My Lifan story

[jimbobs]

Hi Stoni

i am glad never got one now, I am a useless mechanic and not a very good diagnostic,,I rode around with a loose front wheel not long ago.new something was wrong but never worried about it.

i hope the kwaka mechs are better than the Lifan ones or Ime in the shit,,

thanksfor the heads up,,my brother was thinking of getting one for when he visits me.

not happening

 

[stoni1]

I'm guessing that it doesn't matter what bike you have, The mechanics here are mostly just incompetent, by western standards anyway. I have heard horror stories about problems with service and mechanics from people who own all sorts of makes of bike including even some from BMW riders. I have learned that here in Thailand you have to get at least a bit ' Savvy' with all things , not just motorbikes . My problems where mostly just really basic things that where made worse by the mechanics I allowed to look at my bike. I'm sure there are people who have had good experiences with service on their bikes and have a good Thai mechanic who sorts them out. To be fair I have had recommendations for good mechanics but I never got that far . I'm just glad that it looks like I have finally resolved my problems and I am looking forward to riding and forgetting the past. Through all this the bike has become a friend now and you cant blame the bike itself for some of the silly problems I have experienced. I'm still opened minded about Lifan and will give her a proper chance to shine over the next few months. We will see.

 

[stoni1]

jimbobs;292135 wrote: Hi Stoni

i am glad never got one now, I am a useless mechanic and not a very good diagnostic,,I rode around with a loose front wheel not long ago.new something was wrong but never worried about it.

i hope the kwaka mechs are better than the Lifan ones or Ime in the shit,,

thanksfor the heads up,,my brother was thinking of getting one for when he visits me.

not happening

I'm guessing that it doesn't matter what bike you have, The mechanics here are mostly just incompetent, by western standards anyway. I have heard horror stories about problems with service and mechanics from people who own all sorts of makes of bike including even some from BMW riders. I have learned that here in Thailand you have to get at least a bit ' Savvy' with all things , not just motorbikes . My problems where mostly just really basic things that where made worse by the mechanics I allowed to look at my bike. I'm sure there are people who have had good experiences with service on their bikes and have a good Thai mechanic who sorts them out. To be fair, I have had recommendations for good mechanics, but I never got that far . I'm just glad that it looks like I have finally resolved my problems and I am looking forward to riding and forgetting the past. Through all this, the bike has now become a friend and you cant blame the bike itself for some of the silly problems I have experienced. I'm still opened minded about Lifan and will give her a proper chance to shine over the next few months. We will see.

 

[monsterman]

A few years ago I managed to get a full set of HONDA, SUzuki and ducati factory service manuals in Thai , asked some local pattaya mechanics if they were interested they all looked blank ...why we need workshop manuals?? all motosai same same !!!!!torque wrenches .. never used , correct clearances not interested ,,,the manuals were given to my wifes cousin in Prachinburi who runs a bike shop ,, after lying around his workshop for 3 years they rotted away and were eaten by termites !!!!TIT

 

[stoni1]

monsterman;292165 wrote: A few years ago I managed to get a full set of HONDA, SUzuki and ducati factory service manuals in Thai , asked some local pattaya mechanics if they were interested they all looked blank ...why we need workshop manuals?? all motosai same same !!!!!torque wrenches .. never used , correct clearances not interested ,,,the manuals were given to my wifes cousin in Prachinburi who runs a bike shop ,, after lying around his workshop for 3 years they rotted away and were eaten by termites !!!!TIT

Ha Ha, why am I not surprised.

I have watched the 'cleaners' at my apartments mop the floors on every landing day in day out for the past 4 years. It seems they never stop cleaning these floors, bless them! You would think you could eat you dinner off these well cared and manicured floors, right? You would be wrong of course, the floors are absolutely filthyl. How can this be I hear you ask? Well, no one has told them to clean the mop head that they have been using for the past 20 years. Mai pen ria . They look like they are' doing some thing' so it must be good, right?....ha ha... smoke and mirrors come to mind.....QC, that's a fried chicken joint isn't it?...ha ,ha, ha...... Amazing Thailand!

 

[mudboots]

You could buy the cleaners a new mop I am sure that would confuse them, and I'm sure the look on their faces would be priceless 55555 :lol:

 

[stoni1]

I have now got the YSS Hybrid gas shock fitted and it has transformed the bikes handling no end and is now a pleasure to ride. My back is happy once again, so all is well in Lifan land!

Since I set the engine up the bike has been running sweet and with the addition of the new shock I think I have finally cracked it!

I have to say that getting the shock modified had it's moments. Note to anyone upgrading for this bike, Make sure that the dealer orders from YSS the longer top lug to alter the length from 260mm to 300mm. The dealers mechanic smelt a few bucks and tried to modify it himself ( without my permission) and made a right pigs ear of it. He tried to lengthen the shock by bolting a bracket on it and when i told him that he had basically put a hinge point in the direction of travel he would not believe me until the bike was taken off the centre stand and it all collapsed. ha ha ha. He still tried to convince me it was Ok by tightening the bloody bolt on the hinge point and thinking that would do it. I showed him the error of his ways when i bounced up and down on the bike and low and behold it collapsed again. I insisted that he get an upgraded top lug from YSS which he in return insisted was not available from the manufactures ( Mai me...Mai me ) Yer right! . After telling him that he had 2 days to fix the problem or no money the correct lug from the manufactures miraculously appeared. Ha bloody Ha.

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[stoni1]

The longer lug in place.<img src=""

 

[stoni1]

Update:

I have now been riding the Lifan for the past 6 months or so and I have to say that she has performed perfectly. Just goes to prove that these chinese bikes are good value for money and when they are set up properly they work!...

 

[NickyBKK]

Yo stoni! Are you still having fun with the Lifan? Any updates?

 

[Lucky B]

Lucky B here , just read this story about Lifan and stoni and I would like to offer another experience with the Lifan Dealer in Chiang mai . The place near the railway station . With only 55 years of owning and riding bikes I took a chance on buying a Lifan 200 Cross just for the fun of belting around my local tracks and villages around Doi Saket .
15 months and only 2000 kms up in and around the jungle and it is not broken . I have used a screwdriver to adjust the wing mirrors for the road . I have NEVER used the kickstart , battery works everytime . Last year I let the bike sleep under the porch for 8 weeks during heavy rain . Unused and neglected Lifan started on the first press of the button ! ! !
I have owned some beautiful British , European and Japanese Bikes . I do not think that any of them would have passed that test .
To the point , the Chiang Mai Lifan dealer , and his wife , have serviced and checked my bike whenever I pop in and I have big thankyous for them .

I love music but I cannot tune a piano !

 

[stoni1]

NickyBKK;298007 wrote: Yo stoni! Are you still having fun with the Lifan? Any updates?

The bike has run flawlessly with no issues apart from a little squeak from the swing arm pivot bush that need a little wd 40 now and again.

Funny enough I have just put it up for sale as I'm leaving Thailand for a while.

 

[stoni1]

fdale;299719 wrote: What price ?

I'll take 32,000 which is getting on for half price with the mods Ive made.