The situation is developing in such a way that, apparently, in the near future, i.e. for half a year – a year at least, from foreign motorcycle products it will be legally possible to buy a bike only made in China.
The fact is that American, Japanese and European motorcycle manufacturers actively joined the anti-Russian sanctions, which blocked the access of Russians to the most popular brands and models of motorcycles in our country.
In particular, the Americans refuse to supply the legendary Harley-Davidsons to Russia, citing the fact that their government has banned the export of any bikes with an engine of more than 50 cubes to our country.
Similar measures were taken by European states and Japan. Only they use the price of a motorcycle as a starting point for imposing sanctions. For example, deliveries of European motorcycles, including BMWs that are fashionable in our country, are impossible if the price of a motorcycle exceeds 5,000 euros or 280,000 rubles. It’s the same with the Japanese: if a motorcycle made in Japan is more expensive than 600,000 yen (this is about 235,000 – 255,000 rubles, depending on exchange rate fluctuations), then it will not get into Russia.
So the bikers from Russia, who dreamed of changing the “iron horse” in 2022, were pressed on all fronts. Here you need to either wait for the establishment of parallel imports (which is essentially “smuggling in the law”) and buy Harleys and Behi at exorbitant prices and without an official guarantee, or consider options for buying “Chinese”.
CHOPPERS – “CHINESE”
I want to warn you right away that among the noteworthy Chinese choppers there are no models developed exclusively by Chinese engineers. The motorcycles discussed below are replicas of American and Japanese bikes.
THE MOST NIMBLE
In terms of speed, in my opinion, Stels 400 Cruiser , copied from the Yamaha Virago XV 400, wins all competitors among the “Chinese”.
Everything is in order with him both with acceleration time and with maximum speed. The motorcycle takes a hundred for 6 seconds and accelerates to 140 km. at one o’clock. Everything would be fine if it were not for 3 significant drawbacks:
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The power of the Stealth engine is impressive, it produces about 40 “horses”, although the cunning Chinese, in order to avoid overpayment of taxes and customs duties, indicate only 30 “horses” in the documents. It would be good if the problems were limited only by the desire not to feed state officials once again. However, the Stealth’s torquey engine deserves to be liquid-cooled rather than air-cooled, which works much worse with overheating.
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The brakes on the bike are also, frankly, not great, so the desire to squeeze the maximum out of the motorcycle, I believe, will struggle with a well-founded desire to preserve one’s health.
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There is no automatic engine speed limiter. Of course, this cannot be called a disadvantage in the full sense of the word, because someone likes to drive with the arrow in the red zone of the tachometer and roar the engine so that it can be heard for a couple of kilometers around. But, nevertheless, there is a risk of burning the motor, and it is significant.
A big advantage of the Stels 400 Cruiser compared to other 400cc motorcycles, I consider the transmission of torque using a cardan, because, unlike a chain drive, it does not require constant maintenance and is designed for a longer service life. Due to its low requirements, the Stealth is a great option for long-distance travel, especially if you carefully prepare for them and check the engine, clutch and transmission before the trip. In this case, the risk of a serious breakdown is minimal, and, most likely, the maximum that a biker needs on the road is to replace a burned-out lamp or a broken cable.
HARLEY REPLICA
It is clear that the Chinese could not get past Harley-Davidson, and this is understandable. The temptation to capitalize on the name of the No. 1 motorcycle brand is very strong.
However, it is worth saying that Harley’s replica – Harley Davidson SPORTSTER Light – came out of very high quality by Chinese standards and no worse than other models presented in our review. The replica turned out to be dynamic, with fast acceleration, the reason for which is the low weight of only 142 kg, as well as the use of a light chain rather than a heavy cardan.
The bad thing is that a copy of the Harley is not equipped with the most reliable brakes. The Chinese save on hydraulics even in the case of a copy of the famous motorcycle manufacturer, putting conventional disc and drum brakes on it. So be careful while driving.
QUALITY BUDGET OPTION
Here, the chopper model Lifan LF 250 Cruiser is a replica of the famous Yamaha Virago XV 250. The secret of Lifan’s high reliability is hidden in the meticulous copying of the Japanese motorcycle. Unless the electrician gives slack in the form of a quickly burned out light bulb, or the factory circuit stretches indecently early in time.
Those who like to start abruptly from a place will be pleased with the frisky dynamics of the bike, which is possible due to the short gear travel, although its “maximum speed” is so-so – 110 km. at one o’clock. This could be frustrating if the bike was equipped with good brakes, but alas. The higher the speed, the higher the probability with such brakes to rattle in the hospital or, even worse, in the cemetery.
The appearance of Lifan resembles a retro-style bike without unnecessary bells and whistles. The Chinese decided that classic biker codes like a drop-shaped gas tank, an elongated fork, a cool black color are enough for a modest price of 150,000 rubles.
TOURIST BIKES
The ideal among Chinese touring motorcycles, in my opinion, is the CF MOTO 800 MT Touiring – a sophisticated device aimed at creating an exceptionally high level of comfort for the rider during long journeys.
Not only is it capable of accelerating up to 195 km. per hour thanks to its 800 cc engine, so it is still well thought out technically. I mean here its equipment with reliable hydraulic brakes and liquid cooling of the engine.
Comfort is great too. There’s wind protection, heated handlebars and seats, even handlebar pads to protect your hands, not to mention roll bars and large 99-litre panniers for carrying luggage.
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