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| Lifan Metro 50 LF50QT-2A |
So get this, I’m happily scootering along the sea-side on a pleasant sunny day when suddenly all hell breaks loose! I panic and my life flashes before my eyes, (turns out I’ve really got to get out more as my life wasn’t all that exciting - anyway back to the action) I frantically look around. It’s a truck, it’s right on me. I’m definitely dead; no hold on it’s...I don’t know…I’m a truck, no…I’m in a truck. “Someone help me†I screamed. Suddenly realization hit me, it wasn’t a truck. I thought I’d heard the reversing beep of a large truck, I was wrong it was just a bomb…a bomb? Damn, I’m dead anyway. It must be big bomb because the countdown beep is SO LOUD. Ever so slowly through a thick fog of confusion it began to hit me, I’d merely hit the indicator switch on the Lifan Metro 50, the sound was coming from the very scooter I was riding. Now I’m normally a big fan of audible indicator warnings as they stop you leaving indicator on after you’ve made a turn. This beep however is just too much. It’s like the reverse beep on a 747…no the space shuttle…no hell it’s like the planet Earth had to reverse into a car park in a large metal planet sized box…it’s that loud. Yeeeaaahhhhh.
Back to reality (dammit it’s so boring here). The bike in point, the Lifan Metro 50; first off it’s Chinese….whoa there chopper, ease it up. I know, I know, I’ve heard it all before. Chinese bikes are junk etc etc…well, at least in this case, you’d be wrong. Lifan is the largest motorcycle engine manufacturer in the world…yep the largest. They produce a range of 260 models and sell them in over 100 countries. This means they know a thing or two about making bikes. Lifan has also been in the scooter game since 1992 and are defiantly one of the higher quality Chinese brands. So the Metro? Well given it’s incredibly low price I was expecting…well something that rhymes with dunk, however the Lifan Metro really did surprise me, this is a remarkably high quality scooter for the price. First off the bike simply rides very well, everything seems to work with a solid cohesion, the suspension is surprisingly good, the bike turns well and the brakes are also above average. The disc brake on the front wheel is quite strong and offers a good lever feel so fast stops are a breeze. There’s only a drum brake on the back wheel; however at this price that is just fine. In terms of 50cc bikes the LF50QT-2A is certainly above average in the all round ride quality department.
Living with the Lifan is going to be a breeze too, the bike is a little heavier than some 50s at 93.5kg but you hardly notice it. Getting it on and off the centre stand is fairly easy and there’s also a nice side stand that automatically shuts the bike off when extended, something that bikes costing many times more fail to offer. The under seat storage area will just hold a full face helmet and there’s also an open glove box upfront. I’m still undecided as to whether a lockable front box is better or worse than an open glove box; an open storage area really is great when you’re just zapping up the road for lunch. Both would be the best compromise.
The big bonus you’re going to notice immediately is the superb fuel economy. We returned a fuel economy of 2.6L/100kms or 91MPG (our earlier figure was inaccurate, sorry) which is the best result of any bike we’ve tested up until today, (13.2.08) 2.6 liters per 100kms means fuel is basically free. With the large 7.8L fuel tank you’ll run nearly 270kms before you need to fill up. That’s about twice the distance of most 50cc bikes and probably two weeks of riding for most people.
Performance wise the Lifan is a bit up and down. The top speed of 63kph on flat ground is above average and makes it very useable in most city traffic. The downside is the bike is a little slow of the line and through the mid range. Interestingly I don’t think the engine is at fault as once it hits about 50kph it accelerates smoothly to 60kph. Our test bike was de-restricted but it almost felt like the bike still ran some sort of restriction that limited the midrange somehow. It may just be a simple case of changing the rollers in the gearbox to make the pickup a little faster, it’s definitely worth a look as if you could get it off the line a little faster the Metro would be perfect.
Summing up; well what do you say? A scooter for this sort of money that just runs would be a good deal, in fact most 2nd hand bikes cost about the same as a brand new Lifan Metro 50. The fact that the bike is fun to ride, surprisingly well built and actually looks pretty cool is just a bonus. Of the various 50cc bikes on the market today the Lifan simply offers close to, or possibly the best value for money of any bike available. Definitely worth a test ride, even if you were expecting to pay more. Hell, buy the Metro and fly to Fiji for a week’s holiday in the sun with the money you’ll save.
Manufacturer Specifications
Comments
(13)
 written by Rashan , July 14, 2009
Is Canada part of North America ? please reply cause im 14 and im in need of one
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 written by chris williams , May 31, 2009
hey guys, i took my lifan apart in search for the annoying buzzer! its just the front panel and is easy to take off, theres like 5 screws and it pops of easy. disconnecting it seemed to be linked to the actual indicater lights too. Its a little black square, just put the indicator on youll here where it is!!! there is a little rectangular gap in the box where the noise comes out from, i simply covered this in black tape and it blocked the sound by like 75 percent. SO now i can here it but not everyone in a 1km radius!!!!!
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 written by Stu66 , February 25, 2009
I've had mine new since December,and it gets better every time I use it,The flat spot between 40 to 50km is gone,and I've had it off the clock,its a happy chappy.I've also got use to the loud indicators,if you want people to notice you,just turn them on NICE.I like the weight, I'm only 60kgs so I need a heavier bike, the yamaha jog is way too small for me. I've just brought a New Piaggio X9 500ie for weekend cruises,Love it so much, and I don't have problems getting it on and off its center stand, wonder when we will see a review on the X9 on this site.
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 written by vincel , September 23, 2008
All those wanting to ditch the turn signal of doom... I would leave it alone... it is loud but actually a very handy device. If you wanted to remove it I suspect it would be as simple as bypassing or muffling the buzzer... would involve some dismantling though I would suspect.
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To buy on in the USA talk to these guys http://www.americanlifan.com/lifan3/scooters.html report abuse
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 written by Liz Lee , September 14, 2008
You mentioned the deafening turn signal indicator is easily fixed. My daughter has one of these scooters and she is reluctant to use the indcator because of the sound. What do you mean by "easily fixed".
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 written by Russ Albertson , July 15, 2008
Where can you buy the Lifan Metro line in the US?
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written by Russ Albertson , July 15, 2008
Where can you buy the lifan metro line in the U.S.?
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 written by justin whitaker , July 01, 2008
how do you turn off that horrible turn signal audible?
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written by vincel , June 24, 2008
Went ok up hills, not too many 50's are "good" uphill but it was sort of average I guess... not bad as far as 50cc machines go and not as good as the fastest ones. You could probably live with it ok if you weren't doing loads of hill work but as I said there aren't too many in this cc bracket that are super hill warriors
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 written by Tim D , June 20, 2008
How did the Lifan do on hills?
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Great review of the scooter. I love the stuff here.