Planet Minis

makotosun

I had to run to Seattle yesterday, so did my usual habitual craigslist search for things of interest. Damnit. I find a 1998 Jincheng Panda Funrider, titled and tagged for Washington for sale 15 minutes off of my path of travel!

Sounded good in the ad, so I call the guy, and he still has it. We arrange to meet in the afternoon and when I get there, the only issue not listed in his description was the missing front fender! Starts on the third kick, seems to run well. Supposedly, and probably accurate looking at the overall condition, it has under 600 miles on the bike.



Overall the bike is in great condition, could use some new tires and needs a front fender (I may have on in the parts pile!) - otherwise seems complete.



Ya gotta love that Mint Green color scheme



The most important part is hanging on the back under the taillight!



I really don't know what the plans are for this one yet. I was planning on getting one of the titleable frames from the fellow in Arizona, but that would have been $200 shipped and all I would get was the frame and swingarm. Then there was the fellow who had a titled frame for $250 shipped, but that was also just a frame and swingarm. I got the whole bike, running, titled, and ready to ride for $400. Seemed like a better deal.

Gonna have to dream up another project now . . .

tmas

Good score .... Great you can get it plated for road use.
tmas

mspike

Looks good!

FastMC

Nice deal...I love the minty green.

cdoublejj

nice deal, maybe you could use the minty green as base for a some kind of 50's style build i do think minty green was one of the hot colors in the 50's. maybe thats just bad idea i don't think 50's is your style your more of an enduro guy. maybe a street enduro.

dsrt4

Thats a very Nice little bike man! I Really like it. Looks alot like my pre 2005 Hooper Imports Pitbull.(Jiangxi Campell ) made replica.

Here is a pic.

CrawlerD

$400 def a good call. Sometimes if you look at it the other way it puts it in perspective. Minus the $250 for the frame you would have bought. For $150 would you buy a = motor, full set of wheels, handlebars, controls, lights, Forks, shocks, exhaust, seat, wiring harness, etc. OH YEAH! We all would. And its all about that plate! PM is a non kill Z(or clone) shelter! Nice pickup.

makotosun

That is really the point. It is almost always better to get the whole bike, even a cheap chinese clone, than just the frame. If you don't want any of the parts and pieces, you can probably get more than you paid on e-bay for what you don't need! I know that a lot of folks doing high end builds, only want the frame, but it is still a better deal this way I think.

I was truly after the plated frame - that it already has the Washington title and plate is also a step up from one of the bare lifan frames with a titleable MSO. In Washington, as long as the bike is titled, you don't even need an inspection - just go in a buy your plate!

Now of course, I am staying awake at night plotting the possibilities for the bike. I kind of like the idea of a 50's look build, but who knows. There are several others on the block first.

EddieNewYork

Good choice for sure. I paid a lot more than that for mine. I did make some money back in unused parts sales. The only thing I have left over to sell is the seat, brake pedal, handle bars, and top triple clamp.

makotosun

Jeez - for once I can't complain about the licensing folks!

I took my paperwork into see the licensing subagent I usually use and pointed out that the prior owner had licensed the bike as a "g/ped" which it does NOT qualify for as it does not have "pedals". I wanted it licensed as a cycle so when I upsize the motor, it is not a problem, as gopeds are limited to 49cc.

The lady looked kind of quizzical, turned back to her computer and began typing like a madwoman.

5 minutes and $108 later, I have a freshly minted Washington State License plate in my hot little hands good through July 2010, a registration in my name as a Jincheng Panda MOTORCYCLE, and a fresh title in the mail!

She was even pleasant and kinda cute!

Woo Hoo! No inspection either!

In case you are wondering, about half of the fee was for the state sales tax on the $400 purchase price . . .

wheelin

Good score.....I have one similar to yours.....plated in WA St. too....I got mine for $300

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CrawlerD

Sweet! Nothing like being untouchable. I mean legal! Haha. Nice work. That is cool.

50minikid

Dang, I was on vacation then or I probally would have snagged it. Great deal, have fun.