Curiousity got the better of the cat.

[SachsGS]

The western world has been flooded with a plethora of Chinese product and,being curious by nature,I had to see what it was all about.

In the first instance I was dumb enough to offer to re-engine a friend's two blown YZ 250fs.We installed Lifan 200 4Ts and the project turned out really well. The Lifans were well made and there is just something about riding an underpowered bike with stellar handling,brakes and suspension.

In the second adventure,I purchased a Chinese 4T 250 motocross.I got the bike for peanuts as it had electrical issues and the plan was to turn it into a trail building mule.You couldn't work on the bike because if you took something apart it would go "sproung" and it took three arms to force everything back into position to reattach the part. The suspension was so bad that when I arrived at the trail head I had to take a nap for 1/2 an hour to recover from the beating I took.I did,however,resell the contraption for twice what I bought it for.

In the third case,and by now I should have known better,I bought a Chinese chainsaw on sale at the local big box hardware store.I thought for $99 I was willing to take another chance (I'm a sucker for punishment).The saw displaced 35cc and it takes more effort to start it then my 100cc Dolmar.Saws are one thing you can't go cheap on.

The latest statistic I read is that Chinese manufacturers control 60% of the small bore entry level market here in North America.    

[MXLord327]

I don't have any first-hand experience with Chinese bikes, but I have heard if you need a part like a shock, piston, or clutch, you will wait 6-8 months for it.....

[factoryX]

Lifan apparently makes decent motors, and are a popular swap for atc70's.

[AFG]

 I have some experience with the Lifan brand (bought a z-50 copy). The little 50 worked great for puttin around the neighborhood. You could definately tell it wasn't a Honda though. If a kid was let loose on one, it probably wouldn't last a day.One of my friends on the other hand bought one of thse really small 4 wheelers for his kid. It was supposed to be a 50cc, found out later it was a 110cc motor( no gov. and waaaaay too fast for a 50). Most of the stuff I have seen didn't look like it was built very well, and neither did this 4 wheeler. However, 4 year later it's still running and gets the guts wrung out of it each time it gets started. He replaced all the tires due to wear and they cost almost 1/2 of the original price of the 4-wheeler.

Lifan apparently makes decent motors, and are a popular swap for atc70's.

[monsteryz125]

I traded an old beat xr 75 for a 2003 Jianshee 150, its got a very poor suspension, but surprisingly its got a very strong motor (for a trail bike) and decent brakes, it pulls my old crf 150f easily

[AFG]

Yeah the motors seem to make good power. It's only a matter of time before the rest of the bike gets better. I wish I could remember which magazine (Racer X, or Transworld maybe) I saw it in but a few years back someone hooked up with one of the Manufactures' and set up a proto-type mx bike to race. Looked pretty good but never worked very well. It was a very interesting article though. I'll try to find it if I can.

[factoryX]

Well the lifan takes abuse from 300lb fat guys out flat tracking on them..lol And the motors are almost an exact copy to Honda motors, there was a large lawsuit between Honda and Lifan because of it.

[SachsGS]

The head honcho behind Lifan was jailed by the Chinese communists for 20 odd years because of his ambitions.When they decided to embrace some elements of capitalism the party members set him free and told him to go to work.Now Lifan products such as motorcycles,automobiles and trucks are sold around the globe and the owner,now well into his 70s,shows no signs of slowing down.

[AFG]

It's kinda a shame the chinese have stopped importing any of the 2t scooters. Some of them did perform very well. TGB ( out of Taiwan) sold a pizza delivery scooter that was offered as a125cc 4t or a 5occ 2t. The 50cc 2t ran a touch over 40mph with me on it and it was bone stock. That companies 2t's ran very very well. I do think we will see more chinese and korean offroad bikes eventually, and of alot better quality. I just think it will take them time to understand what they need to do to be taken seriously in the offroad market. Their focus to date has been to go with quantity over quality, and focus on cheap transportation. If they do decide to go after the off-road market in earnest there will be alot of Lifan's, TGB's etc... on the starting lines. Remember, people laughed at Hyundai 20 years ago and look at them now. Some of the nicest cars around.

The head honcho behind Lifan was jailed by the Chinese communists for 20 odd years because of his ambitions.When they decided to embrace some elements of capitalism the party members set him free and told him to go to work.Now Lifan products such as motorcycles,automobiles and trucks are sold around the globe and the owner,now well into his 70s,shows no signs of slowing down.

[ford832]

The saw displaced 35cc and it takes more effort to start it then my 100cc Dolmar.Saws are one thing you can't go cheap on.

Sounds like you already did. Poor Sachs and his old German junk.Any true woodsman knows,if you head to the woods without a Jonsered,you aren't heading in with much 
Besides,we all know you just bought that because the used to be Sachs Dolmar 
Chinese products are getting better all the time.Though I haven't looked in too seriously,some of their quads are starting to look of reasonable quality,well equipped and with a good price point.Japan was where they are now for a short time-something to keep in mind.

[SachsGS]

I think the Chinese manufacturers are capable of building a very good product,it's just that if we keep demanding $99 chainsaws and $399 pit bikes that is what they will deliver.

Dolmar invented the chainsaw and they still build the best, kind of like Mercedes Benz.You should know that Ford.

[ford832]

I'll give you this much,the new Dolmars are supposed to be a good machine.I've looked at them but am currently happy with my jred having seen the light a few years back and got rid of my stihl.
Previously,most of the older sachs dolmars were pretty grim.I've got a few saws with just one being a sachs dolmar-and that's enough.
Way back when in what I like to think of as my "psychedelic years" ,I had three old Benz's.
Now that I know better,I'll stick with Yamaha,Toyota and Jonsered-primarily because I don't like to work on my own stuff unless I have to.If I did,I'd probably go the same route as you   

[SachsGS]

It must get fairly expensive having to hire someone to maintain your Yamaha,Toyota and Jonsered.

I've owned the Swedish saws but they remind me of Swedish Husky motorcycles - tough,simple but down on power compared to other bikes I have ridden.I own both older Sachs dolmars as well as newer Dolmars and the saws are definitely a class above the Jonsereds and Huskys (same company),more refined and more power - no comparison.

I was at a friend's place a while back,Errol had just moved into the area and bought an acreage.He asked me what kind of chainsaw he should buy and I explained to him why I run Dolmars.Just then his neighbour rode over on a quad and,knowing this guy was 85 years old and had run logging companies all his life,asked him for his opinion.The old guy pulled back the tarp on the front rack of his ATV to reveal a Dolmar."That is the saw you should buy".

An overwhelming favorite of guys who build "supersaws" for logging competitions is the same old 100cc Sachs Dolmar that I have,check youtube and you will see.

"Psychedelic years"? Now it's all making sense.....

[TMKIWI]

I got the old Husky 380S out yesterday.
The old girl runs like a dream.
Cut up a few trees until my wrist got too sore.
You can keep your new wang dang fancy plastic Jonsered ford.

Talking about Stilhs we had some top handle prunning saws on the orchard.
They were CARB compliant and had NO mixture screws.
You guessed it, The biggest pieces of shit I have had the pleasure of servicing.
The manager could not understand why they would only run properly around mid day when the sun was up.
 ( I priced new carby's which were half new saw price )
I finally managed to throw them in the bin and replaced them with Echo's.
Those little things used to run 6 hours a day for 2 months.
Replaced the clutch's each season and that was it.

[EJ]

I watched it on youtube indeed, those Dolmar's and 100cc's sound and perform quite nice.
In europe, most fire departments use Stihl stuff.
Next time when i see them cutting logs, i will tell them about your reccomendations.