A few years ago Europe faced a hostile invasion. We suddenly found ourselves swamped by cheap Chinese bikes, scooters, quads and mini motos. The Government were forced to act and the police started to crush illegally used mini motos after anti social use caused a nuisance around the country. For a while the situation threatened to get out of hand and Jeremy Kyle was called in.

Many of the fly by night companies who imported a container or two of these bargain priced machines ready to flog at car boot sales and on eBay have disappeared. They’ve moved on to the ‘next big thing’ whatever that may be. The remnants of those times are the more professional set ups who were in it for the long haul. The firms who realised that there was more than a quick buck to be made and that quality and service are just as important as a cheap DIY crate of Airfix scooter parts. One of the firms to survive are Canterbury based Baotian UK, they may not have had exclusive rights to Baotian in the early days but through sheer hard work and determination they’ve fought off the internet warriors to establish themselves as THE UK Baotian dealer, or Baotian UK to be precise. They’ve carved out a nationwide dealer network and they offer their scooters fully built, registered and taxed at official dealers around the country (find your nearest on their website). Baotian UK also offer a manufacturer’s warranty, as you’d expect – unlike those cheap crate scooters.

During the Chinese onslaught the 50cc Baotian BT49QT topped the sales charts for quite a while, thanks mainly to its bargain price. It put a huge dent in the sales targets of people like Honda, Yamaha and Piaggio. Even now a brand new BT49QT costs just £900 on the road. The success of this model and the flood of cheap Chinese products had mainstream dealers quite rightly worried and most of the major manufacturers were forced to set up production in China in a bid to compete. If you can’t beat ‘em join ‘em. Thankfully things have settled down a bit now and we’re left with a handful of independent Chinese brands and most major manufacturers carry at least one or two Chinese built models in their ranges.

Although Baotian UK still carry that early 50cc sales success (BT49QT) in their range things have moved on for the company, quality is improving all the time and prices are still very competitive. Take this good looking Monza for instance. Although the Monza looks very Vespaesque in its design and even carries an Italian name that is where the similarity ends. On a Vespa the main part of the bodywork is made from pressed steel and forms what is known as a monocoque frame, the Baotian uses plastic over a steel sub frame which (in theory) makes things lighter and much cheaper to produce but the Vespa LX actually weighs 36kg less than the Monza, so the weight saving got lost somewhere in translation! The body panels themselves do the job perfectly well but they feel a bit thinner than they would on something from the likes of Peugeot for instance. Having said that though the deep red paintwork is well finished and very shiny and it was hard to photograph the scooter without reflections being intrusive. The green and white stripes are a simple design touch but they’re very effective and leave the owner in no doubt as to where Baotian found inspiration for the scooter.

The Monza is powered by a simple, air cooled, carb fed 125cc four stroke engine which was lifted from their tried and trusted Citibike, albeit with a different engine side casing. The motor is economical, as you’d expect which is a big selling point for scooters at the moment, not surprising really when petrol costs an average of £6 a gallon. The engine has both an electric and kick start and fires up easily enough on the button, although it takes a couple of prods from cold. It’s nippy enough once it gets warm though and will manage over 60mph so it’s capable of tackling any road, dual carriageway or motorway you care to use. I have ridden faster 125’s but the Monza is by no means the slowest either. It accelerates briskly and reaches its top speed quickly enough, I saw 65mph on the clock at one stage – admittedly downhill but it was a brand new engine so I’m confident it’ll do a realistic 60 on the flat once it’s got a few miles under its belt.

The seat height is low enough for most riders but the actual seat itself is quite firm, which means you’ll feel like you’re sitting higher than you actually are, so you get a good view of the road and it is quite comfortable too. One thing that usually lets Chinese scooters down is the quality of the tyres and suspension. The Monza runs on 12” Hongdou tyres, which were actually quite good, it has twin chrome rear shockers to keep things under control, they aren’t adjustable but are more than adequate for the job. The front forks are a bit choppy though which is a shame, although it’s not something that would put me off buying a scooter in this price bracket so don’t worry too much, within a day or so of riding it you’ll be used to the way it handles. Remember I’m jumping on and off different scooters every day so I notice subtle differences in the way they behave. Most scooter buyers only ever ride their own machine so don’t get to feel the difference between models. Brakes are the usual front disk and rear drum, both of which were good enough to stop this little scooter without fuss.

I have to say that I love the look of the Monza, although certain areas let it down slightly, like the strange looking black air vent under the seat arch. It would have worked so much better if it was colour coded or chrome plated, as would the horncast grill. On a positive note the LED indicators, running lights and rear light all work very well and look ultra modern, and from a practical point of view the scooter even comes with a chrome fold down rear carrier as standard. It is a bit on the large side for my liking but is a handy item to have on any scooter and will always come in useful.

If you look at the scooter when it’s parked up it could easily pass as quite an expensive machine but it actually retails for a very reasonable £1470 on the road, a bargain really. The purchase price wouldn’t even cover the cost of six months worth of train fares for the average commuter and you’ll arrive in style, with door to door service and convenient travel times. The Baotian Monza may not have quite the same high quality finish as a European or Japanese scooter but it is still a great little machine for a very reasonable price.