Love Chinese Scooters: Heres Why By ridecheap (Read 981 times)

[ridecheap]

I love Chinese scooters for the simple fact they are cheap, enough quality and if needs a new part cheap to fix it yourself. Most are clone engines of name brands they made in early 2000s. That means not old engine technology and not thrown together.

Most Chinese scooters last for 20,000 miles and then when you need fresh brand new buy another Chinese brand new scooter cheap and swap the needed safety parts (aftermarket etc) onto it from the old one you had.

If I am going to get anything over 250cc I will buy a motorcycle that is name branded.

Dealers etc tend to mark the name brands for lot costs and are way overpriced. Finding a used brand name scooter is more expensive every way you put it. Why pay for "Italy" Quality is just the same with a Chinese scooter or a little less which can be swapped out with aftermarket parts for cheaper.

Tell me your thoughts?

[JR]

Ridecheap I couldn't have said it better myself. Plus add the experience one gains learning to work on them and lets not forget all the miles one can take off of their own 4 wheel vehicles.

Costs to own an auto which includes everything from insurance to maintenance varies but at today's figures it hits at around 50 cent a mile. My chinese scooter does not cost that much to own and operate and that alone helps make the Chinese scooter a good investment.

I also think that with a little luck very good PM one can get a little more than 20k out of one. Lastly they are a blast to ride!

JR

[skyrider]

I am nearing 9000 since July 2011 and once I got the bugs out I see no reason that it should not got a lot more than 20,000.
It took about 5000 miles to break in to where it quit using oil and does not need any added between changes. I run full synthetic oil and gear lube as I have in all of my vehicles for many years. I would not hesitate to take off on a ride for several hundred miles.

[ridecheap]

Yeah you learn alot working on the scooter. You replace parts that you know will wear and get better quality stock parks aka aftermarket. 15,000 miles and going to 25,000 is common on chinese scooters with regular maintenance. I have not touched the engine, carb or clutch yet on mine.

The only thing your overpaying is for a brand label and some patents that work the same on a Chinese scooter. Your aftermarket parts are better patents then the name brand manufactures. You have the Roketa clone engine of a Yamaha majesty 250cc for example some say it needs maintenance engine wise (pistons, breaks, calipers) in the 35,000 mile range but thats not alot.

Bought this Roketa used for $850 its 250cc and put mods into about 1200 to 1300 total so far. This gets me all over the city, highway but long distance I go with a brand name thats over 250cc and a motorcycle.

[wolfhound]

I have no arguement with any of the above comments. I have owned Chinese scoots that gave me no problems with the exception of one and
once those problems were attended to I use it, a trike, here on my place to get around, saves me a lot of walking. However I prefer the
Taiwanese scoots as I feel they are of a better quality overall and not out of reasonable price ranges. The vote is out on my Indian built Stella
as I have not had time to ride it a lot.
The only problem I have with the above is that scoots are a better deal for wrenchers who can work on them. For those like me basic upkeep can be done by me but serious work has to be shopped out. So for us non wrenchers scoots can be an expensive mode of transportation. Labor costs in my area run
$80.00 an hour!! Would I give up my scoots because of this? Certainly not!!!

[wolfhound]

PS: I should add that the reason I added the Stella to the stable is because of the easy access to the engine and spare tire, the ease of replacing tires(a
job I can do at home , split rim Vespa style, single arm suspension front and rear allows you to remove the tire and rim easily and remove the tire
easily. The Stella is an Indian made retro/new scoot that is basically an old 4 speed series Vespa without the expense of the name. I may yet become
a wrencher!!!

[terrilee]

i love my chinese scoot because....

it only cost $400
i have 8,000 + miles on her
i have only had 3 breakdowns.
1st 2 i pushed her home,
but if i knew what i know now,
i prob coulda fixed her

and the only major breakdown was the magneto
which i think i killed,
by trying to get all the salt off the bottom
i may have sprayed way to much water
in that area.

so yea I LOVE MY CHINESE SCOOT

[wolfhound]

Terrilee, not to change the subject but what happened to the cat you had on before the white one. Both are beautiful cats. I have always liked
cats as well as dogs. My present recue cat is known as Mufasa, a domestic short hair tabby.

[terrilee]

wolf i still have all 6
Piggers, boy ,is 11

Snuggle Bunny aka Bun Bun , girl is 11 also, they r brother & sister

Kitty kitty Bitty bitty , girl , 7 Pig's daughter ( & omg they love each other, like they know)

Fred, boy, 4, is a rescue

Larry Berry berry,boy, 3 is also a rescue


and that Homeless on my signature, <1yr (?) also a rescue

[wolfhound]

Mufasa is a feral cat. We have a lot of them around here in the country side. He had somehow, at the estimated age of 8 weeks, managed to
wedge himself between a gate post and the gate frame and was stuck when we found him. Taken to the vet he could not walk, had broken his
pelvis. My vet, a horse and cat lover, kept him confined until he could walk. He now runs my warehouse/scooter garage at night. He must be an
exellent mouser, have not seen one in 3 years. Sleeps and lazes during the daytime in a Great Dane crate.