Any Bikers on here?

[StonehamPark]

Looking at the Sinnis 125 range of bikes.
Appears to be a Brighton based company.
Cheap and cheerful bikes, quality seems ok (Yamaha and Suzuki parts).

Anyone have one or have had any experience with them?

Sinnis Bikes

 

[Garage_Doors]

Cheap Chinese scooters. Will give you 3-4 years motoring at best. If that's reflecting in what they cost.
Then a good buy, but they will show signs of rust from a very early age.

 

[wellquickwoody]

Chinese bikes will be very good one day, it hasn't arrived yet.

The bikes will not be unique to any particular brand, they are batch produced in different factories all over China and then personalised to suit the buyer, in this case Sinnis. Unfortunately the spec will change at any given moment, and when it does you will be unable to purchase the original part as was, whether the newer part will fit is a total lottery.

A 2 year old Japanese bike in good nick is a better long term prospect at the current time.

 

[wehatepalace]

Don't bother buying a Chinese bike, notoriously poor build quality and getting parts isn't easy either.

 

[pastafarian]

sorry nothing to do with the thread and i am not a biker,have no real interest in biking at all to be honest

but i drive into bennetts field and just want to say a few of the machines that park up at the Amex are absolutely beautiful and turn heads including the of course the scooter chaps that turn up

great stuff!

 

[Rugrat]

Chinese bikes will be very good one day, it hasn't arrived yet.

The bikes will not be unique to any particular brand, they are batch produced in different factories all over China and then personalised to suit the buyer, in this case Sinnis. Unfortunately the spec will change at any given moment, and when it does you will be unable to purchase the original part as was, whether the newer part will fit is a total lottery.

A 2 year old Japanese bike in good nick is a better long term prospect at the current time.

I used to do a bit of importing from China and can absolutely vouch for the above. It's a complete nightmare unless they have really rigid quality control in place which they won't have if it's just one outlet. The Chinese can make good stuff but they need to be controlled and only large volume buyers get the opportunity to do that.

I wouldn't buy unless there was a good track record of quality product over a decent time

 

[DarrenFreemansPerm]

A Suzuki Marauder is ac sturdy little 125cc bike. IMO you would be better off purchasing something similar to that rather than a brand new Sinnis. My Dad services quite a few bikes for friends and family and he recently had to do an import 125 scooter, there was barely anything left to service as most parts had perished, he tried the supplier for parts but no joy, also tried the usual outlets like WEMoto but no luck there either, not even any crossover parts. Avoid if you can.

 

[Doc Lynam]

Invest your money on a full licence (if you only have a restricted one) then you can get more for your money.

 

[readingstockport]

My brother had a chinese bike, admitedly in south africa but the story stands here I guess. He needed some parts to get it running again after a minor accident, headlight etc, only to find that the company has gone bust and noone will touch them anymore. And spare parts are impossible to find so he now has a scrap bike sitting in his yard and all for the sake of a chinese made headlight which he can not get anywhere else. Personally I wouldn't touch them right now.

 

[DarrenFreemansPerm]

Invest your money on a full licence (if you only have a restricted one) then you can get more for your money.

I'd agree with this, it's ruddy expensive but for the cost of an import bike you can get a lot of big bike.

 

[GingerBeerMan]

Don't bother buying a Chinese bike, notoriously poor build quality and getting parts isn't easy either.

This. I'd also say if you can fork out a few hundred more for a decent brand (Piaggio etc) it will keep its value well, and in the long run you will only lose a few hundred quid. If you go cheap now and buy a Sinnis, you'll be unlikely to be able to sell it. I've had a few bikes in my time and I'm only down £600 in total as I buy quality bikes that I sell on for about the same price I bought for.

 

[Shropshire Seagull]

Is Sinnis the new Jawa of the 70's (and Skoda cars of the 80's)

Quality comes eventually or they go out of business - but as they say, buy cheap, buy twice .....

 

[Garage_Doors]

Invest your money on a full licence (if you only have a restricted one) then you can get more for your money.

Good in theory but unless your under 24 you will still be restricted to 33 hp for 2 years, basically a heavily restricted 600cc. Better off sticking with a decent 125 under those conditions.
Used to be 21, my son when reaching 21 enquired about taking a direct access course but told the rules had been changed, you now have to be 24.

 

[Garage_Doors]

Is Sinnis the new Jawa of the 70's

Oh I remember them, the knacker crunching petrol tanks.
I still wince when I see one now.

 

[StonehamPark]

Invest your money on a full licence (if you only have a restricted one) then you can get more for your money.

This is the eventual plan, however I've no riding experience so would like 3+ months getting some experience/confidence and then will do the full access licence mid-late summer.
I'm 25 so I will skip the A2-A1 etc.

I'm looking at the Sinnis as it comes with 2 years (local) warranty, so that is a big draw.
Another option I'm considering is a second hand Van Van.

Basically I'm just looking for a bike to last me 3-6 months until I go for the full licence, then likely sell it on and hopefully not lose too much cash in the process.

Thanks all for advice so far.

 

[GingerBeerMan]

Good in theory but unless your under 24 you will still be restricted to 33 hp for 2 years, basically a heavily restricted 600cc. Better off sticking with a decent 125 under those conditions.
Used to be 21, my son when reaching 21 enquired about taking a direct access course but told the rules had been changed, you now have to be 24.

I believe it's 47 bhp now rather than 33. The rules changed a while ago, but they seem a lot more complicated now and I can't get my head around them.

 

[Phat Baz 68]

I have a Sym 125 Jet 4 Scooter bloody marvellous machine from Taiwan, from a reputable company Groombridges in Heathfield.
3 years parts and labour.
£1,800 brand new 1 1/2 years ago, tax £17, insurance find out for yourself really, 130 mtg fills up with less than a fiver .
Whatever you do DO NOT buy Chinese shite especially cheapo Lintex makes, i did first time and wasted over a grand !!
Avoid a certain large selling facility that sells Motorbikes in Worthing WANKERS !!!

 

[theboybilly]

Honda is the only way to go. You could get a decent used PS125 for the price of a new Sinnis or at a tad more the absolutely cracking PCX125. Look no further.

 

[Plake]

Honda is the only way to go. You could get a decent used PS125 for the price of a new Sinnis or at a tad more the absolutely cracking PCX125. Look no further.

Excellent advice here re twist and go scooters.

If you have the chance to pick up a bike with gears instead though it will help with getting you ready for your test.