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#MCNwednesday FEATURES 29 BUYING & SELLING SPORT EVENTS GARAGE THIS WEEK NEW BIKES October 29 2014 miles) on a Chinese 125 The upside is that it’s a very simple machine with little to scare the home mechanic – and you get useful stan- dard equipment, too, like a mainstand. So does that mean you’re working on it all the time? Not really. The drive chain is a weak point and needs adjusting every 250 miles, which makes that mainstand essential. The battery is struggling to start the engine on these colder morn- ings, so regular charging is a must. Or would be if the Panther didn’t have a kickstart! Did you say you were on the M25? That’s a motorway! The Panther is my sole means of trans- port so I use it like a car. I commute 10 miles daily to the office and then, be- cause of my job as MCN’s BSB reporter, haul all my luggage and cameras to the tracks at the weekend. So there are plenty of trips on the M6, M25, M20 etc. It’s not built for motorway riding, obviously, and the long haul to Oulton Park drags a bit. The Panther cruises at 65mph in ideal conditions but that speed drops to 55mph in strong head- winds, and down to 50 if there’s a hill involved. I like the engine; it only makes 12bhp but it feels like a strong 12, if that makes sense. It does, however, use plenty of oil on motorway slogs, which adds to my running costs. (See Owner’s Log, right.) How comfortable is it? A roomy, well-padded seat and a spa- cious riding position mean that I rarely end a ride with aches or pains. It’s no tourer and, with only a little flyscreen, you wouldn’t expect much protection from the elements, but I was surprised by how effective it is. I’ve been through some hellish weather this year and still managed to stay reasonably dry. Have you crashed it? I ran foul of wet roads back in May while riding to the North West 200. The tip-off was at low speed – I lost the front – totally my fault. Luckily it did little damage to the bike apart from cracking the front plastics, which I repaired with plastic weld. In my defence, the standard CST tyres are awful in the rain, and they were the one thing that I changed as soon as possible. The tyre sizes are odd, with the front an imperial size and the rear metric. A set of Continental ContiGos have addressed the issue and greatly increased both feel and my confidence in the wet. So, is it good value for money - really? For £1549, plus on-the-road charges, you get a basic-but-solid machine that shouldn’t fail you. And even if it does, you get a two-year parts and labour warranty as standard. It has averaged over 90mpg. ‘The Panther cruises at 65mph but that drops to 55mph in strong headwinds’ Would you buy one for yourself? I love racing and sportsbikes so the Panther, a pure commuter, doesn’t get my heart pumping. It steers nicely, has that eager engine and, on the right tyres, inspires confidence – my riding has improved a lot this summer. My bike has been thrashed on motorways, subjected to neglect and overloading and come through it all really well. I’m surprised that more riding schools don’t use Chinese machines instead of their more expensive Japanese brethren. If you live in the suburbs and work in central London, the £2000 you’d spend a year on the tube will easily cover a brand new Panther and riding kit, plus insurance and the meagre sum of £17 a year in road tax. And you’d definitely have more fun on the Zontes than on the train. Miles completed: 5180 Service intervals: at 1000 miles then every 3000 miles; cost £90 MPG: 92mpg Oil consumption: One litre per 600 miles Annual running costs: tax £17, insurance £184, servicing £180, plus oil Modifications: Continental ContiGo tyres (£63 pair) Good points: q Cheap to buy, maintain and run q Surprisingly strong engine q Light and nimble for city riding Bad points: q Build quality is poor in places SIMON’S LOG TECH SPEC Engine 125cc single- cylinder ohc 4-stroke Fuelling Carburettor Seat Height 755mm Dry Weight 115kg Fuel Capacity 15 litres Claimed power 11.6bhp @ 8000rpm Transmission Five-speed Warranty Two-year warranty Contact www.zontes.co.uk ZONTES PANTHER 125 £1621 ( OTR) Just look at them go! Thanks to the Zontes, Simon’s riding has im- proved no end Outside BBC Radio Lincolnshire. The Zontes gets around Chain needs adjustment every 250 miles Looks like 2014 BSB champ Shane Byrne’s got his ride for next year sorted out... perhaps not
