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SPECS · PICS · RATING
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Jinlun JL 125 discussion forum:RE: Should i buy one??? |
| RE: Should i buy one??? |
| Stu said 2006-02-12 12:59 |
| Hi, I´ve just bought one of these bikes myself - I got it via eBay and it cost me £869, which included the bike being built, inspected and delivered to my door. It took me a while to get one at this price, and the typical prices tend to range from £900 to £1300, depending on where you get them from. Cost me a further £53 to get the bike registered and taxed for a year. For the kind of money I paid, its a fantastic bike. It looks gorgeous and the engine should prove to be fairly reliable - its a Honda replica, I believe. As a four stroke 125, its never going to be super-fast, but if you´re buying a cruiser-style and are limited to a 125, then speed is probably not high on your expectation list. If run in properly for the first few hundred miles, it should get to 65-70mph, but is probably best and most comfortable at 65mph and below. The build quality and materials used in these bikes is not quite as good as you´d get from similar Japanese makes - but you get what you pay for. The trick with one of these is to pay a deposit until you receive the bike, and to have it built and PDI´d (pre-delivery inspected) as part of the deal when buying it - then, when you go to pick it up, or when it gets delivered, make sure you spend some time looking it over for scratches, dents, loose fittings, anything hanging off, etc. (and of course, start the bike up and check the engine, indicators, lights, horn, etc)...if you find any of this is unsatisfactory, then refuse to accept the bike and hand your cash over until its fixed/replaced/sorted out. Whoever you are getting the bike from may grumble about this, but you are perfectly within your rights. Chinese imports are getting much better in quality and price than they were even 2 years ago. Back in 2003 I bought my last bike and spent some time looking at Chinese imports then...they were around £1500 then, and very plastic with very poor quality build. One possible problem is having the bikes serviced. Most of the new ones come with a warranty period of 3-6 months, some even for 12 months, and all the distributors will tell you they have loads of spares, etc. Spares themselves aren´t really a problem, and the warranty is usually pretty worthless/useless because the spares are cheap but the distributors warranty is invariably "return to base", which means it is your responsibility to find out what is wrong, get it off the bike, send it to the distributor (at your cost) and then pay for postage on any replacement parts - its usually cheaper and easier just to get on the internet/eBay and find the part yourself. However, in terms of servicing, some garages will refuse to service a Chinese import - this is for historic reasons (bad availability of parts, poor quality goods, etc.) rather than the current market, so it is getting easier to get your bike serviced. Your best bet is to find someone local who sells imported bikes to service it, or to find a mechanic (rather than a garage) to do the work for you. I wouldn´t let this worry you or put you off...just something to be aware of. Just realised how much I written, so I do apologise for rambling on. I´ve included my eMail address just in case you think I can help any further - feel free to drop me a line (I´ll even send you some pictures of my bike. Its gold, which is fairly rare, with the rear paniers, crash bars and windscreen - it looks the biz!). I live in the Midlands, and the guy I bought it from is in Manchester - he was really good (retired, and sells these in his spare time for a hobby) and gives good support and after-sales advice - would be happy to hook you up with him if you decide to go ahead. Good luck. Stu. |
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