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Chinese?
by: millwall - Jul 4, 2015 11:14:43 GMT -5
Post by millwall on Jul 4, 2015 11:14:43 GMT -5
Why do people on this fourm mainly have a Chinese ped? Here in the UK they are sort of shuned we mainly have Peugeot (like me) piaggio gilera aprilla
? I'm curious
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Post by JerryScript on Jul 4, 2015 11:57:01 GMT -5
Because we are cheap! Well, I'm cheap, can't speak for others.
You can get a 50cc for as little as $600 brand new, and a 150cc for less than $1000. Even the higher end of Chinese scooters just flirts with $1000 for a 50cc, and $1500-2000 for 150cc.
Cheap and readily available parts are also a huge plus in my book!
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Chinese?
by: millwall - Jul 4, 2015 12:23:17 GMT -5
Post by millwall on Jul 4, 2015 12:23:17 GMT -5
Rely? The parts for a Chinese bike are rare in the UK
The cheapest one you can buy in UK is a directbike for £500 that's $700
But yeah in the UK unless UV got a branded yamaha Peugeot your shunnded is this same in us?
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Chinese?
by: george54 - Jul 4, 2015 13:24:25 GMT -5
Post by george54 on Jul 4, 2015 13:24:25 GMT -5
I haven't witnessed any Vespa or other owner shunning a Chinese scoot owner. The only shunning here in the USA is usually done by some Harley Davidson owners who refuse to acknowledge an owner of any other brand as being worthy of their time.
I think many here buy a Chinese scooter to get a first taste of scootering. I don't mean to say there aren't several fine Chinese makes to own not just as a first scooter, but here in the USA most people not living in a dense urban city don't buy a scooter as their main means of transportation, just as some summertime fun, especially true in the northern areas that get cold winters.
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Chinese?
by: spandi - Jul 4, 2015 13:46:27 GMT -5
Post by spandi on Jul 4, 2015 13:46:27 GMT -5
Gotta agree with George. Here in the U.S. things are bigger and more spread out, and the main form of transportation is the CAR. We really don't have the kind of "scooter culture" as they do in Europe and the UK. (I remember watching a live webcam from London and being amazed at the number of scooters in the traffic.) So I don't think it's quite as important here. (maybe to a Vespa owner)  |
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Chinese?
by: millwall - Jul 4, 2015 14:43:22 GMT -5
Post by millwall on Jul 4, 2015 14:43:22 GMT -5
The big scoot scene is middle aged men and women going to work in London aha but not many 16/17 year olds get them now were all poor  |
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Post by crawford on Jul 4, 2015 14:51:57 GMT -5
In the US can you see mom taking 4 kids to school in morning on scoots, dad wouldn't get any peace at night when mom got a hold of his ears. LOL
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Chinese?
by: spandi - Jul 4, 2015 15:16:16 GMT -5
Post by spandi on Jul 4, 2015 15:16:16 GMT -5
The big scoot scene is middle aged men and women going to work in London aha but not many 16/17 year olds get them now were all poor What you may not realize is that in the 60's a Vespa or Lambretta Scoot was an inexpensive way for the then teenage Mods to get around. Like everything else from that era, it went "Upscale" later on.  |
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Chinese?
by: oldchopperguy - Jul 4, 2015 18:50:27 GMT -5
Post by oldchopperguy on Jul 4, 2015 18:50:27 GMT -5
Millwall,
Welcome to the site! I had the pleasure of visiting London in 1968 while in the U.S. Army. I loved it! It's worth the trip just for the fish & chips and friendly people!
I think the others here summed it up when they named low-price as the biggest reason for SO many American riders going with Chinese scooters. Only a small percentage of Americans use scooters for their primary transportation, but love them for fun-riding and for daily transport in good weather. And, Chinese parts ARE available in ABUNDANCE here, VERY cheap. Chinese scooters are a way to get a REALLY AFFORDABLE and attractive scooter, then, fix all the things that usually go wrong with Chinese rides for only a couple of hundred U.S. dollars. THEN, you have a great scoot, and don't have a fortune wrapped up in it.
Insurance is very cheap in most areas of America, too. I'm an old-school biker from the sixties, and rode choppers and baggers for decades. Now, I'm near 70, and arthritis makes it too difficult to climb onto the big bikes anymore, so I discovered SCOOTERS!
I started with a Chinese Xingyue 150 eight years ago, and after fixing all the "bugs" I still had less than $1,000 U.S. dollars in it. It was great, but not capable of safely keeping up with local traffic. So a year ago, I traded it on a used Kymco 250 which has turned out to be marvelous... It is reliable and just fast enough to keep up with traffic.
I'm definitely a scooter-rider from now on...
I do agree with you concerning not going Chinese if parts are not readily available and cheap... European scooters are great! If I lived in Europe, I would probably have a European scooter.
Here's a picture of me in the early 1960's... A real "hooligan"... LOL!
And here I am today with the missus... A whole lot tamer... LOLOLOL!
Again, welcome to the site and RIDE SAFE!
Leo (your new friend) in TEXAS, USA
PS: The ONLY problem I had in London was that I was driving an American Chevy with left-hand drive. Combine that with having to drive on the LEFT side of the road made me downright dangerous... LOL! You'd likely have a similar problem driving an English car "on the wrong side of the road" here in the USA... LOL! And, have a bone on the Old Chopper Guy... We LOVE to get members from other countries... Please keep us posted on how things are in YOUR "hood".
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Chinese?
by: millwall - Jul 5, 2015 22:41:24 GMT -5
Post by millwall on Jul 5, 2015 22:41:24 GMT -5
Haha wow leo nice story they're and good luck with scootering  glas you enjoyed London Safe rideing |
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Chinese?
by: rockynv - Jul 6, 2015 12:07:17 GMT -5
Post by rockynv on Jul 6, 2015 12:07:17 GMT -5
I started with Chinese 150 cc scooter to test the water and then once I saw it was a viable option to eliminate spending $70 a week on fuel for my van I bought an Aprilia Sport City 250 which for 4 years was my main ride for commuting to work which saved me thousands of dollars.
The upside of the Chinese Lance 150 I had was that parts were very cheap however that was also it's downside since I was loosing the economy of things on monthly to twice a month oil changes and all to regularly having to purchase those affordable parts.
The Aprilia is made like a tank and requires an oil change every 6,250 miles. The only tinkering so far is now cleaning up some road rash on the paint from sliding on some sugar sand at 40 mph and having the bike go over me. Otherwise its been 4 years of scheduled maintenance every 6,250 miles and turning the key to go.
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Post by wheelbender6 on Jul 6, 2015 18:47:53 GMT -5
I think the popularity of Chinese scooters in the States boils down to the availability of parts too. I know you blokes don't mind tinkering, but tinkering is more fun when the correct parts are available.
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Chinese?
by: novaraptor - Jul 7, 2015 11:37:48 GMT -5
Post by novaraptor on Jul 7, 2015 11:37:48 GMT -5
I think it is a combination of most of the above mentioned, but also think that it was probably easier to market into the US for chinese manufactures. During the '60s, '70s, and '80s, your choice in the US was to buy Harley, or buy imported. Most of "imported" was Japanese. The British, on the other hand, had Enfield, Triumph, BSA, Norton, and probably several others to choose from. When the Chinese and other Non Japanese Asian manufacturers began exporting, they already had a consumer base that had been riding Asian metal for several decades, plus many relatives in the US that could help with the language translation and paperwork..Just my thoughts... Ride well, friends..
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Chinese?
by: ricardoguitars - Jul 7, 2015 13:40:16 GMT -5
Post by ricardoguitars on Jul 7, 2015 13:40:16 GMT -5
Over here in Costa Rica, branded scooters are crazy expensive ($3500+) and most parts are not available, the Chinese ones are the cheapest (around $1000) and most convenient form of transportation, cheaper than taking the bus, lol, parts are abundant and dirt cheap. Traffic on the city is terrible, it can take hours to travel a few kilometers on car, but since filtering is allowed here, you can travel those few kilometers in just minutes on a scooter, motorcycles are still more abundant than scooters, but you can see the scooter quantity growing everyday.
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Chinese?
by: cyborg - Jul 13, 2015 12:42:41 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by cyborg on Jul 13, 2015 12:42:41 GMT -5
I like the idea of a Chinese scoot and just acquired my first one by default when I leased a new studio,,little over 1000 miles,,, new battery and it turned over,,,, so we'll see how this goes,,, as far as Sym, kymco, genuine parts is an issue,,,, one of the reasons I didn't go Sym/ kymco,,, parts availability ,,, thank goodness they don't need them often cause it's a major drag gettin them
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