Monaco 150 Platinum and Ryuaka rk125-30

[milouone]

Hi ,

I read some posts but they are 5 years old about this kind of motobike.

Have somebody have experience with this kind of motobike now.

I imagine 5 years later maybe they improve it.

I dont want use my bike for travelling all around Thailand , just for short travel of 100 km max out of cities.

Like i'm a newbie as driving , im waiting your advice for this or other possibilities ?

Thanks and regards

Patrick a swiss expat

[BSJ]

The cheapest isn't always the best. Keeway and Lifan are cheap Chinese brands you can buy now for on-road. There are some Shineray models for road use but I don't know much about them.

With those brands it's a case of buyer beware!

[LucidLucifer]

You don't need to be a psychic to predict how this thread will go............

[wantan]

Guess someone will suggest to buy a used Phantom...

[ktm jeff]

If your budget for a new bike is 50-60,000 baht then get some information for Keeway / M-Bike / RKV / Sym / Platinum. Lifan arent too good (but cheaper).Hondas build quality has fallen over the years ,and they are some way behind Yamaha / Kawasaki etc, and their bikes are 3 times dearer than the the bikes mentioned, whose build quality is improving all the time,and while their dealers arent as plentiful as some of the Japanese brands, it wont be too much of a problem to find a local mechanic to keep the bike in order.They can require more maintainence due to their build quality, but for the price they are very good unless you go for a secondhand bike.Some people are scared by the advance of these Chinese bikes and will tell you not to buy them , but they offer great value, so dont discount them ,do plenty of research and make your own mind up. Good luck , and welcome to TVF !

[milouone]

Hi thanks for your answer

I made some research and Keeway seems a good option and as she doesnt drink a lot of fuel :-)

Regards

Patrick

[Richard-BKK]

The thing is that both the Platinum Monaco 150 and the Ryuka RK125-30 are cruiser style motorcycles, but before we start about the quality of the motorcycle you should reconsider going for something with a bigger engine. Cruisers with a 125 / 150cc engine will not give you that much pleasure, and sooner than later you will wish that you bought a motorcycle with a 200, 250 or even bigger engine..

Platinum Motorcycles is a Thai manufacturer who has been around for a long time, they build the bikes from parts they bu from other manufacturers, I have a friend who has a 175cc Platinum enduro bike for more than 5 years and he is still remarkable happy. I also know two other people who have a Platinum motorcycle and they never complained... Still, on some forums, including this one, you can find people talking bad about Platinum ~ but even on this forum the only person who has a Platinum Monaco 150 is very happy with it....

Ryuka is a budget brand from Zongshen group, Zongshen is one of the largest motorcycle manufacturers in the world.. They supply engine parts to Harley-Davidson and even parts of the Aprilia RSV4R come from Zongshen. The Ryuka RK125-30 is made in Thailand by the Thai Zongshen factory, in the early days of the factory start-up the quality of Thai made motorcycles was not from the highest standard, but now-a-day after the factory is operational for almost two years the quality is from a good standard.

I would not buy a Platinum Monaco 150 or a Ryuka RK125 because of the small engine size and poor performance... My advice is look for a 250cc v-twin as a minimum for a cruiser.....

[wantan]

You can also have a look at:

Keeway Dorado 250cc (~90k Baht)

Keeway Superlight 200cc (~60k Baht)

Lifan Custom 250cc (~80k Baht)

IIRR someone mentioned that Keeway will bring a new Cruiser with fuel injection (Blackster?) soon. But you never know when this is going to happen.

Platinum: Some seem to be happy with their bikes, a lot are not.

Ryuka: Quality control sure is more reliable than Platinum, but at 40k Baht for the bike you shouldn't expect too much. Maybe good enough to cruise around in town.

I would suggest to at least take a 200cc bike if you plan trips up to 100km out of town.

[Richard-BKK]

You can also have a look at:

Keeway Dorado 250cc (~90k Baht)

Keeway Superlight 200cc (~60k Baht)

Lifan Custom 250cc (~80k Baht)

IIRR someone mentioned that Keeway will bring a new Cruiser with fuel injection (Blackster?) soon. But you never know when this is going to happen.

Platinum: Some seem to be happy with their bikes, a lot are not.

Ryuka: Quality control sure is more reliable than Platinum, but at 40k Baht for the bike you shouldn't expect too much. Maybe good enough to cruise around in town.

I would suggest to at least take a 200cc bike if you plan trips up to 100km out of town.

Keeway Blackster 250i will soon be introduced on the Thai market, I already touched it. For more information about the introduction date you can call Keeway HQ...02-613-9727

[ll2]

Guess someone will suggest to buy a used Phantom...

just get a second hand honda phantom for 50 k

they last long.

or a second hand cbr250r or 70 k which is also bulletproof and will provide more flexibility everywhere with a modern 250cc single.

Also honda of course has more dealers.

or at least wait for this new 250 cc keeway blackster so we can read some impressions about it.

[milouone]

waouwww .... many advice thx a lot

As i'm a man of 190 cm high and 100 kg i think a 200cc is better too

So that means is easy to find spare parts for a Platinum and a Ryuka.

Because i'm living in Isan ... just have to find a good mechanic