Faults:

Had to remove the stand engine shutdown switch, it was a pain to open & close gates.

Plastics around the headlight broke off not long after purchase.

Had to replace the clutch cable after 5000km.

Air filter element is difficult to get to without removing all the rear plastics.

Front forks needed re-oiling at 4500km.

A little uncomfortable after hours in the seat.

General Comments:

The big plus is at the time I purchase the Kinlon, it was the only Chinese import that could have road registration, & for a pinion passenger. On the road costs at $2500, you cannot beat that.

I did change the front sprocket to one tooth larger & went for 95 to 105km on the highway.

The Kinlon was purchased to be a farm bike, with the advantage of registration as my property is on both sides of a major highway.

I have had the Kinlon for 11 years now & is still the major part of transport on my 1100 acre property. It's used on a daily basis for cattle work, farm inspections & general getting around.

My son has taken it to bike trail rides on occasion, with many good comments from people on how well the Kinlon can handle the rough.

The suspension isn't as good as the name brand bikes, but you just ride to the conditions & to the bike's capabilities.

Recently the rear tyre was changed to a higher profile with larger gripped pattern, & what a difference that made. The old original front sprocket is back on; now it goes anywhere we need to go on the farm.

I recommend the Kinlon bikes for farm use anywhere; if it can handle the Australian conditions all year round for the past 11 years & still doing its job, well to me that's $2500 well spent.

I've had name brand bikes in the past & still have them piling up at the back of the shed. Kinlon has won me, I would go out and buy 10 tomorrow if you could buy them new today.

Faults:

Battery failed within one week.

Would not idle.

Air fuel adjustment just reverted back to poor setting.

Kick start is not calibrated properly to shaft, and sits proud.

Control switch mounts are loose and cannot be tightened without filing or packing.

Seat is dangerous, as the male fitting nipple only just fits into the female chassis slot by about 1mm.

Front guard has discoloured, and it's been stored in a garage since new?

Fingers hit the handle bar x bar when turning the key.

Accelerator handle has "stripped" and overturns by about mm in rotation.

Condenser packed it in at about 90km.

General Comments:

Travels well when not about to stall. Have found that starting on choke and running on closed for about 10 minutes, gives sufficient "warm up" to avoid stalls.

Quiet, relatively smooth runner, and is suited well for inner city commuting.

Would probably suit recreational rego in Victoria, ride around the van park on holidays, pickup light supplies etc.

I would not recommend this bike for a learner, as it lacks power to get out of trouble, and is plagued with reliability issues. A stall at an intersection could prove fatal. Very poor re-sale value, even given its low purchase price.

Faults:

Faulty sidestand cutout switch required removal.

Accelerator cable faulty, had to jerry-rig a spacer to take up excess cable housing, probably a factory fault (wrong cable fitted).

Front guard bolts missing on delivery.

Support rubbers missing under seat.

Drain hole in muffler blows exhaust water all over rear brake caliper. Had to plug with self-tapper.

Impossible to kick-start.

Any low tensile bolts unscrewed come out bent.

Tank side fairings cracking.

Bike won't idle when warm without throttle input. Idles okay for a few seconds, then just dies.

Rider foot pegs at way different angles, left side pointed down, boot slips off. Had to build up with weld to match other side.

All fairing attachment bolts were missing shock rubbers. Had to make my own.

Couldn't achieve a good position for the rear brake lever, there is no adjustment, so I had to cut bend and re-weld the lever to suit my riding position. Looks a bit better than the original now, but would be much more prone to bending.

The pillion grab handles are cheap, insecure and put the pillion's wrists at a very uncomfortable angle. I fitted a more user friendly grab rail.

The speedo cable tends to get caught up on the horn when maneuvering at low speeds, nearly dropped it twice pushing it backwards because of that. Cable ties fixed the problem.

Updated 25th July 2011:

The only new item of concern is surface rust appearing on the fork tubes around the triple clamps.

General Comments:

I knew when I bought this bike that I was going to have build quality issues. I don't mind fettling things into shape myself, so not TOO many complaints.

I wouldn't recommend a Kinlon to anyone who had to rely on paid labour to de-glitch it. Most respectable bike mechanics don't want to know about them anyway.

It gets a fair bit of two-up use, fortunately my partner's no giant, but from what I hear the pillion seat is very hard, and would bring about a bum transplant sooner or later.

Two-up performance is non-existent, but to be fair it's not really designed for that sort of use. Solo riding is fine, as long as you resign yourself to short-shifting and using what little torque the 200cc engine has. It's an acceptable city commuter, more stable with that big front wheel than a scooter. Haven't had it in the dirt, I don't think this is the bike I want to be riding to gain experience in the soft stuff.

The suspension is quite firm for a trailie, bumps go right through he bars and seat. That's okay on the blacktop, but would be scary off-road.

Updated 25th July 2011:

With all its faults at purchase, and with those sorted, in fairness I cannot really fault this bike.

The handling of this bike in wet conditions is excellent.

Brakes are still very average however.

The reliability is also exceptional. This bike has never failed to start.

I have given it minimal servicing, and it's still running very well.

Absolutely great value for money.