chinese atvs?

Hello guys.
I have one bid to buy cheap chinese atv quad but i am not sure if it is good idea.
Do you have experience with chinese atv quads?
Thanks for reply.  

I do....Hope to get outbid, or try and get out of the bid. These are the biggest POS ever made by mankind. I used to deal them. I couldnt sell these to people after the trouble with them, I have a conscience. I would not try and make a buck off of burning people that buy these. Any ??????? just ask.......  

Totally agree... just had a friend by a new 300 for $3200.  Has had it out twice, 1st time faulty switch, 2nd time just died.  He tried to contact dealer but cannot get a response.  DO NOT BUY !!!  

I've warned about this in the December issue of ATV Rider Magazine in my column. It's on newstands now or should be any day now.  

I bought a Chinese ATV earlier this summer.  My neighbor and I had so much fun on my quad that he went out and bought one too.  We've now both been out nearly every weekend having a heck of a lot of fun (except for that part where I slid off a cliff and tumbled down the mountain).  

When I was thinking about buying an ATV I read so many horror stories about internet purchases (especially eBay)that I nearly didn't buy one.  In the end what I decided to do was find a brick and mortar store that sold and serviced what they sold. It was a little more expensive there ($1500 assembled and ready to go), but at least I got the warm feeling that I could get things fixed if they weren't right.  I ended up having to drive 90 miles to buy my quad but I don't regret that at all.

I did have some early problems with my quad.  I had an intermittent kill switch.  I replaced it (eBay $6.00).  I had a defective (restricted) fuel shut off valve that starved the engine of fuel on fast runs (I drilled out the obstruction).  The rear brake switch was too finicky to adjust reliably. I put in a new switch (eBay $8.00).  All this in the first 2 weeks.  Since then the quad has been working solid.  I have 60 hours on it.

My neighbor's quad has had nothing wrong with it. He has 35 hours on it.

Here is (I think) an important piece of info:  I (and my neighbor) bought a quad with a 150cc GY6 clone engine (made by Hensim).  You hardly ever see problems posted for these engines compared to the 110cc or 90cc (these are not GY6 - these are another Honda clone engine completely).  If you want a full engine service manual for the GY6 there are at least a dozen available for free on the internet.  Need help?  There are many very good forums specializing in these engines only.  Need parts?  They are everywhere.  Compare that with the other engines.  There is almost no info available at all for those.

All of my problems I solved myself.  I never had to go back to the dealer.  If you are not mechanically inclined or don't want to mess with these things then by all means stay away.  If you like tinkering with stuff you will probably get your wish - at least at first.  I would rather tinker than pays thousands more.  Several have suggested that a used name brand is a better deal for an equivalent price.  Not where I live.  I couldn't find any.  If you want a title and CARB certification (California Air Resources Board)it costs a *lot* more than a new chinese quad.

Come December (when I have saved enough cash) I am planning to buy one more quad for my wife.  I am going to buy another 150cc chinese quad exactly the same as my other.  

That's great to hear! More power to ya! But you are 1 of the very very few success stories I've heard. Yes, decent Off Brand ATV's can and do exist. But just like you said, it will help tremendously if you know and want to tinker.  

I found your post quite interesting, especially after all I have read, here and other sites. I love to tinker and have no fear of most mechanical things but this Hensim 150, belongs to my grandson, has me hesitating. It has an obvious carb. problem. Runs like a raped ape if you can get it started and above idle RPM. I now have the rear wheels off the ground for testing. Self defense after near disaster. Auto tranny and dumb idea. Does this carb have some sort of automatic choke?. Have not opened it or even removed it from engine. Had to remove handle bars, front body and fuel tank just to get a look. Now see it tucked tightly between the frames but do not recognize anything I have ever seen before. Would you recommend pulling it off the engine or should I just get my old Navy Colt and do it in.?

As to other comments here, I must say the local dealer did a horrible job putting this thing together. Lock nuts on the steering came loose, right front wheel suddenly towed in and threw my grand daughter. Several other parts have fallen off. Thread lock all around solved those problems The left rear wheel appears to be bent. Wabbles a bit. This I can deal with but the carb bothers me. As someone on another forum likes to say, " if you don't know how it works, you can't fix it"

Thanks, Bob  

Bob,

I've never had to tear into my carburator.  I'm sure I will someday, but it hasn't happened yet.  So have you downloaded a service manual yet?  There are a lot of really good ones out there.  They aren't specifically for the hensim 150, but since the 150cc GY6 engine is so generic and used in so many places you can grab one from either a buggy and/or a scooter manufacturer.

The Gy6 engine doesn't have a choke per se - rather it uses an enrichener valve to add gas rather than starve it of air.  It has a electrically driven heater than closes off this valve shortly after startup.

I chose to buy from a dealer with a complete service center including welding facilities and a full machine shop.  I like the idea that if I get in over my head they can always fix me up.  It also shows me they have confidence in their ability and their products.  So far I haven't had to use them other than buying some repair parts after I crashed my quad (bent the handlebars and tore off the brake handle/throttle assembly).

There are some great help forums for Gy6 engines.  Two of my favorites:

http://www.buggynews.com/index.php
http://www.buggydepot.com

Both the above sites are dedicated to buggies, but the 150cc hensim is identical to the engines used on most of those smaller buggies.  The BuggyNews site has a service manual sub-forum which has links to numerous GY6 service manuals for download (for free of course).  There are also "stickys" in the engine clinic sub forum about servicing the carburators which look very good.

Buggydepot has a good search engine and a long history of GY6 problems and solutions.  Every problem I've ever had is there, along with the solution.

I just posted a wiring diagram of my quad in the last week or so in the ATV Repair and Maintenance sub forum at this site.  Look for the "Help 150cc quad won't start" thread. You will need that some day.

Yes, I agree that things tend to fall off these quads if not inspected regularly.  I go over my quad before I ride everytime.  I've put thread locker on a lot of the nuts, and changed several to the nylon insert lock nuts.  This is especially important when kids are riding.  They don't have the experience or verbal skills to report or describe symptoms they may notice while riding, which usually start to happen before really bad failures occur.

Lynn Edwards  

Thanks Lynn
I just down loaded the GY6 manual. Think I can jump into the deep end of the pool now. Not your grand pa's carb. I have been looking all over for this but in all the wrong places. I certainly appreciate your help.
I do not know where the grand son got this machine but doubt that they would be of any help. He comes to me when all else fails.
All the best, Bob  

i bought my son a dinli atv and it was running and shut off i replaced the pistion and rings and the cdi and coil i cant get it to fire  need help please  on what to check on this thing to get going  

I've not heard of a Dinli, but you should still be able to start with the basics:

Is it getting fuel.  Is it getting spark.  Does the engine have compression.  

yes it is doing all of that but still want run any help please  

Where did you buy your Quad if you don't mind me asking? Do you have the link to the manual for he Gy6?  

I bought a kangchao about 2 months ago, the thing runs great, however, i have also had a few small problems, I.E. exhaust bracket broke at the weld and the brake caliber keeps loosening up on me, brought it to the place where i bought it and have had great service, dont have to pay for any problems for the first 2 years. i can only say that if you want to have no problems with your atv, then dont buy one. i put mine through hell, and it still runs great!and at 1500 euro, what can one expect?  

My buddy got one for his wife and took it to sand lake first time out damn thing broke second time he was on it and came down blew the front tire and did cartwheels across the top of the bowl and totaled it they just cant stand up to the named brands at all.