Spring is finally right around the corner, which means much of America will leave their cars at home and swing their legs over motorcycles. If you don’t have a huge budget, you might be tempted to try to find the cheapest deals on two wheels. I found the cheapest motorcycle that you can buy in America and have delivered to your home in just a few days. The X-PRO 125cc Cafe Cruiser is just $1,000, but oh my, this thing is simultaneously the coolest and the worst motorcycle I’ve seen in a while.
For the past few years, a little Honda has been the absolute cheapest new motorcycle that you can buy from a known brand in America. The Honda Navi, which costs $1,999 before a $300 destination charge and additional tax, title, and fees, has been a motorcycle gateway drug for many new riders. The Navi doesn’t make a lot of power, doesn’t go very fast, and is really just a scooter cosplaying a motorcycle. There’s nothing wrong with that!
But the Navi has an unfortunate twist.
Depending on where you live, your Honda Powersports dealer may be charging a markup, and that’s before you pay the rest of the fees. One Honda dealer is advertising its 2024 Honda Navis – last year’s model – for $2,700. Many other dealers are advertising their Navis for $2,099 before additional fees. Sure, that’s just $100 markup, but it’s still silly for what’s supposed to be the cheapest bike in America. Honda has told me that it recommends dealers to list for MSRP, but the dealers pretty much do whatever they want.
You might feel inclined to see if you can find something cheaper, but you aren’t going to find that from a known brand. So, then, how can you get a new motorcycle for even cheaper? Of course, just buy one from Amazon! But there’s one catch, and it’s that you’re usually going to have to buy from a brand nobody’s ever heard of and is known for iffy quality.
Glorious Garbage
For years, some of the cheapest deals on two wheels have come from small powersports dealers around America. Roughly two decades ago, these dealers imported truckloads of cheap motorcycles, ATVs, and scooters from China. All of these bikes came from names you’ve never heard of and the bikes were often clones of Japanese designs from decades ago.
I’ve long been fascinated by the Chinese motorcycle industry. When I first started riding motorcycles, I cut my teeth on the tiny imports from brands you’ve never heard of. Check out this Honda Ruckus clone that I owned in 2018:
The manufacturer name on the title I got was so long that it went off of the page! Part of this scoot’s appeal was its 150cc engine, which was substantially larger than the one you got in the real Honda. Sadly, that scooter required a total rewiring of its entire electrical system before it even got 1,000 miles. Then it popped its clutch soon after.
I also owned one of CFMoto’s early bikes, the 2009 CFMoto Fashion 250-T. That scoot was a near perfect clone of a Honda Helix from the 1980s. How good was the clone? CFMoto copied everything down to the mounting points on the panels. If you own a real Helix and break your panels, you can fit the clone panels with ease. CFMoto also made some improvements to the radio system and the clarity of the retro digital display. The only thing CFMoto couldn’t do was copy Honda’s bulletproof quality. My Fashion 250-T had a problem of puking out its oil and never running quite right.
Words cannot describe how crappy Chinese bikes were back in those days. Whatever your bar was for bad quality, you had to lower it because somehow the bikes would be that bad. I’m talking levers that were supposedly made of metal but break like plastic, carburetors that are never in tune, wiring shorts from the factory, engines that need rebuilds before 10,000 miles, and frames that were clearly inspired by the tensile strength of shower spaghetti.
That’s just the quality. The riding experience was equally hilariously awful. You got suspensions that didn’t function, handlebars that wobbled, inconsistent acceleration, terrifying braking, and tires with so little grip it was like you were riding on ice on a summer day.
Thankfully, much of the Chinese motorcycle industry has changed its course since then. My 2024 CFMoto Papio SS is a completely different bike compared to the old Fashion 250.
If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought it came from an entirely different company. My Papio SS feels and rides like the people who engineered and built it actually care about what they’re doing. It rides like real engineers put it together and has quality like CFMoto didn’t choose the cheapest possible materials. I wouldn’t say the quality is on par with a Honda, but perhaps a tick better than Harley-Davidson was in the 2000s.
It’s not just CFMoto, either. There are now a plethora of Chinese motorcycle brands doing what I used to think was the impossible. Great Wall now has a gigantic touring bike with a flat eight engine, Benda has a V4, and Felo is modernizing and electrifying everyone’s favorite Hondas from the ’80s.
The X-Pro MC-N025
Unfortunately, China’s motorcycle industry is also still chaotic. There are more than 200 motorcycle manufacturers in China and most of them are not like CFMoto or Benda. A lot of these brands are still doing the old-school thing of printing out clone motorcycles for as cheaply as humanly possible. Tons of motorcycles are built under brands you’ve never heard of or worse, they’re built under one name, but are sold under dozens of others.
The absolute cheapest motorcycles you can buy as an American fall into that latter group.
As of publishing, the cheapest new road-legal motorcycle you can buy from Amazon is called the X-Pro MC-N025, which prices for $800 before shipping and tax. Such a boring naming structure is common with uber cheap Chinese bikes. If you’re not a fan of Amazon, you can get it from X-Pro USA’s website for $1,119.95 with free shipping, which should be cheaper overall than buying from the jungle site. You can find this same bike sold as the Boom BD125-2.
X-Pro and Boom are not the manufacturers of this. Instead, both brands slap their own logos onto bikes made by other Chinese firms including Lifan, Zhejiang Zuma, and Wuyi Zuma Industry And Trade (Zuumav). Neither Boom nor X-Pro say what manufacturer makes the MC-N025/BD125-2, but it’s sort of irrelevant because what you’re getting is not quite what you’re going to expect. I’m going to focus on the MC-N025 here because as of writing, the Boom version, which I must stress is exactly the same machine, trends for $1,700 to $1,800.
Let’s first look at what you’d get here. The MC-N025 comes with a 154FMI-3 125cc air-cooled single cylinder engine. It’s making 8.3 HP and 6.2 lb-ft of torque. If you’ve purchased a 125cc Chinese motorcycle of any kind in the past several years, there’s a chance it was powered by a 154FMI-3 or one of its siblings. These engines are used in all sorts of Honda clones and amazingly, some motorcyclists use these engines to replace worn-out Honda engines in vintage bikes.
The engine is also one of relatively vintage design, too. It feeds from a carburetor, has a capacitor discharge ignition, and in my experience, is very easy to work on.
As for the rest of it, you’re looking at what appears to be a clone of the Honda S90 (below) of the 1960s. These motorcycles were very basic with pressed steel frames, drum brakes, wire wheels, twin tube suspension, and a 89.6cc engine. That’s the crazy part. These Hondas made about 8 HP when they were new.
(Update: The MC-N025 is closer to the Honda S90, not the SS50.)
The MC-N025 has the same kind of pressed steel body and notably, drum brakes on both ends, but similar horsepower. I can’t even remember the last time I’ve seen a motorcycle sold by a name brand that had a drum brake up front. This has to be the worst brakes I’ve seen on a new road-legal motorcycle in a very long time.
But that’s what you should be prepared for here with the MC-N025. Everything is as cheap as it can be on purpose and you have no idea if the factory’s labor practices are kosher. All of that being said, some people do love these little rippers. Here’s a guy on YouTube who digs his:
Always Be Wrenching
What does that mean in practice? If you buy one of these new you should be prepared to effectively re-engineer the thing. The first action I would recommend is attacking every single nut and bolt with a socket and threadlocker. Cheap Chinese bikes often ship with loose bolts and tightening them often isn’t enough. Secure those bolts before you even do your first start.
You’ll also want to be sure you seal any naked electrical connections that you find. If you don’t, you can expect heavy corrosion in no time flat. Oh, but you’re not stopping there. One person notes:
Replace all the wheel bearings, or inspect for grease. These bikes are often shipped with very little or unpacked bearings.
Drain/Replace fork strut working fluid
Engine mount bolts should be upgraded to higher grade bolts.
Tires get replaced.
A considerable amount of wiring should be upgraded to thicker gauge.
Headlight and indicators should be modified.
Swingarm can be skewed from the factory, owners are reporting compatability with honda parts
I’ve done the above before on other Chinese bikes. The reviews on X-Pro’s website don’t paint a great picture. Here’s one person:
The delivery and assembly of the bike were excellent. It was easy and smooth to ride, ideal for beginners. However, the wiring was a common issue that I found out after doing some research. Many others had faced or were facing the same problem. Considering the low price of the bike, around a thousand dollars, it was not a bad deal. I planned to upgrade my bike to 180cc to unleash its full potential. I was curious to see what it could do. The mileage was also impressive.
Another review, emphasis mine:
The bike was a unique and eye-catching motorcycle that was good for commuting around the town. The title was provided on time, before I received the bike, which was very convenient. The assembly was easy and the registration at the local DMV office made it fully street legal. The bike had a great fuel efficiency of 100 mpg, which I verified. However, the bike also had some drawbacks. The wheels were not balanced or round, which caused the bike to shake at 35 mph. The plastic mount for the rear turn signals was fragile and broke after a week. The final drive ratio could be improved to make the bike more powerful and suitable for city streets.
Here’s a review from someone who was very angry:
I think I GOT RIPPED OFF , MY SHIPPING WAS 400.00 rl carriers not that long ago , then it needed a new carb, very unpredictable, still not trust worthy, then a flat tire jest sitting under tarp, what the FUCK. AIR LINES EVERYWHERE … WHY
That last one appears to be an Amazon purchase, where shipping is quoted at $400. Shipping is free if you buy directly from X-Pro. Still, even the reviews on X-Pro’s site mention quality issues, breakdowns, and parts that were missing on delivery.
That’s the big catch with buying a cheap Chinese bike. These motorcycles will force you to work on them. You will spend a considerable amount of time wrenching and maybe even more time making improvements where the factory failed. That’s my firsthand experience talking there. I learned how to wrench on bikes through Chinese motorcycles! You are forced to do so much tinkering that once you’re done, you will likely know how to work on so many other, better motorcycles.
In my experience, your enjoyment comes down entirely to your expectations. If you want a fast, turn-key, and reliable motorcycle? Run as fast as you can. If you want a cheap toy to tinker on when you’re bored? This will do it. Otherwise, you’ll either want to spend more money on a new motorcycle from a name brand or get just about any vintage motorcycle from a name brand. Motorcycles from the 1980s are better in every conceivable metric and you can often get them for the same price as a new bike from Amazon.
So, can you buy a brand new motorcycle for just $1,000? Sure! But you probably shouldn’t unless you’re some kind of masochist. That does describe me and naturally, I’m fighting the urge to buy one of these just for the giggles. Don’t make the same mistakes I do. Or do, I’m not your mother.
Even after servicing and replacing parts just to get it to the point of minimal usability, you’re still left with junk whereas an older, better quality item will probably require the same, but will still be a quality item with years of potential use once recommissioned and quality is a quality all its own. It might not necessarily be quantifiable, but it is readily apparent in how it feels. It’s also more likely to hold its value where junk will nearly always be junk (though great enough periods of time and rarity due to high attrition could lend it value as a mild curiosity, though not likely as a usable one). And what of the waste of all the parts that are immediately discarded and the new parts that have to be used, shipping these units across the world after they’ve been built by people in who knows what kind of horrid conditions, all for what’s sure to be a very limited lifespan or use? Maybe it’s cheap for an individual to buy, but that overly cheap item has a more serious cost spread out among many. For poor people who just need a cheap way to get around, there are better, safer e-bikes out there for the price.
I own a 2020 Amazon Grom Clone. It was meant for my wife to learn how to use a clutch. It is the biggest turd I had ever owned. I have had so much fun on it. The trick is to replace the chinesium parts with thai honda parts.
I’m not fundamentally against chinese bikes, I’ve had a couple of them over the years. Some of them were great, some are not.
But these in the article are really bottom-of-barrel quality clones.
Usually it’s not even the engine because those can be surprisingly good.
But as mentioned, rims out of round, wheel and head bearings notchy, rear swingarm warped, even some mild frame warps, electricals, wires, connectors are terrible, all hoses need replaced, and on and on it goes.
It’s a much better deal to find a lightly used Lifan KPM/KPR 200 or KPX250 or even KP Mini 150 for a couple hundred extra. That gives you better build quality and EFI.
You’ll spend that money on one of these $1k clones anyway and it’ll never be as good as the ones above.
Uh….
Are you familiar with the lore?
Wow, my mountain bike has thicker stanchions on its fork. Never mind that a good full suspension mountain bike costs many times what this thing goes for. Do these things go through any sort of certification to put them on US roads? This thing looks dangerous af. Thinking mostly the brakes…
“ Considering the low price of the bike, around a thousand dollars, it was not a bad deal”
Just because something doesn’t cost much doesn’t mean it is a good deal.
“That last one appears to be an Amazon purchase, where shipping is quoted at $400. Shipping is free if you buy directly from X-Pro.”
I wonder which one has a better return policy?
Both sites seem to suggest that you can’t return it. That’s probably why you see these end up on Facebook only months later for a fraction of the price it was purchased for.
More ammo for staying the hell away as you suggested…