Thread: Trail Buddy Pro or Pitster Classic Pro 125

What does everyone think about these two bikes? Trying to decide which one to get. Mangyrat had a good writeup on the trail buddy but it is hard to find someone with the Pitster Pro Classic.

The info on Pitsters website point out that their bike has new stuff on it over the the traditional china made bike....triple clamps, reinformed swing arm etc. Tires look small though and don't know about how good the suspension. Person on other forum said all china made suspensions are junk for adult riders and need to be reworked to be safe at 55+mph. Don't know if this is true or not.

Price wise...Pitster Pro Classic 125 seems to be cheaper than the Trail Buddy.

Pitster classic comes with GPX 125 and Trail Buddy Lifan 125. Not sure if one is better than the other. Also not sure if both have the same inherent hub weakness that has been discussed. Think Pitster uses 4 bolt instead of clip though.

Pitsterpro - Quality Pit Bikes, Mini Bikes, Pit Bike Parts & Accessories
or
Trail Buddy Pro

Thoughts? Not trying to start a replica flame war...just want some honest opinions about both as this is still a large chunk of money in todays economy...pros and cons.

Thanks, Mike

Originally Posted by kintave

What does everyone think about these two bikes? Trying to decide which one to get. Mangyrat had a good writeup on the trail buddy but it is hard to find someone with the Pitster Pro Classic.

The info on Pitsters website point out that their bike has new stuff on it over the the traditional china made bike....triple clamps, reinformed swing arm etc. Tires look small though and don't know about how good the suspension. Person on other forum said all china made suspensions are junk for adult riders and need to be reworked to be safe at 55+mph. Don't know if this is true or not.

Price wise...Pitster Pro Classic 125 seems to be cheaper than the Trail Buddy.

Pitster classic comes with GPX 125 and Trail Buddy Lifan 125. Not sure if one is better than the other. Also not sure if both have the same inherent hub weakness that has been discussed. Think Pitster uses 4 bolt instead of clip though.

Pitsterpro - Quality Pit Bikes, Mini Bikes, Pit Bike Parts & Accessories
or
Trail Buddy Pro

Thoughts? Not trying to start a replica flame war...just want some honest opinions about both as this is still a large chunk of money in todays economy...pros and cons.

Thanks, Mike

i came from the pitbike scene, and can tell you that the pitster pros have the best reputation out of all the chinese knock-offs, as does the gpx motors they put in them. i would go pitster over trail buddy. dont know about the others, but the pitsters have good customer service and support from their vendors from what i have read and heard.

I've had my Trailbuddy Pro since last August and I can tell you my experience has been very positive. Currently, I have logged 2400 miles on my bike with no major problems. I oppted for the road package on my bike. The guys at Trailbuddy are great. I live about 50 miles from there shop and have had the opportunity to go there and see for myself what they do. Customer service is there number one priority.

please let us know if anyone here gets the pitster classic and how it compares to other retro clones

CRKid,
Newbie here.
Looking for the same advice.
Any decision on your end?
Manual or auto trans on the Pitster?

I had an opportunity to test drive and see a pitster classic up close and personal...and my advice would be to avoid it.

I have purchased parts from trail buddy (front 30mm forks, fenders, taillight, bulbs, tools, and misc stuffs) and have been very pleased. If you look at my bike for sale in the classifieds, you can see some of the stuff I purchased on this bike.

Motor for motor...whose to say...the Jialing 125 has a better reputation than the lifan 125 but its pretty much a tossup. There are more readily available mods for a Jialing 125 because it runs a 13mm wrist pin while the lifan runs a 14mm pin.

One note on electric start...if you mod the motor to be bigger and higher compression, the starter won't turn it over!

Hi there cat,

Care to elaborate on why you think one should avoid the pitster classic? What weaknesses did you see compared to the trailbuddy? I'm going to be buying one or the other soon and want to make the best decision possible.

Thanks

I'm in the same boat, about to get something, just tierd of waiting to find a decent original. The thing I don't like about the clone avenue is having to "rebuild" it before you ever start it!! That list of pre-ride stuff is amazing! Don't either of the better companies to a pre-delivery isnspection, or do we have to totally assmeble them too?

Originally Posted by fatcaaat

I had an opportunity to test drive and see a pitster classic up close and personal...and my advice would be to avoid it.

I have purchased parts from trail buddy (front 30mm forks, fenders, taillight, bulbs, tools, and misc stuffs) and have been very pleased. If you look at my bike for sale in the classifieds, you can see some of the stuff I purchased on this bike.

Motor for motor...whose to say...the Jialing 125 has a better reputation than the lifan 125 but its pretty much a tossup. There are more readily available mods for a Jialing 125 because it runs a 13mm wrist pin while the lifan runs a 14mm pin.

One note on electric start...if you mod the motor to be bigger and higher compression, the starter won't turn it over!

fatcaat,
Please explain your concerns about the Pitster Classic. I don't intent to modify the motor.
Thanks

Originally Posted by jedsled

i came from the pitbike scene, and can tell you that the pitster pros have the best reputation out of all the chinese knock-offs, as does the gpx motors they put in them. i would go pitster over trail buddy. dont know about the others, but the pitsters have good customer service and support from their vendors from what i have read and heard.

I have a Pitster Pro Motard bike and I absolutely LOVE it. Great bike, sold feel, lot of time and effort put into this thing. The pitster classic ct70 copy...well, nothing I would want.