Shineray X2X review, Guandong

Finally I am street legal with a Shineray X2 and want to share some impressions.

Getting the bike

To register a bike here in Huizhou you need to have the fapiao issued by a local dealer. Then within two weeks you have to register it. So I got an offer from the factory (“no problem, 5 days to my place”) went to the local dealer with some good reputation when actually ordering it quickly turned out that the delivery time is 4 weeks. Anyways, I paid, then everything went as planned, the dealer helped with the registration (I put on new decals before, no problem).

I ordered it with two sets of tyres, supermoto and off-road. If came with supermoto tyres and looked like it was meant to be registered that way. But in the papers it says 21/18, anyways I changed to Enduro tyres for the beginning.

To learn something about the bike I just took a look in the KTM XCF250 manual, quite similar. Shineray only provided me with the Chinese manual. It is sufficient to be sure which oil and brake fluid to use.

The bike is a different beast that the Galaxy/CQR-class I rode before. With 178cm and the big wheels I can just balance it on the tips but got used to balance it quite fast. This bike is heavier and therefore more stable, you can take dirt-roads faster and compared to a smaller bike very comfy to ride on the pegs.


Inspection close up

When sitting on the bike the first time everything feels solid and nice. Security relevant screws like on the fork and brake discs are marked with yellow lacquer.

By now I have put about 500km to the tacho, which brings me to the first pint of failure: no tacho signal right in the beginning. Tracked it down to the sensor cable/sensor replaced it, now works fine. Something that’s not in the manual: If you want to change between 17 inch and 21 front wheels you can set the tacho correctly. To do this, hold the left button while turning on the ignition to get to the setting.

Next defect found: Engine leaking oil. My village mechanic fixed it with epoxy successfully.

Then I saw the front brake hose slowly leaked brake fluid where the hose was crimped to the fitting. (even in China not acceptable).

Then found the rear light glowing very dim and having constant power of 6V, tracked it down to the rear brake switch not opening fully. Don’t know if it was there from the beginning or from the bike getting wet, anyways, should not be. While trouble shooting this I also found two rear wires were crimped poorly, could pull them out without force, they were crimped on the insulation without removing any insulation at the cable end… just happens in China, taking it easy.

Other than that I found about a hand full of loose screws, one holding the water cooler, one on the engine, Side stand, rear Lights… nothing major.

With one fuel tank you can go about 200Km
Max speed seems to be about 125Km/h, while 100km/h is a comfortable cruise-speed. Also with a passenger the bike handles well.
The bike needs 1.3L to 14.L engine oil, oil plug has a magnet.

And I nearly forgot: the original rear view mirror had an imperfection so the center of the image was donut-like, anyways; I came up with a stiffer, off-road friendly design.

All in all that’s not more and not less than you should expect from any Chinese bike. You just have to look close enough - or just ride it a few months until something falls down. Going through all that stuff needed a lot of time, but made me really familiar and also comfortable with the bike.


Recommended modifications

• Get a pipe with better sound (taobao)
• Aluminum Shield for the rear brake pump. (somebody on Taobao makes them)
• 30mm Handle bar risers (somebody on Taobao makes them)
• Hand guards, chest cushion, Neoprene front shock-socks.
• Daylight running lights, additional brake lights, HID, power port and RAM GPS mount.
• Two-tone car-horn with horn-relays (all together three horns now, had to change the circuit of the bike a bit and took some time to find good positions for the horns). Good on those mountain roads and in the city: when you honk people actually look at you. :riding:
• This thing does not have a kick-start, so I already put two cables with crocodile clips under the saddle for the case. But on the other hand: right from the beginning it started very well. Under the saddle near the air filter you can also find some small space to carry emergency tools
• I fitted a sealed chain and polyurethane guide roles. With the 52 teeth sprocket of the big wheels it is also better to get a custom rear chain guide (somebody on Taobao makes them)
• Made an engine shield myself (no sharp corners, no screw heads)
• The side stand was a bit short, had an extension welded on. And the mount of the spring interfered with the heel of my right boot. After grinding down the man screw, then shortening the pin of the spring (and filing new groves) I can place my foot about 15mm further in on the peg.

All in all I am really happy with this bike and when I am done with it I am confident it will be a hell of a China-bike and I am looking forward to do longer trips. Here the bike in action in my backyard. (Lofu Mountain).

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Really nice review of the Shineray. If those pictures are from LofuShan, I think I know the trail in the last picture.

Cheers!
ChinaV

Congratulations and very good solid review, report and pics, keep it coming as we need some real bike riders contributing to MCM, gets boring pretty fast seeing only the usual posts about bike prices, registration, license, etc.... ride safe!

Yes, Lofu Shan, access from X293 (also nice to ride). China is small :)

Just saw next week is dragon boat festival, I gues a good opportunity to explore Xinfengjiang Reservoir area, still inspired by your ride report :)

Good review. I own a x2 as well. Your report pretty much sums up my initial experience with it.

I have logged 8500km on mine already. Something good to have:
http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=...id=17751565957
I have one of these for my GDW saddlebags.

And a must-have:
http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=...id=22994868280

This re-work of the seat really saved my butt during my last trip to Yunnan (about 3000 km). You send in your stock seat to the Taobao shop, which would add in additional foam and replace the stock cover. This is the only thing that actually works after searching around for a solution for a long time and many failed attempts.

Also, keep a close eye on the spokes, especially the rear ones. My rear rim/spokes literally fell apart after 4000 km. Replaced almost over half of them and still failing. Right now Barry and I are trying to upgrade the spokes/rim to something more decent (a Taobao shop by the name of Comstar). Currently we are struggling with the angle of the spokes, holes on the new rim, and the technique of weaving the spokes to the rim/hub, with the help from Comstar. No final resolution yet but I will keep everyone posted on its progress.

Very useful review, thanks! I applaud your level headed patience and realistic expectations.

Thanks for your advice Milton! Will keep an eye on the spokes.

For the rack: I will make one myself, will keep you posted. The seat is in my shopping charty since I ordered the bike, still trying to resist and be a tough guy. You now recommending it does not make it easier :naughty:

Any upgrades to increase power? On taobao I saw some suitable retrofit EFI
http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=...id=16871571516

Good or bad idea?

No point to invest in a race carb. For dual-sport riring, I also need low-end power.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by snakeeater

I ordered it with two sets of tyres, supermoto and off-road. If came with supermoto tyres and looked like it was meant to be registered that way. But in the papers it says 21/18, anyways I changed to Enduro tyres for the beginning.

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What brand of tires did you get (Chinese)? And if so, are they any good?


The bike is a different beast that the Galaxy/CQR-class I rode before. With 178cm and the big wheels I can just balance it on the tips but got used to balance it quite fast. This bike is heavier and therefore more stable, you can take dirt-roads faster and compared to a smaller bike very comfy to ride on the pegs.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by snakeeater

When sitting on the bike the first time everything feels solid and nice.

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How does it feel now, after riding it for some time?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by snakeeater

With one fuel tank you can go about 200Km
Max speed seems to be about 125Km/h, while 100km/h is a comfortable cruise-speed. Also with a passenger the bike handles well.

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How would you describe the power down low (torque)? Does the bike have any grunt to it, or do you find yourself wanting for more power overall?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by snakeeater

Going through all that stuff needed a lot of time, but made me really familiar and also comfortable with the bike.

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Money aside and knowing what you now know, if you had to do it all over again would you have chosen the X5 instead?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by snakeeater

All in all I am really happy with this bike and when I am done with it I am confident it will be a hell of a China-bike and I am looking forward to do longer trips.

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I am probably fishing for the impossible here because riding skills differ from person to person, but if you could tell us a little bit about how the bike actually feels in the off road environment, it might aid in my decision.

As coincidence would have it, before reading this post I was just speaking with a friend whom I consider to be a pretty good rider. He told me that he rode the X2 and didn't like it, or think much of it (to each his own I guess).

I gather it to be a carbureted version. How's the throttle response in the technical stuff? Does it lag?

In the end it may very well come down to, bite the bullet buy one and see for myself.

Great write up, though.:thumbsup:

For tyres I got a set of 350RMB dual sport "turtle tyres" from taobao. That was the only 21 -18 seeming to be commonly available here.
For knobbys there are more options, starting from 300RMB. The original Shineray knobbys cost about 650RMB, which indicates that there can be some quality differences.

So I would much rather get some more expensive dual sport tyres. Was considering the X5 tyres, but the profile is not agressive enough for my taste.

That being said, I rode the same "turtle tyres" for three years on my CQR, keept it outside in rain and sun. The profile is a bit worn down in the middle, but held up really well. If you look close the rubber looks more brittle now, than the new one, but nothing I would be concerned about. Did not have a singe flat. :thumbsup: Now mounted the Shineray knobbys since I will use the bike just offroad now. As a side note regarding the 6000rmb CQR250: even after three years and compared to the "better" bikes I rode in the mean time, (including the Galaxy) I like it. Engine seems to run not as smooth and the preceived quality is not as high. But the power is still good, good torque and it handles well. Now that I am used to the X2 it feels like riding a bicycle, still good fun.

So back to the tyres, for what I do they are perfectly fine. They give safe handling on the street, never failed me so far. And the profile is definitely offroad capable. I was having some good fun on hard sand and muddy holes yesterday, where X5 tyres would not go anywhere.
If I wanted to go really aggressive on-road I would have more faith in the supermoto tyres. Still I feel the concrete road surfaces will anyway be the limiting factor. On the other hand I do not like to go more than a few Km on-road with real knobbies, bacause they "swim" a bit and braking capabilities are notably reduced. This is not the case with the turtles.

Not having riden a bike of this form factor before, it just feels better and better. Engine runs smooth low and high, gers including Neutral do shift nicely. I also had the quote for the X5 on the table and would not have minded the price. But for my taste, in China I want a bike with full offroad capabilities and a weight you can control in out of control situations. Then rather modify it to suit ADV riding. In the contryside it can always happen that you notice a serious pot hole too late and have to go through it faster than woud like. With a real offroad bike you just get on the pegs and take it, no worries about the forks. And when not touring you can take the bike to the river/forest/mountain/construction site in the evening or weekend and have some fun.

If looking for a pure travelling bike, then the X5 for sure. If looking for pure offroad I would get the AiKeshi with NC250 engine, with a bit more power it seems to be the best of cinese offroad bikes now. But it can not have a street license. For me the X2 is just perfect, no regrets. The power is definitely good, with good low end torque and throttle response, I do not rev it high often. With the girlfriend on the back it is still fine, do not feel any lag of power. If you are used to ride a 450cc of the same class that might be different for you. Of cause, if I could have a bit more power I would happily take it for the fun :riding:
For your reference, I do not consider my skills to be like a really good rider, just riding for pleasure.

Small update here:

A few weeks ago I was on the trail, the bike had about 600KM on it. That day I noticed some slight, irregular touching noise at the front disk. Of cause investigated it carefully, but came to the conclusion that the brake disk just must be slightly off balance. The disk did not get hot during riding, so I did not worry too much. Then that day when starting to head home suddenly the noise got louder and I could watch small silver balls escaping my front-hub one by one. Thankfully I was not too far out. Still the way back to town at walking speed, wobbeling front wheel and grinding aluminum was not pleasant.

At the shop the guy right away went out to get the most expensive NSK bearings he could find in town. - then his junior assistant hammered them back into the wasted hub on the floor and said I am GTG. That made my day :hellfire:

Attachment 12683

Well, can't blame the bike, just the monkeys who assembled it. Wrote a friendy mail to Shineray with pics, but no reply. The dealer anyway said no point to try, warranty is just on the engine...


Good occasion to switch to Supermoto tyres while fixing the offroad wheels.

While stripping down and reassembling the wheels completely (with heating the bearings, pullers, etc.) I noticed several things:

Front bearings (size 6906) just have a metall seal (those are not really tight).
Rear bearings (size 6005) have a rubber seal
There are additional seals size 35*47*7
The bearing seats are aluminum. The seals are also oon the aluminum, were not greased and already grinded themselves into the aluminum and lust their fit.
The rims on the bike and also on my other bike are actually one to two sizes too narrow compared to the offroad tyres.
For the spokes there are two different lengths each wheel for inner and outer spokes (you can spend a lot of time with a wheel if you notice this too late:taz:)

So I got some broader rims, import double rubber sealed bearings front and back plus the other seals. Reassembled everything with plenty of grease, including the spokes (!) You want the tightening torque to be as tension in the spokes, this tension keeps them tight (like the stretch of a screw). If the threats are dry you loose a lof of your torque as friction in the the head and in the threats. So you feel you applied a lot of torque (you did) but in fact your spokes are not very tight.
I also found KT966 dual sport tyres, which seem to be better than the turtles (which are still very good value). The KT966 has reinforced sidewalls (a PITA to mount) and is designed for hot weather.


Anyways, the supermoto tyers were fun too. And last weekend I found out they are also quite offroad capable.

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That trail went pretty deep into the forest and was really adventurous. Have to come back with proper tyres and gardening tools :naughty:


BTW I also got my seat reholstered, it is a great improvement, thanks milton.

Good work Snakeeater and nice update. One more thing to worry about, if the wheel bearings were that bad, think about how bad the swingarm bearings probably are. All the TGR and XTR riders I know have greased the snot out of them as they tend to weld themselves together if you don't stay on top of it.

Cheers!
ChinaV

Im thinking of getting one of those but am worried about the seat height (Im 180cm). I never did any serious off-roading therefore I dont have any experience. I worry that if I cant put my feet down easily I will be dropping the bike too often. Maybe I should just get the XTR/TGR or the qingqi....

Flat footing a bike brings many people comfort, but in reality it's not that big of a deal. Your inseam length is what matters more then anything else. At your height you won't be able to flat foot it, but you should be able to touch the ground with your toes, or maybe even the balls of your feet (it's good enough).
Flat footing the bike is not nearly as important as gaining proper balance. Dropping the bike goes with the territory and after you've dropped it enough you'll learn better balancing techniques over time.
While lowering the bike may initially give you more confidence but it takes away from your ground clearance. Ride enough off road and your going to want that ground clearance back.

Flat footing a bike brings many people comfort, but in reality it's not that big of a deal. Your inseam is what matters and at your height touching down with your toes shouldn't be a problem.

Concentrate your efforts on learning how to properly balance the bike, when you can do that the bike height won't matter.

Dropping the bike is the nature of the beast. Ride a few trails, drop the bike enough and you'll learn better balancing techniques over time.

IMO lowering the bike is not the way to go, dirt bikes are taller for a reason (ground clearance).

Cheers juice.
I wish I could sit on that bike before ordering it but cant find them anywhere in Taizhou. Maybe I will take a wee trip to Hangzhou or Ningbo

So I found a nice bike shop in nearby town. They sell Benelli, CFmoto, Galaxy, some Korean bikes and more Chinese brands. I wanted to ask about Shineray X2X, Qingqi QM250GY and Galaxy TGR. They told me that they wont have any more of those Galaxies cos the factory stopped making them. They also told me that this qingqi doesnt exist :eek2:............I told them that my friends own them here in China so the Laoban called the factory (anyway thats what he told me) and said that they dont make them........dunno what to think about that. They also said that X2X were very popular but now they sell less and less of them. He offered me the new Zongshen RX3 instead and said that its an amazing new bike.
Im not sure what to think about the prices though cos there are no other shops selling those and taobao is not always great reference. Anyone can confirm those prices?
Shineray X2X - RMB 17500
Qingqi QM200GY - RMB 18000
Zongshen RX3 - RMB 20000
Shineray X5 - RMB 27000

Those prices seem about right. If you are planning on a lot of road trips the Rx3 is not a bad bet zhongshen builds a good engine anyway

I was planning to keep my YBR250 for road trips and buy X2X for some fun but now i think that i might get X5....
The RX3 looks great but its a bit heavy (175kg) and overall there is no difference to my ybr, I mean the things I can and cant do.
And on top of this we still dont know how the RX3 will perform, too new

Morning, anyone knows a dealer around Shanghai I could check out enduro bikes like x2x? Whats the best bet for chinese hard enduro 250cc?

Thanks!

Hello Bakas

Try these guys, they are in Wuyi. Zhejiang. We have a few of there CRF in Pakistan.

Call Kash Lou......cell no +86 153 8171 3186

http://www.omowmoto.com/web/Product.asp?ItemID=81

Best Regards
Rehan

I have been riding bikes in China for the last 18 years.. Apart from CF moto there is nothing really reliable. Jialing has had alot of problems. Here is a very good solution "I HAVE HEARD OF".
Buy something like a suzuki DT 400.. then buy a legal heap of crap chinese made 250 which looks the same.. Get the legal bike registerd, then have your frame and engine numbers copied from the legal bike onto the suzuki and presto.......
Check out my blog.. www.simplesite.com/jonsims

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bakas

Morning, anyone knows a dealer around Shanghai I could check out enduro bikes like x2x? Whats the best bet for chinese hard enduro 250cc?

Thanks!

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Thanks guys, what was the price of the CRF 250 copy, how long have you had it? How well does it stand up to offroad abuse?

Jonsims, do you know any dealers in Shanghai selling CF moto? How about CQR, Taobao is full of those, anyone have some personal experience with those toys?

Many thanks!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jonsims

I have been riding bikes in China for the last 18 years.. Apart from CF moto there is nothing really reliable. Jialing has had alot of problems. Here is a very good solution "I HAVE HEARD OF".
Buy something like a suzuki DT 400.. then buy a legal heap of crap chinese made 250 which looks the same.. Get the legal bike registerd, then have your frame and engine numbers copied from the legal bike onto the suzuki and presto.......
Check out my blog.. www.simplesite.com/jonsims

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cool blog. I'd love to see some surf pics of China!
Mike

Short update here: no big failures since the last post :thumbsup:

I pinched the cooling water hose on the lower right side of the engine when I doped the bike in a rocky river crossing in the middle of nowhere, was able to fix it by cutting the end of the hose step by step moving it further and further over the hose clip until the pinch was on the clip and it could not leak any more.
I now made a frame at the front and fitted a side cover, wont happen again.

Attachment 14762

Then I bought a 5AH winding battery to reduce some weight. It is sufficient to start the bike, also now that it is colder. The starter motor draws 40Amps before and after.

Further I relocated the battery from under the seat to the empty space on the left side of the engine. This way the wires can be shorter (less resistance), the center of gravity is brought down and towards the front. And under the the seat i now have some valuable in-bike space to carry essential spare parts and tools - the stuff you know you always better have with you but don't want to carry in the backpack because you know you normally never need it (wrenches, tube, screw drivers, spark plug/tool, spare gloves, wires, straps)
So now you can tell me if I am a genius or completely stupid. The terminals are located inside with good clearance all around. Anyways an AGM battery should not leak if damaged during a crash. The positive terminal I covered in hot glue to protect it from water. All other positive wires I attache to the terminal of the starter relay, which is higher in the bike. The wires you see in the pictures next to the battery are 100cm jump start cables fitted with crocodile clips.

Attachment 14760

Then just yesterday i found a good ramp to get the wheels off the ground, nothing big, but until now I found it difficult to find a place to do that. I was so happy I set up the gopro :dirtbike:

Attachment 14761

By the way a few people contacted me, it would be great if we could ride together with some fellow MCMers in the Zengcheng/Huizhou area from time to time.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by snakeeater

Short update here: no big failures since the last post :thumbsup:

I pinched the cooling water hose on the lower right side of the engine when I doped the bike in a rocky river crossing in the middle of nowhere, was able to fix it by cutting the end of the hose step by step moving it further and further over the hose clip until the pinch was on the clip and it could not leak any more.
I now made a frame at the front and fitted a side cover, wont happen again.

Attachment 14762

Then I bought a 5AH winding battery to reduce some weight. It is sufficient to start the bike, also now that it is colder. The starter motor draws 40Amps before and after.

Further I relocated the battery from under the seat to the empty space on the left side of the engine. This way the wires can be shorter (less resistance), the center of gravity is brought down and towards the front. And under the the seat i now have some valuable in-bike space to carry essential spare parts and tools - the stuff you know you always better have with you but don't want to carry in the backpack because you know you normally never need it (wrenches, tube, screw drivers, spark plug/tool, spare gloves, wires, straps)
So now you can tell me if I am a genius or completely stupid. The terminals are located inside with good clearance all around. Anyways an AGM battery should not leak if damaged during a crash. The positive terminal I covered in hot glue to protect it from water. All other positive wires I attache to the terminal of the starter relay, which is higher in the bike. The wires you see in the pictures next to the battery are 100cm jump start cables fitted with crocodile clips.

Attachment 14760

Then just yesterday i found a good ramp to get the wheels off the ground, nothing big, but until now I found it difficult to find a place to do that. I was so happy I set up the gopro :dirtbike:

Attachment 14761

By the way a few people contacted me, it would be great if we could ride together with some fellow MCMers in the Zengcheng/Huizhou area from time to time.

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Nice backyard there. Im yet to find some good off-road tracks in my area.
What tires do you have on? On taobao I can find only one type of knobbies (that fit X2 off-road weels) which I dont really like. I will need some tires that are road capable (not for touring tho) and the taobao ones seem not suitable. The tires on your pics look just right

The tyres are these:
http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=..._u=4dv4gmb6f7a
Search for KT966. I definitely recommend them. They are quite stif, difficult to get on the rim.

I also used these:
http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=...&id=4022445843
They are also good and cheap.

I noticed even the stock rims on my CQR and X2X are quite narrow for the stock tyres. The front rims were like 2", on the tyres it said ' for 2.5" '. It seems that this is common practice and there is some tolerance, so nothing to worry about. I read a narrower rim gives a softer ride, but less support. I managed to find a 2.3" rim now. ´For the backside the same thing. I no not remember the exact numbers now, have to double check if anybody is interested.

Thanks for the info, clearly Im not very good with taobao ;) I found some dual sport tires that will fit its supermoto rims, they are a bit pricey but last forever. I had them on my YBR and they lasted about 19000km

Thanks boys those supermoto tyres are just was I was looking for and if the are long lasting . All the better.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by modron

Thanks for the info, clearly Im not very good with taobao ;) I found some dual sport tires that will fit its supermoto rims, they are a bit pricey but last forever. I had them on my YBR and they lasted about 19000km

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I'm thinking of trying these on the supermotard rims:

Back: http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=...id=20262999657
Front: http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=...id=17123951585

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Barry

I'm thinking of trying these on the supermotard rims:

Back: http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=...id=20262999657
Front: http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=...id=17123951585

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I guess it depends what rims you have, these must be different than yours and they seem be the same as GW250. I thought there were just one standard supermoto rims for this bike.
Zhu, here is the other one http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=...id=16995746243