Buying Clone Dirt Bikes ?

littlevillage

Hi there,

I currently have a Yamaha TW125. For those who don't know what that is .. Its a road legal big wheel learner Trail bike.. I have it a couple of years now .. and am considering upgrading it.

I only ever use it off road, over bogs etc... its actually ideal for this purpose because the big wheels don't sink to much into the soft ground.

But I am now tempted by the Clone Indian/Chinese off road bikes.

Loncin, Atomik, Skyteam, Moto roma, Kymco etc.

(Its just too expensive to but anything new from the "big" Five .. Honda, Kawasaki, KTM, Suzuki, Yamaha) .. used off road bikes are a mine-field.

Has anybody on here got any experiences to share good or bad ?

Just for discussion purposes.

I'm not talking about racing off-roaders here, just leisure, greenlaning, light off roading etc. maybe 15-20HP machines, nobbily tyres, "semi" road legal (detachable lights), disc brakes allround, electric start etc.

A new Loncin 250 can be bought for about €1300

Whereas a 250 from any of the big five would cost you €4000.

Comments ?

Cuddlesworth

Rule of thumb is that nothing good comes cheap. The Chinese clones are completely hit and miss, leaning heavily on the miss side.

You have parts issues, useless warranty's and substandard quality all round. Even if person A says that their bike has been 100%, buying that model or brand bike doesn't mean you will get the same bike or the same quality.

Timmaay

RUN A MILE from any of them Chinese heaps of scrap. Whereas the likes of a cheap chinese roadbike might get you some value, a dirtbike receives way more abuse, and spending 1300quid on a cheap chineses motocross bike is total false economy, and will be hanging apart after 30/40hours of use!

You're correct, that the used bike market is abit of a minefield, but in comparison, trust me, a cheap chinese mx bike is like juggling live grenades! In terms of 2nd hand bikes from any of the big 5, get a 2stroke! They cost much less to fix when they go wrong, parts are much cheaper and they are much easy to work on. If your on a tw125 (12bhp or so??), then a 125 mx bike is plenty powerful enough (about 33bhp!). The year does not matter at all once its newer then say 1999, bring a friend who knows their stuff about motocross bikes (or make friends with someone ha if you don't know anyone now), and they will make sure its not a lemon.

Heres the likes of what you be looking for: http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/motorbikes/3156058

galwaytt

Forget any Chinese stuff, its rubbish. Your TW on its worst day is better than their best shot.

I have a friend's Chinese scooter in my garage, 500 kms on it, and it's only fit for the bin.

pa990

DON'T DO IT

doctorchopper

I'd like to know where you can get a new 250 from a big 5 brand for 4000, there are pushing 6-7000

littlevillage

Thanks Guys,

I am picking up the vibe loud and clear, that clone stuff is pretty rubbish and more or less disposable after warranty runs out :-)

That having been said I notice a lot of the dealers for big brands are now sneaking in cheaper clone stuff too, for the younger market I suppose ;-) or maybe sign of the economic times.

Have had a few conversations (albeit usually with sales staff) .. the gist of it being .. If you want a serious off road bike for racing, enduro trips or off roading over rough territory for hours on end etc.. then you need to pay the dollars for one of the big brands. Even then when such high power is extracted from smallish engines they need a fair bit of maintenance, rebuilds etc.

For kids or for somebody who is only fooling about, up and down a field etc. the clone stuff is fine.

Think I am somewhere in between. I am never going to enter a MX race or head off accross the Himalaya's .. but low maintenance is the big thing for me. I want to take it out for a burn over fairly unchallenging ground for an hour, put it back in the shed and comeback in two weeks and it starts up first time and it only needs to go to dealer once every few years.

I am actually thing of going for a road going Scrambler like 4/5 yr old Yamaha DT 125 .. that has hopefully only ever seen tarmac and should be super reliable...but still capable of a little rough stuff too.

Any comments ?