Starting from the spring of 2022, new deliveries of bikes from Japan, European countries and the USA to Russia are practically impossible due to the sanctions imposed against our country. The bans affected:
Any U.S. made bike with an engine capacity greater than 50cc. A sad conclusion follows from this: apparently, it will not be possible to buy a new Harley in Russia for a very long time. According to the plans of official dealers, their remnants will be sold out by July 2022, after which the motorcycle dealerships will be closed.
All motorcycles from Europe are more expensive than 5,000 euros or 275,000 – 280,000 rubles as of the end of June 2022. Considering the wild popularity of BMW bikes in the Russian Federation and knowing their real market price, it is easy to see that we have “zero” official BMW motorcycles no longer.
With Japan, the situation is similar to the problems with Europe; The Japanese have closed the import of their motorcycles to Russia if their price exceeds 600,000 yen. For Russian rubles, this is approximately 255,000 rubles. If you look at sites where second-hand “Japanese” are sold, it becomes clear that even the cost of used goods, as a rule, exceeds 255,000 rubles. What can we say about the new ones.
In such a situation, it would be wise to turn your eyes to China, to what it can offer Russian bikers.
Choppers from China
Choppers are a motorcycle with a long front fork, on which the biker sits in a “feet forward” position. This is the most “biker” motorcycle of all possible.
By the way, I am glad that Russian bikers will not lose the opportunity to buy a brand new chopper, since the Chinese have something to offer them.
The best in both price and quality
The Chinese are not very creative, including in the field of motorcycle production. So they copied their best chopper Lifan LF 250 Cruiser from the Virago XV 250, manufactured by the Japanese Yamaha. Fortunately, motorists were lucky, and the replica turned out to be very successful because of its unpretentiousness. By the way, the problems with finding spare parts will not be so serious, because many of the Lifan parts are 100% copied from the Virago XV 250.
At first glance, you can’t even say that you are looking at a Chinese motorcycle, because all the necessary biker attributes are well-seasoned. I mean:
Beautiful rich black color of the motorcycle.
Steep rivets on the sides of the seat.
The seat is made in such a way that you can sit on it waddling.
Places for wardrobe trunks are made.
Lots of chrome details shining in the sun.
And most importantly – the classic elongated front fork, as well as the good old V -shaped twin-cylinder engine.
In addition to the cool biker-style design, the motorcycle will please its owner with economy. He does not need high-octane gasoline, for example, 95th or 98th, 92nd is quite enough. In addition, on one tank, the bike is quite capable of driving about 550 – 600 km.
What about Harley replicas?
A copy of Harley Davidson SPORTSTER Light made in China is being sold in Russia . Of course, it cannot be compared with the original in quality, if only for a temporary replacement, until the original Harley-Davidsons again begin to be brought to us from America.
What is good about this Chinese model? Firstly, with its light weight of 142 kg, despite the fact that the frame of the bike is made of heavy steel. Secondly, its agility and fast acceleration.
The disadvantage of the bike is poor equipment. Separately, one can only single out, perhaps, the presence of a backrest for a passenger and alloy wheels.
The price for it, of course, bites compared to other Chinese bikes, despite the fact that in terms of quality there are no fundamental differences with other “Chinese” ones. But Harley is still Harley in China. Therefore, the price tag for it is 200,000 rubles.
The most playful and fastest
Stels 400 Cruiser cannot be called a chopper in the strict sense of the word. Rather, this bike is a hybrid of a racing bike and a chopper.
From a racing bike, it has excellent acceleration dynamics, it takes only 6 seconds to reach a speed of 100 km per hour. From the chopper – a long front fork, a biker-style handlebar, chrome everywhere, a classic V -shaped engine.
The Chinese, in my opinion, slightly underdeveloped the motorcycle, because making it so fast and dynamic and not equipping it with an automatic speed limiter, as well as scoring the quality of the brake system, not making it hydraulic is the height of unreasonableness. Not only can you burn the engine if you do not pay attention to the tachometer, bad brakes also increase the risk of accidents. In general, if you buy it, you can ride like a breeze, but be careful.
If we evaluate the build quality of the motorcycle, then it is no worse than the Lifan LF 250, it is just as unpretentious and economical. It is unlikely that you will need expensive engine repairs, but minor breakdowns, such as the need to replace burnt out light bulbs, happen quite often.
In terms of riding it, it handles turns and lanes well, but has poor straight-line stability.
As I said before, the Stels 400 Cruiser is not a 100% chopper, so you can only sit on it in the “legs under you” position, like on typical racing bikes. For those to whom this is important, this model is not the best option.
The price of Stealth is 135,000 rubles.
Tourist models
Such motorcycles are the best option for long trips. In them, the main emphasis is on comfort for the motorcyclist, so that he does not experience inconvenience during many hours of riding.
The CFMOTO 800 MT Touring is the absolute leader in its segment, equipped with huge 99-liter cases, cruise control, hydraulic brakes and heated steering wheel and seat.
Long trips require increased protection of the engine from overheating, so the Chinese equipped the bike engine with a liquid cooling system.
In addition to good technical stuffing, Chinese designers also did their best. The motorcycle in profile looks like a predatory hawk, ready to throw at the victim.
It is clear that such equipment will cost accordingly. So the price for the CFMOTO 800 MT Touring starts at 1,345,000 rubles.
