Dont let Jaz see this

[Deleted User 7077]

That's amazing 6000 miles on a 125

[bbvideo] [/bbvideo]

[capitano]

Being honest, most of us could pick holes in that.

What it essentially distils down to is often, "How long will my new bike last if I don't maintain it properly?"

Beyond the first service, done by a dealer, subsequent services in a bike's early life have to be done to maintain warranty. Warranty on mainstream Chinese bikes is better now (thanks to the likes of Lexmoto and Sinnis) but considering the initial cost of the bike, and the fact that most Chinese bikes have shorter service intervals, a lot of new owners don't bother"the bike was £1000 cheaper but it costs £300 more for services!" The percentage of Chinese bikes that don't get properly maintained is greater. The stage at which maintenance stops is generally lower.

(this is why you see more Peugeot V-Clics than Baotians. They were the same scooter but Peugeot dealers charged a premium and tied buyers into at least a year of having their serviced properly. Baotian didn't.)

Answering the question concerning something like an older CG125 or Honda C90, bought new, was that if not maintained after its initial warranty period, it wouldn't last for ever. A lot of us will testify to this, having seen the results. It will last longer than most new Chinese bikes treated in the same way, though. The general build quality is better. That is undeniable.

(The Jinlun we had was slightly less "nice," than the Honda Rebel it was based upon, which we also had. On a direct comparison basis if we'd stopped maintaining both bikes at the same point, the Honda would probably have lasted longer.And when I say, "maintaining," all we ever did was change the oil regularly, and maintain/change the chain.)

A bike not maintained at least to the extent of changing the oil, changing/maintaining the chain/belt, keeping salt water and crap away from the fork seals etc won't last indefinitely. A Chinese branded bike will undoubtedly last less long than one made under the auspices of a major brand like Honda, Yamaha etc. By contrast maintain something properly and it will reward you with many years of service, even a Chinese moped.

(Harking back to the Jinlun again. When we owned it there was a thriving owners forum. This was mostly enthusiastic, sprinkled with the inevitable, "These bikes are sh!t, mine turned to cheese overnight!" posting. Whenever photos were posted of these problems, it was evident in most cases that the bikes had not been maintained. For example, sagging chains, red with rust. When the bike has a centrestand, the chain needs only a brush with some engine oil regularly, a new one is £6 delivered, and it's 10 minutes to change it, what's the chances of those same bikes having a regular oil change?)

In conclusion, buy a Honda, stop maintaining it after its warranty period and it will last you a while before it eventually dies. It will die, but probably not early on. Buy a Sinnis, stop maintaining it after you've worked out the cost of servicing to maintain the warranty (making it less cheap than it originally looked) and it will die sooner than the Honda.

[Deleted User 7077]

The presenter of course rides a Triumph speed triple lol

[Symcity]

I can honestly say that I fall into the well maintained bracket - I service the scooter frequently and thoroughly clean it after each outing - then again I’ve got plenty of time on my hands and don’t use my scooter for the daily commute

[Deleted User 7077]

I like mine with few scratches and bit of gravel rash adds patina and character and devalues them down to my price range .

[horobags]

I can honestly say that I fall into the well maintained bracket - I service the scooter frequently and thoroughly clean it after each outing - then again I’ve got plenty of time on my hands and don’t use my scooter for the daily commute

that looks mint.

[Deleted User 4154]

I stopped watching after the black cruiser (about 3 mins) when the presenter was about to award it a medal for still working at eight years old when it lives outside!!!1!1! Whoop de doo. No mention of how many miles it'd done.

I did LOL at the bit where it had to have a new exhaust because the owner had drilled a hole in the old one to make it go faster

With regard to lack of maintenance, I must root out the pictures of my (then) 20 year old Helix, purchased for £35 from the man who rode it into the ground; every panel smashed or missing, air filter like a 60-a-day man's lungs and oil like treacle. Oh, and a hammer in the boot to release the rear brake because it was seized. He didn't change the oil for 10 years! I've done a lot of work on that bike over the years but I've never been inside the engine. Still going strong at 30 years young.

[Deleted User 7077]

Ah memories of the South coast tour the mk1 burger poking its nose in .Plus the Meldrew helix screen off his actual Helix that must be worth a fortune now.Was supposed to be visit all the ports from the Hungry sailors tv show originally did miss a lot out .Did go to Beachy head tho lol


All scoots he showed had reached 6000 miles for those who didn't watch it all the way thro .

[Deleted User 7077]

I did see post on Sym on face book guy just brought a Sym saying how much he liked it after owning a lexmoto for 5 years " never again " was the words he used. So in summary buy new lexmoto do 6000 miles in 2 years while it's in warranty you will be okay then buy another.

[capitano]

I did LOL at the bit where it had to have a new exhaust because the owner had drilled a hole in the old one to make it go faster

That was happening when I was 16 and judging by what I hear every f***ing day,it still happens. It's probably the same gene pool that refer to acceleration as, "excel."