Written by Ketzal "Hollywood" Sterling
Tuesday, 12 February 2008 16:52


So get this, Im 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 Ive really got to get out more as my life wasnt all that exciting - anyway back to the action) I frantically look around. Its a truck, its right on me. Im definitely dead; no hold on its...I dont knowIm a truck, noIm in a truck. Someone help me I screamed. Suddenly realization hit me, it wasnt a truck. I thought Id heard the reversing beep of a large truck, I was wrong it was just a bomba bomb? Damn, Im 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, Id merely hit the indicator switch on the Lifan Metro 50, the sound was coming from the very scooter I was riding. Now Im normally a big fan of audible indicator warnings as they stop you leaving indicator on after youve made a turn. This beep however is just too much. Its like the reverse beep on a 747no the space shuttleno hell its like the planet Earth had to reverse into a car park in a large metal planet sized boxits that loud. Yeeeaaahhhhh.


Back to reality (dammit its so boring here). The bike in point, the Lifan Metro 50; first off its Chinese.whoa there chopper, ease it up. I know, I know, Ive heard it all before. Chinese bikes are junk etc etcwell, at least in this case, youd be wrong. Lifan is the largest motorcycle engine manufacturer in the worldyep 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 its incredibly low price I was expectingwell 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. Theres 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 theres 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 theres also an open glove box upfront. Im 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 youre just zapping up the road for lunch. Both would be the best compromise.


The big bonus youre 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 weve tested up until today, (13.2.08) 2.6 liters per 100kms means fuel is basically free. With the large 7.8L fuel tank youll run nearly 270kms before you need to fill up. Thats 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 weeks holiday in the sun with the money youll save.

http://www.thescooterreview.com/revi...t-2a?showall=1