Screw oversea's. Why should we do anything to help them. You say the ecomnomy is going down the drain, so why would you want to make it worse by giving everthing we make to overseas companies, even if it is cheaper.

 

I agree with XavierOnasis on this one. We have a Chinese quad here in Nl, Canada and the trails are very rough. The little quad is the first for my 7 year old son now turning 8. I have had several issues. Frame cracked in two locations and the swing arm mouting brackets broke also. The spots where it needed welding are obivious locations. 90 degree turns in the frame with no orginal gussetts for strenght. All the welds now have gussetts for added strenght which I belive should of there from the manufactuer. If I known more about the lack of proper reinforcement on the 90 degree angles on the frame I would of had it welded from day one. I payed a local garage to weld the frame once. Then after that I purchased a small mig welder. I purchased the welder primarly for the quad but it is a great asset around the house and I have made a few exta dollars also welding for others. The Lifan 110 cc engine seems to be strong and I have had no issues with it. The electical wire quailty are not the greatest either and when a piece brakes I ussally replace it as far back as I can on the frame.
My cost was $750 CAD in Nov 2006 shipped from Vancover to Newfoundland from Ebay. A brand name mini quad would cost me approx $3500 and my boy would out grow it just as fast as the Chinese quad. I belive the chinese quad is serving its purpose and when the little fellow out grows it I will not be out alot of cash. For a learner bike its great. My opinion don't expect to buy one and have no maintience or no issues with it. If you are not mechainally inclined DON"T purchase one it will drive you nuts. If you enjoy wrenching and you have patience it's not a bad buy.

Happy ATVing
MrJ

 

I think one of the other considerations on the small Chinese quads is the features. If you are buying a 50-90 cc ATV, try finding a "Brand name" atv that has lights. Such a small thing but the Japanese atvs don't have them. Also simple items like foot brakes are hard to find on the smaller bikes as well. My daughter rides a meerkat 50 and we have had some minor issues with the unit but nothing that couldn't be fixed relatively easily. When I compare my $700 atv to the $3500 they wanted for the AC 90 with less features, I would defineitely buy another Chinese atv for y kids. Obviously once you are past the 250cc, then brand names is pretty much the way to go.

 

Hey we should talk.

I have 2 of them 185s and they both run. My kids keep putting their feet down and well you know the rest.

I'm gonna have one of them nasty divorces if I don't get a couple of LT80s or some mini two wheelers

 

FWIW - As a newbie, I went through this decision process 2 months ago. I was struggling with what to buy for my "fickle", girly-girl 9 year-old daughter. Not knowing for sure if it would be short or long-term, it made sense to buy something that was either "cheap" or a unit I could get out of without losing my a$$. As I was about to buy Chinese, I answered a local ad for a used 03 LT80. The gentleman had made the gamble for his son and it didn't stick. After a couple laps around the yard, the boy didn't want to ride it. It sat in the garage since. I offered $1,500 on his $1,800 asking price and he took it. I brought it home, cranked the throttle stop and had her ride around cones in the yard for a couple days and it stuck. She now beats the tar out of it on a daily basis. I got lucky, but I think I could have flipped it if it didn't work out.

 

No more China crap for me, name brand quads only !

I buy a year or two old quads that weren't ridden much and save some $$. I feel I won't take a big hit when it's time to sell either, as long as they aren't completely beat.

 

If you guys are paying $3500 for name brand 90's or 50's then you need to find a new dealer!!

 

You have to realize that your getting what you pay for when you buy a cheap chinese atv.

I have a Kazuma 90cc Falcon Deluxe and a Hi-Bird 200cc and I'm more satisfied with the Kazuma than the Hi-Bird. The Kazuma seems to be a better made atv. However for the price I paid I can't complain at all.

Beware though if you are not mechanically inclined I would not recommend getting a Chinese atv unless you can afford to have someone else work on it.

Other than that I'm very pleased since I already expected before purchasing to most likely have mechanical problems.

 

It's been said a million times it all comes down to set up and maintaining
#1 where you buy it
#2 do they have a properly trained mechanic?
#3 do you properly maintain it?

As a dealer/mechanic of many year and having actually worked for big name shops such as Yamaha, Arctic cat, and running my own shop for several years working on everything from motocross race teams to drag sleds etc I may be able to shed a little light on what I have seen.

First off the biggest problem I have seen with the new Chinese bikes is the dealers. MANY of the Chinese bike/atv dealerships don't have trained or skilled mechanics doing a proper job of assembling the bikes before they are sold. Many of these dealers are just a hole in the wall shop with half assed mechanics doing a half-assed job. They buy the bikes, put the parts on that need to be put on, put in the fluids and that's it! Many don't even have the space to test the bikes or even run them.

With my shop I take every bike that I get in to be sold, regardless if it's a Chinese or Japanese and completely disassemble it, lube every pivot point using synthetic lubricants only (Amsoil) . Parts like swing arm bushing/bearings, wheel bearings, steering and suspension bushings/bearings, shock mount bolts, even minor things like caliper pins, brake arm cams and chain rollers etc. Loc-tite all necessary fasteners, use anti seize on all necessary fasteners and YES even safety wire some. All electrical connections are greased with dielectric grease and checked for good contact and in many cases sealed with silicone. But that's not all either, I make sure every bike has an oiled foam air filter and the jetting is correct, the cables and controls are properly lubricated. I check that brake caliper alignment is 100% as well as torque specs on the steering and axle nuts etc as well as the battery properly FULLY charged.

Some parts are just down right CHEAP like the batteries, chains and shocks. These parts I stock or order out with quality parts from brand name MFG's to give owners a second option should they want it. Most bikes that are sold are properly run in on our test track and had the oil changed with Synthetic and the valves checked/adjusted, compression checked and noted etc. This way the owners can buy them off the showroom and take um home and ride it like they stole it. The ones that want to break in their own bikes..that's fine to

So far I have had excellent results with our products and happy customers is our #1 goal so if that means working a little harder for less $$$ that's fine by me. At least this way I know I will have repeat customers and with my racers less DNF's due to a stupid breakdown.

So many times I have seen NEW Chinese bikes like the Baja bikes from Canadian Tire come in with loose bolts, damaged or incorrect air filters, incorrect jetting, and stupid minor issues all that can be eliminated by a properly trained mechanic doing a proper job of inspecting the bikes completely before they go out the door. These trips that people have to make back and forth to have their bikes fixed give everyone in the business a bad name.

FWIW when companies like HONDA and YAMAHA first started out they had the same issues and every American bike owner called the Japanese bikes crap. They were sold from hardware stores, corner garages and gas stations just as many knock off are, but over the years they improved the quality via owner feedback and started proper dealerships with better trained mechanics, not the local gas station attendant that made a living cleaning windshield and doing oil changes.

It all comes down to maintenance.
give the bike a complete "go over" and lube everything every couple weeks/months like you should with any machine, use quality lubricants like Amsoil, Redline or other top synthetics. Keep the bikes clean and inspect them before every ride like you should with any bike.

 

We all realize that safety starts at home, and nothing beats one on one training when it comes to teaching a child the right way to ride.
Think about this, true the chinese can assemble a product cheaper, and still add a bunch of cool features, like reverse, horn, brakes lights, etc. It is also a great "starter" bike to 1. see if the kid will ride it. 2. parts for damage and repair are3. a lot cheaper and sometimes a lot easier to get . But they do not do a lot of research and developement, you do not see the big chinese names sponsoring events like the big brands, some you cannot even get insurance for because their vin numbers are "fictional". Another problem is the fact that they do not participate in the ASI safety program and it isn't even offered from them to take the safety class, trust me, it's coming, soon, ALL kids under 16 will have to take the safety course to ride ANY atv, and out your pocket, it ain't cheap