101.5 MPG on my 2003 Ninja 250!!!

[The Atomic Ass]

Originally Posted by Christ

the Ninja 250 is just getting to be too expensive for a basic bike, and the economy went down with the newer generation.

I can't argue with the cost... But I was under the impression the motor had been massaged for more low end torque, which I think would have benefited FE at least somewhat...

[The Atomic Ass]

Originally Posted by jonathan150cc

My main point was just that, for the money, they are not bad bikes. Chinese vehicles always get a bad rap and they are usually spoken bad about simply because they are not Japanese. The same treatment was given to Jap bikes when they started encroaching on the Yankee bike industry and started giving some long standing companies a run for their money. I think we all know how that turned out....
I don't see anyone on this site riding an American branded motorcycle.

Japanese bikes had a bad reputation because at the time, Japanese products were generally ****, about the level of what Chinese products were when they hit American shores. Its taken a while for American perception to change on Japanese products, and it will take a while for Chinese products to gain respect. One thing that would help is parts availability, which as of the last I heard, is still not up to par.

[Christ]

Lifan still has great parts availability, considering that most of what they make is Honda Cloned. Some of their stuff is Yanmar clones as well, getting into diesel engines. I think those are their two main players.

RE -the Ninja's torque range:

Could be true, I was told by the Kawi dealer that the EPA ratings went down. It was also mentioned in this thread somewhere.

[theycallmeebryan]

Originally Posted by The Atomic Ass

I can't argue with the cost... But I was under the impression the motor had been massaged for more low end torque, which I think would have benefited FE at least somewhat...

Members of ninja250.org with the newer bikes seem to be getting less FE than those with the older generation. I'd put the blame on a few things. Not only have the new ninja 250's suffered in the aero department (it looks flashy, but...), the new ninja's are a bit heavier , too. The new ninja 250's have a wet weight of 376lbs, where the old ninja has a wet weight of 355lbs. The new Ninja 250 is tuned a bit differently than the pre-08's, which provides more low end and mid range power, at the expense of top end. Also, the new 250's have less compression (11.6:1 vs 12.4:1 on the older 250's).

[Froggypwns]

Originally Posted by jonathan150cc

I don't see anyone on this site riding an American branded motorcycle.

All 3 of my bikes are American.

[extragoode]

I have nothing against Chinese bikes. We just bought one (the CF Moto) a couple months ago and it's a tank in all the good ways. I was just warning everyone about what I personally found out about Lifan when I looked. Standard "don't believe the advertising" statement. The local CF Moto dealer is only 2 miles away from me and is also the same dealer I go to for my Honda, plus a lot of the maintenance parts are standard CAR parts I can get from any auto parts store. In contrast, the nearest Lifan dealer was 100 miles away and THE DEALER told me I'd have to use their parts. I see no reason he would tell me that if they were standards that Autozone carried like the CF Moto is. I live in the capitol city, albeit of Iowa, but there's no reason a licensed dealer should be more than 20 miles away.

The country of origin was never the deciding factor. It was simply that the CF Moto was automatic so my wife could ride it, and available on Craigslist. The only thing I don't like about our Chinese bike IS the automatic transmission, but we bought it for that reason for my wife. I just like the clutch, no matter who makes it.

If a Lifan was available on Craigslist for $1000 I'd buy it in an instant, but the only reason I knew about Lifan was because I did see one on Craigslist, but for $3000. And when I looked into the company I found the same ads that were posted here, and I wondered why a used bike would be selling for MORE than a new one. So I started looking into a new one and found that I couldn't get one HERE for less than $3000, but I could find a used Ninja 250 locally for $1500. All I'm saying is buyer beware, no judgments.

[Froggypwns]

see no reason he would tell me that if they were standards that Autozone carried like the CF Moto is.

Its called profit. Dealers will usually say anything to get you to buy their crap. I am sure if you used a google search, you could find an automotive cross reference to some of the parts you need. My Buell's use the same fuel injectors and oil filters as the Ford Mustang.

[Christ]

Originally Posted by Froggypwns

Its called profit. Dealers will usually say anything to get you to buy their crap. I am sure if you used a google search, you could find an automotive cross reference to some of the parts you need. My Buell's use the same fuel injectors and oil filters as the Ford Mustang.

Lifan uses Honda parts. They bought the rights to re-manufacture Honda engines and basically copy Honda's old designs, and they also buy rights to manufacture (with royalties) other companies' designs, including cars, small personal sports equipment, and other motorized vehicles. They also manufacture small generators and some other construction/work equipment, also copied from other manufacturers.

Lifan is so close to Honda on many items, I'm actually going to buy their parts as replacements for my TwinStar, where I can't find reasonably priced OEM's. NOS is expensive, at times.

[extragoode]

Originally Posted by Froggypwns

Its called profit. Dealers will usually say anything to get you to buy their crap. I am sure if you used a google search, you could find an automotive cross reference to some of the parts you need. My Buell's use the same fuel injectors and oil filters as the Ford Mustang.

Good point, but the CF Moto dealer was up front and open with me. This time it came down to dealer preference. Like I said before, I'd still consider a Lifan bike, actually now more than before because I now have more information.

[extragoode]

Originally Posted by Christ

Lifan is so close to Honda on many items, I'm actually going to buy their parts as replacements for my TwinStar, where I can't find reasonably priced OEM's. NOS is expensive, at times.

Then why doesn't my Honda dealership also support them? I'm willing to work on my own vehicles, but I also understand that sometimes I can't fix something myself or just don't want to. In those cases I don't want to have to go 100 miles to someone that's just going to try to wring every bit of profit out of me like Froggy pointed out.