The Chinese are now seriously making an advance in motorcycle country. They mainly do this by using Japanese and German engine blocks from BMW and the like. Blocks that the top European and Japanese factories very cleverly already had made in China. Now that the Real Brands are having a new generation of motorcycle blocks made - again in China - the Chinese can use the earlier generation of engines for their own motorcycle builders.
Suddenly there is a whole new set of brands that want to conquer the market. Or will conquer. Because there are now many people too young to fall for legends like BMW, Harley and Triumph. Previously, there was also plenty of production in China. My Mash 125, which I purchased as a shopping bike – made in China under French quality control – is an example of this. The 2017 single-cylinder engine is reminiscent of the Hondas from the 60s in terms of looks, has a Suzuki GN125 cc clone engine and I am regularly approached with slogans such as: “What a beautiful moped!” and “How beautifully it has been restored”.
My Mash was on consignment with Roadrunner motors due to an electrical fault. Hans doesn't usually have a consignment business, but the Mash belonged to his neighbor and had run 2017 km since 6000. Something about 'on the back of the camper' or something. Hans had no desire to damage his reputation by selling an older copy of an unknown brand to a stranger. But I'm not a stranger. And Hans knows that I am happy with a Ural team, so that my quality requirements are modest.
The fault turned out to be a defective switch. Furthermore, the Mash was ZGAN. But he didn't like to walk. And that was clearly in the fuel supply. The Mash had a Delphi injection. At the bottom it gave a rather rich mixture. He was very poor at the top. The four-gas meter and the exhaust colors proved this. With my universal meter I couldn't do much about the injection. An electronically savvy comrade saw little potential with the Delphi electronics. With some soldered-in resistors you could… Well, that was beyond me.
Then you start thinking basicly: The small single-cylinder is a copy of the old Suzuki GN125 block. And you can't buy a replacement carburetor for that much from Ali. I did not end up with Ali, but with FB friend Ben van Eerdt who also knows how the hares run. Ben delivered a brand new carburetor to another comrade of his for an Ali price plus some gas money.
I disconnected all the scary electronics, removed the injection and the Lambda sensor. The fuel pump also came out of the tank and I made a fuel tap on the tank. The carburetor was made to fit. Even the throttle cable installed without any problems. For ease of installation, Joost Woesthoff supplied a K&N filter with experience. After everything was pretty much assembled, it was off and running. And running is a lot better with the carburetor. Faster and faster than with the injection. Is the whole still fully compliant with Euro 4, 6 or 6? No idea. But with the carburetor I have made my little daily driver a lot more classic again. And for me that's classic enough.
And in the meantime there is also the Mutt brand. And that is then edited under British supervision.
We had Berini motorcycles here before and they came from Mahindra in India. But will all those endearing, daily-use retro free-range animals ever become 'classics'? We think they can 'get old' at their best.
** The Chinese clones of veteran, light Japanese engine blocks are known as 'bamibloks'. Owners of classic Hondas up to about 100 cc buy something new for a few hundred euros to save their original blocks for Sunday rides. The fact that original 50 cc Honda engines can shamelessly grow to 140 cc is quite exciting from an insurance perspective.
Wonderful mopeds, that Mash 125.
I have the Mash 75 with carburetor (I think it was 2016: bought second-hand for next to nothing and with less than 2.000 km on the odometer) and it runs like a charm.
https://www.motor-forum.nl/attachments/1537359941143-png.1329152/
“Young” people (and not only) have little understanding of money matters, including the debts they incur. So they go out and buy noodles. As well as “score a BMW M3 grille at Ali Express”. The hope for a more peaceful world has almost been given up in the increasingly powerful and aggressive c.country. And as long as we live in the me-world, things will never turn out well 😉
But it's better to conquer the world with trade than with bombs. And in terms of China, I think it's just the changing of the guard. New times, new powers. But does it make it more fun?
I find myself grabbing the thing more and more often. By the way, the standard response is “How beautiful it is! How old is it / Has it been restored? “
A good carburetor doesn't have to be bad. With careful adjustment that is certainly not limited to adjusting the idle speed and mixture, but that the choice of jets also almost 'ad finitum' approaches perfection, a carburetor is a great thing. The float level is also part of this. With my 82er 'Bavarian Boxer' I tested the Bing VV carburetors extensively and made sharp choices. The result is astonishing. The thing runs like a fire brigade, the exhaust smells more of thin air than of gasoline and the even colder spark plugs remain very clean. All this goes hand in hand with achieving the correct ignition timing. I'm not telling anyone anything new, but all that careful work has to be done. With self-learning injections and a 'piss viewer' called a lambda probe, it can hardly go wrong with the correct 'mapping' of the electronic brain. Your MASH Dolf therefore surprises me somewhat with its incorrect mixing. The action with the carburetor deserves praise. Classic love for the classic carburetor. Nothing wrong with that at all! 👍🏼
Hi Maurice. Apparently the injection was from Delphi. And my friend Jan K, who is genetically electronic, couldn't do much with it. The 50 euro carburetor was plug & play. And all unnecessary things and strings are removed or hidden.
The Honda 50cc four-stroke riders (M/F/X) are divided over the Chinese clone blocks..
On the one hand, it's nice that they are there, because parts are often interchangeable with 'the original', but in terms of quality there is no match for a “Real” one.
Which is nice; the bami cubes have electronic 12V ignition, which with some tinkering also fits an MZ, Jawa or AWO.
That makes me happy again...
And prefer to stick with a real old Honda push rod block (C310).
I don't remember who sang it. But the song was 'It is all about the money'