Chinese 125's - Lifan, Hyosung etc...
Discussion
Hi all, this is my first post in Biker Banter since jumping from the world of TVR's
My Girlfriend and i have recently done our CBT's and we have both decided to get a 125 for 6-8 months or so, before taking our DAS tests. Really only to use locally, build up confidence and get a bit of practice in, maybe the occasional commute for me.
Has anyone any opinions on the various Honda CG125 copies that are very common at the moment? Are they all the same, or is one 'copy' better than another? My brother had a lifan 125 recently and it was ok but had a few niggles, just wondering about the others. eBay seems to be a good place to look - brand new Lifans for £850.
What about resale - if we are looking to trade up this winter / next srping, will the dealers take these in px? I wouldnt expect much having said that with how cheap they are to start with!
Suppose the questions is risk a chinese copy or go with a genuine Honda CG125, because in the long run it will not lose much money, easy to sell and wont break? There arent may CG's around for under £1500 so its a bit of a difference....
Opinions Please?!
My Girlfriend and i have recently done our CBT's and we have both decided to get a 125 for 6-8 months or so, before taking our DAS tests. Really only to use locally, build up confidence and get a bit of practice in, maybe the occasional commute for me.
Has anyone any opinions on the various Honda CG125 copies that are very common at the moment? Are they all the same, or is one 'copy' better than another? My brother had a lifan 125 recently and it was ok but had a few niggles, just wondering about the others. eBay seems to be a good place to look - brand new Lifans for £850.
What about resale - if we are looking to trade up this winter / next srping, will the dealers take these in px? I wouldnt expect much having said that with how cheap they are to start with!
Suppose the questions is risk a chinese copy or go with a genuine Honda CG125, because in the long run it will not lose much money, easy to sell and wont break? There arent may CG's around for under £1500 so its a bit of a difference....
Opinions Please?!
Edited by robertjp on Saturday 28th April 17:16
My mate bought a Hongdu cg125 clone to use in between CBT and DAS. Bought it from a workmate who'd done exactly the same thing! It had a few extras that a *real* CG didn't have (gear indicator, etc) and was pretty much identical except things like the chrome and general finish wasn't as good. We also had to deal with a daft electrical problem that was just a loose connector. He paid 500 quid for what was virtually a new bike, put a few hundred miles on it and sold it on for 500 quid, so no real loss there! I rode it a few times and it wasn't any better/worse than the real thing, just check everything was tightened up correctly!
To be honest if you intend to have it on a temp basis and replace instantly with a big bike on taking your DAS then why not? I dunno if I'd bother with new, a used one might have all the niggles I mentioned sorted out, and of course there is less to lose. There will always be a demand for cheap 125s so if you pay 500 quid you aren't ever going to lose much. It was also an enjoyable ride from an inverted snobbery P.O.V, 500 quid virtually new, 100mpg, filtering past expensive cars stuck in a jam, etc!
Good luck with finding a nice one!
To be honest if you intend to have it on a temp basis and replace instantly with a big bike on taking your DAS then why not? I dunno if I'd bother with new, a used one might have all the niggles I mentioned sorted out, and of course there is less to lose. There will always be a demand for cheap 125s so if you pay 500 quid you aren't ever going to lose much. It was also an enjoyable ride from an inverted snobbery P.O.V, 500 quid virtually new, 100mpg, filtering past expensive cars stuck in a jam, etc!
Good luck with finding a nice one!
I was going to do the same but both instructors that I asked said the same thing: "It'll take as long to knock the bad habits out of you as to teach you from scratch so why bother" so I just did DAS then bought a Fazer.
Had a CG125 years ago though: 110mpg, 60-65mph and quick enough for an urban commute or B-road bimble.
Had a CG125 years ago though: 110mpg, 60-65mph and quick enough for an urban commute or B-road bimble.
My mate bought a hyosung cruiser thingy...looks nice enough..but the bugger won`t start after a 2 month lay up...and the part he needs for the automatic choke .. he can`t get and needs a whole carb according to the guy working on it...I can`t help but feel he would be better off with a bike from the top 4 japanese manufacturers...CG`s are unburstable and they are great fun to learn on...also you would have no stress incase it ever broke..
hiccy said:
I was going to do the same but both instructors that I asked said the same thing: "It'll take as long to knock the bad habits out of you as to teach you from scratch so why bother" so I just did DAS then bought a Fazer.
Had a CG125 years ago though: 110mpg, 60-65mph and quick enough for an urban commute or B-road bimble.
Had a CG125 years ago though: 110mpg, 60-65mph and quick enough for an urban commute or B-road bimble.
I kinda agree but there are a couple of other things - cant afford to go outand do DAS and big bikes this side of our wedding, so this is a bit of a compromise. Also, my other half needs confidence - and that is expensive to get when under instruction!! We could just hire the bike from the training centre but they want £150 a day (+ another two days instruction @£150 a day) - hence the question about just buying a cheap one!!
F.M said:
My mate bought a hyosung cruiser thingy...looks nice enough..but the bugger won`t start after a 2 month lay up...and the part he needs for the automatic choke .. he can`t get and needs a whole carb according to the guy working on it...I can`t help but feel he would be better off with a bike from the top 4 japanese manufacturers...CG`s are unburstable and they are great fun to learn on...also you would have no stress incase it ever broke..
Was it brand new? there is a place in Brum doing lifans 125's for £850, with 1 years warranty, so that would take a bit of the stress away i suppose...
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