Roketa Vs. Lifan

[willshoemaker]

So awhile back I had been Looking at Chinese made Dirt Bikes. Now that I am 2 years away from legally driving on the road, I am thinking into it a little more. I have been looking at the Roketa GY200 with and without Inverted forks, and also the Lifan 200cc from www.evosales.com . I know the "best" is a matter of opinion, but if possible, could you post what experiences you have had with any of these bikes?




Thanks,
Will 8)

[willshoemaker]

No one has any of these bikes?

[Akonababe]

Lots of people have these bikes on this forum, just read all the old posts and you will find all about them all!!!

[willshoemaker]

Sorry, I was just trying to compare and contrast the two.

[ejcycles]

Hi willshoemaker

For the money find an American Lifan Dealer that is reputable. There is a difference between American Lifan & The Grey Market Lifans. The guys here that own Grey market Lifans have less things that break than some of the guys that own Roketa's. I sell more parts to the Roketa owners than almost any others. No Pun Intended guys, I'm just looking at the facts of what breaks on the bikes and what doesn't.

Bruce

[hunter]

So awhile back I had been Looking at Chinese made Dirt Bikes. Now that I am 2 years away from legally driving on the road, I am thinking into it a little more. I have been looking at the Roketa GY200 with and without Inverted forks, and also the Lifan 200cc from www.evosales.com . I know the "best" is a matter of opinion, but if possible, could you post what experiences you have had with any of these bikes?
If you are a couple of years away from legally driving i would start in a car.Most new drivers are inexperienced and usually get in some kind of accident.That would not be good on a bike!



Thanks,
Will 8)

[willshoemaker]

Well I have the most experience with bikes. I can drive a truck very well also. I just don't want to save up for a long time to get a car or truck. The added bonus of a bike is that the 200cc's probably only uses a gallon for 80 miles.


Sorry for being annoying,
Will


P.S. I am not undermining you hunter, I just don't want a 4 wheeled vehicle. :wink:

[Jim]

well I would suggest riding school for any new riders (on the road)... anyways thats off topic...

I dont have a roketa to compare with but my lifan has been pretty good to me.

[TeamCheap]

I have two bikes from EVOsales and while they work they are far from perfect but it is the same old thing you've already read (fit and finish is not as good as mainstream bikes)

I havent seen any other chinese bikes up close as I have seen these two so I really cant comment on any others but lets just say that there is still a lot of refinements needed to the two I have.

If I were to do it over again I'd probally not buy from EVOsales but try to purchase from a local dealer and before buying give it a very very close looking over.

Or just buy a decent used jap bike which could end up being a nightmare and/or time consuming looking for the good deal but there are some good used ones around.

[willshoemaker]

Did you buy your from a internet store or a dealer by you? I have no dealers by me :?


Later,
Will

[TeamCheap]

bought mine from EVOsales internet store.

If you dont buy one thru an "american lifan" dealer you will have a more difficult time getting parts but more parts are out there now.

Buy one thru a large established dealership network or you will be pulling your hair out. :lol:

EVO is NOT part of american lifan's dealer network but then the couple of dealers american lifan pointed me to were not even there "shaky" I think bruce(ejcycles) is the only real lifan dealer that I know of.

since you have some time before you get your license you can just keep an eye out for the bikes and maybe a dealer will open up near you in the mean time.

To be honest after watching my wife ride heres in the sand I wished I had just gotten her a yamaha TW200.She might have done much better on that.

[willshoemaker]

Well hopefully this summer i can work with my brother laying carpet. Maybe if i save a reasonable amount I could afford a Lifan. As for the dealer thing, HAHA! I live in the middle of nowhere.


Thanks again,
Will

[FreightTrain]

Well hopefully this summer i can work with my brother laying carpet. Maybe if i save a reasonable amount I could afford a Lifan. As for the dealer thing, HAHA! I live in the middle of nowhere.


Thanks again,
Will

Hi Will,
Where is Belle Vernon?? Im out in the boonies in Bradford County and we have an American Lifan Dealer near me in Wysox Pa which is near Towanda, the county seat... Nice guys, its where I got my Lifan gy5

heres his website http://www.beersautoatvcycle.com/

FreightTrain

[willshoemaker]

Thanks freight. But I'm about 40 miles form Pittsburgh. Is there a A.Lifan dealer over the internet?

[Jim]

There is one lisenced one on ebay, but I think it was said it will cost more?

[willshoemaker]

I can't find he LIFAN dealer...

[willshoemaker]

I can't seem to find decent reviews on the Roketa's or lifan DS bikes :? . What is wrong with buying them voer the internet? I truly am sorry for all of these questions, I nkow how tough it can eb to answer a repeated question.



I appreciate it,
Will

[culcune]

Think of the Lifan as one of the two "top of the heaps" when it comes to Chinese bikes. Zongshen is the true top if you really want to get down to the nitty gritty, but their enduro costs much more, everything being relative. Lifan is in 2nd place, but far outsells Zongshen in the US. They are two known manufacturers for Chinese bikes. Any other brands are difficult to determine if they do, in fact, manufacture the bikes themselves, or rebadge Lifans or Zongshens.

Zongshen is/was known to manufacture for 9 "brands" in the US. It is a good guess that Roketas are one of the US "brands." However, the enduros that are manufactured for Roketa are the more common, lower quality, bikes. (If you want an example of the higher quality enduros, see the Zongshen Sierra 200 or the Qlink Ranger 200).

Lifans come in two "flavors;" American Lifan and grey-market Lifan. The grey market Lifans are the better deal up front, but their parts can be difficult to come by later. Why? American Lifan won't let its official dealers buy parts without a serial number; if the bike needing the part is not American Lifan, then they won't ship the parts.

Look at EJCycles' site and RPM's site for ballpark prices that an American Lifan dealer should charge. The dealer is a far better route to go for the Lifan; come to think of it, for the Roketa, too.

If you don't have a dealer nearby when it comes time to purchase, you can be adventurous and take the Greyhound and ride the bike back. One of the members here 'jet-Tech' (don't quote me on the name) wrote about a 1400 mile ride from Louisiana to Florida on his Lifan LF200GY-5.

Which brings me to why I would lean to the Lifan GY-5; the stock gearing allows a 70 mph + top speed and 65 mph cruising. The Roketa is (usually) stock geared to hit 50 mph--although a couple members reported theirs as coming with the same gearing as the Lifans, although those might have been more of a fluke rather than common practice, and come from a special container load. The Lifans are also certified to be street legal and registerable in 49 states, while, if I am not mistaken, the Roketas are not. Roketa might be street legal now, and many states, such as Arizona will register them anyway, but if you don't live in such a state, you will find yourself out of luck. Speak to Bruce at EJcycles and Tom at RPM (link from the 'Home' page here) as they are both authorized American Lifan dealers and can fill you in on features that I missed.

[Jim]

I think zhongshcen(sp?) doesn't have near as many dealers does it? Is it even in Canada?

If I didn't have to worry about getting it shipped through the us/canada border I may have been inclined to look at the grey market lifans... They seem to be quite a savings. Probably not as much support warranty wise. then again, my bike is past it's six months and hasn't needed anything.


I believe this is the authorized american lifan dealer on ebay, but I see no gy's on there right now

http://stores.ebay.com/onestopmcshop

[fatboy250]

I would be interested to know the real difference in build quality for both. Since we've had our Roketa's (10/06), Dad and I have only had the issue with a few spokes on mine (probably due to my bwt 265lbs). The clutch spring replacement could be the only negative mark for the Roketas, since it seems almost necessary for all of them. Even though, I'm sure Dad and I could have continued to ride ours without upgrading the springs. However, I've wondered if the HP is the same for the push rod engines in the Lifans, as this may be partly to blame for the clutch slipping issue with the OHC engines found on the Roketas. The battery cage was also noted on ours and other china bikes. For the money I would make the same choice again, since we have a combined 10,400 miles between us. His around 4000 miles and mine around 6400 miles.

I sell more parts to the Roketa owners than almost any others. No Pun Intended guys, I'm just looking at the facts of what breaks on the bikes and what doesn't.
Bruce
Bruce, I'm curious what are the most replaced parts for the Roketa owners that would not be common to all china made bikes? I know you've helped me with the spokes, but they are Lifan/Roketa spokes. I can't say with any certainty that if I had been riding a Lifan that the same thing wouldn't have happened. Is it more due to the lack of quaility dealers like yourself?

Jason

[pumpkin]

will,

there is an American Lifan dealer in wheeling wv not sure how far away that is from you. i got mine there i'd give them a b-/c+ rating. after a few early minor bugs that they fixed under warrinty it's a great bike (gy-5).