CAN a cheapie Chinese MOTORCYCLE make a COOL BOBBER?
by: oldchopperguy - Aug 21, 2016 21:53:47 GMT -5
Post by oldchopperguy on Aug 21, 2016 21:53:47 GMT -5
Well, boyz n' gurlz...
CAN a cheapie Chinese MOTORCYCLE make a COOL BOBBER?
The answer IS a resounding YEEESSSS!!! I only wish I had a picture to post.
A good number of members here love the look of a bobber, or chopper, ME included. But they don't have the thousands of bucks or the skills to transform a Harley. The VERY cool bike I'm about to describe could probably be built for well under 3-grand!
Until today, I really thought any resemblance to a credible bobber required two cylinders, preferably in a "V" configuration. And... at LEAST 750cc displacement. I was WRONG!
It finally stopped raining this afternoon, so I got old "Minnie Mouse" out from under her tarp and took a shakedown ride to try out the new front tire. I heard a STRANGE (but nice!) and LOUD bike roaring up behind me and only got a quick look as he blew by me.
It was a single-cylinder which I thought might be Hardknock "Kikker". It was not.
In a few seconds, I could see it was a run-of-the-mill generic Chinese 250, probably began life as a Lifan Internet buy.
Clean and simple was the watchword... Peanut tank, drag-bars on dog-bones, small old-school headlight mounted above the bars... solo-seat on hairpins, bobbed rear fender likely made from a vintage Brit bike...
Super-short coil-overs on the back (I suspect mountain-bicycle shocks) which should be adequate on the rear of a 250 pound stripped bike... thin "runnin' rib" front tire and "car-type" wide rear. Tires were classic "yellowed" whitewalls, the whole bike was flat-black except for chrome rims and a few chrome engine pieces. The exhaust was straight-through big-diameter with a baloney-sliced megaphone.
Now, it's not easy to actually get a 4-stroke to run right with a straight-pipe (yeah, I know Cadillac pulls it off but they're exotic and expensive!) but THIS one was tuned to perfection. It absolutely SCREAMED, with that SWEET cackle on deceleration! He was getting ALL that Chinese 250 had to give and then some. I was loafing along at 55 on the 45 speed-limit 4-lane and he was banging gears at around 9-grand and enjoying every rpm! He just hit top gear and I'd estimate doing about 80 and climbing... Obviously lost in memories of the sixties or seventies.
Old geezer too... Long ZZ-Top beard, raggedy, greasy shredded jeans, tattoos, Nazi helmet... Old, OLD school dinosaur enjoying his last days before extinction.
Point is this... THAT bike was a classic bobber as credible as a Harley, or one of the Yamaha 650 twin bobbers starting to appear. But THOSE bikes are hard to find, usually worn out and EXPENSIVE to buy, insure and customize.
THIS Chinese 250 was probably $2,000 or less brand-new, and had less than another thousand bucks invested. The secret was PERFECT cosmetic design, and getting that little 15-incher to run like a bear.
I don't think you'll find a cheaper "real motorcycle" than a Chinese 250 single. The clutch n' gears Chinese bikes seem to be less troublesome than the scooters, too. Amazingly, they CAN be turned into a really credible bobber, using the same techniques as you'd use on a Harley.
This one had it all, and, plenty of acceleration and top-speed too!
My first love will always be stripped bobbers, but nowadays I'm totally addicted to twist n' go scoots with PLENTY of trunk-space for groceries...
But... For all you chopper-jockey wannabes, take it from "The Old Chopper Guy" you CAN indeed make a GREAT, head-turning ride from a humble Chinese single 250! Yup!
Whatever you ride, ENJOY the ride!!!
Leo (AMAZED at how COOL that little bike was) in Texas
__________________________________________________
Here's a pic off the Internet that "resembles" the one I saw. This is a Yamaha 500 single, but it will give a rough idea of what I'm talking about...
CAN a cheapie Chinese MOTORCYCLE make a COOL BOBBER?
The answer IS a resounding YEEESSSS!!! I only wish I had a picture to post.
A good number of members here love the look of a bobber, or chopper, ME included. But they don't have the thousands of bucks or the skills to transform a Harley. The VERY cool bike I'm about to describe could probably be built for well under 3-grand!
Until today, I really thought any resemblance to a credible bobber required two cylinders, preferably in a "V" configuration. And... at LEAST 750cc displacement. I was WRONG!
It finally stopped raining this afternoon, so I got old "Minnie Mouse" out from under her tarp and took a shakedown ride to try out the new front tire. I heard a STRANGE (but nice!) and LOUD bike roaring up behind me and only got a quick look as he blew by me.
It was a single-cylinder which I thought might be Hardknock "Kikker". It was not.
In a few seconds, I could see it was a run-of-the-mill generic Chinese 250, probably began life as a Lifan Internet buy.
Clean and simple was the watchword... Peanut tank, drag-bars on dog-bones, small old-school headlight mounted above the bars... solo-seat on hairpins, bobbed rear fender likely made from a vintage Brit bike...
Super-short coil-overs on the back (I suspect mountain-bicycle shocks) which should be adequate on the rear of a 250 pound stripped bike... thin "runnin' rib" front tire and "car-type" wide rear. Tires were classic "yellowed" whitewalls, the whole bike was flat-black except for chrome rims and a few chrome engine pieces. The exhaust was straight-through big-diameter with a baloney-sliced megaphone.
Now, it's not easy to actually get a 4-stroke to run right with a straight-pipe (yeah, I know Cadillac pulls it off but they're exotic and expensive!) but THIS one was tuned to perfection. It absolutely SCREAMED, with that SWEET cackle on deceleration! He was getting ALL that Chinese 250 had to give and then some. I was loafing along at 55 on the 45 speed-limit 4-lane and he was banging gears at around 9-grand and enjoying every rpm! He just hit top gear and I'd estimate doing about 80 and climbing... Obviously lost in memories of the sixties or seventies.
Old geezer too... Long ZZ-Top beard, raggedy, greasy shredded jeans, tattoos, Nazi helmet... Old, OLD school dinosaur enjoying his last days before extinction.
Point is this... THAT bike was a classic bobber as credible as a Harley, or one of the Yamaha 650 twin bobbers starting to appear. But THOSE bikes are hard to find, usually worn out and EXPENSIVE to buy, insure and customize.
THIS Chinese 250 was probably $2,000 or less brand-new, and had less than another thousand bucks invested. The secret was PERFECT cosmetic design, and getting that little 15-incher to run like a bear.
I don't think you'll find a cheaper "real motorcycle" than a Chinese 250 single. The clutch n' gears Chinese bikes seem to be less troublesome than the scooters, too. Amazingly, they CAN be turned into a really credible bobber, using the same techniques as you'd use on a Harley.
This one had it all, and, plenty of acceleration and top-speed too!
My first love will always be stripped bobbers, but nowadays I'm totally addicted to twist n' go scoots with PLENTY of trunk-space for groceries...
But... For all you chopper-jockey wannabes, take it from "The Old Chopper Guy" you CAN indeed make a GREAT, head-turning ride from a humble Chinese single 250! Yup!
Whatever you ride, ENJOY the ride!!!
Leo (AMAZED at how COOL that little bike was) in Texas
__________________________________________________
Here's a pic off the Internet that "resembles" the one I saw. This is a Yamaha 500 single, but it will give a rough idea of what I'm talking about...
-mph or better. My old Kymco Grandvista 250 is an old-school single-cam, carbureted 250 and still has 19.8hp, weighs a hefty 340 pounds and will do better than 75-mph with its inefficient CVT tranny. Same engine with a 5-speed manual in a stripped 250-pound bobber SHOULD hit near 100.
