Is a Chinabike (Dual-Sport) right for me? Which one?

MPK2K · 03-28-2022, 07:24 PM

I spent a year or so wrenching on a beater dirtbike, so I'm not afraid to get my hands a little dirty.
But, my free time is more limited now, so I don't want to spend every weekend keeping a bike on the road. That also means I won't be riding that much, so I'm hesitant to drop $5k on a Japanese dual sport. So, I'm considering a Chinabike as a calculated risk.

Typically, how much labor goes into keeping a Chinabike going beyond the initial setup (assembly, oilchange, threadlocker, etc.)? Is it a "few hours every weekend" sort of deal where small things regularly go wrong? Or is it a "one weekend every few months" type of deal where you don't have to worry about it?
If something's wrong with the bike, will dealers honor their "parts" warranties?
How common is it to get a lemon that requires a lot of extra labor or needs to be junked?
Is there a major difference in reliability/quality between the lower-end bikes (Magician, TBR7, Hawk) and the higher-end ones (Hawk DLX, Brozz, TT250)?

Given these concerns, is a chinabike right for me? If so, which one?

03-28-2022, 07:24 PM	#1
MPK2K Join Date: Mar 2022 Posts: 4	Is a Chinabike (Dual-Sport) right for me? Which one? I spent a year or so wrenching on a beater dirtbike, so I'm not afraid to get my hands a little dirty. But, my free time is more limited now, so I don't want to spend every weekend keeping a bike on the road. That also means I won't be riding that much, so I'm hesitant to drop $5k on a Japanese dual sport. So, I'm considering a Chinabike as a calculated risk. Typically, how much labor goes into keeping a Chinabike going beyond the initial setup (assembly, oilchange, threadlocker, etc.)? Is it a "few hours every weekend" sort of deal where small things regularly go wrong? Or is it a "one weekend every few months" type of deal where you don't have to worry about it? If something's wrong with the bike, will dealers honor their "parts" warranties? How common is it to get a lemon that requires a lot of extra labor or needs to be junked? Is there a major difference in reliability/quality between the lower-end bikes (Magician, TBR7, Hawk) and the higher-end ones (Hawk DLX, Brozz, TT250)? Given these concerns, is a chinabike right for me? If so, which one?
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