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Lifan 125-9a water-cooled ongoing review
I thought I would start an ongoing review of my bike, in case anyone else was looking at buying one.
I bought it from a Lifan dealer for 6400RMB. I think that price may be a bit on the steep side, but the seller was extremely helpful in getting it registered, and the quality of the work he does was very professional, so I didn't mind paying a little extra, if I did. You don't often encounter people like him in China. The air cooled version was around 5500. After taxes/registration fees and all of that stuff, the total came to 7350RMB.
First impression
I bought the bike in the countryside, so I rode around on some country roads fairly slowly to get used to it. The suspension is great-accidentally tested it pretty hard on a few potholes I didn't see. For such a small engine it pulls pretty well, even when riding 2 up. After the first hundred or so km, I rode it back to Harbin, about 250km away. I tried to keep it pretty slow, and change the revs often, to break in the engine. The cooling system works well, and even after a few hours of riding, the engine was fine. The overall feel of the bike is very solid and well put together. The throttle, clutch, and transmission are all smooth and even. To be honest, it doesn't feel like it was made in China.
The only thing I have found to be disappointing so far is the transmissions 1-2-3-4-5 down setup. Its gonna take me awhile to get used to that. I don't know why they didn't just make it the same as everybody else in the world does.
I just did the first oil change around 300km, will do the second at 1000km and then every 2500-3000ish after. The roads are super dusty here, so I figure the more often the better.
I will post an update around 1000km.
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Re: Lifan 125-9a water-cooled ongoing review
Change these parts, the shift pattern will be SAME as the standard one.
http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=13346435666 | http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=10040270058
The rotary shift pattern are very useful in urban traffic BUT if u're newbie = "suicidal" (5>N>1) .
DiY trick that stops the "Rotary" : http://www.motorfans.com.cn/bbs/t_17192406_1.htm #15
Re: Lifan 125-9a water-cooled ongoing review
Thanks for the info. I'll see if I get used to it, and if I don't its good to know I can always switch it to the standard pattern.
Re: Lifan 125-9a water-cooled ongoing review
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Re: Lifan 125-9a water-cooled ongoing review
I just to the bike on a trip, and rode through every kind of condition. Right now its at 3600km. It performed better than I could have expected. I haven't had to do anything other than regular maintenance. With the water cooling it can cruise all day at 80km/hr with no overheating.
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Re: Lifan 125-9a water-cooled ongoing review
Quote:
Originally Posted by
HarbinSteve
The only thing I have found to be disappointing so far is the transmissions 1-2-3-4-5 down setup. Its gonna take me awhile to get used to that. I don't know why they didn't just make it the same as everybody else in the world does.
If this comforts you, you're not the only one who has a bike with such non-standard shifting pattern. Have you checked that you have a rotary pattern or no?
Replacement of shifting drum is a elegant solution, except for one detail - you need to break up fully functional motor in half.
I have a suggestion on how to change the shifting pattern from all-5-down to all-5-up, by a simple shifter mod. Since my explanation on the English language would be pure perversion, I'd rather submit one illustration of what I would say.
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Please say that you understood my point.... :eek2:
Quote:
Originally Posted by
HarbinSteve
I just did the first oil change around 300km, will do the second at 1000km and then every 2500-3000ish after. The roads are super dusty here, so I figure the more often the better.
Well, you know, you don't have open crankcase on your bike. If you want to reduce possibility that dust gets into the engine, you can direct engine breather hose upward and hide his end somewhere where is less dust than under the engine and where he can not get wet when it rains. Also, a filter at the end of the hose would not be bad.
If I were you, that is, when I was driving on dusty roads, I'd pay attention to the condition of air filter.
Re: Lifan 125-9a water-cooled ongoing review
Nice bike. Good to see a water-cooled 125. I was somehow under the false impression that all the Chinese manufacturers switched from rotary to "international" a couple of years ago.
