About Arrow Motors?

[locojob]

So I'm looking at getting my hands on my first 250 and getting started on forgetting about ever riding in a car...and I've found what looks to be a pretty good deal on brand new a decent looking 250($3300). There's an outfit in South Auckland (Otahuhu) called Arrow Motors...they import 3 different bikes from china. Two types of 125cc bikes and a 250cc bike. My question is if anyone knows about these bikes or these guys in particular...would I be spending $3300 only to spend twice as much once the warranty goes off on parts etc? Are these guys dodgy as hell? Any ideas or anything would be great. Have included link for the bike itself aswell as the main pages of their site. Thanks for the help guys!
~Alex

Bike - http://www.babybuzz.co.nz/arrowmotors/Arrow250m.html

Main Page - http://www.arrowmotors.co.nz/

[Zealnz]

While I can't really comment on that particular model of bike, I've never heard of it before, I think that the general consensus around here is to stick with the big japanese brands and avoid anything from china.

Sure they may have a crazy low price for a new bike, but they're cheap for a reason - there's no reason why you couldn't get a decent 2nd hand 250cc bike off trademe for the same price.

From the looks of that bike you're looking for a cruiser sort of bike? Sounds like you should have a look at a Suzuki VL Intruder or Honda Shadow or somesuch.

[eelracing]

Go and have a chat with this arrow crowd and see what kind of back up service they provide,ie parts and availability etc.
Looking at the link they say they have been in business since 2006 so they are no fly by nighters.
Chinese brands have been getting stick of late,but i think thats mainly because of the cheap 50cc scooter/cruiser imports.

It was'nt that long ago that Honda was laughed at by the then top British marques when they introduced there racing bikes to the motorcycling world.
Never turn your back on the little guy.

[fatzx10r]

i'd say just stick with the jap stuff. you should be able to find a tidy we second hand bike for the money your looking at spending, have a good shop around.

the bonus with buying a japa is part's are easy to get for them (new or secondhand), if you ask here on kb about advice for which ever model you are looking at.... or buy, people will be able to tell about them. and for the most part they are reliable

i have seen a couple of chinese bike's come out of the box with broken bit's on them but the choice is your's at the end of the day.

remember there is a reason that chinese stuff is cheap..... and it's not just because the worker's are payed shit wage's

[imne1]

I tried to find a review but there dont seem to be any. I'd take that as a bad sign. If you want to be a test muppet for it feel free to post a review of it in 6 months when it's rusted to shit and fallen apart/blown up.

[Soljer99]

Hi Alex,

I'm also wondering about the same thing...whether the 250cc Arrow Cruiser for $3,300 is worth it. I sent an email a couple weeks ago to one of the contact persons at Arrow Motors, inquiring whether they still had them in stock, no reply so far. Hope they haven't folded up already, haha.

[DELLORTO]

I'm sorry but that bike looks like total crap. It will rust, the brakes will be dodgy, the forks will have no oil, just springs. My experience with chinese motorcycle technology is that it is complete rubbish, buy a secondhand Jap bike, a GN250 will serve you well.

[locojob]

Sweet guys, thanks for the input. I do believe I'll be going in a different direction now...though I may take a mate out that ways just to see what his in person opinion is. I may just wait around for a couple of banged up gn250's to show up on trademe and make one decent bike out of them lol.

Also, Zealnz thanks for the suggestions...going to check those out now

[Slifer]

If your into sports bikes a very good learner one is the Suzuki gsx250 invader
they are really reliable and are quiet newish compared to other 250's
invader's model year (2003 - 2005)
compared to zxr's and cbr's which are like 1990 - 1995
you can get a decent one off trademe for around $4000 - $4500
It's only a suggestion as that may be out of your price range

Good luck finding the right 250

[Fatt Max]

Yep, some great advice all round here, I got the same when I went shopping for a 250cc.

All I can say is the Suzuki's are a good buy, Colemans Suzuki on K Road have a few 2nd hand in the showroom at the moment and they are good bunch.

Happy hunting

[Soljer99]

Hi Alex,

Why not look at Yamaha Scorpio Z 2008 225cc commuter bike? It's $3,800.00 brand new. There are listings in Trademe. Between a 2nd hand GN250 and a new Yamaha for the same price, my money's on the Yamaha especially if you want to avoid potential lemons and are not yet confident enough to evaluate 2nd hand motorbikes.

Don't get me wrong, GN250's are great machines but they are out of production and you can't buy new ones - just 2nd hand, which carries a certain risk, of course.

[BBikeRR]

I purhcased the 125cc sports bike from arrow motors halfway through last year. I have had alot of problems with it, when I first got the bike it wouldnt go over 70km/h this was a big inconvenience as I couldnt take it on the motorway, 3months later (after numerous failed attempts to fix) this was fixed and the explanation given was that there was plastic in the engine. I have had problems with the exhaust comming off 2 times as screws have broken, the back light stopped working I had to have the bulb replaced, and now the back light only works when the brake is applied not when the lights are on (very dangerous at night). The back light has fallen off so many times now I just use cellotape to hold it on. It began rusting a few weeks after I had it. On the plus side the guys who sold me this have lived up to the warranty and fixed everything, although I am worried about what will happen when the warranty runs out.

So yeah this is my experience so far with these bikes... I would advise not to buy one, just too much trouble.

[vifferman]

I purhcased the 125cc sports bike from arrow motors ...[various tales of woe]... I am worried about what will happen when the warranty runs out.

Is it insured?
Crash it in a creative and destructive manner, ASAP.

[Slyer]

I purhcased the 125cc sports bike from arrow motors halfway through last year. I have had alot of problems with it, when I first got the bike it wouldnt go over 70km/h this was a big inconvenience as I couldnt take it on the motorway, 3months later (after numerous failed attempts to fix) this was fixed and the explanation given was that there was plastic in the engine. I have had problems with the exhaust comming off 2 times as screws have broken, the back light stopped working I had to have the bulb replaced, and now the back light only works when the brake is applied not when the lights are on (very dangerous at night). The back light has fallen off so many times now I just use cellotape to hold it on. It began rusting a few weeks after I had it. On the plus side the guys who sold me this have lived up to the warranty and fixed everything, although I am worried about what will happen when the warranty runs out.

So yeah this is my experience so far with these bikes... I would advise not to buy one, just too much trouble.

Good writeup.
Will make a note not to buy one.

[JimO]

you could get a vtr 250 for that money