Lifan 250Cc Custom

[anto]

Looking for updates on how others are getting on with their Lifans .I have mine around 16 months now from new without a problem .

There are some issues that concern me though .The only dealer here in Chiang Mai seems to employ monkeys as mechanics.They tried to adjust the rear spring unit with a hammer and chisel .Also when i asked for a simple thing like a handle bar end piece ( that had come loose and fallen off somewhere ) the reply was the standard "" no hab " .

Edited January 5, 2013 by anto

[Phronesis]

I would have thought that one of the advantages of buying a low tech bike such as the Lifan is that you can do everyday maintenance yourself, and avoid the risks associated with ling chaangs.

I am soon to purchase a Lifan Cross. One of my primary motivators is that the bike is simple and therefore I don't have to rely on ling chaangs to do my routine maintenance.

Early on here I learnt that just because someone has a motorcycle mechanic sign up on the front of his tin shed doesn't mean that he knows the slightest thing about motorbikes. It just means that he once had enough money to pay for someone to make him up a sign.

Edited January 5, 2013 by Phronesis

[wantan]

Issues with dealers are easier to deal with than issues with bikes. I just avoid the Yamaha dealer whose mechanics have used hammer and chisel on my scooter

There are a few threads about your bike already:

http://www.thaivisa....fan-lf250b-new/

http://www.thaivisa....-lifan-lf250-b/

http://www.thaivisa....an-custom-v250/

Have fun. And don't forget to post some photos

Edited January 5, 2013 by wantan

[Richard-BKK]

Not accept answers like “not have”, you should send a polite email to Lifan in Bangkok – which includes your private address and the VIN of the motorcycle and you get handlebar ends by post.

You should also tell Lifan Bangkok HQ about what you think about your regular dealer, and try to keep it civilized as Lifan Bangkok HQ can use customers input to enhance or slow-down the relation of some dealers.

[anto]

Not accept answers like “not have”, you should send a polite email to Lifan in Bangkok – which includes your private address and the VIN of the motorcycle and you get handlebar ends by post.

You should also tell Lifan Bangkok HQ about what you think about your regular dealer, and try to keep it civilized as Lifan Bangkok HQ can use customers input to enhance or slow-down the relation of some dealers.

Thanks for the info .Could you post the address of Lifan in Bangkok ?I want to avoid this one and only Lifan dealer in Chiang Mai .I will do all servicing myself in future but will need parts .

[happysoul]

Hello,

Did you try good luck (from center go past the train station and his shop is a couple meters after the mazda garage) ? Just bought a bike there and he was quite usefull regarding things you pay for.

Cheers

[anto]

Hello,

Did you try good luck (from center go past the train station and his shop is a couple meters after the mazda garage) ? Just bought a bike there and he was quite usefull regarding things you pay for.

Cheers

Is that different from Chaichana autobikes on the same street ? .Chaichana is the place i am complaining about .

[happysoul]

Hello,

Did you try good luck (from center go past the train station and his shop is a couple meters after the mazda garage) ? Just bought a bike there and he was quite usefull regarding things you pay for.

Cheers

No idea. Good luck is just after Mazda on the same side of the road, on the left when coming from the station

Is that different from Chaichana autobikes on the same street ? .Chaichana is the place i am complaining about .

[Richard-BKK]

How to contact Lifan Thailand can be found on the Lifan Thailand website http://www.lifanthailand.com/contact-us.html

[canuckamuck]

The bikes are good, but you are better off to use the dealer only to source your parts. This is the trade of for saving up to 50-70% on your bike purchase. Plenty of bike mechanics in Thailand that can fix these bikes though.

[JSixpack]

Bad news: my friend who's been happy w/ her Lifan for over a year has problems with the paint. Color, originally deep red sparkle, has now faded to brown from sun exposure, resulting in a gradient from brown to the old deep red. Moreover, the back fender, which was evidently hit in the rear lightly, perhaps in a parking lot, shows deep cracks in the paint over a large portion. She talked to the Lifan dealer who said that after one year nothing can be done but offered to ship new parts at retail cost.

Well, get the Lifan in black only I guess.

[thaicbr]

My friends black Lifan 250 had the chrome fall off the exhausts. A rear wheel bearing fail and needed 2 headlight bulbs. All in the 1st year . Oh and good luck getting an answer from lifan. Luckily the exhaust was only 1300b to re-chrome.

But saying that he is still fairly happy with it. And with the re chrome it looks good again.

sent from my Q6

Edited January 23, 2013 by thaicbr

[Richard-BKK]

@JSexpack

The rear fender is clearly not a warranty issue and it doesn't cost much. The color change due to sun exposure is something that I never hear before. Is it possible to get some pictures of that?

The Lifan LF250-B comes with 2-years warranty and nothing changes after 1-year....

@Thaicbr

Your friend is not that smart, the Lifan LF250-B uses chrome covers for the exhaust pipe (the chrome is not the real exhaust pipe) and the chrome cover is a good amount cheaper than 1300 THB.

[thaicbr]

@JSexpack

The rear fender is clearly not a warranty issue and it doesn't cost much. The color change due to sun exposure is something that I never hear before. Is it possible to get some pictures of that?

The Lifan LF250-B comes with 2-years warranty and nothing changes after 1-year....

@Thaicbr

Your friend is not that smart, the Lifan LF250-B uses chrome covers for the exhaust pipe (the chrome is not the real exhaust pipe) and the chrome cover is a good amount cheaper than 1300 THB.

Really!!! Certainly didn't look like it. Not a lot of use saying they are cheaper if Lifan do not answer emails. Also do you actually think its OK that the chrome fell off after a year???

sent from my Q6

[Richard-BKK]

@JSexpack

The rear fender is clearly not a warranty issue and it doesn't cost much. The color change due to sun exposure is something that I never hear before. Is it possible to get some pictures of that?

The Lifan LF250-B comes with 2-years warranty and nothing changes after 1-year....

@Thaicbr

Your friend is not that smart, the Lifan LF250-B uses chrome covers for the exhaust pipe (the chrome is not the real exhaust pipe) and the chrome cover is a good amount cheaper than 1300 THB.

Really!!! Certainly didn't look like it. Not a lot of use saying they are cheaper if Lifan do not answer emails. Also do you actually think its OK that the chrome fell off after a year???

sent from my Q6

There is no excuse for chrome falling of, and for answering emails – in Thailand you have two websites one if a fake one and the other lifanthailand.com is the real one. I can imagine that if you send email to the fake Lifan website (the one with lots of advertising) you will probably never get a reply.

Again the Lifan LF250-B comes with 2-years warranty, and while the debate about an exhaust system is covered by the warranty or not I think your friend should have contacted Lifan before rechroming its exhaust system.

Many motorcycle dealers, and not only Lifan dealers, tell customers that the exhaust system is not covered by warranty. But I cannot find anything about this in the Lifan warranty papers, so the exhaust system should be covered for 2-years.

I have attached a picture of the Lifan LF250-B exhaust assembly, you can clearly see that the chrome are just panels covering the pipe.

[loserlazer]

Richard:

The Lifan LF250-B comes with 2-years warranty and nothing changes after 1-year....

Well it something changes richard after a year. It changes its color:lol:

Richard:

Your friend is not that smart, the Lifan LF250-B uses chrome covers for the exhaust pipe (the chrome is not the real exhaust pipe) and the chrome cover is a good amount cheaper than 1300 THB.

So now exhausts are falling, no answers to emails and you blame people on not being smart? Unbeleivable:lol:

Edited January 23, 2013 by loserlazer

[Richard-BKK]

Richard:

The Lifan LF250-B comes with 2-years warranty and nothing changes after 1-year....

Well it something changes richard after a year. It changes its color:lol:

Richard:

Your friend is not that smart, the Lifan LF250-B uses chrome covers for the exhaust pipe (the chrome is not the real exhaust pipe) and the chrome cover is a good amount cheaper than 1300 THB.

So now exhausts are falling, no answers to emails and you blame people on not being smart? Unbeleivable:lol:

Before you complain about Lifan, you should check the warranty from Honda, as far as I know (and you can find a few posts on this forum) the exhaust system from your Honda is not included in the warranty.

[YipYipYa123]

Richard:

The Lifan LF250-B comes with 2-years warranty and nothing changes after 1-year....

Well it something changes richard after a year. It changes its color:lol:

Richard:

Your friend is not that smart, the Lifan LF250-B uses chrome covers for the exhaust pipe (the chrome is not the real exhaust pipe) and the chrome cover is a good amount cheaper than 1300 THB.

So now exhausts are falling, no answers to emails and you blame people on not being smart? Unbeleivable:lol:

Before you complain about Lifan, you should check the warranty from Honda, as far as I know (and you can find a few posts on this forum) the exhaust system from your Honda is not included in the warranty.

the entire honda bike apart from consumables like brake pads and such are covered for 3 years (cbr250's)

the engine and transmission is covered for 5 years/50,000km according to what i can

translate from my thai manual

i dont find anything that says the exhaust system is not covered

[TexasRanger]

Love my Lifan because it starts first time when it has been left standing for months. The price I paid for it new means I shed no tears if things break and I can patch it up myself.

Sent from my GT-N8000 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[wantan]

Warranty or not. Whats this all about? Someone claims a bit crome has fallen off from the exhaust of a friends bike. Wow, thats a dramatic thing. And 2 bulbs broken in the first year. What a nightmare

Most people are happy with their Lifan. Period

[Richard-BKK]

Yes, but if you search a little bit on this forum you can find enough owners who went back to the dealer when the exhaust header pipe was leaking because it was so corroded, and got the no warranty answer. And this is not only Honda, or is it Yamaha, or one of the other manufacturers, it's the dealers that make up this stories and has little to do with the actual manufacturer.

As I said the Lifan LF250-B is covered by a two-year warranty which also include the exhaust system. The exhaust system is made up from steel pipes and chrome panels. Therefore I have some reservations that THAICBR is talking about the stock exhaust system of the Lifan LF250-B.

Many owners of the Lifan LF250-B order an aftermarket exhaust system, which is officially for the Yamaha Virago 250, from Malaysia, or somewhere else (this exhaust system doesn't use chrome cover panels).

Edited January 23, 2013 by Richard-BKK

[thaicbr]

Yes, but if you search a little bit on this forum you can find enough owners who went back to the dealer when the exhaust header pipe was leaking because it was so corroded, and got the no warranty answer. And this is not only Honda, or is it Yamaha, or one of the other manufacturers, it's the dealers that make up this stories and has little to do with the actual manufacturer.

As I said the Lifan LF250-B is covered by a two-year warranty which also include the exhaust system. The exhaust system is made up from steel pipes and chrome panels. Therefore I have some reservations that THAICBR is talking about the stock exhaust system of the Lifan LF250-B.

Many owners of the Lifan LF250-B order an aftermarket exhaust system, which is officially for the Yamaha Virago 250, from Malaysia, or somewhere else (this exhaust system doesn't use chrome cover panels).

Richard. I will take some pictures of it for you. If it's indeed panels. Then they are bloody good. To be fair I on gave it a passing look. I will look further

sent from my Q6

[Beardog]

Hey it just goes to show if the cheaper bikes were that great we would all be on one . You get what you pay for & from what I can tell they are disposable bikes & meant to be. Fry em up & replace why bother repairing it when you can get a new bike cheaply. I am not saying that the Thai bikes Honda & Kawasaki are perfect but they do tend to not have all the issues that a cheap bike has. It is the same with bicycles. buy a cheap ass big C for 2000-3000 baht bike & it is dead in 6 months. Buy a good mountain bike for 10-12,000 baht & it lasts 3 + years with very few problems.

I like myself more to have the better ride! I would rather have the bottom of the top than the top of the bottom line.

But choice is up to the individual.

Edited January 23, 2013 by Beardog

[CMX]

Yip yip yah,

Is that 5 year on the 250 CBR related to the transmission or the Fi fuel portions of the system?

As for the Lifan 250, I loved mine except for the front springs (soft). A pretty good copy of the Virago, I thought, and if paint and chrome are the only issues, mostly, a terrific bargain even then. Also, while I prefer 'cruisers' for the U.S., they're about the last bike I'd pick for Thailand.

[thaicbr]

sent from my Q6

[thaicbr]

Richard was correct about TWO parts of the exhaust being covers. Eg the false back cylinder pipe and the top exhaust but the rest is either chrome or painted steel. Now it's all chrome as you can see in the pictures. My friend is happy. Also still no return email from Lifan. But Maipenrai

sent from my Q6

[Richard-BKK]

Richard was correct about TWO parts of the exhaust being covers. Eg the false back cylinder pipe and the top exhaust but the rest is either chrome or painted steel. Now it's all chrome as you can see in the pictures. My friend is happy. Also still no return email from Lifan. But Maipenrai

sent from my Q6

So how did your friend do the re-chroming, did he uses different pipes? As the inside pipes are a good amount thinner than the chrome outside pipe (show pipe).

We are in Thailand, and sadly most companies, do not reply to emails in the manner we westerns are used to. Some companies do, Kawasaki did and now-a-day it's not always sure you get a reply, Sym / Keeway does reply to emails pretty quick... Honda and Yamaha, never answer emails send to the general information email address (at least not if you send it in English language). Suzuki, seems to only answer emails regarding big-bikes... On the other hand Honda and Yamaha have a hotline on which they answer all questions, if you call in English – you just say can you speak English and they will hang up or put you in hold and you get an English speaking person who can explain everything (probably a supervisor or something like that). To what I hear you best call during office hours to get into contact with an English speaking person. Similar is the situation at Lifan Thailand, they answer the phone and while they answer the phone in Thai, you can get an English speaking person on the phone... (with a good amount of Chinese accent...).

[thaicbr]

How did he do the chroming. He took it to the bike shop who took the exhaust off and took it to the chrome shop

sent from my Q6

[Richard-BKK]

How did he do the chroming. He took it to the bike shop who took the exhaust off and took it to the chrome shop

sent from my Q6

I hope for your friend that they re-chromed the exhaust pipe correctly. Most electroplating companies I know of don't like to re-chrome exhaust pipes and end-cans, as the inside of the exhaust, which you never can clean 100% will conterminate the acid bath. So your friend paid a good price for re-chroming.

[JSixpack]

@JSexpack

The rear fender is clearly not a warranty issue and it doesn't cost much.

No, that's not so clear. It was hit lightly on the bottom of the fender but this paint issue is on the top. It could not have caused this alligator skin look. Never seen that! And the other side of the fender isn't affected. It should be a warranty issue.

The color change due to sun exposure is something that I never hear before. Is it possible to get some pictures of that?

Will get pics soon. In the meantime you can see the brown color above. That used to be deep red!