Thread: Steve's Benelli BJ250T-8 Scooter
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#1 Steve's Benelli BJ250T-8 Scooter08-26-2014, 12:24 PM
Reasons for choosing this scooter over CFMoto: curiosity only. Besides, I think the design is OK. As to the problems with the scoot - time will show.
The list of possible problems I accumulated from reading the Chinese reviews and talking to bikerdoc are as follows:
1. Leaky water pump.
2. Faulty ignition.
3. Twitchy clutch.
4. Overall assembly quality.
5. Customer support.
6. Expensive spare parts.
So far, here go my initial impressions about Benelli BJ250T-8 scooter.
Good stuff:
Attention to detail / plastic quality. Sure, it is still QianJiang rather than Benelli, but they are getting there. The touch-feel of the scoot is good. I mean, it’s pleasant to sit on, all the switches are soft enough yet have that firm positive feedback, etc. Overall, it leaves an impression very similar to that of a decent family sedan. It’s not just me who said that. My friends, who rode it have a similar feeling.
Suspension and tires. The scooter feels planted on the road and turns in predictably. The tires are Kenda and they feel good (haven’t had a chance to try them int he rain though). There’s no dive when braking hard and when riding on the bad road the potholes don’t feel that bad. It’s not a supersport or a motocross, so I would still avoid riding it over curbs or leaning it kneedown.
Brakes. Brakes have a good feedback and are predictable. That said, the rear wheel is fairly easy to lock up (when not carrying a pillion). Front brakes have good initial bite, are progressive and feel unintimidating.
Disappointing stuff:
Weird noises. I have a strange noise coming from somewhere around the front mudguard, it goes like “hrrr - hrrr - hrr” when the front suspension is under load (e.g.: braking going down the slope). I have not yet found the source of that sound, it is reggular and still very annoying. My guess is that the wheel might be coming in contact with the mudguard, but I’m not sure. Another strange noise is an irregular “ding-ding” from somewhere behind the front fairing. I do not know if the factory mechanic forgot his chopsticks there or what, but I’m removing the front fairing on my day off to see what it is. Another one is the squeaking noise coming from the rear shocks - no idea what causes that, might be the shocks themselves.
Storage space. The underseat storage is there, it LOOKS big, but what it in fact is, is a long and shallow bucket. Fitting a helmet there requires ikebana arrangement skills, level 75 and above.
Topbox possibility. Yes, I have fitted a topbox on my scooter. In order to do that, I dismantled the pillion grabrail and drilled it. Well, the grabrail is plastic rather than steel, and I have a feeling that it won’t last long with a topbox on it. I am not putting anything heavier than the rain gear into the topbox, still it feels flimsy. The taobao search for an alternative topbox frame yielded nothing.
Horrible clutch. First, it shakes the bike like crazy under 30 km/h. I mean, it goes “dong-dong-dong” and is vibrating as hell. This is highly uncomfortable, since those are the city speeds - in my opinion a bike should have been tuned for it. Another (and more dangerous) thing is that quickly blipping the throttle doesn’t result in acceleration / deceleration. It results in acceleration - a bit more of acceleration after you let the throttle go - and deceleration after. Well, I’m used to the fact that the bike goes slower when I let go of the throttle, not keeps on accelerating. This makes rear-ending a car in front of you a very palpable possibility, especially for an inexperienced rider. Feels like the clutch takes too long a time to disengage when the revs go down, and it’s not good.
I will see how it behaves after the break-in period, and, should the clutch still be a problem, will upgrade it. That should solve the problem.
Pics follow:
IMG_6997.jpg IMG_6999.jpg
IMG_7001.jpg IMG_7002.jpg
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#2 Re: Steve's Benelli BJ250T-8 Scooter09-11-2014, 08:58 AMLe siècle ou nous vivons est un siècle pourri. - Tout n'est que lâcheté, bassesse, - Les plus grands assassins vont aux plus grandes messes - Et sont des plus grands rois les plus grands favoris. - Hommage de l'auteur à ceux qui l'ont compris, - Et merde aux autres.
Georges Brassens
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#3 Re: Steve's Benelli BJ250T-8 Scooter09-12-2014, 04:13 AM
braillce, got it for 18600 yuan (without plates, that is). Here in Nanjing plates would be another 20000 yuan.
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#4 Re: First service09-12-2014, 04:17 AM
Took my scoot for the first service (500 km) this Wednesday.
Since it was rainy, I was the only one there. They did everything very fast - engine oil change, transmission oil change. Cost me 270 yuan for oil and work. I paid alright, but I'm not doing it the same way the next time.
I'll get the oils from taobao and change them myself (no rocket science there) and it will be half price of what I paid to the shop.
Good thing: after the oil change, transmission became way more smooth and the clutch engage / disengage moment became more predictable.Last edited by Steve_Halt; 11-06-2014 at 06:23 AM. Reason: grammar is very hard to master
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#5 Re: First service09-13-2014, 03:53 AM
I have a Kymco scooter 175 cc never a problem first oil change free, everytime factory rep come to town free oil free air filter and gear oil. Paid 11000 for the scooter,,, top speed 110
Just passing on info here
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#6 Re: First service09-13-2014, 04:11 AM
kikikillercat, I heard Kymco were great in terms of reliability and customer service!
Benelli for me is a trial thing - after all nobody tried it or wrote about it (in English, I mean). Why not be the first :)
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#7 Re: First service
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#8 Re: First service
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#9 Horrible clutch problem pretty much solved11-06-2014, 05:56 AM
Well, today I had time, so I took my scoot to the local mechanic and together we removed the clutch assembly and had a good look at it.
This is what we saw:
00.jpg
Apparently, the clutch is of pretty low quality, and the clutch shoes are uneven and sloppily attached. The solution was simple: sandpaper them smooth and reinstall the clutch.
The effect has so far been amazing: no shivering and twitching at take off / low speed. The clutch disengages on time and has become very predictable, i.e. it doesn't pull the scoot when you get off throttle.
I'm very happy with the result and am very unhappy with the factory QC.
Will see how it behaves further on, good for now.
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#10 Packing it up11-06-2014, 06:26 AM
When I said that I did pack the bike for a tour, I mean this:
bike packed.jpg
What surprised me most is that it was still very stable and didn't suffer from cross wind.
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