Yamaha Scorpio or Lifan LF200 GS Sport?

[alphajedi]

Hi all,
New to the forum and this is my first posting. Just got my LL and almost went and bought a Yamaha scorpio. Then saw a review on Lifan LF200 GS Sport. Does anyone have any opinion on this? Appreciate any advice!!!

[JimO]

get the scorpio or a vtr 250 honda

[The Stranger:Me]

Hi all,
New to the forum and this is my first posting. Just got my LL and almost went and bought a Yamaha scorpio. Then saw a review on Lifan LF200 GS Sport. Does anyone have any opinion on this? Appreciate any advice!!!

Comparing a Yamaha to a what?

Troll alert!

[Zuki Bandit]

I think you would be better off with the Scorpio.

[Badjelly]

Please give the Scorpio its full name: "Yamaha Scorpio Z SX-4". That makes it almost as impressive as "Lifan LF200 GS Sport".

I have no personal experience of the Lifans, but I have heard their quality is not good, eg

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...59&postcount=8
http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...72&postcount=9
http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...9&postcount=14

By the way, I have a Scorpio that I bought new 9 months ago. It's a nice bike, suitable for commuting round town with the occasional open road trip. It seems to be reasonably well put together, but the paint on the frame and the chrome are a bit thin, so it needs regular attention to stop corrosion. I'll tell you more about how it lasts in a few years time.

[kave]

Buy my bike, its got a higher top speed than either of the two bikes you mentioned, and the seat is really comfy- it's like riding a two-wheeled couch.

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...ad.php?t=74739

[R6_kid:Me]

Seriously dude... go for the Scorpio. If you really want there are a lot of (affordable) mods that can be done to it to get some extra oomph out of it without loosing any reliability. Also it has a full factory supported warranty and good parts availability. Not to mention that Yamaha can hook you up with a low interest loan (Yamaha Motor Finance) that would put it a minimum of $20 a week.

If you look on bikepics.com or google pics there is a huge following of crazy modders from South East Asia.

Stick with the Japanese big four, for peice of mind if not anything else.

[alphajedi]

That settles it. It is going to be a Scorpio. That was indeed my original choice, but got a bit tempted by the good review on Motorcycle trader for the Lifan. wonder if anyone else has read it. Thanks everyone!!!

[CookMySock]

got a bit tempted by the good review on motorcycle trader for the lifan.

lol wtf ?


Db

[Tank]

lol wtf ?


Db

If his original post was too confusing for you - here is the link:

http://www.motorcycletrader.co.nz/Ar...d=11AE4C3BCDF8

The Summary (Thats the End bit DB - so NO WTF required):
So, what more can I say about the Lifan LF200 GS? A small cc bike for this sort of money that just runs would be a good deal, in fact most second-hand bikes cost double the amount as a brand new LF200 GS. The fact that the bike is fun to ride, well built and looks pretty cool is just a bonus. Definitely worth a test ride, even if you were expecting to pay more. Hell, buy the LF200 GS and splash out on a block of cheese and a two-litre carton of milk with the money you’ll save!

[Badjelly]

The opening paragraphs of the Motorcycle Trader article refer to the "dubious build quality" of Chinese motorcycles but say

Lifan is highly regarded both internationally and here in New Zealand for its high standards of mechanical engineering. And Jason and the team from importer Lifan Motorcycles NZ have been working hard over the last few years pushing and promoting their products. This also means that for you, the buying public, there is a reliable and dependable parts and service back-up available, rather than some of the fly-by night brands which are here today, gone tomorrow, and that means you can buy safe in the knowledge that should something fail on your new bike, you won’t be stuck in the back blocks with a worthless piece of junk.

Which, reading between the lines, says that it'll break down, but at least you'll be able to get it fixed.

Chinese bikes probably will improve in quality, as Japanese and Korean bikes have done before them. The Lifan may be a bargain. The question for someone considering buying one is, "Do you feel lucky? Huh, do you?".

By the way, I don't know where Scorpios are made, but until recently they seem to have been sold mostly in Indonesia. Still I think the Scorpio is still a safer option, quality-wise, than the Lifan.

The stated power is a few kW below the Scorpio (12.5 vs 15ish) and the stated top speed (100 km/h) is pretty low. The Scorpio will manage 130ish (some say 140) and can hold 100 against fierce Wellington headwinds. Actually, I find it hard to believe a bike with 12.5 kW, and a fairing, can have a top speed of only 100 km/h. Something is out of whack here, maybe the gearing?

The stated fuel economy, 2.3 l/100 km, is bloody good. My Scorpio can't do better than 3.2 l/100 km, though I am a fat bastard^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H heavyish (90 kg) and my commuting route goes through 200 vertical metres, so maybe the 2 figures aren't strictly comparable.

[DMNTD:Me]

I could sell you a Yamaha Scorpio in very good condition with a new WOF and Rego that only has 1070kms on it for $2,750.00...or you could buy the Lifan/Keyway or whatever other obscure brand and suffer big time!
The workshop at work refuse to work on any of those weird brands due to the fact that they keep on braking down and people seem to think it's ok to bring them back and claim that their(the workshop's) work was faulty.
I highly recommend that you stay away from them!!


Oh....either that or you could buy my MV Agusta

[toyboy]

I've been reading up on the Lifans on the web and they seem pretty good by most people comments, of course you get some people with a few complaints, those sort of people who dont even know about regular maintenance or dont know how to turn a loose screw with a screwdriver and put a bit of locktight on it...

I'm looking at getting a learner bike pretty soon and am seriously thinking of the lifan, i went to have a looksee at it and it didnt seem that bad for the price.
Of course its not comparable to an almost $7000 Ninja or Hyosung type bike.

a few small mods on the lifan will also get you a great deal of fun (up the carb jet size, and sprockets and drill the exhaust)

If you enjoy doing a little basic maintenance on your own bike its a good option, locktight the screws when you get it, keep an eye on the welds (any cracks get a mate to do a small fix of the weld and put a bit of pain on top)

of course im the sort of guy who enjoys getting in a modding/playing with mecahnical/electrical things (turbo'd a honda car etc...) so I dont mind if things break a little, given me a chance to improve things

I think most of the problems people have with the lifan is the screws and a bit of vibration on the body which is solved by putting some rubber in the important places to dampen things down a bit and sometimes a plug wire might pop out and needs to be clipped in, no one seems to have any trouble with their engines.

I always study up on products before I buy them (also got copies of the manual, tear down view of the bike with all parts shown etc to get a better overview of whats in there)

and one more thing, the Lifan comes with a 12 month warranty anyway! and im sure most things break within 12months if its cheap, so just drive it hard and see what happens and if it breaks get the part replaced

I dont see why Yamaha couldnt make a scorpio type bike look like a sports bike? Why do they have those ugly looking single round headlight at the front bikes, why not something sporty looking like the lifan lf200 for the same price as the scorpio?? How much would it cost to put some nice fairings and twin headlights at the front.

[skidMark]

Jason from lifan - my old boss.

A bloodey top guy, and he does have the parts in full backing, for the money it is an okay bike.

I will say no more.

I aint putting my foot in it.

[The Stranger:Me]

I've been reading up on the Lifans on the web and they seem pretty good by most people comments, of course you get some people with a few complaints, those sort of people who dont even know about regular maintenance or dont know how to turn a loose screw with a screwdriver and put a bit of locktight on it...

I'm looking at getting a learner bike pretty soon and am seriously thinking of the lifan, i went to have a looksee at it and it didnt seem that bad for the price.
Of course its not comparable to an almost $7000 Ninja or Hyosung type bike.

a few small mods on the lifan will also get you a great deal of fun (up the carb jet size, and sprockets and drill the exhaust)

If you enjoy doing a little basic maintenance on your own bike its a good option, locktight the screws when you get it, keep an eye on the welds (any cracks get a mate to do a small fix of the weld and put a bit of pain on top)

of course im the sort of guy who enjoys getting in a modding/playing with mecahnical/electrical things (turbo'd a honda car etc...) so I dont mind if things break a little, given me a chance to improve things

I think most of the problems people have with the lifan is the screws and a bit of vibration on the body which is solved by putting some rubber in the important places to dampen things down a bit and sometimes a plug wire might pop out and needs to be clipped in, no one seems to have any trouble with their engines.

I always study up on products before I buy them (also got copies of the manual, tear down view of the bike with all parts shown etc to get a better overview of whats in there)

and one more thing, the Lifan comes with a 12 month warranty anyway! and im sure most things break within 12months if its cheap, so just drive it hard and see what happens and if it breaks get the part replaced

I dont see why Yamaha couldnt make a scorpio type bike look like a sports bike? Why do they have those ugly looking single round headlight at the front bikes, why not something sporty looking like the lifan lf200 for the same price as the scorpio?? How much would it cost to put some nice fairings and twin headlights at the front.

Of course looks are far more important.
A bit of welding here and there is nothing, bolts rattling out, hey what the hell and wires? Who needs them anyway.

Just so long as it looks good - oh and has 2 head lights.