Baotian Monza 125cc

I bought mine with 6,800 miles on the clock. I've done 400 miles myself in 3 weeks. Just be nice to her. She takes 3 oils (Engine oil, Gear oil and Break oil). Any brand new item will have teething problems but 2nd hand items have usually had these issues ironed out. REMEMBER the kids program 'BLUE PETER'? Well there are Brand New Range Rovers in Africa (all broken down) which were bought for delivering 'Food Aid'. If they'd bought them 2nd hand they's still be running. Use your head and treat her right x

The Monza 125 is a great bike keep it serviced and she,s reliable the negative reviews need to be ignored.

great looker and very reliable its been in the rain for the last 2 months and still looks and drives like a new bike I would recommend this bike to any learner rider

Bought a new Baotian and it never worked for more than 1 month without presenting a fault. Has left me by myself many time, unreliable, poor quality, cheap ... should not be legal to sell this bike in the UK or Europe, in fact, anywhere else. It is also very dangerous to drive, as the front brake stopped working during the ride and the engine stalled at 40mph on a A road.

do not buy this at any cost.i bought my 2012 plate new and scrapper it 3 weeks short of its 1st mot.it never went more than 17 days without developing a fault.the parts are cheap to buy but even from main dealer are poor quality and dont last..from headlights to speedo cable speedo drive oil leaks switch problems the stand collapsing within 3 months of my buying it it is of inferior quality and do like i am now doing and buy a 2nd hand suzuki.....this really is a NIGHTMARE

i bought this new and for the price i guess it sounds good but it is not..reliability is a real problem and i would not consider a longish journey on this scooter in case it did not make it back..i would buy a 2nd hand japanese bike with 7000 miles on it for the same price as this was new..i have never had 2 weeks without something going wrong on bike be it headlights speedo cable etc...would say stay away..it is cheap and you certainly get whatyou pay for.

I am very satisfied with my Baotian Monza scooter, and proud of it cause I think is the only one in my country Peru, South America or maybe there are no more than ten. What I would like to know is if there is a kit to upgrade my scooter to more than 150 c.c. cause my weight is around 80 kgs and when I carry an extra passenger the powerfull of my scooter decrease some. Please answer me and send me the several posibilities on this theme, costs and the way to buy this kit.Thank you

My monza was constantly in the garage due to things breaking on it, I spent well over £500, then after 10 months it blew up. I did all servicing myself on it so I wasn't covered by warranty. The bike rusts so bad that after 10months it looked like a 15yr old bike. Do not trust this bike or the people that sell them! Both are conmen in my opinion!

Having had over 100 motorcycles and scooters over the years, and now heading into my frail dotage, I wanted something easy to ride, fun to ride, easy to handle etc.

I hope that the following observations will be of some use to those of you who are unsure about Chinese bikes etc. please be aware though that this is my own observations and experience, others may differ.

Firstly, those who remember the 1970s and the bikes available then will remember that there was often vociferous arguments in the bike press letters pages where British bikes V Jap bikes were a hot topic. I cannot use expletives on this site, even mild ones , but words sounding like Brit slit and and jap clap were commonly used.

The reality was never so straight forward. Triumphs produced by the Co-operative at Meriden even when brand new, used to vibrate so much, even at tick over on centre stand that bits fell off and the rev counter rotated in its holder. They were not good, just ask Ted Jupiter of the bike he collected from Meriden for how world trip. For those that could not afford new British or German Bikes, and few could, the choice came down to older British Iron or newer Japanese stuff. (Italian stuff was quite rare then).

The poor second hand British bikes that were affordable then, generally had one or two very good, capable and conscientious owners and half a dozen butchers. That is why they gained such a poor reputation, that plus the delights of the electric thumb on jap bikes. Jap bikes of the 1970s were reliable, but required regular oil changes to maintain engine life, and the chromium plate on the mudguards (and everywhere else) would peel off quicker than the skin on an easy peel satsuma. The electrics were not much cop. You might wonder where all this is leading? Well Jap bikes of the 1980s were much improved over the 1970s bikes thanks to better R & D, albeit often unwittingly arrived out by the owner.

I would say that the Chinese scooters available today are equal to the quality of late 1970s and mid 1980s Japanese machines. They still require regular servicing in accordance with the owners Manuel,, and it is still easy to give a teenager a new Chinese bike only for them to thrash, abuse and neglect it, and no it then would not last long.

I chose a Monza from a dealer who supposedly carried out a full and thorough PDI before delivering this road ready bike. I have a bike lift and placed the scooter on it when I got it and found several panels where there were screw holes but no screws. In fact the lower front panel was meant to have four securing screws and had none. Easily remedied by my putting in self fasteners, but not acceptable. The scooter itself is a joy to use, albeit some might find the seat height high. The plastic panels do seem thin and flex easily, BUT they will never rust.

The chrome on the indicators is very poor and pees off like a 1970s bike, but that is the only really negative point. The engine is the ubiquitous Honda 4stroke copy so widely used and is reliable, but do service it as per directed. The tyres are much better than the dreadful things fitted to Japanese bikes of the 1970s and inspire confidence.

The Monza is a very good pastiche of a Vespa, and in fact Joe Public is likely to mistake it as such when they stop to admire its lines, which they will.

Sorry for the rambling on and I only mention this for comparison sake, but having had Harley's, triumphs, moto guzzis, Zundapp, Vespa, Yamahas, Suzukis, Kawasakis Hondas and many more makes, I believe that the following statement sums up the Monza. It's carries out it specific role as well as any of the other makes mentioned above, carry out theirs. Just make sure you do a search not so much on the quality of scooter, as on the quality of dealer. That is where the difference can lie between a god experience and a rotten one.

Coming to scooters late in a life that has been dominated by motorcycles, I was surprised that most scooters nowadays have no gears! Wanting two wheels with simple construction, storage and weather protection, a scooter was the obvious choice over yet another motorbike.

After thorough research of the Internet and a few choice mags (Twist & Go is very good) I was left with only a handful of dealers locally in South Norfolk. After a tour round them, I found the Baotian Monza 125 ticked the most boxes:

Economical - on fuel, insurance and purchase cost

Good looks and conventional design

Storage and weather protection

I've ridden nearly 900 Kim's now and following its first service, "Monty” is now going better than ever. I have been getting ~ 100 mpg on mainly the 10 mile daily commute, and have so far managed 58 mph (but I hope to get a few more from the wrist, yet!). The ride is superbly comfortable on the large seat, and with a high position, visibility is excellent. Not having to change gear is a revelation, although once or twice I have forgotten, and have embarrassingly slowed suddenly...

The headlight is super efficient in high beam but a bit close on dip at speed. The bike handles exceedingly well and is very nimble in traffic.

Altogether, a wonderful little machine (although I have no other scooters with which to compare it).

However, I have found one or two little caveats:

The seat height is a little high. I'm 5'7" and can only manage one foot down!

The rear indicators are weak - but I'm waiting for them to be exchanged under warranty.

Some of the plastic parts lack robustness, and the fit is not 100%

I can highly recommend this machine. It has looks, power, handling, economy and gives great fun to the rider!