Lexmoto highest 125 seller in 2016

Much like the Japanese bikes in the 70’s, here comes the march of the Chinese: 

http://www.lexmoto.co.uk/n_386_Biggest_selling_125cc_brand_in_2016.php

Well if they are half decent why not. Just looked through their website, 125cc brand new scooter £1129. You’d be lucky to get honda with 10k miles for that price. Parts are dirt cheep. They even sell big bore(180cc) kit for 125cc for £104 :smiley: what not to like

The difference though is the Japanese embarrassed the British and European manufacturers by being affordable and far more reliable.  The Chinese manufacturers are from what I have read and seen to be very low price and low quality.  And it is the very low price that is selling them. 

The chinese stuff largely seems to have an expected life 'til the first MOT but not much after

Pitch that against public transport

True true

For a moment i was tempted by a little scooter for that price… Just for the summer little trips for breakfast, a cheeky pint or just to travel into town.

Having just rebuilt one from scrap to basically new condition, I can tell you they use painfully poor components. It may well be a suzuki GN125 engine copy, but it’s been copied in manchego or some similar hard cheese. EVERY bolt corrodes on and rounds off (and yes i have a great set of tools), the overall paint finish is woeful, and they do use oil. Add all of this together and give it to a maintenance free 17 year old, and they aren’t going to age well.

Still cheaper than public transport costs for 3 years even if you do replace it after

But can you rely on it to start every morning?

You’d soon be in trouble with the boss

Service intervals are painfully short too.


Having just rebuilt one from scrap to basically new condition, I can tell you they use painfully poor components. It may well be a suzuki GN125 engine copy, but it's been copied in manchego or some similar hard cheese. EVERY bolt corrodes on and rounds off (and yes i have a great set of tools), the overall paint finish is woeful, and they do use oil. Add all of this together and give it to a maintenance free 17 year old, and they aren't going to age well.
benedictireland
Chinesnium, they are made from Chinesnium.  :D

I’m old enough to remember people saying pretty much the same thing about Japanese bikes in the 60s & 70s.

The main factor at play here is that comfortable Europeans aren’t their core market, so the bikes aren’t primarily designed with us in mind.

They’re looking to sell bikes by the shipload throughout the developing world and that means they need to be cheap. Sure they may not be as reliable, but so long as the parts are cheap & they can be fixed by a bloke in a shed with a selection of hammers, that’s acceptable.

[quote] Having just rebuilt one from scrap to basically new condition, I can tell you they use painfully poor components. It may well be a suzuki GN125 engine copy, but it's been copied in manchego or some similar hard cheese. EVERY bolt corrodes on and rounds off (and yes i have a great set of tools), the overall paint finish is woeful, and they do use oil. Add all of this together and give it to a maintenance free 17 year old, and they aren't going to age well. --- benedictireland [/quote]

I’m old enough to remember people saying pretty much the same thing about Japanese bikes in the 60s & 70s.
The main factor at play here is that comfortable Europeans aren’t their core market, so the bikes aren’t primarily designed with us in mind.
They’re looking to sell bikes by the shipload throughout the developing world and that means they need to be cheap. Sure they may not be as reliable, but so long as the parts are cheap & they can be fixed by a bloke in a shed with a selection of hammers, that’s acceptable.

Pat

Couldn’t agree more… although I’m not old enough to remember the 60s and 70s… :smiley:

But also, their standards have and will improve. It will take some time but they will get there. The other thing to bear in mind that the UK climate is not great for their parts. But then I don’t believe the UK has as high number of scooter users as other countries in europe or elsewhere… 

having seen one that was leaning against a wall after a crash , i can confirm the metal is so poor the bike was just a pile of bits, 

But also, their standards have and will improve. It will take some time but they will get there.
Serrisan
Where is 'there'?  The reason for the lower quality of Chinese bikes is that they are manufactured to meet low price points.  It is not that Chinese companies cannot produce to a higher quality levels, some do for others, but simply that higher cost components means they would lose their price advantage to undercut the major brands.  And if they decide to increase quality to compete directly with the major brands, someone else will just come along to undercut them.

They do not care about their reputation in forums like this because they are not aiming at ‘bikers’.  Their target audience here is mainly kids who are waiting a couple of years until they are old enough for something bigger, and those who just want something cheap to get them five-or-so miles to work and back.  For some people they will be all they can afford,  for others good enough for what they need anyway, that there is no reason for the manufacturers to change.  

It is a simple case of you get what you pay for.  And many are knowingly happy to accept that.

Amen