lady wants a misfit

Mr.Wilde

78' Maha Triple
so my lady has finally gotten the urge to get a bike of her own. nothing big, just something to bob around town on. we went to a big motorcycle show at the trade x in vancouver a few months back and she fell in love with the 250 misfit by cleveland cycleworks. i told her that she might want something used as her first bike, but she wants something thats new and shinny. it does look to me like an awesome little bike for her. good price, good size, good look. but how does it handle? is it reliable? anyone out there with any opinions on this bike? being from victoria, bc, canada, i'm having trouble trying to find a dealer in my area. so it might be to much of a hassel for what its worth. unless its an awesome piece of macheinery.
 

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Thanks swivel. That's a nifty little production cafe. I'll Have to look into it some moreand show the lady. And ya, she's 5'6 and 125lbs.
 
Buy one in Toronto and I'll ride it there for you :) Just need a flight home.
 
Are you mechanically inclined? I would guess you are being a member here, Contact the distributor off the parent site and see if they will ship it to you with the dealer set up instructions. I am thinking of doing the same being in the Maritimes with no dealer here either. From what I have seen they are worth the price. Although a CBR250R is basically the same cost but as well built as that bike would be it has 0 Soul compared to the Misfit.
 
now theres a good idea. i did e-mail the canadian site a few days ago. they said they are in the middle of "rebranding" their canadian market and that i should check out the site in the next few weeks for some exciting news.... humm. however, my lady has gone and got her learners and wants something to ride asap and my friends wife does have an xs400 thats in really nice shape kicking around. she is willing to sell for $400 . form what i remeber it just needs the carbs cleaned. so, she is thinking that she'll go for the xs, and by the time she's ready to upgrade (or down size), there might be a dealer in our area. or she might just fall in love with the xs400 and i can just mod it to look like the misfit!
 
PM djelliott. I think he is pretty familiar with the bikes and company or can direct you to someone who is.
 
Since I have one I can offer some advice:

http://youtu.be/QTAbMaRVFsQ

DON'T BUY ONE

Nothing against the product, as it is exactly what it says it is, but your wife would be better served with either a new CBR250 or a vintage SR250 or CB200.

If the bike was $1000 and you wanted to improve on its short comings for another $500, then it would be OK.

The carb is a piece of garbage and the jetting is absolute shite. You can't find jets for it and we resorted to drilling the jet.

It runs like a tractor, was very poor response from the brakes and the transmission NEVER SHIFTS CORRECTLY.

The gauges are crap and short out of they get wet (however they spring back to life when dried out).

It is very small and light, with a good fork and rear shocks. If you swapped the engine out for a Japanese 250 then it would be fine.

My wife rode it last weekend and would rather drive her heavy CB400F or BMW R65. I cannot get the shifter into neutral when its running and bent the lever trying in frustration.

I'm working on a set of improvements to its short comings next week. I have a full data acquisition system to monitor the bike and see what is going wrong with the carb and timing.
 

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I looked at these a year back. Glad I didn't get one.

Is there any chance the problems would be from the local dealer that put them together? I know they send out the kits and let the locals assemble, not sure if someone got lazy and that helped the inferior product or if it's just shite to begin with.

#justathought
 
I can't argue either way because I don't own one, have not ridden one, or have no other first hand knowledge. But I talked to a gent at the Cincinnati Mods and Rockers event this past Saturday who had one. He said that he really enjoyed it and had a few small issues but he rode it to and from work every day. Sorry, I cannot remember how long he said that he'd had it (maybe since early spring or last fall). He did say that he did not like taking it on the interstate because it was so small and light but didn't mind it on the smaller highways. He bought his in Lexington, KY. If I remember correctly the one issue that he did have was something with bearings - maybe top triple tree bearing? CCW said they would send him a new part.

So even though all we've got so far is a limited feedback of two, it would seem that quality control might be the same as what is seen on many Chinese manufactured products - one might be fine, the next might not be. I've heard similar stories from Chinese manufactured rifle scopes. One guy says his is one of the best things he's ever owned - a fantastic deal for the price. Another guy owns the same thing and says his is crap and fogs up and has bad glass. Or it could be, as a previous poster stated, the fault of the dealer/distributor assembling them.
 
No, its just a course engine and transmission. I'm taking it to a track day on Sunday for the guys to try out while I race a CB450. I was able to work around many of the driveability issues but my problem for the price it should be sweet and smooth.

rock2d2 said:
I looked at these a year back. Glad I didn't get one.

Is there any chance the problems would be from the local dealer that put them together? I know they send out the kits and let the locals assemble, not sure if someone got lazy and that helped the inferior product or if it's just shite to begin with.

#justathought
 
well from everything i have read here and what the honest bike salesman said at the store, she decided not to get one. instead we found a very nice '77 XL350, for a really good price for her. just needs a cab clean and some elbow grease. just a little jealous that i didn't have such a kick ass bike for my first.
 

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THAT is an excellent choice for a first bike. Indestructible, easy to ride, and just fast enough for around town or two lane blacktop. 8)
 
Congrats on a killer scoot for the lady! Can't tell you how much I enjoy evening/weekend rides with the wife. I also can't tell you how much I enjoy riding the twisties without her :p Enjoy :D
 
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