Lifan Metro 50 LF50QT-2A review
Written by Ketzal "Hollywood" Sterling
Tuesday, 12 February 2008 16:52
So get this, I’m happily scootering along the sea-side on a pleasant sunny day when suddenly all hell breaks loose! I panic and my life flashes before my eyes, (turns out I’ve really got to get out more as my life wasn’t all that exciting - anyway back to the action) I frantically look around. It’s a truck, it’s right on me. I’m definitely dead; no hold on it’s...I don’t know…I’m a truck, no…I’m in a truck. “Someone help me” I screamed. Suddenly realization hit me, it wasn’t a truck. I thought I’d heard the reversing beep of a large truck, I was wrong it was just a bomb…a bomb? Damn, I’m dead anyway. It must be big bomb because the countdown beep is SO LOUD.
Ever so slowly through a thick fog of confusion it began to hit me, I’d merely hit the indicator switch on the Lifan Metro 50, the sound was coming from the very scooter I was riding. Now I’m normally a big fan of audible indicator warnings as they stop you leaving indicator on after you’ve made a turn. This beep however is just too much. It’s like the reverse beep on a 747…no the space shuttle…no hell it’s like the planet Earth had to reverse into a car park in a large metal planet sized box…it’s that loud. Yeeeaaahhhhh.
Back to reality (dammit it’s so boring here). The bike in point, the Lifan Metro 50; first off it’s Chinese….whoa there chopper, ease it up. I know, I know, I’ve heard it all before. Chinese bikes are junk etc etc…well, at least in this case, you’d be wrong. Lifan is the largest motorcycle engine manufacturer in the world…yep the largest. They produce a range of 260 models and sell them in over 100 countries. This means they know a thing or two about making bikes. Lifan has also been in the scooter game since 1992 and are defiantly one of the higher quality Chinese brands. So the Metro? Well given it’s incredibly low price I was expecting…well something that rhymes with dunk, however the Lifan Metro really did surprise me, this is a remarkably high quality scooter for the price.
First off the bike simply rides very well, everything seems to work with a solid cohesion, the suspension is surprisingly good, the bike turns well and the brakes are also above average. The disc brake on the front wheel is quite strong and offers a good lever feel so fast stops are a breeze. There’s only a drum brake on the back wheel; however at this price that is just fine. In terms of 50cc bikes the LF50QT-2A is certainly above average in the all round ride quality department.
Living with the Lifan is going to be a breeze too, the bike is a little heavier than some 50s at 93.5kg but you hardly notice it. Getting it on and off the centre stand is fairly easy and there’s also a nice side stand that automatically shuts the bike off when extended, something that bikes costing many times more fail to offer. The under seat storage area will just hold a full face helmet and there’s also an open glove box upfront. I’m still undecided as to whether a lockable front box is better or worse than an open glove box; an open storage area really is great when you’re just zapping up the road for lunch. Both would be the best compromise.
The big bonus you’re going to notice immediately is the superb fuel economy. We returned a fuel economy of 2.6L/100kms or 91MPG (our earlier figure was inaccurate, sorry) which is the best result of any bike we’ve tested up until today, (13.2.08) 2.6 liters per 100kms means fuel is basically free. With the large 7.8L fuel tank you’ll run nearly 270kms before you need to fill up. That’s about twice the distance of most 50cc bikes and probably two weeks of riding for most people.
Summing up; well what do you say? A scooter for this sort of money that just runs would be a good deal, in fact most 2nd hand bikes cost about the same as a brand new Lifan Metro 50. The fact that the bike is fun to ride, surprisingly well built and actually looks pretty cool is just a bonus. Of the various 50cc bikes on the market today the Lifan simply offers close to, or possibly the best value for money of any bike available. Definitely worth a test ride, even if you were expecting to pay more. Hell, buy the Metro and fly to Fiji for a week’s holiday in the sun with the money you’ll save.
http://www.thescooterreview.com/revi...t-2a?showall=1
