2006 American Lifan reviews

I just recently bought this bike from an online dealer. It had to be assembled, including both wheels installed. This is at least a 2, maybe 3 person job, and does require some mechanical skills. I am a professional auto mechanic, and was able to assemble and set it up by myself, with the help of an engine crane. I only have 230 klms on it so far (the speedometer reads in MPH, the odometer reads in kph). I have found some cheesy parts on it, especially the plastics, but have had absolutely no problems with it at all so far. It runs fine, and does what it is supposed to do. I have the genuine American Lifan LF200GY-5 bike, with a rear drum brake, no anti-lock gadget on the front brake, and the OHV pushrod engine. A lot of places are selling copies of this bike, if you get one, be sure to get the real thing. I can't figure out what there is to complain about with this bike. I looked at a Suzuki DR200S, and it was a very nice bike, better fit and finish, and the materials had a better quality appearance to them, but the dealer wanted so much OTD for that bike. You could buy 3 Lifans for that, and have $$$$ left over. The Suzuki IS a better bike, but nowhere near 3 1/2 times better. Check out the LF200GY forum on Yahoo Groups. Apparently I am not the only one that's happy with my bike. Show less

I wasn't expecting much when I bought this bike on ebay. I received it and was very impressed. Now have 800 miles on my first bike ever with zero problems. Can't believe what a deal these are!! Has to be the best deal out there for a great starter bike and when I upgrade, it'll be perfect for the girlfriend to ride!!! Show less

I've had this bike a month now, and I must say as an experienced rider that it is an amazing deal. I just picked it up for cheap transportation not expecting much, and have been pleasantly surprised with this bike's performance. I'm a big dude, and this bike takes me 60-65 easily and still has more. I haven't had it maxed out yet, but I'm assuming that it could carry me at about 70-75 with no problem. The only complaint I have is the cheesy decals that came on it. I took them off right away. My wife had a ninja 250 and this thing way out performs it. Especially over 60. Her ninja sounded like a maxed out blender ready to blow. This cruises very quietly considering. These are a very good deal for anyone. It's fun and inexpensive. Show less

I have ridden all kinds of bikes. This one has got to be one of the best bang for the buck. I originally bought it for my wife and daughters to learn to ride. They haven't got around to it. So I ride it to work. I have checked the mileage several times. The most recent the trip odometer read 113.5 mi, I put 1.12 gal of gas in it. Yup 101.33 mi per gallon. When I bought the bike it was already assembled. As with any new bike I went end to end checking bolts and connections. Found a few loose bolts and electrical connections, mostly grounds. I am very happy with this bike. It's perfect for a daily rider. A bit small but it works. I'll try to keep this updated as the mileage racks up. Show less

I received my new 2006 Outlaw from my new wife as a wedding present (aren't you guys jealous) it should be a requirement. My wife and I have put over twenty five hundred miles on the bike in the few months we've owned it, what a blast. We live in Southern California and ride up and down the beautiful coast practically every weekend. The bike runs and looks flawless and we have never been able to ride anywhere without people asking about the bike and commenting the bikes beauty (also my wife's, she looks great riding on the back). The fun factor is off the charts, I recommend the American Ironhorse product line to any one that needs to put the excitement back into their lives. I can't thank my wife enough, Oh! And thank you American Ironhorse for building such a quality product. Show less

I was going to buy a used bike then I found this one. If you remember it's just a 200cc bike, you will be happy. Runs great and does what it should. Speedo cable broke but is being sent to me. Good packing and fast delivery. If you are looking for a cheap, good low power bike, this is it. Show less

Well, I've had my bike for almost 10 months now. I ride it every single day to scool and back which is about an 18-20 mile roundtrip. I take the bike trail riding close to where I live. I take it through mud, little water, sand, and all of that good stuff. So far the bike has held up pretty well. Minor issues I've had are: cheap stock tubes went flat, bolts coming loose and even breaking, (you have to locktight most everything on this bike), front sprocket cover broke off, speedo acts up every now and then, battery went dead, and the clutch cable broke (due to me not lubing it). This bike is definitely the type of bike for someone that can tool around with it. You have to be anal about checking it out all of the time. It is not for someone that just wants to ride it everyday and never give her a look and be aware of what's going on with the bike. Like I already said, I ride this thing EVERY SINGLE DAY, and it has been parked a couple of times for a week or so, waiting on parts (which I can get within less than a week). I say parts, but it was only for my clutch cable. Definitely well worth the amount that I paid for it. Yes, when I can afford it, I will probably upgrade to something bigger, and better (but I'll never let this bike go). Show less

The reason I bought this bike was essentially the price... However, it has exceeded my expectations... I have had no issues with the bike (minus a flat tire, and that has nothing to do with the bike obviously). I took the bike out in a foot and a half of snow and had a lot of fun, it worked very well. I also use it on the road quite a bit and have no problems keeping up with traffic or getting around. It will do about 110km/h. There is a little vibration I guess, but not really very much. It is very useful with the rear rack it comes with, I have used it to carry all sorts of things. I haven't checked the mileage yet, but I have only been back to the pumps once since I bought it (I have about 500km on it). It actually has quite a few features, it has a remote starter (which I think is a stupid idea), alarm, helmet lock, steering lock, gear indicator, and the usual nuetral light and such. I would recommend anyone looking into getting one of these bikes to do it! Show less

I have a 2006 Lifan LF 200. I have put on about 1400 miles and it is running great. I get compliments on the looks of the bike everywhere I go. Keep in mind it is not a Japanese motorcycle. There are a lot of liitle things you will have to tinker with on the bike. don't believe some sellers top speed rating. 80 or 90 mph is out of the question. Lifans website specs. top speed at 60 mph, and that is fairly accurate although slightly conservative. With stock gearing mine hits about 70 at REDLINE !!! These machines cannot maintain this speed for a lengthy period. They are really smooth at around 50 mph. A smaller sprocket on the rear would help, but I have yet to make this mod. And, by the way the speeds I list are real, the stock speedo, at least on mine is not accurate. I installed a bicycle speedo, which is calibrated by wheel size and very accurate. My strongest warning is make sure you buy the bike from a seller who will give you a real MCO or certificate of origin. Most states will not think very much of the Chinese Mco that comes in the box. With that one you will have a worthless machine. Overall you get what you pay for, if you expect an O.K. bike that looks good, will buzz around town and get incredible gas mileage, buy one. If you are not mechanically sharp and think you are buying a real gem for low bucks stay away. Show less

I bought the bike off ebay brand new in a crate for a great price. I wasn't expecting much but I was pleasantly surprised. After a couple of hours of assembly, which went fairly smooth, except the battery tray seemed too small but it finally fit. After checking all the bolts and gassing it up, it fired right up. My initial thought Ok it sounds like an ATV, maybe I can gut the muffler. Nope, it's welded completely together, ok I'll just have to live with it. Very skinny rear tire, smaller than most fronts, this will have to go if I keep it very long. It vibrates pretty bad especially in the higher rpms, I'll have to look into the rubber bushings like a previous review. Not really suited for freeway driving but I have had it up 85mph for a short burst, can hold 75mph fairly well, but it's close to redline at 8000rpms. It's very light maybe 300lbs, I can pick the back up easily. Makes for some squirly riding at high speeds, especially if it's windy. Seems to handle and ride well otherwise, a new rear tire would help a lot. Amazing fuel economy almost 200 miles on a half a tank. VERY VERY annoying beeping that goes on with the flashers, I disconnected that immediatly. Overall I am satisfied with it. It is what it is, an inexpensive bike for someone with little or no experience or some one who doesn't want to spend a lot of money but wants a new bike. Show less