Hello, New member here with buying questions...

DeliveryDude · 11-25-2020, 11:30 PM

I'd like to start off by saying hello to everyone and that i've been reading this forum for a little while and i love this community of china bike riders!! I am excited to be apart of the community and contribute to this forum! but i have a small dilemma with buying a bike.

I am a college student that does food deliveries on a scooter in my city for work. Ive been looking to upgrade to one of these bikes for delivering because these can get up to road speeds and are inexpensive. Well now my scooter has finally blown and now i need to get one of these bikes ASAP. My budget is $2000 and not a penny more.

I need a bike that's 90% street but I may take it off road for fun every couple months if im feeling it. So at first I wanted to get the tao tao TBR7 because at the time it was $1400 but it has recently increased since then. Then I found the Bashan Extreme CR250 AKA the DB-47-250 AKA the Apollo Sportsman 250 and I really wanted to purchase that because it is already built for street with forged wheels, better forks, better gague cluster, and nicer body style. Problem is every dealer is sold out of that model and it is a huge bummer.

(IF ANYBODY HAS A DB-47-250 THEY WOULD LIKE TO SELL OR KNOWS A DEALER WHO CAN SELL ME ONE PLEASE PRIVATE MESSAGE ME!!! FLORIDA LOCAL BUT I CAN TRAVEL TO GEORGIA AND MAYBE NEIGHBORING STATES FOR PICKUP)

So now that the hawk has increased to 1600 i started my search for more bikes and found the Bashan Storm 250 on shopapmc which is $100 more than the new TBR7 but seems to have the inverted forks and the bashan build quality.

tao tao tbr7 price link: https://www.txpowersports.com/Taotao...RoCvYgQAvD_BwE

bashan storm 250 price link: https://www.shopapmc.com/New-2020-Ba...TITY_p_96.html

So my questions are:
Is the storm a better build than the tbr7?

Would you guys recommend the storm over the tbr7 considering they are almost equal price now?
Is shopapmc a reliable dealer?
What dealers do forum veterans recommend?

Any other bikes would you recommend I look at?
Anyone know how to get me a DB-47-250???

If any of the information I have provided is false, please correct me because this is all going off the top of my head from searching countless threads on this forum.

ktbaja · 11-26-2020, 01:54 AM

Welcome to the forum. I just bought a TBR7 from TXPS about a month ago and I paid $1438 to my door and I upgraded to fast paperwork delivery(it came 3 days after the bike was delivered priority mail).
Also I used the coupon HAWKDLX2 ( yes I know that a Tbr7 is not a hawk dlx) at check out and it worked to knock off like $40 on my TBR7 purchase.
I too was torn between the Bashan storm and the TBR7 but after seeing the storm in person I did not feel like the USD forks were worth the extra money.

culcune · 11-26-2020, 01:55 AM

Roketa distributes the '47' bike; try calling them to see if they have any in stock. I am fairly certain they will not sell you one direct if they do, so make it clear you are looking for one of their dealers to purchase one at. On a side note, they also distribute the Storm 250, but those are generally available at numerous dealers.

https://www.roketa.com/product/produ...=0&proID=59914
https://www.roketa.com/product/produ...=0&proID=59662

I, personally, would first go with the '47' if you can find one, because I like 17/17 wheels. I liked that bike when it was first introduced and appreciated the mag wheels.

The Storm and the '47' are generally as good as other Bashans like the Brozz/Brozz Recon distributed by Peace Motorsports, or the BMS 250 CRP distributed by BMS Motorsports. Like the '47', I believe BMS's bike is sold out and currently not available, either. The thing about that bike over the other Bashans is it comes with 21/18 wheels which are easier to find than the other Bashans' 19/17 setups.

I would buy a Bashan over a TBR7; the Tao is a good bike, but it takes a little bit of work to get it as good as a stock Bashan from what I have gathered. Don't get me wrong, I think the Tao will be as good as a Bashan, but I would still consider a Bashan of any kind before the Tao, but that is just a personal opinion of mine, and because I am a bit lazy and would prefer a bike out of the box that runs decent vs. needing to do things to get it to run well.

I would probably stay away from Shopapmc, and TXPowersports. Have you looked at Powersportsmax.com? I would consider the Lifan X-Pect 200. It has a good build quality. But it has standard forks and a drum rear brake. Lifan has a good reputation, so don't let the fuel-injection scare you. https://www.powersportsmax.com/index.php/cPath/33_83

goJimH · 11-26-2020, 10:55 AM

There are many more knowledgeable on this forum than me. Culcune and many others have indicated the Lifan X-Pect to be "higher end" Chinese bike. As a newbie - I like the sounds of that - but I personally have no basis to confirm it.

For what it's worth - I am very happy with mine. I decided on the Lifan Xpect specifically because of the EFI. While I use non-ethanol gas - if I ever did have to use ethanol gas - EFI - handles it much better.

Some have indicated concerns regarding EFI - but I have not seen on this forum any indications of problems with the Xpect EFI systems.

If it helps - I live in Texas. I ordered mine from Powersportsmax which is based in California I believe. I placed my order on a Friday (10/30/2020) and it was available for delivery the following Wed. It shipped to me from Texas. The MCO paperwork came in the mail Fri.

Also - the advertised price was $1,949 - and that is exactly what I paid. No extra fees or charges.

Lastly, If you do consider the Xpect - I would suggest you change the front sprocket from 15 teeth to 17. I think that will better suite your street driving.

Best of luck in what ever you choose.

Avenal4242 · 11-26-2020, 09:39 PM

Hi Jim I'm in Houston and got my df250rtr from the same place. Did you have any problems with title/registration

Darrell

goJimH · 11-26-2020, 10:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Avenal4242

Hi Jim I'm in Houston and got my df250rtr from the same place. Did you have any problems with title/registration

Darrell

Darrell - None at all.
I received my MCO & Bill of Sale info on a Fri and Registered it Monday.
Steps in Tx
1. Get Insurance (need it to get it inspected) On the Insurance - I paid around $80 more to have $25,000 in medical coverage. Like life insurance - you never look forward to using it - but it is nice to have.
2. Get it inspected.
3. Fill out form U-130
4. Take MCO, Bill of Sale, Form U-130, proof of insurance & inspection certificate (alone with your checkbook or credit card) to local DMV. Note - the MSC will be treated as a title and you will surrender it to the DMV in the process. If you want a copy of the MCO - make it before you go.

When I rode my bike in for it's inspection (with no plates yet) - seeing it was brand new - the did not look at blinker or anything. Took insurance proof and wrote up the inspection.

I went early on a Monday morning and it did not take long at all. Walked out with plates in hand. Received my Tx Title in the mail this week.

Best of Luck.

DeliveryDude · 12-14-2020, 01:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ktbaja

Welcome to the forum. I just bought a TBR7 from TXPS about a month ago and I paid $1438 to my door and I upgraded to fast paperwork delivery(it came 3 days after the bike was delivered priority mail).
Also I used the coupon HAWKDLX2 ( yes I know that a Tbr7 is not a hawk dlx) at check out and it worked to knock off like $40 on my TBR7 purchase.
I too was torn between the Bashan storm and the TBR7 but after seeing the storm in person I did not feel like the USD forks were worth the extra money.

I ended up getting the tbr7 because of the option to have it in white (makes a difference when being seen on road). Thank you for giving me the code! saved me the lift gate fee which was nice! bought it on the 1st and it arrived on the 10th, i will make a post about in the enduro section sometime next week when i have the free time to build it! I'm beyond excited!!

culcune · 12-14-2020, 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeliveryDude

I ended up getting the tbr7 because of the option to have it in white (makes a difference when being seen on road). Thank you for giving me the code! saved me the lift gate fee which was nice! bought it on the 1st and it arrived on the 10th, i will make a post about in the enduro section sometime next week when i have the free time to build it! I'm beyond excited!!

Congrats! Since your budget is $2000, I think the TBR7 fits far lower than that, so you have some $ room for a food box

DeliveryDude · 12-14-2020, 04:05 PM

I thought the same thing and also extra cash for unexpected parts and maintenance. Thank you for the input and the warm welcome

I'm excited to be apart of this community!

Gimpster · 12-22-2020, 05:54 PM

FWIW, I wanted to get my hands on some "47" wheels for my Hawk. The rear is out there, but the front is unobtainium from the couple dealers I spoke with. Would love to just have a set for when I'm feeling all super-motoey on my 15hp Hawk :P

My only point there really being.... I'm not sure they have a great support/supply network.

So I think you ended up with the right bike in that respect.

petesuz · 01-09-2021, 01:04 PM

I think the 47 is a Hawk-like thing? or was that the 41H (enforcer) - maybe that's it, anyway - the Storm and Brozz have the counterbalanced engine - and actually the Brozz and the Storm are virtually identical - just badged by 2 diff importers. And the others like the Hawk and TBR7 don't.

culcune · 01-13-2021, 09:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by petesuz

I think the 47 is a Hawk-like thing? or was that the 41H (enforcer) - maybe that's it, anyway - the Storm and Brozz have the counterbalanced engine - and actually the Brozz and the Storm are virtually identical - just badged by 2 diff importers. And the others like the Hawk and TBR7 don't.

The 41H/Enforcer/Vitacci Raven are near-Hawk-like-bikes; the 47 was a fairly unique bike that resembled an adv-style bike and used 17/17 mag wheels and street tires--it also used the Bashan counter-balanced engine. It started to get a following, but I believe Roketa have not imported any for a couple years now. I am guessing they imported a container or two and let them sell out.

11-25-2020, 11:30 PM	#1
DeliveryDude Join Date: Nov 2020 Posts: 3	Hello, New member here with buying questions... I'd like to start off by saying hello to everyone and that i've been reading this forum for a little while and i love this community of china bike riders!! I am excited to be apart of the community and contribute to this forum! but i have a small dilemma with buying a bike. I am a college student that does food deliveries on a scooter in my city for work. Ive been looking to upgrade to one of these bikes for delivering because these can get up to road speeds and are inexpensive. Well now my scooter has finally blown and now i need to get one of these bikes ASAP. My budget is $2000 and not a penny more. I need a bike that's 90% street but I may take it off road for fun every couple months if im feeling it. So at first I wanted to get the tao tao TBR7 because at the time it was $1400 but it has recently increased since then. Then I found the Bashan Extreme CR250 AKA the DB-47-250 AKA the Apollo Sportsman 250 and I really wanted to purchase that because it is already built for street with forged wheels, better forks, better gague cluster, and nicer body style. Problem is every dealer is sold out of that model and it is a huge bummer. (IF ANYBODY HAS A DB-47-250 THEY WOULD LIKE TO SELL OR KNOWS A DEALER WHO CAN SELL ME ONE PLEASE PRIVATE MESSAGE ME!!! FLORIDA LOCAL BUT I CAN TRAVEL TO GEORGIA AND MAYBE NEIGHBORING STATES FOR PICKUP) So now that the hawk has increased to 1600 i started my search for more bikes and found the Bashan Storm 250 on shopapmc which is $100 more than the new TBR7 but seems to have the inverted forks and the bashan build quality. tao tao tbr7 price link: https://www.txpowersports.com/Taotao...RoCvYgQAvD_BwE bashan storm 250 price link: https://www.shopapmc.com/New-2020-Ba...TITY_p_96.html So my questions are: Is the storm a better build than the tbr7? Would you guys recommend the storm over the tbr7 considering they are almost equal price now? Is shopapmc a reliable dealer? What dealers do forum veterans recommend? Any other bikes would you recommend I look at? Anyone know how to get me a DB-47-250??? If any of the information I have provided is false, please correct me because this is all going off the top of my head from searching countless threads on this forum.
	1

11-26-2020, 01:55 AM	#3
culcune Join Date: May 2006 Location: Yuma, Arizona Posts: 9,035	Roketa distributes the '47' bike; try calling them to see if they have any in stock. I am fairly certain they will not sell you one direct if they do, so make it clear you are looking for one of their dealers to purchase one at. On a side note, they also distribute the Storm 250, but those are generally available at numerous dealers. https://www.roketa.com/product/produ...=0&proID=59914 https://www.roketa.com/product/produ...=0&proID=59662 I, personally, would first go with the '47' if you can find one, because I like 17/17 wheels. I liked that bike when it was first introduced and appreciated the mag wheels. The Storm and the '47' are generally as good as other Bashans like the Brozz/Brozz Recon distributed by Peace Motorsports, or the BMS 250 CRP distributed by BMS Motorsports. Like the '47', I believe BMS's bike is sold out and currently not available, either. The thing about that bike over the other Bashans is it comes with 21/18 wheels which are easier to find than the other Bashans' 19/17 setups. I would buy a Bashan over a TBR7; the Tao is a good bike, but it takes a little bit of work to get it as good as a stock Bashan from what I have gathered. Don't get me wrong, I think the Tao will be as good as a Bashan, but I would still consider a Bashan of any kind before the Tao, but that is just a personal opinion of mine, and because I am a bit lazy and would prefer a bike out of the box that runs decent vs. needing to do things to get it to run well. I would probably stay away from Shopapmc, and TXPowersports. Have you looked at Powersportsmax.com? I would consider the Lifan X-Pect 200. It has a good build quality. But it has standard forks and a drum rear brake. Lifan has a good reputation, so don't let the fuel-injection scare you. https://www.powersportsmax.com/index.php/cPath/33_83 __________________ "They say that life's a carousel, spinning fast you got to ride it well..." TGB Delivery Scooter 150 TMEC 200 Enduro--carcass is sadly rotting in the backyard
	2

12-22-2020, 05:54 PM	#10
Gimpster Join Date: Dec 2020 Location: Palm Bay, FL Posts: 29	FWIW, I wanted to get my hands on some "47" wheels for my Hawk. The rear is out there, but the front is unobtainium from the couple dealers I spoke with. Would love to just have a set for when I'm feeling all super-motoey on my 15hp Hawk :P My only point there really being.... I'm not sure they have a great support/supply network. So I think you ended up with the right bike in that respect. __________________ 2020 RPS Hawk DLX My Hawk DLX info page: https://www.ecimulti.org/hawk250
	1

11-26-2020, 01:54 AM	#2
ktbaja Join Date: Oct 2020 Posts: 23	Welcome to the forum. I just bought a TBR7 from TXPS about a month ago and I paid $1438 to my door and I upgraded to fast paperwork delivery(it came 3 days after the bike was delivered priority mail). Also I used the coupon HAWKDLX2 ( yes I know that a Tbr7 is not a hawk dlx) at check out and it worked to knock off like $40 on my TBR7 purchase. I too was torn between the Bashan storm and the TBR7 but after seeing the storm in person I did not feel like the USD forks were worth the extra money.
	1

11-26-2020, 10:55 AM	#4
goJimH Join Date: Nov 2020 Location: Central Texas Posts: 70	There are many more knowledgeable on this forum than me. Culcune and many others have indicated the Lifan X-Pect to be "higher end" Chinese bike. As a newbie - I like the sounds of that - but I personally have no basis to confirm it. For what it's worth - I am very happy with mine. I decided on the Lifan Xpect specifically because of the EFI. While I use non-ethanol gas - if I ever did have to use ethanol gas - EFI - handles it much better. Some have indicated concerns regarding EFI - but I have not seen on this forum any indications of problems with the Xpect EFI systems. If it helps - I live in Texas. I ordered mine from Powersportsmax which is based in California I believe. I placed my order on a Friday (10/30/2020) and it was available for delivery the following Wed. It shipped to me from Texas. The MCO paperwork came in the mail Fri. Also - the advertised price was $1,949 - and that is exactly what I paid. No extra fees or charges. Lastly, If you do consider the Xpect - I would suggest you change the front sprocket from 15 teeth to 17. I think that will better suite your street driving. Best of luck in what ever you choose.
	3

11-26-2020, 09:39 PM	#5
Avenal4242 Join Date: Nov 2020 Location: Texas Posts: 31	Hi Jim I'm in Houston and got my df250rtr from the same place. Did you have any problems with title/registration Darrell
	0

12-14-2020, 04:05 PM	#9
DeliveryDude Join Date: Nov 2020 Posts: 3	I thought the same thing and also extra cash for unexpected parts and maintenance. Thank you for the input and the warm welcome I'm excited to be apart of this community!
	2

01-09-2021, 01:04 PM	#11
petesuz Join Date: Jan 2021 Location: Tucson, AZ Posts: 10	I think the 47 is a Hawk-like thing? or was that the 41H (enforcer) - maybe that's it, anyway - the Storm and Brozz have the counterbalanced engine - and actually the Brozz and the Storm are virtually identical - just badged by 2 diff importers. And the others like the Hawk and TBR7 don't.
	0