You know those annoying ads on YouTube that you can skip after 5 seconds? I saw one while watching a review of a Russell seat on a Victory. The ad was for a scooter than came with offroad tires, electronic guages, a 150cc engine and cost about $2200. The ad was very well done. But I can't remember the brand. Has anyone seen this or know what I'm referring to? When I go back to the video I was watching another ad runs.
Lance/SYM make quality products. Parts support is expensive and can be unreliable depending on your dealer. That being said, the bike will probably be like a stone Axe.
Could be Taiwanese, but if they are Chinese, they are probably some kind of joint venture and will be heaps better than TaoTao or ones from Roketa, but Chinese 150cc's are not as bad as they were 5 to 10 years ago (I would dare say the quality is OK on some of the brands i.e. TaoTao) and you can save well over half the cash for one. I can get a Chinese TaoTao BWS clone with 150cc for under $1k shipped to my door, and even though I do not consider myself a mechanic, I can change oil and gear oil, which should be done regularly to avoid engine issues in any bike, no matter the country of origin. Plus, with youtube and sites like mychinamoto.com and chinariders.net (a VERY good site), fixing these is a piece of cake for even someone like me. I currently commute daily on a Chinese 200cc dual sport which cost me about 1/4 the price of the Honda CRF250L. I ride 33 miles round trip, including about 6 months out of the year where the temperatures are over 100 F on my ride home. I had worn out the same bike, an '09 model which I bought with unknown mileage and some issues, putting over 10k additional miles in a year and a half, and have already put on 2200 miles on the '13 model I bought new in May. So, a Lance for $2200 is a little pricey for my liking, just like a $5k CRF250L would be, but I know I might need to get my hands dirty with routine maintenance regularly and more often with my cheapie bike. If I had the money for a higher price, higher quality bike, at least I know I would have more piece of mind, and less maintenance. After all my ramblings--if you have the $, the Lance will be more than enough high quality for you, no matter where it's made, plus less maintenance.
Right! Current Lance scooters are built by SYM in mainland China. They have the ceramic cylinder treatment, same as SYM's Taiwanese bikes. Kymco's Agility 125, Super 8 150, and Like 200 scooters are pretty well regarded and are also examples of Taiwanese makes actually built in Mainland China. Lance scooters weren't always built by SYM--older ones weren't very good. Love 'em or hate 'em, Apple and quite a few other companies manage to get high quality stuff built for them in China. Maybe even Grom supercharger kits.
Was this the video. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5mQlPjf1oVM There is also one that runs about 2 mins. Be Big, AMAC
I had a 2007 Chinese made dual sport. American Lifan LF200GY-5. The engine seized at 3500 miles, because the nut that held the centrifugal oil filter on the end of the crankshaft came loose, causing a loss of oil pressure. Turned out there was supposed to be a locking tab washer behind it. I also found 2 other problems with it. It had a hollow rectangular box section swing arm, with chain adjusters that went inside the swing arm. Problem was, they liked about 3/16" being wide enough. If you tightened the axle nut down, it would have crushed the swing arm. I shimmed them with washers. The other problem was a little more difficult to fix, and I didn't even try, though I believe Hugemoth did. The countershaft did not line up with the swing arm pivot, so you had to adjust the chain super loose with no weight on the bike, or it would be too tight with a rider on it. I tightened mine to spec, and found the bike wouldn't roll with me on it. I quickly discovered the problem. I had to leave about 4" of slack in the chain so it would be right with me on it. Fixing it would have required relocating the swing arm pivot location. Not worth it to me on a $1300 bike. I might even buy another one, but they are no longer available.
Getting off subject but my 200 enduro is a TMEC--actually both 200cc enduros are TMECs. I got to know the distributor who also distributes several Chinese scooters. They have always had any parts for the enduro, and the high mileage bike and the new one have had bulletproof engines. Right now they distribute Lintex and 2 of the cheapie Baodiao 50cc's, and can also get hold of the entire TaoTao lineup and maybe others (since they are geographically nearby several other brands who have warehouses near them). For my riding in and around Yuma and commuting the 16 miles to the state prison to my work, I have found my TMECs fine for the task, but I would like a simple scooter and am not afraid to try a TaoTao 150cc to alternate my rides to work on. While a $2200 (plus setup, fees, etc) Lance Cabo is nice, for me, a $950 TaoTao BWS 150 is just as nice!
I looked this scooter up when I had ambitions of taking a scooter on the WABDR. The Lance maintenance schedule indicated oil changes every 600 miles. Is that a common oil change interval for air cooled 150cc scooters?
Genuine Buddy 170i is every 3000 km (1600 mi.?). The water cooled Honda PCX is 2500 mi. 150cc Vespas 6000 mi.
600 mile intervals seems crazy, I wondered if it was a way for them to get out of 24 month warranty obligations for the engine.
Maintenance schedule link The GY6 engine cylinder head temperature may exceed 400°F (spark plug sensor) . . which significantly increases the oil temperature. The head exhaust port area may discolor. There is only an oil strainer screen (no screw-on filter) ahead of the oil pump inlet. 15W-40 oil is relatively inexpensive . . change it frequently!
The 600 mile oil changes seem a little extreme on paper but in my commute, that happens to be my oil change schedule--I only use my bike (not a scooter) for commuting, and put on 150 miles a week and change the oil every four weeks. However, now thinking of who might be a customer (i.e. someone who does not change oil), or even if you had to have a dealer do it for warranty purposes, then I would start to question the initial cost of the bike (plus adding in build and prep, etc that dealers charge) as well as paying for an oil change monthly.
Takes 5 mins to do an oil change on a little scoot. I've done them in Auto parts parking lots on long trips. Hardly a big deal. My new Ford says 7500 miles, that's the other extreem. Be Big, AMAC