Things I (we) dislike most about Chinese motorcycle

[Hellkitty]

For me, and I think for a lot of us, we buy these cheap chinese bikes as a challenge. I think most of us know going in that a chinese bike is going to have it’s issues and the challenge is to turn it into something that you can be proud of. Some of us want to make it faster, some of us want to turn it into a stunt bike, some of us want to improve the way it looks, some of us want to make it ride and handle better whether for riding on the street or on the dirt, it think all of us want to make it more reliable.
I bought a Taotao Hellcat thinking it would be a fun lil bike to tinker with, I did all the recommended mods to remedy its weakest traits, replacing the carb, replacing weak engine bolts and axles, removing most the the emissions crap….ect... and I ended up with a nice running lil bike. But then I started thinking “now what? ...okay...I think I”ll strip it down and turn it into a little trail bike”. So i kind of envisioned what I wanted to do and how I wanted it to look and it became a challenge. So the wheels started turning….” I can take the fairings off but I can’t leave that gas tank on there it looks hideous, I'll see what I can find on ebay……. okay, I think that tank would look good but I’m gonna have to find a way to mount it,....... okay, I figured that out but now I have all these exposed wires,I’ll have to figure out a way to hide them,..... that front fender is not going to work…... I’ll have figure out a way to mount a high fender on it…. ect. And in the end it pretty much turned out the way I envisioned it and it was so much fun! And I did it all for just a few hundred dollars, including stuff I bought that I couldn’t make work. I’m notorious for starting projects and never finishing them but I love working on these small bikes so much I never get discouraged or lose my motivation.

[Alpha Reign]

One reason why I bought my Hawk is because it was cheap and I wouldn't feel too bad tearing apart the engine. One thing I want to do is to strip the engine down, learn how it works, and put it together again. The CG engine is a simple design. If I mess up putting it back together I wouldn't be as mad as I would if it was a Yamaha or Honda.

[Landsvw]

Originally Posted by Hellkitty

I love working on these small bikes so much I never get discouraged or lose my motivation.

I LOVE working on the small bikes too. Cars and trucks used to be my thing when I was younger, but they are never ending projects. Bikes are small, easily moved around and can be completely disassembled and reassembled relatively quickly.

[Hellkitty]

Originally Posted by Landsvw

I LOVE working on the small bikes too. Cars and trucks used to be my thing when I was younger, but they are never ending projects. Bikes are small, easily moved around and can be completely disassembled and reassembled relatively quickly.

Same here, I used to like working on cars and trucks too, but I'm older now and the thought of crawling under a car to pull a transmission is no longer appealing to me. You can work on small bikes and when you're done for the day you aren't covered in grease with your knuckles all chewed up.

[timcosby]

Originally Posted by Hellkitty

Same here, I used to like working on cars and trucks too, but I'm older now and the thought of crawling under a car to pull a transmission is no longer appealing to me. You can work on small bikes and when you're done for the day you aren't covered in grease with your knuckles all chewed up.

you maybe! i always end up bleeding one way or another