My First Good Look At A Linhai Mainstreet 260

[spandi]

I was going into Walmart here in Palm Springs when my gaze fell upon a scooter (always of interest) it was a large machine with Arizona tags (at first I thought it might be a Majesty) but after looking it over I saw it was a Linhai Mainstreet 260 (not the Aeolus model) so naturally my curiosity was piqued, and I proceeded, with my powerful bike headlight (I was on the other kind of two wheels) to do a very close examination of the vehicle, and to be honest the built quality (imho) was right up there with the Japanese stuff. What a beautiful machine! With what appeared to be stainless bolts in the rear wheel area and very well made body panels of thick plastic, massive handlebar mountings, even the cooling fan had a stainless steel mesh shroud around it. from what I saw after about a half hour convinces me that Linhai has got to be the best Chinese scooter manufacturer out there.:tup:

[scootnwinn]

It could be it is a fine machine but it's all about how the rubber meets the road in the end isn't it? I would like to ride one for myself someday...

[spandi]

If I remember correctly they're are only making the 400 model now. (I guess they want to move into the higher end of the market)

[prodigit]

They're good machines. A lot of sales people call them the best Chinese scoots.
Korean Quality.
The aeolus also started out as a 250cc (200 before that?), and now in a 300!

[spandi]

If you check the website they're either selling 200cc models or the big 400cc touring scooters (looks like they're following the Honda product lineup.)

[oldkid]

Spandi, I have a 300cc Linhai Mainstreet and it is every bit as good a bike as my Majesty. Yamaha owns as much of the Linhai factory as they will allow and I have very pleased with mine. The one important thing that you must do if you buy one is to swap out all the liquids with new Yamaha or USA stuff. I don't think the Chinese brake fluid, antifreeze, or engine and rear gear oils are very good. I did all that and have had no problems at all with my Mainstreet.
Tom

[spandi]

Spandi, I have a 300cc Linhai Mainstreet and it is every bit as good a bike as my Majesty. Yamaha owns as much of the Linhai factory as they will allow and I have very pleased with mine. The one important thing that you must do if you buy one is to swap out all the liquids with new Yamaha or USA stuff. I don't think the Chinese brake fluid, antifreeze, or engine and rear gear oils are very good. I did all that and have had no problems at all with my Mainstreet.
TomYep. I finally talked to the owner of the 260 and he was having overheating issues with it. ( I told him about my larger Spal fan modification) yet they still insist on putting in what I consider an underpowered 5 inch fan. (which in the southwest desert don't cut it.) :no:

[stush101]

I bought a 2009 Linhai Aeolus 260 last year and so far am very happy with it. Just purchased a rear rack for it also.

[prodigit]

Linhai only makes the motors and CVT I believe?
It's the companies like BMS, Aeolus, etc.. that coat it with the bike.
My BMS 260 (with Linhai 257cc) engine was solid, but the bike literally rumbled apart after 2k miles, and was too complex.

[oldkid]

Prodigit, your info does not agree with mine. Linhai does make a lot of engines, because Yamaha helped start the factory to make engines for them, but all their engines have Linhai molded into the cases in several places. Also other parts of the bikes. It is a great engine and that is why it widely copied. My Mainstreet 300 sounds almost my my Majesty but the Majesty engine is not made by Linhai, however they do supply engines for generators, etc.

[Girlrider]

Is it true that with this kind of scooter you'd have to be fairly good at taking care of any routine or emergency maintenance issues that come up? Are parts hard to get or something?

[scootnwinn]

It's like any other Chinese machine in the respect that many shops will not work on it. Linhai is a cut above most Chinese manufacturers but bike shops don't care much. I understand parts are readily available and some are even available from any Yamaha dealer.

[prodigit]

Prodigit, your info does not agree with mine. Linhai does make a lot of engines, because Yamaha helped start the factory to make engines for them, but all their engines have Linhai molded into the cases in several places. Also other parts of the bikes. It is a great engine and that is why it widely copied. My Mainstreet 300 sounds almost my my Majesty but the Majesty engine is not made by Linhai, however they do supply engines for generators, etc.

That is actually what I said, that Linhai makes the engines (and CVT's I presume),
The bike people call a 'Linhai', but it's actually an 'Aeolus', not a Linhai.
If it where a Linhai, then my BMS TBX 260 would also be a Linhai, because both bikes share the same engine.

[spandi]

Aeolus is made by Linhai. But a lot of people refer to any Yamaha cloned engine (regardless of manufacturer) as a "Linhai"

[cookees]

I rode a Aeolus 260 all last year. Pretty nice bike. Much sportier than the Fashion I rode the year before. Ahh, one of the perks of owning a scooter shop. Trying to decide on this years ride. It's a toss up between a SYM Wolf Classic and the SYM RV200. ( Sold the 260 yesterday to a nice girl. This is her 1st scooter)

[spandi]

I rode a Aeolus 260 all last year. Pretty nice bike. Much sportier than the Fashion I rode the year before. Ahh, one of the perks of owning a scooter shop. Trying to decide on this years ride. It's a toss up between a SYM Wolf Classic and the SYM RV200. ( Sold the 260 yesterday to a nice girl. This is her 1st scooter)Great, The Linhai is a pretty sweet ride, while the Fashion is more like a Lay-Z-Boy on wheels. :D BTW, did you give our latest scooterista the run down on a pdi?...or is she just going to stop by your place to have it done?

[scootnwinn]

I imagine cookee, being a knowledgeable scooter dude, gave that scoot, that he rode for a year and then sold, a thorough pdi and also regular and meticulous maintenance in addition to a thorough check prior to sale...

[prodigit]

I rode a Aeolus 260 all last year. Pretty nice bike. Much sportier than the Fashion I rode the year before. Ahh, one of the perks of owning a scooter shop. Trying to decide on this years ride. It's a toss up between a SYM Wolf Classic and the SYM RV200. ( Sold the 260 yesterday to a nice girl. This is her 1st scooter)
Lucky you!
However you're not alone,
I generally buy one new scoot per year (actually my track record for the past 2 years was 1 scoot per 6 months.

I sell my old one, and buy a better suited one.

So far, my fleet exists of a 50cc TaoTao ATM, an EVO150, and a VT750 motorcycle.

I'm still juggling around, but since MPG is most important to me, I wished I had purchased following line-up:
- Honda PCX125 for 90% of the trips
- Suzuki TU250X For the medium and large trips

Should I not have gotten a PCX125, I would have gone for a PCX150, or a TaoTao PowerMax 150.
I'm still doubting between the TU250X, and the S40. The Suzuki Boulevard S40 is not fuel injected, but if it was, hopefully it's fuel mileage would increase, and I would have gotten that one.

I don't really need a big motorcycle, but I'm kind of a fan of single cylinder motorcycles now.
The issue with having 2 cylinders, and still being able to get home on one cylinder should the other fail, has never happened to me.
If I ever am going to continue traveling with my wife at large distances again, I probably would go for a Yamaha V-star 950.

[cookees]

Yep, had my business partner, Mike, go over the 260 top to bottom. Fresh oil and fresh gas.
Had him fully prep the SYM Wolf Classic. Took it out on Saturday. Three words....O...M...G...! What a great little bike.

[Loftydude]

That's my Mainstreet that Spandi mentioned earlier. His name is Linny.....LOL. Very fun to ride. I have had some issues since purchasing last year, but I mostly attribute those to the fact that he sat for his first 6 years in a garage, Only had 1300 miles on it when purchased. Sitting is not good for these machines. Am needing a few parts like a water temp sensor and heat guage. Also thinking I need a larger fan. Any ideas?

[spandi]

That's my Mainstreet that Spandi mentioned earlier. His name is Linny.....LOL. Very fun to ride. I have had some issues since purchasing last year, but I mostly attribute those to the fact that he sat for his first 6 years in a garage, Only had 1300 miles on it when purchased. Sitting is not good for these machines. Am needing a few parts like a water temp sensor and heat guage. Also thinking I need a larger fan. Any ideas?Hiya LD! Hope everything is going well for you and Linny. As far as a new (read Larger) fan, it may depend if in your scoot it comes as a unit (with the radiator) or not, if not, then you can get one of the larger (I use a 7" diameter) fans. (Spal is one of the best) I ended up making brackets from three small lengths of 1/2' x 1/8' bar stock from Home Depot, drilled new bolt holes and painted them with auto enamel. Using them to align with the radiator bolt holes that were originally there for the smaller fan.

[richardthescooter1]

Awesome!