Chinese bikes

[porter_jamie]

Anyone got or ridden one that isn't dogshite?
Are they getting to the point where is it actually a proposition? Some of the manufacturers are absolutely huge, we just don't hear about them. So they must have the resources to engineer stuff reasonably, you would hope.

KOVE do an enduro style bike which looks cool. Will it shit itself all over the road 2 minutes after the warranty has run out?

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

About 15 years ago a friend had a 200cc 4 stroke Chinese trail bike, the engine looked like a copy of a early 80s XR200 engine, the styling was horrible, every but and bolt rusted like you'd expect it to and the suspension was crap, but it never broke down and went everywhere my DRZ400 did, albeit a lot slower.

[Horse]

? Some of the manufacturers are absolutely huge, we just don't hear about them. So they must have the resources to engineer stuff reasonably, you would hope.

And given the amount of manufacturing they do for the 'acceptable' brands. Do any of those have entire bikes built in China? Or just engines, etc.?

[KungFooBob]

Crosshair likes his Voge 300 Rallye, I think it looks good too.

[porter_jamie]

I think the smaller fantic engines are Chinese.

[Bustaspoke]

Nathanthepostman rode a Voge 300 around the Alps,another trip from Devon to Scotland & a trip from the Picos,over to the Alps & back home,he rated the bike & gave the impression that he's thinking of being a Voge dealer.Have a look on his YT channel.

[Mr. Dazzle]

IIRC, Mercedes, BMW, Airbus, Boeing....loads of people basically...have final assembly plants in China and make/ship finished product from there.

Does anyone really think the Chinese aren't busy copying the arse out of every aspect of that work?

Matter of time IMO.

[roadster]

I have had a couple in recent years, namely a Mash ( Shineray ) and a Bluroc ( Skyteam Dax/Lifan). Both obviously given a name change by the importers. In both cases they are OK if you accept the premise that niggling faults have to be corrected by the owner even from practically new.

The choice is simple, you buy a mainstream Japanese brand, Honda Suzuki Yamaha Kawasaki, at a significantly higher price, and you get a well finished product with few if any faults and if something does go wrong its back to the dealer. Buy a cheaper Chinese brand and either live with the limitations or fix it yourself. Broadly speaking the Chinese stuff will have little value after two or three years unless you invest a lot of effort in preventative maintenance. But in terms of depreciation there is less to lose because the initial cost is so much less.

In performance terms mine are/were both relatively slow and underpowered so don't be fooled by engines which are a generation or two behind the mainstream.

[Supermofo]

Sure the Chinese built Benelli 500 was the best selling bike in Italy the other year.

[KungFooBob]

My Volvo was made in China.

[v8-powered]

My Volvo was made in China.

Don't mention that of any of the Volvo forums, they get very pre-menstrual over that! They think they are all designed and built by Bjorn in Sweden.....

[Whysub]

Sure the Chinese built Benelli 500 was the best selling bike in Italy the other year.

It was indeed, the Italians did like them.
Here are the Italianregistration figures from Jan to September 2023

https://www.motorcyclesdata.com/2023/09 ... torcycles/

Seems Benelli sales dropped by 29% on 2022 sales.

I considered buying a 502 TRK when I moved to Spain, but chose the Himalyan over it, as it seemed much better suited on the gravel roads I ride on. The Benelli felt a lot heavier, a big consideration when riding off the tarmac on your own.

Plus I have two very good Enfield dealers near me, and no (at that time) Benelli dealers within 200 kms.

[mboy]

My chosen KTM dealer has just become a CFMoto dealer too...

By all accounts, some of their bikes are already as good as some of the bikes they make for KTM, albeit better value for money on paper at least (predicted residuals may mean they aren't such good value if you're PCPing it, or chop and change bikes regularly)...

I'd really like a go on the 800NK, see how it compares to the Duke 790 it is based on.

[The Spin Doctor]

Sure the Chinese built Benelli 500 was the best selling bike in Italy the other year.

It was - TRK502 if I remember right.

[matt]

I'm very interested in the Voge 300s, lots of people saying they are better than a crf300 rally out of the box and you can get them for £3799 . Seems like a good deal for some green Laning.

[KungFooBob]

viewtopic.php?t=7987

Crosshair swapped a RE Himy for a Voge for TET adventures and hasn't looked back.

I'm busy looking down the back of the settee for £4k.

[matt]

Forgot to say , apparently Voge are owned by Loncin who make BMW 850 and 900 engines

[matt]

viewtopic.php?t=7987

Crosshair swapped a RE Himy for a Voge for TET adventures and hasn't looked back.

I'm busy looking down the back of the settee for £4k.

Been watching his thread and postings on a few FB groups with interest. He's been hammering the miles in -on and off road and loving it . Broke the side stand but got a new one sent out very quickly on warranty if I remember correctly.

[The Spin Doctor]

Just been reading the MCN review (it's rubbish) and the owners' comments (it's great) about the Voge Rally 300. Certainly seems to have ticked a few users' boxes even if the reviewer seemed to want to hate it from the outset.

[Crosshair]

Yeah we staged a backlash after the MCN review was clearly nonsense

I was doing a 15.5 stone cowboy remount in the South Downs and bent my side stand to the extent I had to snap it off to get home. New one from MotoGB was like £23 Although I welded the old one up to use the next day anyhow.

Someone priced up and said a whole Voge wheel complete is less than a CRF rim!

I can't speak highly enough of it. It's silky smooth now after 3000 miles and with a 15t sprocket will sit at 75 (the speedo is REALLY accurate) for hours. I *averaged* 64mph from Newbury to Dover with it. I'd say that's been the biggest surprise- the mini fairing, screen and comfy seat tip it out of Dual Sport and well into the mini ADV category.