Shineray / XinYuan X5 review

Hi Jerry,

It seems to me that you have some dirt in your carburettor, so a strip down and a good clean should solve that one.

I would take it nice and easy on the bike for the first 500 km and not fully "open her up" until you've done at least 1000 kms if you want the engine to last. I would also be changing the oil and oil filter frequently for example at 100 kms, 250 kms, 500 kms, 750 and 1000km. Oil and filters are cheap, an oil and filter change gets rid of the swarf that the engine produces during the running period.. I think that I would inspect the oil after each oil change to see what's in there.

From what I have read it seems that you need to fully rebuild your bike ( except for the motor ) before leave onyour trip. A complete rebuild to make sure that it is correctly put together,not as it comes from the factory. And use thread lock on all the bolts so that they stay where they should be. There are very few mechanics in China that would know how to do this so it is could be a good option that you do it yourself and at the same time you will learn about your bike in case it you have problems on the way.

Over the last few weeks I have been considering the X5 for myself as it is the only option available for my biking tastes. I have drawn up a long list of improvements, i would change all the electrics to Honda ( even 20 year old Honda parts are better that new Chinese ones ), same for cables. Fit a Mikuni carb ( they always work ! ), rebuild all the rest of the bike exept the engine which seems to be ok.


Hope I have given you somehting to think about.

Symon

Hi Jerry,

so, is the new version of the X5 any different from the old one apart from the graphics in the tank? I wonder what did they improve that make the bike stop after 15km ;) hah anyway, hope its not to bad and can be easily fixed like Symon said.

I heard some bad opinions about the alu panniers tho. Two guys who traveled around China said that after you drop your bike and the box deforms a little its impossible to make it waterproof again. I dont know what boxes did they have but both of them had the same experience. On my trip I used the plastic "Pelican" fakes from taobao (around RMB350) and they performed beautifully. Completely waterproof (both were underwater in the river) and I came off the bike on an icy road in the mountain. Left box took all the impact, and even tho it was below 0, it didnt brake (not even a single scratch on the bike ;)

i'll ask today when i go back to the shop to get the jing b about the changes to the new version. it now only comes in gray (not white), i believe the front brake line issue that shuben brought up has been fixed, gas tank is now alum and not plastic (it's also a lot bigger, i believe 19L), hmm i'm not sure what mechanical improvements they've made. i'll get back to you guys on that. hopefully i'll rendezvous shortly with shuben on a weekend ride and we can examine the two bikes more closely for differences.

how much was the rack for your pelican fakes? i just tried looking them up on taobao, you happen to still have the links? you might have just saved me a couple grand! this nice-looking alum pannier set + rack was 3,000, saw it on another x5 and it looks great!

thanks guys for the insight on the carb and oil changes!

Hi,
I talked to Jeff about the design updates on the X5,
The tank is metal now. also the gas feeler is on a different position which should make it more precise I assume.
The biggest change is that they got rid of the oil cooling altogether.
On the old X5 model the engine was painted black so it got too hot and needed extra cooling - the new model has a no color on the engine and can therefore be aircooled.
Sounds stupid? TIC

Golden Boy,

Doesn't sound stupid at all. An unpainted aluminium engine expels heat very efficiently but when painted the heat stays in the engine. However I would still prefer with the oil cooling, as long as there is a thermostat, to control the oil temperature on hot days and to increase the engine's oil capacity.

Anyway the Honda Xr400's engine wasn't painted and still had the oil cooler so if Honda thought it was necessary it probably is necessary. So TIC again and Shineray are probably just trying to save some money.

Symon

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Symon260z

Golden Boy,

Doesn't sound stupid at all. An unpainted aluminium engine expels heat very efficiently but when painted the heat stays in the engine. However I would still prefer with the oil cooling, as long as there is a thermostat, to control the oil temperature on hot days and to increase the engine's oil capacity.

Anyway the Honda Xr400's engine wasn't painted and still had the oil cooler so if Honda thought it was necessary it probably is necessary. So TIC again and Shineray are probably just trying to save some money.

Symon

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Or have no idea how to deal with the heat issue, and are clutching at straws in the hope that the unpainted alloy engine will just work. Assume the company really has little to no idea... today an oil cooler, tomorrow not... reason... "ah, I dunno"
TIC as stated

Bikerdoc,

I leant the hard way about heat and alumnium engines with a Rover V8 powered Truimph Stag I made for my ex wife in Spain. I bought the reconditioned engine in the UK and they had painted to improve its appearance. To cut a long story short the car overheated like a kettle even in the winter, I did a few fixes like custom made high efficiently radiator, ducting to imprive airflow to the radiator, extra water capacity with 2 litre expansion bottle but with no real improvement.

One day I visited one of the local motorbike teams and struck up a conversation with one of the Honda engineers, we got around to cooling and he gave me the idea about painted aluminium engines. Next weekend, I whipped the motor out, stripped all the paint off the allumium block and heads ( very time consuming ). Problem solved, the engine stayed at 90ºc even in 40ºC summer days.

Honda fitted the XR400 with a oil cooler for a reason and I would suggest that any X5 owne,r who intends to use the bike and "give it some", has one too. Even better with a thermostat so that the oil can warm up ( Cold oils don't lubricate well ) then the termostat opens to keep the oils cool. Ideal temperature for an oils is somewhere between 80 and 120 ºC depends on the oils.

It would seem that Shineray are saving some money not painting the engines and not fitting an oil cooler but without giving too much thought of the end product which is fairly normal for China.

Symon

stupid question, so how would you retrofit an oil cooler to the new v of the x5 then? a related question, i'm doing beijing-berlin this summer and there will likely be stretches of desert / steppe terrain where i could be riding nonstop for the whole day under a blazing sun. how often should i stop and any signs for engine overheating?

ALSO IMPORTANT DEFECT ON THE NEW X5: so it turns out when they switched from plastic to aluminum gas tank for the x5 2.0, they designed the lid to be too air-tight. so when my engine died the first day, according to the mechanic, it was because there was a vacuum in the tank. so it's in the shop right now and i think they'll have to drill an air-hole somewhere up top. apparently this doesn't happen with every bike off the line, but it happens enough that the shopgirl sheepishly acknowledged that they've had to do this fix before. ridiculous right!?!?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jerryguo

how much was the rack for your pelican fakes? i just tried looking them up on taobao, you happen to still have the links? you might have just saved me a couple grand! this nice-looking alum pannier set + rack was 3,000, saw it on another x5 and it looks great!

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Im not sure about a rack for the X5 cos I have a different bike. Quick search on taobao gave me this one. At RMB600 its a bit pricey but still not bad. I think my was RMB350. The exact boxes I bought are here, but if you want better quality (although mine are great) you can look for Wandefu (万德福) boxes on taobao or specifically Wandefu toolboxes. Wandefu boxes are Pelican fakes and the ones I bought are Wandefu fakes ;)


My rack has a funny design so I could not fit quick release and had to bolt my boxes but thanks to this I had a winning pannier set for about RMB700 hah

I think it was a terrible idea to get rid of the oil cooler. Last year when I was considering the X5 there was a big concern on Chinese forums about this bike not being liquid cooled as people wanted to use them for traveling and feared air/oil cooled is not enough for riding all day in hot Chinese summers/areas. It seems that they are trying to kill all hope.

For the luggage rack I paid 550RMB + transport fee.

I think omitting the oil coolers is a sh.. idea. Even with coolers my engine got nice hot in the summer time. By omitting the coolers they also decrease the circulating oil quantity. that means less media for heat transfer. The first X5 I got had a unpainted engine. Because of the clutch issues I got another bike that had then a black engine.

BTW: have they solved that clutch problem or is it still like a snap in feeling in the last moment before releasing the lever completely?

The lack of a breater on the petrol tank is a real classic, all the manufacturers knew about that before the 1st Word War ! And even better that the fatory hs probably received feedback on this issue and htey have done nothing about it. I suppose that they have fixxed the issue of rain water leaking into the tank :-)

I suppose that this is pretty normal for Chinese compnanies, make it wrong 1st time then make it wrong again 2nd time, etc. And never learn from their mistakes. With this attitude the rest of the world will never be conerned about Chinese industry.

I had a chat with Kyle Wang from Shineray at the recent Canton fair. His business card says that he is Vice General Manager. He had no idea of the issues that seem to plaque the X5, he just kept saying that Shineray bikes are the best quailty bikes with the best quality components. He invited me to the factory to test a X5 but then never replied to the 3 e mails I've sent him. Complete BS.


Symon

the clutch is pretty good, there's no skip or anything right before you fully release it. however, was the old x5 just really loud? mine's shaking at around 60kph, maybe the odometer is not calibrated correctly and i'm going 80 or 90 ... any way to muffle the sound a bit?

my X5 had a nice roaring sound out of the original exhausts. for my taate not too loud but loud enough to be heard.

so i just filled up the tank (odometer says 200m now) and realized that i ran 130km on 9l, or 6.9l / 100km. i seem to remember shuben got 4.5l / 100km. seems like something is definitely wrong with my configuration here. what should i look into?

that is definitely too much. when I let run the X5 on my work way 100km on the expressway with at least 90km/h and in top 120 to 125km/h I had a max consumption of 5.8 to 6L
Maybe change to a suitable carburetor . I had never done that but think it is a good idea.

Hi just thought i add some more X5 experience. Got the bike 2 weeks ago and have done about 700 Km. The only problem i had until now is a very well sealed off tank, which leads to engine stop due to lac of fuel. Fhani had told me about this issue before, so i was kind of prepared for it. Went then back to beijing riders and they just cut a slot into the tank cap seal. It seems to have done the trick, now i only smell fuel when i stop somewhere.
Also the electric starter in combination with the choke works fine, i was worried not to have a kick starter.
Otherwise no complains, bike feels like a real motorbike compared to the X2 i have.

I guess its really hot these days in Beijing, do you have any problems with overheating? I guess long day riding in temperatures circa 35-40 degrees must be a bit of a stretch. I still cant believe that they decided to remove that oil cooler

No overheating, the air cooling seems sufficient.

I had a look at the new X5 without the oil coolers.
Good news:
If you want to install oil coolers everything is still in place.
The oil pump and the pipe connecting points are still there and they pump the oil as before into the top end of the frame.
Only the coolers are missing now in this circle. You just need some hoses and 1 or 2 suitable coolers. Even the fixing points have been still in place as well as the space in front of the gas tank.
The old configuration can be setup easily. Maybe must adjust the piping a little or use longer hoses.

Some small issue i experienced on my X5 after about the first 1000km. Bike did not start, battery still had enough juice the light was still working. I followed the cable from the electric starter and found a plug connection that was loose. No other problems up to now.

Hey everybody. Follow our attempt to go from shanghai to munich on a X5 and X2. www.monkeykings.jimdo.com.
There is also a small section where i describe what we imroved on the bikes for the trip.

I have done now around 4k. So far no big problems. Did a 3 day trip into inner mongolia with a lot of gravel road and some off road, with steep hill climbs up along some power line trails. Bike is still going fine. The only complain:
-The side stand is a little long, if you park the bike in some uneven terrain you are always worried it may tip over.
-The dip beam of the headlamp is not working, the shop repaired it 2 times but it does not seem to last long.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Axelinchina

I have done now around 4k. So far no big problems. Did a 3 day trip into inner mongolia with a lot of gravel road and some off road, with steep hill climbs up along some power line trails. Bike is still going fine. The only complain:
-The side stand is a little long, if you park the bike in some uneven terrain you are always worried it may tip over.
-The dip beam of the headlamp is not working, the shop repaired it 2 times but it does not seem to last long.

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Go to a truck repair shop alongside the road...they will shorten the stand for 10 kuai or less

It seems all the moto light housings on china motos are crappy

Hi X5ers,

does anybody know if it is possible to install a centre stand to the X5 and where to buy it?

Also any recomendation for some off road tiers?

Cheers

Axel

Hi Alexinchina,

Good to hear that all seems to be going well so far with your X5.

What are you riding impressions both on road and off road ? Have you done any upgrades so far, or are you planning some ? Is your bike Fuel Injected or Carburettor ? Sorry for so many questions.

I have been thinking about buying an X5, it seems to be a good bike for my needs but I am still worried about Chinese quality.

For your light switch problem maybe you can fit the switch for a Japanese motor bike. If I buy one of these I was planning on changing all the Chinese electrics for Japanese just for the reliability.

Hi Symon, the bike has a carb. I have only installed some panniers and some handle bar protetors. I am thinking about getting some off road tyres to get better traction. Overall i am really happy with the bike. But i am not a real expert and never had a really good bike before. My previous bikes were a royal enfield 500cc and a shineray x2 so i guess i am easy to please.
I comute regulary on the motorway, for that i would wish for a little more performance, it rides comfortable up to about 110 kmh, max is 130 kmh. Off road it is of course on the heavy side but overall i think it is a pretty good adventure bike and suits what i want to do. Go out, off the beaten path and explore the country side. Of course there are better bikes around, but for the money you pay you get a fair deal i think.

Axerinchina,

Thanks for your feedback, anyone that used to ride an Royal Enfield has good taste :-)

How does the X5 perform off road ? Does it have good traction when climbing ? How does the suspension feel off road ? I ask this as I would be using the X5 a lot off road.

Good idea to change the tyres, they are not expensive and you can get some real improvements. I was thinking about Kenda K270s, seem to have good tread of off road and should be ok on road too.

Hey everybody, we just completed the trip from shanghai to germany on a x5 and x2. For the x5 i can say that it performed very well. We had some minor issues but right now there are 27000 km on the clock and its still going. So in my opinion with the x5 you get more than you pay for. Of course its not a BMW but if you do some modifications it really gets you places. Onroad and offroad.

Whow 27K, thats fantastic, followed your blog regularly, envy you guys.

I have clocked up now 5K, regular commute to work mainly. Also no problems, starts fine in the cold

Regarding the question to the suspension:

The fork springs are comfortable for tar roads and gravel path, but a bit soft for real offroad riding.
The rear is adjustable to fit your needs. For easy offroading it is suitable but too heavy for difficult sections.
I had put some pictures in here where you might judge the terrain.