Lifan Delta. A cheap commuter, worth the price?

**re_animate** · 3rd December 2011, 19:56

I'm looking to get myself my first bike. worked hard and saved up about 3k
Found a nice little Lifan Delta bike for cheap.

I hear they are just cheap knock offs of yamaha viragos and that most of the parts are even interchangeable.
it only has about 10,000ks on the clock so it's fairly new.

It's dirt cheap and gives me the ability to invest in some good gear, but will it be worth it?

**Ocean1** · 3rd December 2011, 20:04

Originally Posted by re_animate

I'm looking to get myself my first bike. worked hard and saved up about 3k
Found a nice little Lifan Delta bike for cheap.

I hear they are just cheap knock offs of yamaha viragos and that most of the parts are even interchangeable.
it only has about 10,000ks on the clock so it's fairly new.

It's dirt cheap and gives me the ability to invest in some good gear, but will it be worth it?

At best it's an unknown quantity, and I believe you'd find a good second hand Japanese machine for a similar price.

**re_animate** · 3rd December 2011, 20:07

the Delta is 1.8k with wof and rego.
cheapest virago ive seen was 3.5k.

maybe i'm just shopping in the wrong places?

edit: I like cruisers so I would prefer to get myself one, but i am open to other bikes as well. I'm thinking 2.5k max and 500 on gear (I already have a helmet)

**ducatilover** · 3rd December 2011, 20:31

For 2.5k I'd look for:
Honda VT250 Spada, excellent bike, not a cruiser though. Learner freindly and IMHO the best value 250.
Suzuki GZ250, GN250, TU250 Volty, all solid little single cylinder machines.
Yamaha XV250/Virago, you may be able to pick one up cheap (Hopefully)
Honda Rebel, solid little cruiser and usually dirt cheap.
Yamaha SRV250, very cool cafe racer styled bike with the XV/Virago 52 degree twin, they sound hot.
Honda CB250, good little bikes, not a cruiser though.
Yamaha Scorpio, excellent machine, yet again, not a cruiser.
Hyosung GT250, roomy, look cool according to some people and seem to be getting a great reputation.
Kawasaki ZZR250, GPZ250 and GPX250, nice bikes, I like the ZZR myself, big bike looks on a budget.
Kawasaki EL250 Eliminator, cool cruiser, ZZR/GPX motor and reliable.
Honda VT250F, generally reliable. Some had cam chain tensioner issues, so if it rattles a bit, avoid it (unless you're a mechanical person)

Avoid cheaper high performance 250cc bikes like early GSX-R250 and Yamaha FZR-250 models. They are generally troublesome (good ones are...good)

As for the Lifan, I am interested in riding one, I haven't yet and I like to ride as many little bikes as I can to give advice on them.

As far as gear goes, get a nice 2 piece textile suit. I prefer leather, but textiles can be very good in all weather.
I got a 2 piece leather suit from Quasimoto and I love it, I've tested it by crashing and it's great stuff.
Gloves: Don't be toop cheap, try before you buy and shop around. I have some 1tonne gloves and a set of Teknic Lightning gloves; I got the Teknic gloves earlier this year after much research, $70 in a clearance sale and they are absolutely awesome. The 1tonne gloves (their "race" gloves) are very light weight and useless in the cold/wet. Get an all round glove, Dririder do a great all round glove.
Boots: I have never crashed with riding boots on, yet I have a set of 1tonne boots. They're warm, good in the wet but not the best build. I've come off three times wearing my trusty steel caps though and they're still fine.

Take your time, save more and research. Ask as many questions as you can and try out as much gear and as many bikes as you can.

**re_animate** · 3rd December 2011, 20:34

Thanks dude! that was real helpful

I'll shop around some more, I'm pretty tempted with this offer though

**koba** · 3rd December 2011, 22:16

Originally Posted by ducatilover

Take your time, save more and research. Ask as many questions as you can and try out as much gear and as many bikes as you can.

The one thing I would add to that brilliant and informative post is:
Avoid newer GNs and the like, the current ones are build much cheaper than the older ones, an old one with high KM is a better bet than a newer low KM bike. I know it sounds illogical but some of the newer made in china stuff is ultra craparse. The Lifan MAY be like this too.

While it is not guaranteed to be shit, "Made in China" indicates a far riskier proposition than "Made in Japan".

**ducatilover** · 3rd December 2011, 22:21

Originally Posted by koba

The one thing I would add to that brilliant and informative post is:
Avoid newer GNs and the like, the current ones are build much cheaper than the older ones, an old one with high KM is a better bet than a newer low KM bike. I know it sounds illogical but some of the newer made in china stuff is ultra craparse. The Lifan MAY be like this too.

While it is not guaranteed to be shit, "Made in China" indicates a far riskier proposition than "Made in Japan".

I can offer advice on this too.

I had an '04 China assembled GN.
I have ridden many Jap GN's.
My opinion: The older ones have cooler wire wheels.
The older ones have a softer, rounder seat which is comfier.
I never had a problem with mine over 10-11 thousand Km and I beat the shit out of it. It did blow a headlight though...
They're all the same. If I was going to buy another GN though, it'd be an older one just for wire wheels and the seat (potential cheap cafe project

)

The older ones are also cheaper....

**koba** · 3rd December 2011, 22:29

Originally Posted by ducatilover

I can offer advice on this too.

I had an '04 China assembled GN.
I have ridden many Jap GN's.
My opinion: The older ones have cooler wire wheels.
The older ones have a softer, rounder seat which is comfier.
I never had a problem with mine over 10-11 thousand Km and I beat the shit out of it. It did blow a headlight though...
They're all the same. If I was going to buy another GN though, it'd be an older one just for wire wheels and the seat (potential cheap cafe project

)

The older ones are also cheaper....

Did you get it before it turned to a pile of rust?

Maybe they aren't all the same but I have seen a "new" (not sure of year now but it wasn't 5 years old) GN with the headlight bowl completely rusted through...

**ducatilover** · 3rd December 2011, 22:44

Originally Posted by koba

Did you get it before it turned to a pile of rust?

Maybe they aren't all the same but I have seen a "new" (not sure of year now but it wasn't 5 years old) GN with the headlight bowl completely rusted through...

Mine never had any rust issues and was kept very clean/waxed which will have helped. Mine was 10 months old on my purchase.
In this case, I suggest the earlier GN, cheaper and sturdier.

I in fact would say "don't bother, the GN is a boring lump of shit", but it's cheap and reliable.

**nzspokes** · 4th December 2011, 06:48

Any bike will turn to crap if left out in all weathers. I can think of a local dealer that leaves there used bikes out everyday and they look rubbish.

I wouldnt go for the Lifan just due to getting parts etc. There wont be a dealer in every town.

But then the worlds fastset CBX250RS will be coming on to the market in a few months......

**JimO** · 4th December 2011, 08:53

i know someone who had a lifan trailbike, it was a gutless sack o shit

**geoffm** · 4th December 2011, 10:57

Lifan a Chinese - enough said on that.
One thing to consider is when you go to sell it - a good Jap bike will be worth money and a dealer will take it as a trade in. The Lifan, or any other Chinese bike, they won't touch, and a private sale will also be hard.
IMO, buy a good used major Japanese brand.
Geoff

**HEMA** · 5th December 2011, 08:10

I picked up a new Lifan for about $1200 a couple of years ago, thought it would be a fun and cheap little commuter for my wife to learn on. Ended up GIVING IT AWAY.
P.O.S. !

DO NOT GET IT

**Splineman** · 5th December 2011, 15:03

Originally Posted by re_animate

I'm looking to get myself my first bike. worked hard and saved up about 3k
Found a nice little Lifan Delta bike for cheap.

I hear they are just cheap knock offs of yamaha viragos and that most of the parts are even interchangeable.
it only has about 10,000ks on the clock so it's fairly new.

It's dirt cheap and gives me the ability to invest in some good gear, but will it be worth it?

Don't do it....I bought a Lifan GS200 and had it long enough to come to my senses and get rid of it for a Yamaha Scorpio. The Lifan is really badly built. Crappy welds, loose swingarm, hard really crap tyres, fiberglass fairing that started to crack immediately from the intense vibration.
They advertise that it's a Honda knock off engine...don't you believe it mate....no way.
At my first oil change i'm sure their was more metal in the oil tray than oil. The oil strainer had holes that were like 1mm in diameter.
I could go on but really it's not worth it at any price.
The Yamaha is just so much better built....
Motorcycling is an enjoyable passionate activity. Get a reasonably priced well built machine and it will reward you with reliable service at a low cost.
As many on this forum will agree the Scorpio or Suzuki GN etc are inexpensive and pretty tough bikes.