Finally found you all again

[Jimmy]

Hello all... I ran into this forum once and lost it.. took weeks to find it again... I am just about ready to make the leap.. Seeing that there is this cool group that bands together in support of this new environment of riding is very thrilling for me... About decided on a Lifan LF200GY-5.. Here's your'all's chance to tell me I missed the boat on something and I should consider a BAJA, of Redcat, or Kazuma... I truly don't know one from another, but Lifan seems to have some longevity..... Let me have ie...:-)

[culcune]

Welcome, back. All the brands seem to have alot in common...actually, almost everything in common! Lifan and Zongshen seem to be the top of the heap of manufacturers as I had read that Zongshen manufactures 9 U.S. brands, and Lifan, probably the rest. Both seem to manufacture the very common 200cc engine, the 163 FML. Or maybe one manufactures it and the other uses it? Who knows!?

It has been said numerous times--try to find an authorized dealer (IMO, one who doesn't charge over twice the cost of a mail-order bike). Bruce from EJCycles of Ohio and Tom from RPM in Mississippi (both are linked in the "dealers" section) seem to have their business and knowledge together, but don't mail order complete bikes so you have to live close enough to truly appreciate them. However, if you can't find a bike (a not too uncommon situation) nearby, or at a reasonable price (another not too uncommon situation) and mail-order, accepting that something will be damaged during shipping, you can mail-order parts from both of the fore-mentioned dealers. However, they can't help you with any warranty issue as a mail-ordered bike is not an authorized American Lifan product, so you have to deal with the seller.

Also, make sure you know mechanics very well if you are mail-ordering, and these forums are great for advice because usually someone has already been through whatever issue you are going through now.

Again...welcome

[ejcycles]

Hey Jimmy
Welcome to the group! The American Lifans that I sell are very good bikes. They have a 6 month/3000 mile warranty. The thing is you can't purchase from American Lifan directly, you need to purchase from a Dealer to receive this warranty, and the bike needs to be set-up & prepped by the Dealer.
The Gray Area Lifans are sold on-line by other Importers/Dealers and they impose any warranty that they want. The other bikes sold are only covered by the seller and you need to watch the MCO issues for registration. You are welcome to call me as I can explain this better on the phone.
Thanks, Bruce

[Jimmy]

Thanks for the response. Living in Seattle WA. I doubt I will find a dealer nearby and will probably have to purchase on-line.. I'm not a mechanical idiot so as long as there are instructions or it looks reasonably intuitive, I shouild be able to handle it... I will give you a call though, Bruce, sounds like you have a lot of experience and I'm all about getting the benefit of all I can... Again thanks and see you inside...jimmy

[frostbite]

I'm not a mechanical idiot so as long as there are instructions or it looks reasonably intuitive, I shouild be able to handle it.

Let's hope for 'reasonably intuitive'.

From the discussion I've seen around here the instructions included with the bikes are a wee bit sparse on details.