Hi all. I was reading my monthly magazine - 'Classic and Motorcycle Mechanics', when I came across a rather interesting little story. It was about a guy who bought a new 'off road' style bike of Chinese origin. The guy took it to his local dealer due to the handling being 'wobbly'. It turns out that the frame had snapped on the front downtube, below the headstock!! This bike was just a year old and had been used for commuting by a mature rider. Be aware that the guy he bought it from on eBay wouldn't entertain any kind of warranty claim and as quoted in the article, "He was only using his eBay account to sell these bikes for a friend". Worrying indeed as we all kow that a broken frame could have resulted in a serious, even deadly, event!! Also bear in mind that this bike still had 2 years to go before it's first MOT!The article says that there were no manufacturing marks or makers marks on the machine but the V5 log book stated it was a Xiong Tai 125, with Shinetime graphics on the swingarm. It has wavy discs and gold USD front forks.Please be aware that if one of these cheap chinese machines takes your fancy, then buy from a reputable dealer and not one of these bandwagon riders or those who claim to be selling on behalf of a mate. Obviously this is to negate any legal obligations. If you have had problems then report it to your Trading Standards Authority. Currently there are several complaints lodged, even some are doubting the merchantable quality of some of these machines.Remember, you get what you pay for!! Not all of these machines are bad, you just have to be aware that the build quality isn't going to be Honda standards.The article can be found in Classic and Motorcycle Mechanics, issue 245, March 2008 on page 16. Magazine is Copyright Mortons Motorcycle Media.
Orignal From: Chinese Motorcycle WARNING
No comments:
Post a Comment