U-Like ATV's, ever hear of them?

[masta]

Anybody ever hear of, or own a U-Like ATV. They are Chinese machines but appear to be quite well made. It looks like a copy of a Yamaha.

I am considering a 150CC sports model for 1100$ new, but I'd love to get some feedback if possible.

[TeamCheap]

Have you seen one in person yourself or just pictures of one?

I cant speak about them as I havnt seen one yet myself.
((ok edit) I seen a couple pics of them but I'd like to see more)

Will a 150cc be big enough for you?
It looks like it uses the horizontal honda clone engine which should be mostly trouble free.

I would say it would most likely run OK after doing some work on it after a careful assembly/setup.
Good luck finding parts for it though I hope you have a local dealer that has parts for it.

Personally I'd be looking at these
NEW 2007 Honda RECON 250 TRX250TM (ebay)
Or this
NEW 2007 Honda TRX250EX (ebay)
Yeah they are a bit more in price but still much less potential headache.
I have seen 06 300ex's brand new at dealers on ebay selling for $2800 also.

[LynnEdwards]

I'm always a little suspicious of companies whose brand name is such a common phrase that you can't do easy research with a search engine. If searching for "U-like ATV" one gets lost in a sea of noise right away.

I have a Chinese Hensim 150cc quad. I bought it from a brick and mortar dealer with a large parts inventory, complete service center, welding facilities, and a machine shop. I have only used them to buy parts. I haven't really needed anything else.

I actually bought this quad to use as a tow vehicle to develop a geophysical survey system for a side business of mine, and have now spent way too much time having fun and not doing the work I intended. Oh well, life is short and work isn't everything.

My neighbor and I used to take turns riding this thing around until he got hooked and bought his own (identical to mine). Having two quads and riding around together is five times more fun than taking turns on one quad.

So I am not sure that spending "a bit more in price" is the right answer if for the same money you can buy two (or three) 150cc chinese quads. With two quads your trips will be a lot more fun, and you can always one to pull the other back to camp if things should go wrong.

My quad (and my neighbor's) have been fairly reliable. I will say that I have to be vigilant about checking for loose nuts before every ride, but other than that I have no complaints.

For 150cc machines parts are available everywhere. Numerous service manuals are available for download free. Internet support forums for these particular engines are numerous and extremely helpful.

This just may be my personality showing through. I'm pretty sure that if I had enough cash lying around to buy a brand new mercedes - I'd buy three Honda civics instead.

[Brainsquishy]

My 200cc HSUN enduro is branded as U-LIKE. It is from the SUNL or VIVA line. That info might help you.

[china_parts_canada]

Hi Masta,

I would say I have become a bit of an expert over the last 3+ years on the Chinese products and one thing is for sure, it really doesn't matter what name is on the machine other than if it is one of the largest China manufacturers. And even there you are not guaranteed the best of quality from China.

There are thousands of places that call themselves manufacturers in China and yet you can walk down one of the parts streets in YongKang and see a couple of young fellows assembling a pit bike out on the street. One of the times I was there I got my china based employee to ask one of these people who they were making the bikes for and he told her they were being built for a trading company that was then selling that load to a customer in Germany, so don't buy or not buy a machine because of the name on the side. the other thing is that when companies from North America bring in machines and brand them themselves they can be buying from one factory one day and a different one the next and yet brand them all the same for sale here.

The quality of these machines is improving continually and an ATV bought three years ago from China will not be as good of quality as the ones made today. But they have on the whole, all been well worth the investment, the motors are normally strong and no the frames do not break very darn easily. I sold over 300 machines in the town I live in and only one of the frames ever broke... and I live in ATV and dirt bike country!

Getting parts has been a challenge in the past but there are companies like mine that have taken up the challenge of getting the parts you need so before you buy here is what I would suggest;

1) are the people that are selling you the ATV people that you feel you can do business with?
2) Make sure it is well build by looking at it closely before you buy and get the true manufacturers name off of the VIN plate.
3) Research the name as best you can. One sure way to know if they are a real manufacturer is to see if they have a web site both in the Chinese language and one we can read too. My girl in China also says the name should be a name that is Chinese in origin otherwise it is likely a trading company disguised as a manufacturer. If they make a hundred different machines, they are likely a trading company not a real manufacturer.
4) In general, if the manufacturer is from the city of Chongqing it is likely a better machine than one made in another part of China. There are exceptions to this such as CFMoto, and xMotos of course.
5) Not all manufacturers really manufacture, most are assembly plants but if they are good at it they can make as good or better product than some of the larger companies over there.
6) Don't let anyone tell you that the parts are poor quality, like any thing, there are different grades of quality depending on who makes them. And don't forget that Japan buys a lot of parts from China. Honda, Volkswagon, Subaru, Yamaha, and many many others have joint ventures with companies in China.

I could go on but I am sure you are getting the idea.

Find a nice machine at a fair price, and buy it and enjoy it. There are a lot of people on this site that really enjoy their Chinese made machines... and me too.

Cheers,

Art

[Brainsquishy]

Nice one Art.

[IronFist]

ditto :wink:

[masta]

Yes, good reply.

So far so good with the U-Like ATV. I actually rode one that my friend purchased and it's a nice, smooth little machine. Very Yamaha-like in many ways. I love the fact that the 2 chinese machines I've seen(my 110cc and my friend's U-like 150cc) have both had quality Keihin carbs.

The U-like has no choke though, which seems odd to me.

The tires on the U-like are terrible, they're like plastic. He swapped on a set of Maxxis from his 90cc Kymco and it's much better in the snow.

The dealer we have both used seems quite good, they are nice to talk to and answer any questions we have, so I think I'll be buying another machine, and it will probably be a U-like. I may go for a 250cc though.......

[china_parts_canada]

Originally Posted by masta

Yes, good reply.

So far so good with the U-Like ATV. I actually rode one that my friend purchased and it's a nice, smooth little machine. Very Yamaha-like in many ways. I love the fact that the 2 chinese machines I've seen(my 110cc and my friend's U-like 150cc) have both had quality Keihin carbs.

The U-like has no choke though, which seems odd to me.

The tires on the U-like are terrible, they're like plastic. He swapped on a set of Maxxis from his 90cc Kymco and it's much better in the snow.

The dealer we have both used seems quite good, they are nice to talk to and answer any questions we have, so I think I'll be buying another machine, and it will probably be a U-like. I may go for a 250cc though.......

Hi Masta,

The carb may be a Keihin or it may be a 'Chinese' Keihin. In either case even if it is a Chinese duplicate, according to my China sources it is still a better carb than others that are made there.

I think you will find that that carb has an automatic choke on it but I have been wrong before. Seems to me those 150cc engines are quite good at starting in any temperature.

That is nice to hear that you have found a good dealer.

Cheers,

Art