What My Papio Cost Me in 24,000 km
I kept every receipt for two years and 24,000 km on my CFMoto Papio. The full list of parts, their prices, and how long each one lasted
Two years. 24,000 km. Rp 5,775,000.
That is what my CFMoto Papio has cost me in maintenance. It does not include fuel, insurance, or the price of the bike. It works out to about Rp 241 per kilometer.
This post lists every part I replaced, what it cost, and how long it lasted. The price alone tells you nothing. The price divided by the distance tells you everything.
How I use the bike
Most of my riding is a 50 km commute in Tangerang. The road is flat. The traffic is slow, so the trip is mostly clutch and brakes, and there are long stretches where nine horsepower is more than I need. Sometimes I take the bike out for short touring.
Two years, 24,000 km. Full synthetic oil every 4,000 km. Oil filter every second oil change.
If you ride on different roads, your numbers will be different. But the pattern should be the same.
The full list
| What | At (km) | What I used | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spark plug | 1,000 | NGK CR8EIX iridium | Rp 150,000 |
| Chain | 5,000 | SSS O-ring | Rp 400,000 |
| Sprocket | 5,000 | WR3 aluminum | Rp 400,000 |
| Rear tire | 8,000 | Pirelli Diablo Rosso Scooter | Rp 750,000 |
| Rear shock | 10,000 | CFMoto (stock again) | Rp 800,000 |
| Front tire | 15,000 | Pirelli Diablo Rosso Scooter | Rp 750,000 |
| Front fork service | 15,000 | — | Rp 300,000 |
| Brake pads | 15,000 | Honda Supra X (KR3) | Rp 50,000 |
| Air filter | 20,000 | CFMoto | Rp 200,000 |
| Battery | 20,000 | Dynavolt | Rp 400,000 |
| Rear tire | 22,000 | Pirelli Diablo Rosso Scooter | Rp 750,000 |
| Engine oil ×6 | every 4,000 | Full synthetic, JASO MA2 | Rp 130,000 each |
| Oil filter ×3 | every 8,000 | Suzuki Thunder 125 OEM | Rp 15,000 each |
Total: Rp 5,775,000.
The costs do not come evenly
At 15,000 km I paid Rp 1,100,000 in a short time: front tire, fork service, and brake pads together.
At 20,000 km I paid for the air filter and the battery.
Between those points, the bike costs almost nothing except oil and a filter. So the average of Rp 241 per kilometer is not a good way to budget. The real cost comes in large payments a few times a year. Plan for the year, not for the month.
Some parts come from other bikes
This is the most useful thing I can tell another Papio owner.
The Papio is a low-volume bike. There is not much aftermarket support, so by default you buy from the dealer. But several parts fit from other bikes:
- Oil filter: the OEM filter for a Suzuki Thunder 125 fits. Rp 15,000.
- Brake pads: pads for a Honda Supra X (KR3) fit. Rp 50,000.
- Front sprocket: the front sprocket for a Honda CBR 150 fits.
- Rear sprocket: the rear sprocket for a Suzuki Thunder 125 or Suzuki RGR 150 fits.
Three oil filters and one set of brake pads over 24,000 km cost Rp 95,000 in total. The two sprockets are the bigger saving, because original Papio sprockets are not cheap and these are common parts in Indonesia.
Two warnings. First, check the thread and the pad shape on your own bike before you buy. Mine is a 2024 Papio. Second, sprockets are not as simple as filters: the number of teeth must match. Fewer teeth on the front sprocket gives you stronger acceleration and a lower top speed. Buy the same tooth count as the standard Papio part unless you are deliberately changing the gear ratio.
Tires: the stock tire was the weak part
Flat roads wear the middle of a rear tire first. So the rear tire is the one you replace most, and the front lasts about twice as long.
My original rear tire was finished at 8,000 km. I fitted a Pirelli Diablo Rosso Scooter and it lasted 14,000 km. That is 70% longer.
I expected the opposite. A tire from "Pirelli" sounds sporty, so I thought it would wear faster. I thought the factory tire was the safe choice. The factory tire was simply worse.
One thing to know: the Papio has small wheels, so its tires come from the scooter catalog, not the motorcycle catalog. That is where your choices are.
Tires are still the biggest cost. Rp 2,250,000, or 39% of everything, which is about Rp 94 for every kilometer I ride. Nothing else is close.
The chain: the seal was the important part
My stock chain and sprocket were finished at 5,000 km. That was on flat roads, in slow traffic. So the road was not the problem. 5,000 km is short on any road.
I replaced them with an SSS O-ring chain and a WR3 aluminum sprocket. Together they cost Rp 800,000. That set did about 19,000 km, which is Rp 42 per kilometer.
The aluminum sprocket was wasted money. Aluminum is lighter than steel, but it wears faster. That is a fair trade if you care about weight. On a bike with nine horsepower, I do not.
What mattered was the O-ring. A sealed chain keeps its oil inside. An unsealed chain throws the oil away.
So my next set costs about Rp 500,000, and this time it is built from parts that already exist for other bikes: a steel front sprocket from a Honda CBR 150, a steel rear sprocket from a Suzuki Thunder 125 or RGR 150, and an O-ring chain. Cheaper than the WR3 set, and I think it will last longer. To be worth the money it must reach 11,900 km. I will write again when it does.
One more thing. When a chain dies early, the brand is not the first thing to check. Check the tension. A chain that is too tight destroys itself in a few thousand kilometers, and it also damages the bearing on the output shaft.
Oil: short intervals, one rule
Six oil changes at 4,000 km. Full synthetic. About Rp 130,000 of oil each time.
I have no brand preference. I have used Shell, Castrol and Motul, whichever the shop had. Four thousand kilometers is a short interval, but this is an air-cooled engine in a hot country with a lot of stopping and starting. I prefer the extra safety.
The one rule I would give anyone: use JASO MA2 oil. This bike has a wet clutch, and car engine oil will make the clutch slip. That mistake costs more than any oil interval.
The plug I changed for no reason
At 1,000 km I replaced the stock spark plug with an NGK CR8EIX iridium plug, Rp 150,000. Nothing was wrong with the original. I like iridium plugs. They last a long time and then you forget about them. This is the only item on the list that is not maintenance. It is a preference, and I would defend it.
The Rp 800,000 mistake
At 15,000 km I serviced the front forks, and the front of the bike felt much better. That money was well spent.
At 10,000 km the rear shock was already bad, so I replaced it with a CFMoto unit for Rp 800,000. It was the same part, at the same price, with the same weakness. That is the one decision on this list I regret.
A shop that checks the spring rate and the eye-to-eye length, instead of just saying "fits Papio," would have sold me something better for the same money.
The chain set cost the same as the shock. The chain earned its price. The shock did not.
What I would change from day one
- The chain and steel sprockets from other bikes, right away. The stock set is the weak point of this bike, and aluminum was the wrong answer to it.
- The rear shock, replaced with an aftermarket unit, not another stock one.
- The oil filter, brake pads and sprockets, cross-referenced from the first service instead of at 18,000 km.
Everything else was normal wear at normal prices. Rp 241 per kilometer for two years of traffic, rain and flat roads is fair. I would buy this bike again. I would not buy that rear shock again.
My new chain set arrives next week. I will report back at 12,000 km.