Haotian HT-8 125 (Vixen 125)

I bought a version of this bike with a different badge and in 18 months of continuous use never had any serious cause for complaint.

Bought it for £750.00 (unregistered) and sold it 18 months later for £450.00.

The two issues I had involved the loss of an M6 nut from the clutch lever spindle and the rear light - a quick fix on both counts.

It never failed to start and never let me down on a journey - regardless of the weather.

You'll hear and read plenty of bombastic nonsense spouted about Chinese bikes - ignore it and think about the following:

You're buying this bike to LEARN on, so you don't want to spend a lot;

TAKE CARE OF IT! - I really can't emphasise this too much;

The golden rules:

If you keep it outside, THEN KEEP IT COVERED!

Keep it WIPED DOWN, CLEAN and WAXED EVERY WEEK!

Check the tyre pressures EVERY DAY! - You should do this with any bike.

Check the spark plug gap every week;

Check that all accessible electrical connections are clean, dry and covered - do it once a week;

Change the oil every 500 km and change the air filter at the same time - part are dirt cheap.

Keep the fuel tank at least half full at all times.

DON'T THRASH IT!

Treat your bike like a beloved pet and the love will come back.

This may come as a surprise to some fellow motorcyclists, but I did not buy my Lexmoto Vixen due to a mid-life crisis. I have always been a fan of custom-styled bikes. It’s a great cheap entry-level learner machine will do 55mph from new and I wanting this one when I sat on it for the first time. The engine is great from zero mileage and gets better with use, Its air-cooled and perfect and I have had no problems since I bought it in October 2012. It is kind of cool to use the kickstart method instead of the starter button, but it starts every time without fail. Tall handlebars and larger rear tyre give you a light steering sensation from the front, which is great in traffic. This bike provides a very comfy ride and has an almost chirpy growl to the exhaust a very happy bike. One of the best simple things I found was the gear indicator on the dash which let you know what gear your in, Great for the novice biker. All in all an excelent all round starter learner legal motorcycle which looks and sounds like a lot bigger motorcycle.

There has been some bad builds out there but the lads at Blackburn motorcycle and scooter center could not have done a better job. Every washer was checked and every nut was tightened and they would not let me leave with the vixen untill they and myself where 100% happy everything was perfect. You cant go wrong buying a lexmoto vixen for your first motorcycle and you cant get a better one from anywhere but Blackburn motorcycle and scooter center.

owned my vixen now for three years, brought it as a commuter, so its used 5 days a week whatever the weather.

engine is a nice little unit, starts off kick or electric first time without choke, in any weather, ive changed the oil yearly regardless of miles and had no problems.

Gear box is clunky but ok, now having problems with the changer arm, the arm is spinning without changing gears, whilst the bolt is still tight, will probably just shim it up and tighten, fixable but annoying.

the chrome on the bike is awful, very thin and not well applied, when you add to this the fact that the steel underneath is also thin and cheap you get a lot of rust that you just cant stop.

the exhaust rusts as well,if buying new you should give thought to getting some good paint onto them to try to slow this down but i doubt itll do much good, im actually surprised they haven't rusted through yet.

the head light bulb blows frequently no matter how good a replacement i buy.

all original bolts on the bike are now totally rusted, no doubt some will be a right pain when/if i have to undo them. all nuts and bolts on the bike are poor quality and should be replaced with decent ones.

the chain stretches amazingly fast necessitating constant resetting, if you dont do it the chain will fall of as you ride, not a nice thing to happen, the chain also rusts quickly.

the tyres are also poor, especially in the wet, i dont have to travel far so havent bothered to change them, but would if i had distance to travel.

the spedo cable has unscrewed itself and fallen out twice now.

petrol consumption is very good.

handling is ok, in the dry, poor in the wet.

over all im not sorry i brought it but i wouldnt ever buy another

The bike is not made right ! cheap parts not worth buying its cost me the earth and its only got 6000 miles on the clock i am now going to smash it up .i woud'nt give it to anyone i try to do my in this world but must say this is the worst bike i have ever had you buy cheap you buy dear chinese

I currently own 1 and to be honest its great it never lets me down my girlfriend loves it i leave it out in the rain all nite and it starts second kick i rag it qbout down woods i even wheelie the hell outta it n it still works .....there cheap to buy there chesp to fix there chesp to run so basically get 1 and have a laugh i am ......

Bought my Vixen June 2013 primarily as a training bike for passing my test. As a first bike cannot find any fault with this. The engine was very tight to start with though, giving a top end of around 55 mph, however this loosened up after about 3000km and gave about 60 to 65. The higher speeds were comfortable with but some slight vibration from time to time. The Revs run near the red for the higher speeds, but this is just the way the bike is set up, and did not seem to stress or over rev the block. I owned the bike for 4 months before I passed my test before trading it in as PX for a Fazer. Over these four months due to a change in work circumstances I Ended up commuting 140 miles a day, a workload that the Vixen coped with better than I did, having no problems. The trade in for the bike was about half what I paid for it but given the low level of outlay (under a grand) for a new bike and the mileage I did on it , can't complain about that really.

For what it is, the Vixen is an excellent training bike and city run around low on cost, reliable, a nice ride, and economical on fuel, and mechanically sound, I cannot find a bad thing to say about this bike.

i bought a lexmoto vixen last nov 2012 i have done 20000 miles in just over 12 months u might think ? 20000 but it has done that many i travel to work 5 days a week doing 80 miles a day. the bulid could be better but for it price its what u expect had a few probs . the chain has had to replaced 3 times and just replaced the sprocket set and pin bushes. not good and handling in wet or snow its looking old now so im getting a new one in march mp3 i think but must amit bike earned its money that i have saved in petrol going to work

I own a vixen 125cc rode it carefully till it did 1000kms,then changed the oil for a good quality oil,put in an ngk plug,replaced certain nut and bolts with stainless and locking nuts all ok now. I have just rode mine from leeds to Newcastle with one stop and that was for me not the bike and back again,the bike NEVER COUGHED OR SPLUTTERED just kept on going.look after this bike and it will look after you,thrash it everywhere and you will break it. mine has now done 6,700 kms and still going strong,i give it a good run and open it up once every couple of months and it does 65/70 MPH NO BOTHER even with my 18 stone frame on it.SUPER BIKE

I bought this bike new in 2009. I keep it garaged and don't use it in the rain generally. I have it serviced yearly and can honestly say it is a brilliant bike and unbelievable value for money. Twin exhaust and sounds lovely, goes like a dream and has never broken down except when the battery went flat because I left the parking light on. Has all the essentials, and more. It looks lovely with lots of chrome and I passed my test on it. It was affordable new and I wanted a new bike and for the money is staggeringly cheap compared to the Japanese models and I love it!

Ok I've been lucky, bought second hand for £200 and its 2 years old but spent £150 on it. Replaced clutch cable, mirror, engine casing, chain, sprocket, back light lens, fixed electric start.

The ONLY real major problem is the rubbish nylon tyres, came off it on a wet road and slid my bike under a car!

Its so bloody hard getting the correct rubber tyres for it. Got some Dunlop ones, same size but werent tubeless and now have to return them.

My advice is this, if you wanrt a cheap back just to enjoy in the summer this is great but dont ride it in winter, unless you find a way off getting better tyres.