Sachs Madass pros and cons – You may find many complaints on this bike in many forums. Is this bike terrible? My answer is: No I have ever owned this bike since I bought the first one few years ago. I then bought second and now I got my third one. Therefore I am quite familiar with this bike. When I got my first Sachs Madass 125, I spent a lot of money to fix the bike… Read more
as the previous owner didn't keep it well. What I can share with you about this bike is in the following.
In my opinion, this bike has simple mechanism and it means that it won't get you big trouble. The point is you need to know the bike and I suggest that you need to custom a bit by yourself. This bike is operated by the air cooled system with an airbox. Many people complaint the power as the maximum speed is around 80 or 90 km/h. The normal speed is 70. To improve the performance, you can change the airbox into a carburetor with an air filter. Or even you can get the oil cooled lifan engine to upgrade the capacity. The original engine is one cylinder 4 stroke petrol engine. The original bike has small and weak indicators so I suggest you should change all of them. It is very easy to change the front indicators. Just get a new one and plug in the cable. However, for the rear one you need to do the wiring under the seat. This bike can be used as a dirt bike if you change the tyres and the carburetor intake. It is recommended that you change the lever both in the front brake lever and the clutch lever as the original steel is poor. However the body and the main frame are very strong. You may also change the switch control unit as well, but you need to get the exact same cable connected with the power source. I firmly suggest that you get mechanic to tune the carburetor and the clutch play for you if you don't know how to make it. A proper balance of airflow and oil in carburetor won't get you any trouble of starting and it contributes to running smoothly. Adjust the spring preload of the shock absorber if you find that it is too high for you. Since this bike can be used as dirt bike so the seat height is a bit higher than other small bike. Get a new fuel tap as the cap of the original one is easy to break down and causes leaking! Highly recommend to use the viscosity grade SAE 15W/40 engine oil for this bike. Change some good quality stainless bolts and nuts by yourself. You can get them from Bunnings. Only use the battery of 12v6AhMF and the spark of NGK CR7 HSA. The generator is 12v150w. Make sure you clean the oil foam air filter if you have the original airbox. Check the clutch seal and front fork seals regularly. If you make all of these, this bike is perfect and reliable. People complaint because they don't really know this bike. I found that this bike is simple and it is quite handy. The fuel consumption is very low of the original engine. Better to get 125cc or upgrade it to 140 above. 50cc is too low for this bike as it has a normal dimensions with 1840mm and 760mm together with 100kg. All in all, this Sachs Madass 125 is fun with dual-sports. There won't be any issues if you follow the above recommendations.
at last sensible!!!!!!! – first saw the Madass in Europe about 2004 . could not believe it. thought someone had left their bike out and it had been striped by BAD people.what an excellent concept "lets build a bike without all the bells and whistles and other crap that people don't want, and we will watch how the sales go. if we don't sell any, we can add a bell or a… Read more
whistle or two afterwards.......its about time more manufacturers started taking this road. Why make a let handed screwdriver , if the screw is right handed. ..... love the Madass, back to basics ...no complications'
reliable fun ride – I had my bike for 7 years and absolutely loved it. I got it serviced every year with Braaap. It cost me $1800 with 2,500kms on the clock. Really easy handling and great cornering. When commuting I'd spend about $6.50 a week in petrol, which was cheaper than the bus. Show details
Solid performer in its class – This class of bike is basically the modern evolution of the classic Moped, but without the pedals. Its below a scooter, yet above a motorised bicycle, so potential owners should be realistic in their expectations. If you want a much 'better' motorcycle, then consider something automatic with luggage capacity - like a scooter, or a small motorcycle… Read more
if you want a bit more performance. It seems that in my opinion, some reviewers have purchased a madass having unrealistic expectation about how slow or impractical it is.
SO... the competition is basically a Honda Cub (or other eastern clones) or a Honda CT110 (postie bike). In that league the madass provides additional style and street cred compared to the honda's, although at the expense of some practicality and perhaps some reliability.
Some bolts do come loose, however on a machine of this complexity this is basically an issue that should be covered at little to no cost by basic maintenance. e.g. tighten them up again properly and the issue is likely eliminated for good. The fuel consumption hasn't been that great on mine, but still amazing compared to a car for e.g. Parts can be expensive if buying genuine oem parts, but the reality is many parts such as the switchgear, pedals, handlebars, electronics are all generic mass produced parts that fit a multitude of Asian manufactured bikes and can be replaced for low cost from online sellers, so I've been buying minor parts for very low prices.
Performance is fine for a 125. It's a little slower off the line than a twist'n'go automatic scooter, but similar top speed. Heavy braking is not a nice experience since weight is all on the bars since you have nothing to grip with your legs comparative to a big bike where you grip the tank, or a scooter where you have your feet on the barge board. This is an issue common to this class of bike. More acceleration would be pleasant, but anyone who wants to increase the top speed beyond the mid -80's kph is asking for trouble. I feel sachs have given this bike the correct amount of performance to match the chassis and riding position. It's a good package and a very fun bike.
Pros:
Reasonably good brakes and handling
Super light weight for learners
Style
Proper geared bike, so good again, good for learners
Easy to park
Cons:
Weight on wrists under heavy braking
Suspension front and rear are sprung far to biased towards unrealistically light weight riders.
DONT BUY PLEASE!!! – I got this as my first bike due to it looking cool. It was slow!!!!!! and weak!!!!! I cringed at the red lights like another reviewer. Only good for taking around the block and practicing on Ls. Ive had other stronger bikes since then, CBR250r as well as the ninja....... I STRONGLY reccomend not wasting money on this. Only pro is that it showed me the fundamentals of biking.
Cheap fun riding – I live in southern Thailand, have had a MadassXX 125 for 3 years. It get ridden daily dirt and tar, and caned when I'm pissed. I change oil every 1000 k's check nuts bolts regularly, and lube chain weekly. Only problem broken clutch cable after 6 months, no other major drama's tune yourself, good fun would buy another one no drama.
10500 k – i have had my 125 5 years and had a ball on it travel 50k a day it just keeps going i will recmond it to all just one oil leak but a $5 seal fixt it. have fun ride one today.Handles really well even over potholes and stops quickly just a grate little bike just one oil leek Show 2 replies
Garbage on two wheels – I purchased a new Madass 125 in 2011 & had nothing but trouble for the 18 months that I owned it! I sold it recently for half of what I paid for it. I think that the Gold Coast Sachs dealer got sick of the sight of me because I seemed to be back there with a new problem every month. I thought Sachs was a German company until after I bought the… Read more
bike when I discovered that they actually out-source to China to manufacture this piece of rubbish!
My steering head bearing failed within the first six months (after only about 2000k). The shop owner didn't believe me until after the warranty period had expired (because the bearing was always warm by the time I got to the shop) but I discovered that Sachs includes bearings under 'consumables' along with oil, filters etc. & would not have been covered under warranty anyway!
On two occasions, my bike stalled & I had to push it the rest of the way home from work in the pouring rain! (& the bike wouldn't start again until it had a chance to dry out)
I had lots of electrical issues with the bike. My headlight failed twice due to faulty wiring. My right hand rear indicator blew on the way home from work & because I didn't know, I came the closest I have ever been to an accident when a car didn't realise I was changing lanes! I had to call RACQ twice to transport my bike to the shop. The first time was when the safety switch failed that prevents you from starting the bike with the sidestand down (instead it just stopped the bike from starting at any time, so the shop removed it & re-wired the bike to function without the switch). The second time was when my ignition failed & I had to get the entire unit replaced (at my cost of course!)
On top of all of this, the engine was just un-predictable. One day it would be fine & the next it was running like a dog! Even after the last service before I sold the bike, it became quite difficult to start in the mornings & I ended up killing the battery (a very good 'Yuasa' branded one) because of the ammount of times I had tried to turn the engine over without success in the previous 18 months.
I should have just bought a scooter made by Honda or Yamaha & risked being laughed at by my friends! Looked cool Very poor reliability, very poor re-sale value, very poor build quality
great little bike – easy on gas, nippy 125 engine, great looks, easily fits anywhere parking / roads / traffic strong built easy to maintain and clean. ride it off road sometimes, small trails. easily customization, parts from oo racing from england. reaches speeds of 110kph (my bike is moded) coming up on 8000 kms and still going strong :D
Terrible – I brought a 125 a year ago and had nothing but troubles with it and the shop actual sold me a secondhand damaged bike - I should have check it properly but all excited. My carbi gets stuck open, the headlight fell off and most of the screws have fallen out. I complained to FairTrade and they said they can't do anything either though I had TV… Read more
footage of the bike shoot the day before I brought it showing the damaged. Motorcycle revolutions on South Road in SA can not be trusted either can the deptartment of fair trade. Looks cool and it is a manual Service and the shop I purchased and the Dept of Fair Trading
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