11-05-2018, 01:51 AM
I had a Monkey-like experience once, and if this bike is anything like the one I am going to describe, it will be a huge amount of fun, and of more practical use than you might expect.
About twenty years ago I had a client who owned a moped dealership. One day while visiting his shop, I spotted an odd motorbike he had just gotten in that looked exactly like a bright red and chrome Honda CG125, complete with a chrome rear carrier. It was a "one of" from a Chinese company named Jainshe. My client said he wasn't going to get anymore of them, and didn't know what to do with this one. I solved that problem by buying it on the spot for $600.
It was a 50cc two stroke kick start, with a two-speed manual transmission. The 1st gear was so low you could ascend any slope with any weight; you could probably pull stumps out of the ground with it. 2nd gear got it up to 35 mph -- 40mph after I drilled some holes in the muffler. The tank only held about 1.5 gallons, but it got close to 100 mpg, and there was a cleverly hidden compartment to store a bottle of oil to mix with the fuel. The bike was light enough that with a little effort, I could pick it up and put it in the back of my Jeep.
Over the next two years I ran that Jainshe into the ground. I even used it for my daily commute when the weather allowed. I called it my Ant-Bike. It led me down alleys and by loading docks, across vacant lots, construction sites, dirt paths, concrete water channels, and through backstreets to wherever I had to go to avoid high speed traffic. That alone was fun. If the backend began to slide out, you could always put out your foot. I even took it to the mountains once. It was at home on pavement or a dirt trail.
Eventually, things began to break, and no direct replacement parts were available. So, I put the Jainshe in a storage bin and it's still there now. I think one of my retirement projects will be to rebuild that bike. Now, with a flood of Chinese engines and parts to choose from, the possibilities are many.
About twenty years ago I had a client who owned a moped dealership. One day while visiting his shop, I spotted an odd motorbike he had just gotten in that looked exactly like a bright red and chrome Honda CG125, complete with a chrome rear carrier. It was a "one of" from a Chinese company named Jainshe. My client said he wasn't going to get anymore of them, and didn't know what to do with this one. I solved that problem by buying it on the spot for $600.
It was a 50cc two stroke kick start, with a two-speed manual transmission. The 1st gear was so low you could ascend any slope with any weight; you could probably pull stumps out of the ground with it. 2nd gear got it up to 35 mph -- 40mph after I drilled some holes in the muffler. The tank only held about 1.5 gallons, but it got close to 100 mpg, and there was a cleverly hidden compartment to store a bottle of oil to mix with the fuel. The bike was light enough that with a little effort, I could pick it up and put it in the back of my Jeep.
Over the next two years I ran that Jainshe into the ground. I even used it for my daily commute when the weather allowed. I called it my Ant-Bike. It led me down alleys and by loading docks, across vacant lots, construction sites, dirt paths, concrete water channels, and through backstreets to wherever I had to go to avoid high speed traffic. That alone was fun. If the backend began to slide out, you could always put out your foot. I even took it to the mountains once. It was at home on pavement or a dirt trail.
Eventually, things began to break, and no direct replacement parts were available. So, I put the Jainshe in a storage bin and it's still there now. I think one of my retirement projects will be to rebuild that bike. Now, with a flood of Chinese engines and parts to choose from, the possibilities are many.