Lifan LF125-2E motorcycle manufactured by Lifan Industry (Group) Co., Ltd.

The motorcycle is able to please not only with its appearance and technical characteristics, but also with ride comfort. Having driven the lf125 once, you will pay attention only to it for a long time. Good maneuverability distinguishes the bike from other representatives of the cruiser class. The remarkable appearance and abundance of stylish chrome parts will attract public attention to the bike.

Excellent handling allows a beginner to start mastering the world of motorcycles with lifan. In addition, the cost of the bike and the level of comfort are pleasantly surprising. The seat is quite comfortable and ergonomic. Comfortable wide footrests allow you to cover long distances without much discomfort. The relatively light weight and compact dimensions make operating the motorcycle in city conditions as comfortable as possible.

YAKU2023

Wildlife conservationists, cool down! Not a single rare animal was harmed. In fact, the main ingredients of the dish are... a cat and a snake.

Do you know how this little motorcycle reminded me of the secrets of Chinese cuisine? Yes, because it is prepared according to the same recipe. We change the tiger for a cat (that is, “liter” - for 125 cm³), the dragon - for a snake (instead of an aluminum “diagonal” - something openwork, but painted “silver”).

Lifan LF125–26D

The taste is, as Raikin used to say, Spützfitz. By the way, what is it - a motorcycle or a scooter? Meat or vegetables? One authoritative English publication recently staged a whole discussion: what is the difference between a motorcycle and a scooter? After all, the old criteria (wheel size, presence of linings, placement of the power unit) do not work: on some maxi-scooters, the engine is not even under the seat, which until recently was considered the most reliable feature of a scooter.

In the end, the British found a decisive parameter: if, while sitting on a car, you can bring your knees together, there is a scooter under you. If you can't, it's a motorcycle. This is the moment of truth! We sit down... knees touch! So this means it’s still a scooter, or rather a scooterette?

Lifan LF125–26D

Two 35 W lamps are responsible for low and high beam.
There is also a direction indicator. Two 35 W lamps are responsible for low and high beam. There is also a direction indicator.

Such a strange breed - crazy scooterettes - originated in the countries of Southeast Asia, where the love for scooterettes is such that they make up almost three-quarters of the entire motorcycle fleet. Even local racing enthusiasts remain partial to this type of transport, but, of course, they make the most of it. Local manufacturers are willing to meet halfway, producing devices with a solid engine displacement for this class (up to 150 cm³), liquid cooling, multi-speed gearboxes, cast wheels, and disc brakes. For a resident of Malaysia or the Philippines, such a car is the same as a Fire or Jixer for a European. But the Chinese company Lifan went even further: in a typical scooter chassis it installed a classic motorcycle power unit - with a vertical cylinder, forced clutch release and a standard gear shift scheme (in fact, scooters are characterized by a horizontal cylinder arrangement, automatic clutch and gear shifting in a circle ", N-1-2-3-4-N-1- and so on).

Technical characteristics of the Chinese Lifan motorcycle

general information

Engine of the Chinese motorcycle Lifan LF125-2E

Dimensions and weight of the Chinese motorcycle Lifan LF125-2E

Wheels and tires

Other technical characteristics

Additional Information

This product refers to "Chongqing Kai Zhen Fengqi Road, Beibei District, on the 16th." (Note: There may be inaccuracies)

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So, purring to myself: “It’s a sportbike, baby – just add water,” I sit down. The feeling is unique! I’m used to, you know, this... the lower part of the body is covered - either by the gas tank, the headlight, the steering column... But here the headlight is located almost below the knees, the upper cross-beam along with it is somewhere below, only the halves of the steering wheel rise high (clip -ons, etit). However, the fit is quite comfortable, there are no complaints about ergonomics. Unless stylish mirrors are located on such short legs that you can only see your own shoulders in them. Well, that’s how it’s supposed to be for sportbikes. But a sportbike easily moves forward from the flow and its driver has no need to look back, but on this machine you are intensely scanning with your back (especially on the highway): who is overtaking? Who will push you to the curb now?

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I pull out the choke and press the starter button. The engine immediately responds with a bass roar. Before moving off, you have to warm it up - about five minutes. I get underway and discover that the creators of the car decided to give it the character of a sportbike, at least in first gear: it just jumps forward! True, when you release the gas, it instantly “sticks”; if it were front-wheel drive, it would perform a “stoppie”!

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Who selected the transmission gear ratios? Did he design a trial motorcycle? The first two gears out of five are clearly superfluous. I checked: if you play along with the clutch a little, you start in third, and in second you start without any tricks at all. But in fifth gear, the engine, despite its modest 125 cm³, confidently pulls from 30 km/h and vigorously accelerates the vehicle from 40 km/h. By the way, the gears are switched exemplary: softly and clearly, neutral is caught with a bang. But, in general, replacing the sprockets wouldn’t hurt - you’ll see, the engine wouldn’t “spin” like that at high speed.

Alas, the degree of “twist” has to be determined solely by ear - the car does not have a tachometer, which is quite strange for a device with sporting pretensions. There is no need to clean your ears - it howls like a true sportbike! Moreover, the sound coming from the muffler (a real “can” - everything is like the big ones!) is fairly seasoned with noise coming from the gearbox.

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I bought a motorcycle with more than 34,000 km of mileage. It remains to travel about 1100 km before the 48,000 km service. I don’t know what they filled in there in Japan, almost immediately, at 36,000 km I changed it to Motul 10W-40, but later regretted it. The box began to turn on much harder. I think now I'll try ipone 10W-50. We can sum up some results after almost a season of operation. I purchased a motorcycle in February 2022. It’s not that the Kawasaki EX 650-C is boring, it’s just that the tasks for the equipment emerge more clearly. So the motorcycle is used partly in the city, but the main purpose of the trip is of a tourist nature, mainly on asphalt roads. That's why I first bought a bag for the seat, and then installed a full-fledged central trunk. I also replaced the sliders with arcs. If you fall at high speed, they will no longer be of any use, but at near-zero speeds they will protect the motorcycle much better. Once I lay down on my left side, I didn’t notice how the side stand folded when, while rolling, it caught on an uneven surface. There were no unpleasant consequences at all.

The fit is comfortable for long distances, but at the same time does not interfere with being collected when necessary. Riding in a standing position is also quite normal. It could be called a time-tested classic, if not for the higher tuning steering wheel and larger windshield, for which special thanks to the previous owner. The low ground clearance and heavy weight of the motorcycle certainly discourage any desire to venture into potholes, mud or even sand unless absolutely necessary. But this also turns into big advantages on a country road. The wind has much less influence on handling, and the trajectory is stable. He goes where he was sent. Properly executed forward flow does not interfere at all on long trips. In fifth gear you can't hear it at all over the wind noise. At low speeds it is surprisingly easy to control. I didn’t experience any problems between the rows, contrary to expectations.

ABS works quite correctly, but there was an incident that made me worry. Steep descent to the sea, dirt road, loose rock in places. I rode here calmly on Ersha, but that time the ABS worked and the motorcycle began to accelerate downhill. He didn’t fall, but decided not to tempt fate further, and he saw that the desired place by the water was already taken. If I fell on a slope, I don’t even know what I would do with such a carcass. I found another exit to the sea. I never cease to admire the engine. The torque is simply bottomless with a very smooth characteristic, without pronounced dips and pick-ups. It starts going from the very bottom until the rev cutoff. At first I didn’t understand the trick. There are only five passes. At the highest 90 km/h it turns out to be approximately 3125 rpm. This is exactly the upper limit of the optimal operating range of the internal combustion engine (average piston speed 5-7 m/s) from the point of view of resource and efficiency. And the maximum torque is at 6000 rpm, the maximum power is at 7500 rpm. It turns out that the more you unscrew, the higher the engine efficiency and fuel consumption increases smoothly. In numbers it looks like this: The average over 10,250 km was 5.53 l/100 km, the minimum was 4.37 l/100 km. I specifically tried to keep 90 km/h then, accelerating faster only sometimes, when overtaking. And perhaps the maximum can be recognized as 6.31 l/100 km, when I unscrewed it without hesitation, at every opportunity. Mixed city-highway mode. Only once was it even higher, 7.01 l/100 km during a series of short trips with frequent stops and engine starts in urban conditions. A 21-liter tank in economy mode should last a long time, but I haven’t specifically tested it. I prefer to refuel when there is still a decent amount of fuel left. The motorcycle arrived from Japan. According to local legislation, an electronic speed limiter was installed. At 180 km/h one cylinder was severely cut off. I found detailed information on the Internet about removing the electronic collar. I had to get into the wiring with a soldering iron. Nothing complicated. And the motorcycle began to accelerate quite confidently to 240 km/h, after which the engine speed limiter was activated. In general, in ordinary life such a speed seems to be useless, but it’s better to have a limiter in your head than to discover such a dirty trick somewhere while overtaking...

Next, we should note the presence of reduced diffusers and an insert at the inlet. The insert can be easily removed if desired, and larger diameter diffusers for the European version are not as expensive. I've already bought them, but I'm in no hurry to change them. Doubts arise as to whether there will be an increase in traction at the top due to the loss of it at the bottom, or whether fuel consumption will increase as a result of such depletion. Changing diffusers is difficult, the design is such that you have to tinker. In addition, the motorcycle was already equipped with a full titanium exhaust. Despite having all the necessary documents that the muffler is certified for public roads, they still got caught during registration. But then the inspector unexpectedly showed understanding and participation in my life and the matter was resolved positively, thanked, of course, for such a humane attitude... It is also not clear whether they interfered with the firmware. A pleasant gift was the entry in the PTS of 100 hp instead of 115, in the registration certificate 99.9 hp, this significantly reduces the transport tax.

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Although the car has sportbike pretensions, in terms of handling it is still better to compare it with a classic scooter. If the “classic” has perfect controllability literally from 0.1 km/h, then the experimental one is stable only “under gas”. But having already picked up speed, it prescribes the trajectory as if according to a pattern. Even if its “maximum speed” is a ridiculous 85 km/h (however, in the technical data there is a significant “at least 85 km/h”), but at highway junctions you don’t have to slow down! And turning around on a narrow road is not difficult.

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When you write about the suspension of inexpensive devices, so as not to offend anyone, you usually limit yourself to a radiant hint: “They exist!” But Lifan not only has them, but copes with their tasks with dignity. We had to drive much more famous and expensive vehicles, which shamefully gave in to our potholes. And the Chinese “dragonfly” cheerfully flies over potholes without shattering your spine into your underpants. Specifically, for the sake of interest, I tried to drive through speed bumps. You don’t even need to stand up on the steps: the device cheerfully clangs with its hardware and, it seems, even plays along with its frame. By the way, detective: the instructions say that the rear shock absorber is with hydraulics, and the front fork is without it. But it feels exactly the opposite! The fork handles all unevenness flawlessly, but the rear monoshock absorber at high speed after passing any asphalt “wave” frightens with swaying.

Technical characteristics of lifan lf125 14f

The model has a rather squat four-stroke single-cylinder engine. The water cooling system allows effective use in any temperature conditions. The engine is started by a kick starter. For excellent engine performance, gasoline with an octane rating of 92 and 95 is suitable.

Gears shift clearly, but at the same time, quite smoothly. The suspension works great. The front telescopic fork and rear monoshock absorber perfectly smooth out shocks from riding on uneven surfaces. This makes driving the motorcycle comfortable and easy. The brake system is well designed. The front brake is disc, the rear is drum. This combination of brakes of different structures copes with their functions perfectly.

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There are no adjustments for the suspensions (there is not even spring preload). When driving with a passenger, the instructions recommend... increasing the tire pressure. But the pump is not included with the device! I had to go into the garage... No, guys, don’t confuse tire pressure with suspension stiffness! The rear shock absorber is already “soft”, but when riding together, it seems to strive to collapse to the limit. But the dynamics (forgive me for using this word in relation to a 125 cc car) practically do not suffer: here the “short” gears turned out to be beneficial.

Review of Lifan LF125-14F

Lifan LF125-14F motorcycle is a budget solution for those who want to join the chopper fraternity, but do not have the funds to buy a Japanese or American motorcycle.
Light and simple, this bike can serve as an excellent “learning desk” for a beginner. On this Chinese chopper, everything that can be simplified is simplified to the limit. In order to save money, of course, but not at the expense of quality. But such a solution made it possible to reduce the cost of the Lifan LF125-14F and keep its price low - much cheaper than even a 20-year-old used Japanese motorcycle. The heart of this small American-style motorcycle is a 125 cc single-cylinder liquid-cooled engine. And everything else is extremely simple - chain drive of the final drive, a simple carburetor, a standard 5-speed gearbox.

Of course, the Lifan LF125-14F tries its best to seem like a real adult motorcycle. True, it may seem like such only to a beginner, but what should those who cannot or do not want to immediately get on a more powerful bike do? For them, the lightweight and easy-to-use Lifan LF125-14F may be an excellent solution. The maximum speed of the motorcycle is 90 kilometers per hour. It is to this mark that the 12-horsepower engine is capable of accelerating a light 150-kilogram Lifan. Yes, in the chopper class, a weight of one and a half centners allows us to rightfully claim the title of a light motorcycle.

The Lifan LF125-14F gas tank with a volume of 14 liters hints that this motorcycle is not averse to riding outside the city. Taking into account its truly childish consumption - 2-2.5 liters per 100 kilometers - it is capable of easily covering a distance of up to 500 kilometers or more on one tank. Even much more serious and ten to twenty times more expensive motorcycles can rarely boast of such a result.

The brake system installed on the motorcycle is extremely simple. Lifan LF125-14F boasts a brake disc on the front wheel, working with a simple caliper, and a drum brake at the rear. However, they didn’t expect anything else from him. But what it can boast of is excellent handling. Neither the primitive steel frame nor the archaic suspensions interfere with maneuvering astride the Lifan LF125-14F in such a way that owners of more powerful and heavier cruisers only silently envy. The lightweight Chinese motorcycle not only readily takes turns, but also easily and naturally jumps from row to row, squeezing through city traffic jams between the sides of densely parked cars.

Yes, this bike cannot boast of size, the Lifan LF125-14F is a small motorcycle, and some big guy might find it a bit cramped on it. But its modest dimensions and fairly short wheelbase make driving this motorcycle in dense city traffic simple and stress-free.

Lifan LF125–26D

The 125 cc engine has good elasticity, but the level of internal noise of the power unit is indecently high.
The 125 cc engine has good elasticity, but the level of internal noise of the power unit is indecently high.

And now, please, extinguish: let's move on to the most interesting part - the brakes. A huge front disc, a rear disc, two-piston clamps both front and rear - and all this on an octagon weighing just over 100 kg! Why is Cinderella so happy? They stop tightly - tested on the Moscow Ring Road! It’s just that on wet asphalt their abilities greatly exceed the traction capabilities of 17-inch Kingstone tires ???model???. Although the dry grip is quite decent - if you ride as it should not be a sportbike, but a scooter. What kind of “knee” is there when the tires are only slightly thicker than bicycle tires! Although the instructions say “for use only on roads with improved surfaces,” the temptation to get out onto a dirt path (dry, of course) turned out to be irresistible. And I got the impression that here the device was in its element! Of course, it’s not an enduro - you don’t “beat the Honduras”, but smoothly flow around all the bumps. And the very short first three gears are just right. By the way, the car is quite comfortable to drive even when you stand on the steps. The thought involuntarily creeps in: shouldn’t we install “toothy” tires, which the importer C.Moto has just started selling?

The gas tank, as befits a scooter, is located under the lockable saddle. Its capacity, again like a scooter, is small: only 5 liters. But fuel consumption is about 2 liters per 100 km. (The manufacturer stated 2.1 liters per 100 km, and he did not lie: when I picked up the car, they filled me with 1.5 liters of gasoline. And they were enough for 80 km to home - and along the highway). So the range is sufficient for urban and suburban traffic, but the car is not at all intended for long-distance travel - it doesn’t even have luggage racks. By the way, you should be careful when refueling: the tank is so flat that you have to press the “trigger” of the refueling nozzle carefully, otherwise it will get covered in gasoline.

Motorcycle lifan lf125

The motorcycle is able to please not only with its appearance and technical characteristics, but also with ride comfort.
Having driven the lf125 once, you will pay attention only to it for a long time. Good maneuverability distinguishes the bike from other representatives of the cruiser class. The remarkable appearance and abundance of stylish chrome parts will attract public attention to the bike. Excellent handling allows a beginner to start mastering the world of motorcycles with lifan. In addition, the cost of the bike and the level of comfort are pleasantly surprising. The seat is quite comfortable and ergonomic. Comfortable wide footrests allow you to cover long distances without much discomfort. Relatively light weight and compact dimensions make operating the motorcycle in city conditions as comfortable as possible.

YAKU2479

Some design solutions seemed strange, to put it mildly. Thus, the direction indicators are not placed to the sides on legs, as usual, but are built into the headlight and taillight, respectively, which does not contribute to their “readability”. There is a fuel filter, but there is no gas tap! There is no such indispensable attribute of any modern motor vehicle as an emergency ignition switch. But there are two stands - side and central. And there are complaints about both: the side one (by the way, very convenient) does not have a movement lock with the stand folded down (like “thoroughbred” cars), and lifting the device onto the central one is not so easy - apparently, Chinese designers have not yet learned to “calculate the lever” .

Lifan LF125–26D

So, who can be tempted by a device like the C.Moto Lifan LF125–26D? First of all, those who do not shy away from the “strange”. It’s a very cool car, both in appearance and behavior. Country roads and metropolitan avenues are contraindicated for her, but quiet streets, roads of “district importance”, and dry country roads are just right. An ideal holiday option, combining the dynamics, handling and brakes of a decent 125 cc motorcycle with the ease of landing and lightness of a scooter. But the price, at the level of other “octagons” from China, seems somewhat overpriced.

However, we have the opportunity to check more carefully whether the device is worth the money, based on the results of a long-term operational test.

The scooter was provided for testing by C.Moto.

Lifan LF125–26D: Battle of the tiger with the dragon

Flaws:

1. It may be difficult to replace parts during repairs, since the equipment has appeared on the market relatively recently.
2. Over time, the engine capacity of 125 cm3 becomes small, and the dynamics noticeably deteriorate.
3. An abundance of plastic parts that, at first glance, look like metal. This reduced weight, but deteriorated the quality of the motorcycle itself.
4. Minor breakdowns often occur.

The motorcycle is quite good for its price category. The striking design creates the image of a heavy cruiser, although in fact it weighs only 155 kg. The abundance of “chrome” parts makes the motorcycle unique and stands out in the traffic. The lifan lf125 14f motorcycle is an excellent option for beginner motorcyclists.