old jap or new chinese, hmmm?
steven cooke
04/01/2012
04/01/2012
old jap or new chinese, hmmm?
having almost got the money for a 125cc bike, i am getting flumoxed by shiney chrome and flashy graphics. I have seen sat and pondered on the subject of a new 0 mile chinese bike for around 1500 pounds, or do i purchase an older jap machine, ie honda cg or suzuki gn etc, yes i know one has 0 miles and the older machines my have many many many more however which is the best overall buy? please has anyone else had this conundrum and what did you buy, going to buy?
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Oooh, tricky one! I'll be watching this one closely!
Just to make your decision harder, because I'm like that. How about Taiwanese and Korean such as Sym, Kymko and Hyosung? It is pretty hard to buy a bike these days that doesn't have some Chinese, Taiwanese, Korean or Indian parts in it and Suzuki made the EN125 (which I have) in China. I was considering a Hyosung Comet 250 for my next bike but the winter weather is making me think Kymko Downtown or Sym GTS 300i
old Japanese might be old but they work well. spares are easily available,both new and used.Japanese machines have dominated the world market for a good reason.they're good value for money.
thanks for that, you have balanced my mind, however i am still thinking.
Hi Steven,
I've no doubt that in 10 years time we'll all be buying Chinese and they'll be good too but at the moment they're to be avoided.
Yes, everyone uses chinese parts, some even have factories in China as well but they're still Yamaha/Peugot or whatever, rather than a poor copy made with poor quality control.
From bitter experience I can say they're poorly made and allways needing attention. Then the next problem, most Chinese bikes are Internet sales - will your local bike shop service/repair it? Very many won't touch them.
Also from bitter experience I can say that parts back up dissapears quickly and they're not normally even listed / supported after 3 years.
That all leads to the killer statement - a £1500 secondhand Jap will still be worth £1000 after 3 years. A shiny new £1500 Chink will be near worthless. You might think it's a bargain until you see what it really cost, taking resale into account.
That said, I understand that Sym - Kymco (not Chinese !) have much better reputation but (proving you get what you pay for) are close to Japanese / European brand prices too.
We need the most cost effective solution for our business and after making the Chinese mistake we've gone solidly back to Japan.
sym an kymco both a fair price and i am thinking long term however the old jap vs new chink still makes me think( oooh poem time) if the old jap has this far in say 5-8 years will the new chink br there in that time, or will it be coke cans, hmmm i am still thinking
most thought provoking! i am still at sixes n' sevens on this, a honda cg or even a suzuki gn i am looking at, at the moment, both a cracker but then i sneek a peek at a kymco catalouge and thin hmmm warrenty etc, then my screensaver kicks in and i see the cg and gn and think hmmm chrome and jap quality, this could drive me barking mad! soon i hope the money will get there and i will make a purchase, theres the screen saver, the gn is calling me :)
I am riding around on a old Honda 125,old as in 24 years old...... we look at 2 year old Chinese bikes... I wasn't happy even just sitting on them, felt cheap and ready to fall to bits, so for me, old and soild the way to go.