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.