Does anyone have any thoughts or experience with these motorcycles? I would like to know more....
http://www.arlennesslasvegas.com/pictures/J70103.jpg
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Does anyone have any thoughts or experience with these motorcycles? I would like to know more....
http://www.arlennesslasvegas.com/pictures/J70103.jpg
There is a member on chinariders named 'maf9...' (don't remember his full name), who has one of the Spyders, and loves it. The raptor, as you show, is also a police bike, and there is a video from one of the police departments in Georgia (USA, not Eastern Europe) who ordered a few for patrol (not pursuit, :biggrin:) shown on the Pag website.
I like the bike, and think it has the "goods" but is a little pricey for a Chinese bike, IMO, although Pag is supposed to be high in the quality department. I don't think it is a rip-off, however, just a little more than I would want to spend.
if you visit thier website , they seem too give the impression that the bikes are custom built by johnny pag in the USA . i would imagine he makes alot of money of every bike as they seem very expensive for what they are
These bikes are surely Regal Raptor with a different name branding?
http://www.regal-raptor.com/eng/main.asp
I was just going to say that. In the UK they're marketed with the ancient and respected name of AJS by these people:Quote:
Originally Posted by ZMC888
http://www.ajsmotorcycles.co.uk/
They're also on the market in Europe under the 'Regal Raptor' name. They are absolutely at the top of the range of Chinese 250 cruiser bikes that we have here. The paint work and chrome is very good compared to some. There have been small problems reported among the scores of RR riders in our club, but nothing serious. I rode 15,000km on my first air-cooled model and this year I bought this water-cooled version. Runs very nicely, though not really built to cruise on European motorways that have 130km/h speed limits. Much more suited to B roads.
Here's a few pics of mine:
http://www.schooltimes.com/petepriva...ykinojser4.jpg
http://www.schooltimes.com/petepriva...nykinojser.jpg
Cheers
Pete
That finish looks incredible. Even the switch clusters are polished...Regal Raptor also have the distinction among Chinese bikes of having a Fuel Injected model, the DD250E-9B.
One of our friends had a liquid cooled 250 Regal Raptor, he never covered it, even with China's acid rain the bike stayed in very good condition. I really think that if you are going to get a Chinese cruiser these are the best you can get.
I'd love to try their CB250 'style' bikes, 233-330cc? To see if their 15-17KW is really use-able on my local kart track, or if they have problems applying themselves due to poor transmission, shocks or weight balance. Or whether, if they have any issues, the bikes can be modded around these issues.
Forchetto are these Honda twin cylinder copies really 'rip-offs', or are the Honda patents are 'out of patent'?
Pete, do any of your members have the street (NAC) style bikes?
How highly do your members rate Regal Raptors? Is everyone happy with them?
Do any of your members have experience with Jap bikes of a similar size and style? How well do Regal Raptors compare with them?
Forchetto, in the UK these are sold under AJS, a respected brand, but these days there are lots of old western motorcycle brands with rights holders wanting to sell the brands names, such as Indian, Ariel etc Also some companies which have an uncertain financial future possibly Cagiva, does it mean that much if a Chinese company buys the rights to a historic brand?
Hi,
I'll try and answer as best I can:
The short answer is, no. The Danish importer has not taken any of the newer models as the prices seem to have gone up quite a bit at the Chinese end. I think he feels that he would have difficulty competing with the standard 250's from Suzuki and Kawasaki. In Denmark, there is also a particular problem called 'tax'. Apart from having the highest income tax in the world, it also has very high import duties on bikes and cars (180%). That has made the smaller Chinese bikes a massive hit here because they fell well below the Japanese competition, but with the price increase they're reached parity. Pity about that.Quote:
Pete, do any of your members have the street (NAC) style bikes?
We have an unwritten rule in the club that we don't put down other's bikes, if you know what I mean. But it is easy enough to look and compare. A few years ago some of the guys said they wouldn't give the one third more for a Raptor, but looking back I think a few can now see that there was a reason for the price difference. However, most people and dealers who have the RR's will tell you that they do have superior quality to other, less expensive, models on the market here - such as Lifan, Jinlun, among others. As with all bikes there have been some problems, but nothing serious. Anyway, anything minor or even major is covered by the two-year warranty. On my first I had the tank changed because it had a small leak near the fuel nozzle. There was also a slight problem with the electrics, but a factory bulletin was sent out and it was fixed free of charge. But as I mentioned, the paint work and chrome hold up very nicely indeed. My 250E-9 is now three years old and looks like new, apart from one thing - the rubber used between the air filter and carb, and between the carb manifolds. Probably the weakest point on these bikes is the rubber! But most of us learn fast and now care for it it with lots of silicon!Quote:
How highly do your members rate Regal Raptors? Is everyone happy with them?
Well, most of the members are older 40+. And so many come from much larger bikes in a previous biker incarnation. The guy I road to Germany with last week has ridden almost everything in his time, but performance-wise is now very happy with his little Lifan 250-4. But judging from the stories you hear of dreadful problems with some new Japanese bikes, I think most folks are happy. They do say the best bike you can buy is the one you can afford, so on that basis most of us in the Chinese Club here have bought the best bike :icon10:Quote:
Do any of your members have experience with Jap bikes of a similar size and style? How well do Regal Raptors compare with them?
I suppose the main gripe is lack of power. But, on the other hand, most of us change the gearing a little and get a more smooth experience riding in 5th gear. And anyway, you can't beat 30+ kilometres to the litre!!
Cheers
Pete
PS Quite a few of the members' bikes have been customized:
An outstanding Lifan:
http://i37.tinypic.com/abnlue.jpg
This is a totally re-done Jinlun:
http://i43.tinypic.com/1qn7gp.jpg
A Lifan V2
http://i43.tinypic.com/2qdn6dz.jpg
A Spyder
http://www.divedata.dk/privat/Spyder/Spyder02.jpg
The general architecture of these engines is Honda Rebel, however they have had some extra development by the Chinese as they're nearly unrecognisable, liquid-cooling and all that.Quote:
Originally Posted by ZMC888
Done few miles on 300ccm water cooled version. Build quality is great (only decals are poor) paint looks good, chrome also, brakes are excelent, engine runs nice and smooth.
The biggest surprise for me was handling. Cornering and control of the bike exceded my expectations. I tought that this type of bike wasn't so easy to handle but i've been wrong.
Unfortunally we're stuck only with 125ccm versions wich lacks power. (only two 300cc bikes in Serbia so far)
I was in a nearby town where they have a Lifeng (Regal Raptor) dealer. They RR 250 air cooled was 10,500 rmb and the CB250 copy was 14,000 RMB. The CB copy looks sharp, but has drum rear brakes and dual rear shocks. I have no idea what the handling was like, but the looks were amazing for a Chinese bike.
A stock rebel 250 (234) puts out 18 hp. A stock virago puts out 23 hp. A stock Suzuki GZ250 puts out 20 hp. I wonder what the effect of liquid cooling would be. These three engines, plus a Yamaha 250 single seem to be the basis for most of the Chinese 250 cruisers.
greetings, in Spain we also have regal raptor, there are 4 importers
leonart motors www.leonartmotors.com
owners of the design of daytona
motivas expania www.motomotivas.com
csr www.csrmoto.com
owners of the design of the NAC (NKT in Spain)
Aitana www.tcmaitana.es tcm
leonart now has new bikes of 350cc, leonart daytona and leonart spyder II
Here is information in Spanish regal raptor:
http://regal-raptor.blogspot.com
http://regalraptor.superforos.com
http://www.regalraptor-riders.com
:thumbsup:
I just picked up an 09 FX3, haven't tried it yet but it sounds amazing.. check out my video..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IpKG-0MzYU
His real name is NAC
Here you can see in his web of origin http://www.regal-raptor.com/eng/prod...&bid=2&types=2