Hello everyone. I am new to this forum, because I just purchased my first quad today. It is a Hi-bird 250ST sport. I purchased a Chinese quad with a fair amount of confidence after reading countless reviews on this site about good and bad experiences with them. I decided to return the favor by keeping an unbiased log or journal of my experiences with my new Chinese quad. My profession is a test technician in an engineering lab, so I hope that I can provide some quality trustworthy insight to anyone interested in purchasing a quad.
I look forward to hearing input back from everyone with similar experiences.

 

Well, I will start off with a few notes on the dealership that I bought my quad from. I choose Anam Cycles in Oklahoma City because of their Midwest location.
I was very impressed with their service. They answered all of my email questions within 1 day. I had them assemble my quad so that I could take it for a test ride before buying it. They missed tightening a couple of bolts, but all in all they did a pretty good job of assembly. They were very professional when I picked up the quad. They showed me the key features of the quad, answered all of my questions, and gave me all the paperwork that I needed.
I haven?t needed any replacement parts yet, but so far I would fully recommend them just because of their excellent customer service.

 

Okay, now it is time for a report on the quad. My first impression of the quad was that it had a good sporty look (better than on the web). There were a couple of scratches on the plastic and painted frame, but nothing major. It was slightly smaller than I hoped, but I am 5?9? so it is plenty large enough for me to fit comfortably on. The wheelbase is narrow, but I knew that before I bought it.
The first ride was pretty good. There is enough power to run up through the gears pretty quick. Fourth (high) gear is a little weak when going up hill, but overall the power is what I expected out of a 250cc. This is my first quad, so I am not incredibly steady on it or too smooth with the clutch. As I improve, I expect that I may outgrow this quad fairly quick.

 

The mechanical problems:
During my first ride I made a couple of discouraging discoveries. First I found that the nylon webbing on the footrests is not melted well enough, as one of them unraveled on a twig (this of course was not covered by the warranty). Next I found that if I used the rear brake, it would drag until it heated up and there was eventually a noticeable loss in power. To solve this problem I had to cut about a quarter inch off the brake linkage in order to get it adjusted short enough to release the pressure. I wasn?t real enthused to start cutting on my 1 week old quad, but I was confident it would solve the problem.
The third thing I found was that all the electrical connections were made out in the open near the engine. After a little inspection I found the wire harness was installed wrong, so it was too short to make the connections inside the connection box (below the headlight). I slid the harness, drilled 1 hole, and rerouted some wires. Now all my electrical connections are better than the factor would normally do them.
I think the most discouraging discovery was that Anamcycles is much better at customer service BEFORE the sale is complete. They did eventually write back to me and give some suggestions for the rear brake issue, but only after 2 e-mails from me and way more than 24 hours. I will be curious to see how they handle a serious breakdown?..