Buying your first bike on a budget

If you are in the market for a new bike, but your budget is tight so you are heading towards one of the crop of Chinese-made bikes that have entered the market over the last few years, you need to consider a few extra elements compared to a bike from an established manufacturer.  

The most obvious is dealer back-up and spares availability. If the importer goes out of business for any reason, then chances are the dealers will stop stocking spares for the bike.

If the bike is a copy of an existing Japanese model, then lots of the parts should be interchangeable, but if it’s an original design you could be stuck. So make sure you ask searching questions about the set-up and satisfy yourself that the dealer is going to still be there to help you thrugh the lifetime of your ownership of that bike.

Further reading:
Find your ideal motorcycle