Something New and Inexpensive

[Lonerider59]

I've been thinking about getting a Chinese quad for a couple years now, after buying a little scooter about three years ago as a second two-wheeler for when the regular scoot was tied up for maintenance. I found the Chinese rigs to be reliable for the price and amazingly they are quite quick for such small engines. You wouldn't know it until you get into them, but there are all inds of speed parts and places to get custom parts to make them unique. The best part of all is that if you like to get into doing your own wrenching, the parts are so inexpensive you cn go nuts without breaking the bank. Since I was 15, I did all my own work, mainly as a hobby and a way of keeping entertained on those rainy and/or cold days we have in the northern climates. I will say that the documentation that is sent with most Chinese Scooters and Quads isn't worth the paper it's printed on but that just makes the endeavor just that much more challenging, and rewarding when you get it figured out. The best part is the investment is so little that even if the things were to self-destruct in the first week they can be rebuilt for a fraction (a small fraction) of what it costs to do a Japanese unit. I'm not trying to insinuate that the quality is the same because it's not but if you take my T150GX Tao Tao as an example, $1336, shipped all the way from China to my Home via UPS Freight is a bargain. It started right up out of the box after puting the wheels and bars and a few other parts on and it runs like a scared rabbit. It's probably not everyone's cup of tea but I needed something to toy with that didn't cost several hundred bucks every time I turned around and I still have my FZ1 when I really need to unload a bunch of money. I even started a forum for the thing (although there are already several ( the150gy6riders.forumer.com - Index page )

 

[pjspin0331]

interesting stuff. i didn't ever think that these would be reliable at all. seemed like a scam or something, but you seem to find no fault, so maybe i have just been assuming they were total junk all this time.

 

[va_rider]

We used to have a lot of Chinese-made scooters and ATV's come into our motorcycle shop... after a while we refused to work on them. It was always the same problems, carb problems, suspension problems... just overall fit and finish problems...

I worked on one, the thing kept eating chains.. I looked it over and got to checking stuff out... the swingarm was aligned way off... so, I loosened it up to adjust it, there were no bearings in the swingarm. it was just two concentric circles, one welded onto either side of the frame, one welded onto either side of the swingarm... that's it... the bolt running through the swingarm's pivot was a 3/8" threaded rod... of course that was about 1/2 the size of the hole in the swingarm and frame.. up on the A-arms, there were chunks of welding wire just hanging off of the welds...

It's nice that you found a good one, but we used to have customers come in all of the time with little $350 50cc 4 wheelers that they bought for their kids... the things were horrible.... when you think about the cost involved... it probably runs at least $150 to ship the thing... so they've got $200 in parts and assembly? The ones we used to see, I think that the carbs were the biggest problems... some no-name units... some of them with horrible casting flaws... things were inoperable from day 1....

 

[Hellgate]

Sounds like fun, I'm curious to hear what you think once you get a few mile on it.

 

[stretched06]

i bought a JLC quad for the kids. 110cc three speed no clutch. its a 2006 i got it new in2008 i have not had any problems at all. starts every time and runs great. it was $800

 

[Norm]

Disclaimer: I'm a mechanical moron.

On the maxi-scooter site where I am one of the administrators most people agree the Chinese scoots can be very difficult to keep running and that their fit and finish is severely lacking. Having said that, someone like yourself who is mechanically inclined, seems to have the most success with these bikes because they can literally take them apart, use the raw material, and put them together right. I know Billy said he did something like that with a Chinese scoot. There's a bike shop I go to where they sell Chinese scoots but the kid and his dad who own the place literally tear them down and make sure everything is the way it's supposed to be and they have had good success.

 

[2wheelMax]

All the Chinese motorbikes I have seen have been c-r-a-p. As long as you keep expectations low, then you should have no problems. Think of them as disposable units.

 

[FZ1riderNY]

I bought my Chinese 150cc scooter brand new back in 05' and literally rode everywhere that I've ridden since with my full size bikes with absolutely no issues whatsoever. I was also a member of the GY6 Forum and learned a ton of info before purchasing. There are only a few factories that push out these scooters and out of the few only one or two have stringent quality checks. I can't remember the name of the factory that I got my bike from but I made sure that I bought from a dealer that only dealt with this certain Taiwanese factory. All their engine specs were checked on the line and made from Honda GY6 specifications. I paid 800 dollars shipped to my job. It took two weeks to get it. I rode it home and spent 39 dollars for a "Grade 8.8 metric hardware upgrade kit" and sat the first weekend, swapping out every single nut and bolt from the bike, using locktite on all fasteners. I bought a trunk, Puig windshield, slip-on and intake, adjusted the valves, larger carb, and race CDI, and still hadn't passed 400 bucks! So for 1,200 dollars total investment, I wound up with a great scooter that would top out at 63mph GPS measured, with Richie on back with me. It started right up each and every time and never left me stranded once. I rode as far as Ulster County NY with Richie and logged 3,400 miles in one season. Then I had a chance to get the 05' Honda Shadow with 600 miles on it and sold the scooter to a driving school for 2,100 dollars!! Not bad hey!!! Now I'm not saying that all chinese scoots are problem free, I'm only saying that if you do your homework FIRST, you can wind up with a great deal. If something goes wrong with one of these engine wise, for just 250 bucks you can buy a long case 150cc GY6 motor brand new, drop it in and your good to go again! All that and 70mpg out of a 150cc scoot. I miss that scoot for sure!



All the guys at work called it "The Great Pumpkin" but it was a great scoot!

 

[Lonerider59]

As a follow-up to my original post, I thought I would try to give a picture of my outing yesterday seeing how the rain finally stopped after about eight straight days. I found a trail system about 20 miles southwest of where I live that is in some pretty rugged country. The trails are a combination of power lines, old railroad grades from the white pine industry of the early 1900's, and two-trackers from the oil and gas industry exploration. To say the least, these roads are narley. Because of the recent rains, they were also full of deep and wide mud puddles and bogs. I am very happy to report that my TaoTao ran the course of a little over 50 miles in two and a half hours with no probems at all and was able to navigate the harshest terrain that I've ever covered in any vehicle. One thing I did notice after I was checking for any loose connections or bolts that may have started to loosen. All bolts that have anything to do with critical attachments, including body panels have self-locking nuts. In fact, I was unable to find a single nut that wasn't a self locking type. I dont think you'll find that on many vehicles by any make. The engine, although only 150cc with a CV type of trans is always in the best power/torque range for the situation and I was able to climb some hills that I wouldn't have thought possible for an engine rated at only about 9 H.P. I'm satisfied it was a good purchase and if and when I encounter any problems I'll pass it along for your info.