Lifan xPect No Mods, No Major Maintenance Experiment Thread
 

Looking down at the odometer, I felt it’s probably time to create an actual thread on this I will update every thousand miles.

I bought my Lifan Xpect thinking I’d be lucky to get a season of riding out of it before it fell apart.

Little did I know it would be an incredibly reliable bike.

So, I’m curious just how far an Xpect can go without any real problems, straight from the factory without ANY modifications. I have stock tires and tubes, stock chain and sprockets. Stock everything. I ride about 50/50 dirt and tar I guess.

I will update this thread at every thousand miles to report, or in the case of a breakdown (not including tires/tubes), I’ll make a special update. I’ll mention tires and tubes when they happen.

Note: I did some damage to the bike myself here and there which can all be found on this forum and can’t be attributed to Lifan’s quality.

Side thought. I think I know how to say Lifan. I think since it’s Chinese, it should probably be said like “Lee Fon”. Maybe the name of the guy that started the company??


Here we go!

1000 miles - all is well

2000 miles - electrical problem. The main red positive power wire rubbed against something in the triple tree/headlight area. It kept shorting out and it stranded me a couple times.

Fixed with some electrical conduit and electrical tape.

This might be interpreted as a breakdown that ends the streak, but I’m going to continue the posting to look out for any other major mechanical malfunctions in case anyone wants to follow along.

I would not consider rubbing wires as a break down. That's just a short

Shorts aren't supposed to be a common thing. It's just something we're used to here and because these bikes are so inexpensive we tolerate it.

Agreed.. i had the left rear signal wires get yanked out after riding my son on the back and hitting a whoop. And with those rear signals once the wires are sucked out from the stalk, your pretty much hosed.. luckily the vendor sent me a replacement.. happy times!

Useful heads-up. The wiring bundle on the Storm was loose and bounces around in the bumps. I hadn't really thought about it, but this is a recipe for chafing the insulation! I did tape it up after maybe 25 miles, and now it still bounces around, but it is noisier because it is a thicker solid bundle! I have to replace the right turn signal (have OEM replacement), and while I am in there I will inspect it for any chafing, and further insulate and stabilize the wiring.

I think I have about 300 miles on it now (shows ~ 400 "~km"). I need to pace a vehicle (my son) with a decent speedometer and see how far off the speedomoeter is, and drive a couple of measured miles and see what the odometer reads. I haven't believed either one since the first test drive!

My Storm is 14% off on the mph of the speedo, but the odometer reads pretty close in KM, reads less than 5% low.

YOu should have bought a TBR7

Me?

I ask not suggesting that anything wrong is supposed to happen. Electrical wires get weak quick and the bike still functions so long as it's not actively shorting out. A quick e tape job like he did made it good. Not really trying to argue haha I just can't consider a short as a break down.

If it were a new car you would be having a crap fit and calling it a breakdown, demanding recalls and full warranty replacement.

In fact, you would be doing that with a Jap bike!

We put up with this nonsense because they are cheap and no other reason. They use the cheapest wire money can buy and the insulation chips and falls off within a year, and/or 500 miles whichever comes first.

For the record, as can be seen in the threads I started on the topic, I definitely had a crap fit about this.

I consider it a breakdown. But just in case other people don’t, or they are willing to overlook it, I’m going to keep going with this project.

I view poor wiring as a defect.

I took a look at a 2021 version of this bike, and they fixed the wiring problem that happened to mine. In the 2021 model, they carry the conduit all the way up into the headlight area. The wiring is done properly.

I own a 2021 Lifan X-pect that has yet to even be started, and I intend to do basically the same thing. I will probably put a better shifter on it and probably remove the plastic air guides, but nothing significantly beyond that. Change the oil, keep the chain tight, air in the tires, etc.

If mine started dying when I turn sharply, hell yeah that's a breakdown. If the engine stops of its own accord, short of being out of gas or me stalling it, then something broke that shouldn't and that's a problem!

I haven't checked if mine has the wiring fix. I'd check now but the garage is cold and I don't wanna.

Hey Krat, I have had my Lifan for near 2 years now have about 1400 miles on it completely trouble free and guess what no insulation falling off of my wiring or any problem with the wiring as yet.

I hope you take a close look at the trouble spot. You’re right at the mileage where mine crapped out.

It’s a very simple preventative fix.

My son did (a new 2021 white TBR7), and we are waiting for it. So I will have the opportunity to see just how different they are in terms of durability and dependability. It is one of each, so hardly a statistical analysis LOL :lmao:

Cheap, cheap, cheap, cheap, cheap....did you say CHEEEEEEEAP! I love it so! CG strong, ride hard!:clap:

Boatguy, remember I told you where to look for your problem, At this time I only have a little scuffing of the insulating tape around the harness. I also only ride surfaced back roads as there are no trails in my neck of the woods and this might explain why my harness has not suffered as has yours.

For what it's worth, electrical issues are probably the one constant on all Chinese bikes. Not really in terms of cheap quality (though that can be the case) but in cheap and lazy execution. I probably spent more time redoing my wiring on my Hawk, both in terms of conduit, tape, wire ties, etc. to prevent vibration, corrosion, and abrasion issues. While the cheaper bikes may have a bit more to work through in this regard, the issue described in this post, and similar, is something I have seen from owners of almost every brand of these bikes. Even the venerable TT250, probably the most well put together of them. Simply just a case of getting what you pay for, and being willing to be your own quality control person for your machine.

Well said Megadan! I used the word cheap, but really it means inexpensive. Don't loose sight of the fact the "value you are getting for your money" but it doesn't come without work and yes "some break downs". I ride my HAWK down the backroad, I sometimes wonder, "Would it really feel thousands of dollars better with a Honda CRF 250? Cheap!

Gotcha. I didn’t remember.

But a little scuffing is a lot. There was ONE layer of electrical tape between my main positive trunk line at that rub point. Any degradation is serious there. It’s a metal connector that’s not well protected, not wires.

The only time I have this thought is when I’m on tar. Ha ha.

As I’m doing 55mph with cars piling up behind me, I wonder... is that extra gear worth the extra cash for a CRF300L?

How much faster do you want to go and how much are you willing to pay is the question. The Lifan 250 be here soon.

You’re right. That 250 ticks all the boxes. I would love that extra gear even on my 200. Just to keep up with traffic.

Even with a 6th gear these wimpy 250s will always feel underpowered on a highway. Best to have it as a secondary bike for putting around up to 55mph roads (where most go 65 or so anyway) and offroad plus one as a primary road bike

Never forget my buddy took his truck to a speed shop down in alabama, when he got the invoice from em, thier shop slogan was "speed costs money, how fast ya wanna go" LOL

That would be another way of saying "How much money you got?" LOL Translating that slogan to a dual sport I am thinking about another $5000 on top of the $2000 for a Chinese bike should be enough money to get the speed to keep up with the cars.

^^^^^^ This.

It is possible to run the Hawks on highways. Living where I do, it's not much of a choice if I want to get anywhere outside of town. You either just accept it, stay as far right as possible and let cars by, or ride something more capable.

The 6th gear desire for most of us isn't about extra speed either. It's so we can have a bigger rear sprocket for better torque off road and also still be able to go on said highways without having the engine bouncing the redline at 55mph.

Even the higher end Japanese 250's and 300cc enduro bikes aren't as fast as you might think. Yes, they can achieve higher top speeds thanks to their extra 10hp, but they still aren't going to blow your mind with their speed or top end acceleration. If you really want a truly highway capable bike, you need at least a 400cc engine (in my opinion) to have any real highway capability.

I’m glad you’re back here! You were very helpful with all my n00b questions getting this bike.

But yes, this is exactly it.

I just want to get off redline near top speed.

But also, I weigh nothing so my little Xpect could easily do 65 with me on it. That’s all I ask. Just 10mpg more so people don’t get too upset with me. I think another gear would help a lot with that.

CSC should take that NC450 with six speed and put it in a dual sport around 300 lbs with a price at $5000 I think would be worth a hard look.

I never really left, just don't have much to add and busy making life happen. I just peak in from time to time and browse about. I only comment when I feel I have something to add that hasn't already been said.

Hey guys, I only weigh a buck fifty and I've realized that we are dealing with physics, 14hp can only push against the wind so much. Meaning, the bike is only going to go so fast until the wind resistance/wieght etc. limit it to a finite number. Until then, it's a heck of a lot of fun. 2500 miles on my 2020 Xpect and I have my own electrical issues, however I do love the bike.

I weigh about the same and I run out of RPMs before I hit top speed. You run out of power before you hit scary RPMs?

The bikes with the water-cooled, 6 speed, Zongshen NC250/300 are able to hit 80 and can cruise at 65 mph for as long as your butt & hands can endure the vibes. The obvious problem is that they aren't available on a cheap bike. I don't think they're offered in a bike with an MSRP under $5,000.

I lucked up and picked up a Kayo K6 when Pitster Pro was liquidating their rebranded version for $3,000. That was a great deal & I'm glad that I was able to pick one up. But, $5,000 is just too much for these bikes. If a brand could offer a bike with the NC250/300 engine for $4,000ish it would make the decision to buy one much easier.

For some reason, the Chinese makers have created a big price gap between $2.5K to $5K, that we're struggling with here. Maybe they'll figure out how to produce a $3,000 bike that offers the performance levels we'd like to see. It seems like they need to use a 300cc air-cooled engine with a 6-speed.

The other issue with the NC250/300 powered bikes is that they are often only offered in more dedicated off road machines with smaller tanks and even worse seats.

I think what a lot of people here with Hawks/TBR7s/Brozz style machines would like to have is a bike with a full frame, big seat, and bigger traditional fuel tank like said bikes, but with that type of motor. Basically more of a street oriented style of dual sport (but not an ADV bike). Toss in some Fast Ace suspension with a bit more travel as well to make me happy.

As you said, the real catch is price. Even if somebody built a bike as I just described, it would probably clock in at 4k or more. Once you start getting into those price ranges and you can find good used Japanese bikes.

The California Scooter Company (CSC) has a distributor here with an 2021 SR300 on sale for $4211. This is the last day of the sale. I have been sorely tempted. The only thing holding me back is, well, most of you already know!
It is $3500 for the street legal XF250X. They still have stock on both models, but the SR300 is what makes me sweat.

Does it have the new DOHC head? If you need a nudge, that would do it for me. :tup:

Not trying to be 'that guy' but rather so anyone interested wouldn't get confused and get lost looking for one on CSC's website, you meant SSR, I believe :tup:

http://www.ssrmotorsports.com/store/dirtbike/sr300s.php

Beautiful bike, and Asiawing has been around a long time producing these bikes with near-ish brand-name quality.

3000 miles. All is well.

Stock chain is S-T-R-E-T-C-H-I-N-G out though. May be time for a new one soon. Stock tires are getting noticeable tread wear in the middle. Especially the rear.

I’m actually at 3500 miles but forgot to update. Will update at 4000.