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  1. #1 Can Anyone Identify This Bike ?? 
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    Hi Guys,

    I went to look at one of these bikes yesterday, and was quite impressed with the bike.

















    It's got the Loncin water cooled 250 4 stroke engine in it. The fit and finsih was generally good, a few bits and pieces looked a bit cheap and chatty, but I realise it's built to a budget.

    The problem was the seller...he seemed a bit cagey about who made them....he gave me some old spiel about he gets them assembled by Loncin to his spec !! Does this sound right.

    The price of the bike was £1800 great british pounds....does that seem like a reasonable price ?? Would I be able to buy parts should the seller of the bike in the UK go bust ??

    Hope you guys can help.

    Cheers

    Andy
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  2. #2 Re: Can Anyone Identify This Bike ?? 
    Administrator-tron CrazyCarl's Avatar
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    Andy,

    My first guess would be it's from the Apollo line. It's a good place to start anyway. Does Apollo have any other distributors in the UK?

    http://apollovehicle.com/Motorcycle_A36BW250T_328.html



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  3. #3 Re: Can Anyone Identify This Bike ?? 
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    Hi Carl,

    Thanks for the reply. The seller did have another Apollo bike in stock, so you are probably right. I've scoured the internet looking for Apollo distributors in the UK, but haven't found anything yet.

    I'm probably going to go with the SMC XTR250, there's a really good dealer here in the UK :- http://www.kevsbikes.co.uk/ and it will probably be better for spare parts etc as it's got the SMCGB backup plus I might be able to get the bigger tank etc for it as ChinaV has.

    Thanks Again

    Andy
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  4. #4 Re: Can Anyone Identify This Bike ?? 
    Administrator-tron CrazyCarl's Avatar
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    I don't see an XTR250 on their site. What am I missing?

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  5. #5 Re: Can Anyone Identify This Bike ?? 
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    Yeah sorry it's sold as the YB 250 in the UK not the XTR. It's this bike, but with off road wheels :-

    http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-250-SMC-SU...QQcmdZViewItem

    Seen here in the Galaxy factory :-

    http://www.mychinamoto.com/forums/showthread.php?p=8336

    Cheers

    Andy
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  6. #6 Re: Can Anyone Identify This Bike ?? 
    Senior C-Moto Guru culcune's Avatar
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    Welcome, Andy. SMC seem to be on the up and up for the UK. I think they went out of business in the US, which is a shame considering the Galaxy bikes would have been a huge improvement over the common Chinese GY bike we have here. We do have Pitster Pro's XTR250 (CCM X-TR250 in the UK), but those are a lot more of a dollar commitment. The Galaxy seems to be a simpler bike to deal with.

    I would go with the SMC if I was in your shoes, too. I don't think Apollos are bad bikes, but it seems that SMC is establishing themselves throughout the UK, and as you even had a link to a Galaxy factory visit through Mychinamoto, you could probably get hold of Galaxy or one of the members on here to find any parts that you couldn't source locally!

    The problem was the seller...he seemed a bit cagey about who made them....he gave me some old spiel about he gets them assembled by Loncin to his spec !! Does this sound right.

    This could be correct. I have seen business to business sites from China (don't remember which ones) in which you piece together a bike from sourced parts. Maybe not exactly pieced together, but there is the basic bike, and they have other parts available if you want to "customize" a bike as their distributor. Not exactly to "his specs" but not a lie, either. There are probably a few differences to "his" bike vs. another Apollo importer/distributor. However, the engine is Loncin sourced, but not the rest of the bike.
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  7. #7 Re: Can Anyone Identify This Bike ?? 
    C-Moto Guru david3921's Avatar
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    Nice looking bike. Dang if those rotors don't look like saw blades, though.
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  8. #8 Mongrel bikes 
    C-Moto Senior davidqc's Avatar
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    Forgive the phrase, but if one gets a 'mongrel' bike one makes a proverbial rod for one's back when it comes to identifying replacement parts - stock or after-market.

    Sorry, but it makes sense buy a Chinese a bike with a single manufacturers 'pedegree', not something made up from leftovers and a parts bin (which is what the bike Andy Hird looked at seems to be) - OK, I know Chinese bikes are a mix of common components but at least a decent parts supplier will have these catalogued to match a 'pedigree' bike.

    If you are of the senor forchetto ilk, then identifying the bits and pieces may not be so problematic. But if you're not, then there will be times of frustration and hassle.

    I have to say that any seller that comes over as "cagey" I would walk away from. Period.

    I also think £1,800 is too high a price for a Chinese 'mongrel' 250 bike. Lots of others with a 'pedigree' that are worth a look at.
    Last edited by davidqc; 11-05-2009 at 09:10 AM. Reason: corrections
    '09 Huoniao (Firebird) HN125-8 motorcycle [eBay bike-in-a-box]
    Aprilia SR50 LC Racing scoot
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  9. #9 Re: Can Anyone Identify This Bike ?? 
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    Guys,

    it's actually this bike:-



    I think I'm goint to go for this one over the SMC

    Cheers

    Andy
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  10. #10 Re: Can Anyone Identify This Bike ?? 
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    Sorry Guys, can't seem to attach the file
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