger wheels (both rim-size and width), real duro style tread, decent shocks and brakes all give the bike an unusually 'solid' feel for a scoot. It handles bumps and holes easily (even speed bumps) and doesn't lose traction on a dirt road (or a patch of sand.) Having the added weight of a passenger didn't seem to affect the suspension performance at all. Finally, the brakes are outstanding in my panic stop test. So now I'm changing out the engine and gear oil. I'll be back to follow up with my experiences - I might even get a chance to find out the thing's top speed! Oh - one thing I noticed is that there was some mixup with this year's spec sheet from Amigo. The specs list a remote start and anti-theft system, but that's an error. Which is actually fine by me; for anti-theft nothing beats a GPS tracker. And I'd rather have the company focussing on getting the basics right rather than getting distracted installing frills. (FOLLOW UP 2 months later) 2,000 miles now and not even the slightest problem so far.
	3

11-19-2020, 01:27 PM	#2
culcune Join Date: May 2006 Location: Yuma, Arizona Posts: 9,035	The Znen bikes are pretty venerable as far as the Chinese scooters go. Several brands distribute them under their own brand names, such as Amigo. SSR and BMS used to sell a whole bunch almost model for model. It seems like both have lessened their reliance on the scooter industry to carry them nowadays. There was an epic ride from San Francisco to New York City detailed in a thread on AdvRider. 'Scooters across America' (or something like that); the dad was on a brand-new Skyteam 125cc CT70 replica (that was coincidentally re-branded by SSR when they sold the Honda trailbike replicas), and the son was on a 150cc BMS (Znen) scooter they found used in the Bay Area for $150. It wouldn't start as it had been sitting a long time, and then the key broke off in the ignition, so as the pair walked away, they guy was desperate and offered it for a lower price, and they bought it for $100! With only a new battery (and I presume ignition, oil change, and grease in the CVT), the scooter started right up, and the son rode it over 2000 miles alongside his dad clear to SF. Znen scooters have had a good reputation for years now, and your review continues to solidify it __________________ "They say that life's a carousel, spinning fast you got to ride it well..." TGB Delivery Scooter 150 TMEC 200 Enduro--carcass is sadly rotting in the backyard
	1

11-20-2020, 07:13 AM	#3
iridiumblue Join Date: Sep 2020 Location: Nashua, NH Posts: 15	That's good to know about ZNEN's reputation; I was pretty much hoping for the best as I got all kinds of conflicting info online (along with the usual avalanche of - "Chinese!? You crazy!" But I had a good feeling even before I started the thing up, It took me an hour to uncrate because of the steel frickin' cage they pack it in to protect it. Then I went over the innards and saw immediately how much care had gone into the final assembly; locktite had been applied to bolts, wires were neatly secured, idle was set to the perfect RPM. You could tell whoever made this took some pride in their work.
	1