Stallion Centaur owners for feedback pls

[OmegaRacer]

A few months ago a friend asked me to fix up an old Honda C92 in pretty bad shape. It wasn't running at that time. He wanted to use that bike as a first clutch&gear bike and learn how to operate it. After some work I got it going and found out it had a step-down gear setup, just like a Wave but with the addition of a clutch lever.

This fact took the wind out of my friend's sails completely, as he wanted the usual 1 down-4 up gear setup.

We've been looking for other options since then. He wants a lightweight, classic looking bike with good handling and upright sitting position (bad back) as a day to day runner.

Personally, I thought the Stallion Centaur looks pretty good. I've seen some impressive customizations in Bangkok and at the last DGR. Build quality looks alright and the owners seem to love them very much.

My friend has been looking at the classifieds and asked me why there were so many 2014 bikes for sale with few km on the clock. Could be for a variety of reasons, but I thought I better ask someone who actually owns the bike and who can give some insight in the pros and cons.

So, Centaur owners, please come forward and give me your opinion!

cheers

[dave_boo]

I've seen a few Stallion bikes running around Nakhon Sawan and without fail there is corrosion issues. Even the chromed parts. I believe they use Chinese knock off Honda engines, so they should be good on that front.

[ll2]

they modify them a great deal and remove and relace all chinese parts with nice aluminu parts and some is looking nice.

cannot comment on quality issues but if your friend is ok for a modern bike, a second hand cbr250 for 60 k can do wonders.

[andrewrooney]

There is a guy in my soi who has one of these. Haven't ever had a chance to ask him about it, as I've only seen it parked, or seen the bike driving around.

I can't speak to quality but I like the look of it. I think there's a market here for affordable bikes with classic styling; it's too bad none of the Japanese manufacturers offer anything like this.

[ll2]

There is a guy in my soi who has one of these. Haven't ever had a chance to ask him about it, as I've only seen it parked, or seen the bike driving around.

I can't speak to quality but I like the look of it. I think there's a market here for affordable bikes with classic styling; it's too bad none of the Japanese manufacturers offer anything like this.

yeo, closest they offer is 280 k thb yamaha sr400!

evenif the remake one of the old 125ccs they make like old honda cb 125 or even cg 125, they sell a lot. but big manufacturers are never blind. sure they see the interest on this stallion centaur.

[OmegaRacer]

they modify them a great deal and remove and relace all chinese parts with nice aluminu parts and some is looking nice.

cannot comment on quality issues but if your friend is ok for a modern bike, a second hand cbr250 for 60 k can do wonders.

Even if he would like the modern style, he couldn't ride it due to the riding position. He's got a bad back and needs to sit up straight.

[Dutchbike]

There is a guy in my soi who has one of these. Haven't ever had a chance to ask him about it, as I've only seen it parked, or seen the bike driving around.

I can't speak to quality but I like the look of it. I think there's a market here for affordable bikes with classic styling; it's too bad none of the Japanese manufacturers offer anything like this.

yeo, closest they offer is 280 k thb yamaha sr400!

evenif the remake one of the old 125ccs they make like old honda cb 125 or even cg 125, they sell a lot. but big manufacturers are never blind. sure they see the interest on this stallion centaur.

Honda and Yamaha used to make nice "classic" bikes in the 90' s The XBR 500 I owned was a sweet little bike but my favorite was the GB 500 with spoked wheels, Every now and then I see some GB 400's pop up in several classified sites here in Thailand, but I believe they are mostly " grey imports" with no green books.

[papa al]

How much?

[OmegaRacer]

How much?

For what?

Centaur....

http://www.olx.co.th/c149-motorcycle/?q=stallion%20centaur

GB400

http://www.olx.co.th/c149-motorcycle/?q=gb400

[guzzi850m2]

I seen some in Pattaya, they look very cool, the tires are huge for a 150cc bike.

I can't comment on quality, none I know has one.

Yes it's a shame none of the Japanese makers make something similar.

[Richard-BKK]

Actually, a good friend of my bought a Stallion Centaur 150 Sport Classic for his soon, and we looked at the bike. As the friend is one of our major raw material supplier we Thai style automatically became the main service center for his soon....

Our first review would be that the performance on horsepower and fuel efficiency can be seriously improved by tuning the carburator.

For what we can find out, some parts of the Stallion Centaur are made in a factury in a Laos Stallion factory which is 100% under Thai suppervision... I personally visited the factory once and it looked amazing ...(sorry I was not allowed to make pictures)... But it was very modern factory in the middle of water-buffalo country....

[wantan]

OMG Richard, a Laos factory under thai supervision, a real garantor for quality. Wasn't Tiger enough with "100% thai made"?

Edited January 29, 2015 by wantan

[andrewrooney]

OMG Richard, a Laos factory under thai supervision, a real garantor for quality. Wasn't Tiger enough with "100% thai made"?

I rode one of those "Kolao" Wave copies all over Vientiane and Vang Vieng when I was up there... actually a pretty good little bike. Lao manufacturing might well be a step up from Tiger

[Richard-BKK]

http://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/learning-from-news/304222/minibikes-thai-brand-to-be-made-in-laos

And by the way Tiger did not fail because of original product design, it failed because they wanted cheap, even cheaper and cheapest production. What is not that compatible with the average engine fit when assembling... I inspected the Tiger factory a few days ago accompanied with the Thai regulators.... but there is nothing to give Tiger Motorcycles a decent restart.... every equipment unique is gone... So I have to think...

Edited January 29, 2015 by Richard-BKK

[Richard-BKK]

OMG Richard, a Laos factory under thai supervision, a real garantor for quality. Wasn't Tiger enough with "100% thai made"?

I rode one of those "Kolao" Wave copies all over Vientiane and Vang Vieng when I was up there... actually a pretty good little bike. Lao manufacturing might well be a step up from Tiger

Stallion is not sold in LAOS, and Stallion Motorcycles has no obvious links to any Chinese manufacturer... Sure they buy parts from Chines, but I can asure you that even Honda and Kwasaki buys some parts from China.

Edited January 29, 2015 by Richard-BKK

[wantan]

There was a thread about the Centaur not long ago. All people who had a closer look agreed that quality does not look best. I remember horrible frame weldings and very cheap looking parts for example. Maybe good for customization, but imo too expensive for what you get when buying new. Same as most chinese bikes and bikes assembled from chinese parts. Price tag too high when sold in Thailand.

[papa al]

I'm buying a Lifan 200.

Reliable, proven engine.

The motardy X-plore looks real nice @ <50K.

Maybe your friend could find happiness on a Lifan.

Edited January 30, 2015 by papa al

[ll2]

There is a guy in my soi who has one of these. Haven't ever had a chance to ask him about it, as I've only seen it parked, or seen the bike driving around.

I can't speak to quality but I like the look of it. I think there's a market here for affordable bikes with classic styling; it's too bad none of the Japanese manufacturers offer anything like this.

yeo, closest they offer is 280 k thb yamaha sr400!

evenif the remake one of the old 125ccs they make like old honda cb 125 or even cg 125, they sell a lot. but big manufacturers are never blind. sure they see the interest on this stallion centaur.

Honda and Yamaha used to make nice "classic" bikes in the 90' s The XBR 500 I owned was a sweet little bike but my favorite was the GB 500 with spoked wheels, Every now and then I see some GB 400's pop up in several classified sites here in Thailand, but I believe they are mostly " grey imports" with no green books.

GB 500.jpgXBR 500.jpgsrx6.jpg

even a cg125 is ok from 1990s:

or a cg125 from 80s:

and sure it is cheap to produce them due to the old tech.

[wantan]

I'm buying a Lifan 200.

Reliable, proven engine.

The motardy X-plore looks real nice @ <50K.

Maybe your friend could find happiness on a Lifan.

lifan x-cross.png

The OP:

> This fact took the wind out of my friend's sails completely, as he wanted the usual 1 down-4 up gear setup.

I agree, the Lifan Cross (X-Plore or whatever) is one of the exceptions with a reasonable price tag for a bike that could be really useful and reliable. But it has this stupid gear pattern iirr (5 up or 5 down or something like this). So not for the OP i guess.

[seedy]

Stallion is not sold in LAOS, and Stallion Motorcycles has no obvious links to any Chinese manufacturer... Sure they buy parts from Chines, but I can asure you that even Honda and Kwasaki buys some parts from China.

True. All manufacturers buy parts from China, including the big 3 Japanese makers, HD, Ducati ...

The list is a long one.

[Dutchbike]

There is a guy in my soi who has one of these. Haven't ever had a chance to ask him about it, as I've only seen it parked, or seen the bike driving around.

I can't speak to quality but I like the look of it. I think there's a market here for affordable bikes with classic styling; it's too bad none of the Japanese manufacturers offer anything like this.

yeo, closest they offer is 280 k thb yamaha sr400!

evenif the remake one of the old 125ccs they make like old honda cb 125 or even cg 125, they sell a lot. but big manufacturers are never blind. sure they see the interest on this stallion centaur.

Honda and Yamaha used to make nice "classic" bikes in the 90' s The XBR 500 I owned was a sweet little bike but my favorite was the GB 500 with spoked wheels, Every now and then I see some GB 400's pop up in several classified sites here in Thailand, but I believe they are mostly " grey imports" with no green books.

GB 500.jpgXBR 500.jpgsrx6.jpg

even a cg125 is ok from 1990s:

or a cg125 from 80s:

and sure it is cheap to produce them due to the old tech.

Heh..... I've seen that engine before That old Honda engine is the base of many Chines engines, like the Lifan's Cross 200

I like that little engine, good looks, reliable,( even the Chinese copies) easy to work on, and a nice sound.

[seedy]

Heh..... I've seen that engine before That old Honda engine is the base of many Chines engines, like the Lifan's Cross 200

moteur-lifan-200-dirt-bike.jpg

I like that little engine, good looks, reliable,( even the Chinese copies) easy to work on, and a nice sound.

The 200cc Platinum is a copy of the Honda 185cc

Honda parts even fit, like clutch, ignition, cams, etc. Not piston tho' - bore is bigger.

Learned this from a guy here in CNX.

[Bung]

Thinking of buying one for my son next year. Though worried about reliability issues. He wants a cafe racer style. Id like to get him and old cb 125/175 but they have crap brakes etc, not sure which is the best option.

[HLover]

Is there a stallion showroom in Bkk or Pattaya?

[Namplik]

Heh..... I've seen that engine before That old Honda engine is the base of many Chines engines, like the Lifan's Cross 200

moteur-lifan-200-dirt-bike.jpg

I like that little engine, good looks, reliable,( even the Chinese copies) easy to work on, and a nice sound.

The 200cc Platinum is a copy of the Honda 185cc

Honda parts even fit, like clutch, ignition, cams, etc. Not piston tho' - bore is bigger.

Learned this from a guy here in CNX.

Honda 185 cc? What kind of bike is that?

Via Tapatalk

[bramds]

Is there a stallion showroom in Bkk or Pattaya?

In BKK it is on Ramkamhaeng next to soi 79.

[jackcorbett]

Heh..... I've seen that engine before That old Honda engine is the base of many Chines engines, like the Lifan's Cross 200

moteur-lifan-200-dirt-bike.jpg

I like that little engine, good looks, reliable,( even the Chinese copies) easy to work on, and a nice sound.

The 200cc Platinum is a copy of the Honda 185cc

Honda parts even fit, like clutch, ignition, cams, etc. Not piston tho' - bore is bigger.

Learned this from a guy here in CNX.

Honda 185 cc? What kind of bike is that?

Via Tapatalk

I think he's referring to the Honda 185 XL. I had two of them when I was farming back in the United States. The 185 XL was an on/off the road bike that weighed around 240 pounds and had dirt bike style tires capable of doing okay on the highway. KIck start only, it had a horn, and lights so it could be licensed for the street. It was good for around 70 miles an hour top end although on a really good day mine saw 75 miles an hour a time or two. That's me by the way, a few years ago.