Soberpete's YBR 250

Sorry Pete, while you were away they switched production of the Jianshe Yamaha YBR250 to Brazil or was it Japan? Or was it just the engine? :eek2:

Wow, thanks a lot for the detailed review Pete, that's very good to know.
I'm particularly interested in the cruising speed. Let's say 110kph is very very good compared to what I have now, and could really shorten those long distances to go to Zhejiang.... Hmmmm....

I have one further question : would you know (or anyone else) if Yamaha can provide a topcase in order to tour with this bike, which would have a cushion or pad for the pillion to rest against it ?
If not Yamaha, maybe I can find this at the bike market I guess, but it needs to be really really properly secure... ;-))



One more thing before you reply : rust on the exhaust and chain after 3,000 km only ? This is strange and a little worrying... Do you often ride when wet, do you oil regularly your chain ?
Thanks in advance for the replies.

Cheers Peter,

I've to say if I pulled the trigger on the YBR250 is mostly because of this post, I was leaning to the JH600 before, but difficulty to get it registered in my area made me go on the YBR.

I'm very pleased with it so far, so thank you Peter!

I hope the government will rise the limit of "normally" registrable bikes to 600 or 650, because even the YBR250 is good, I would like more horsepower under my ass, namely when I have an annoying black audi with pillows under the back windows honking at my ass, I'd like to be able to let him taste my exhaust fumes and put a safe distance between me and the moron before giving him the road.

This is more about safety than for my pleasure to go fast, in fact i don't enjoy going fast, but is better to have it, in case you need it. Don't take me wrong, the YBR250 IS responsive and can accelerate quite fast, perhaps is just me, being used to other kind of bikes back in Europe.

I've seen photos on a thread by tokyokid named 'Tibet Odysee' but the pictures that used to be there seem to have been deleted now. He had a sort of saddle thing that slung around the fuel tank and was laced with satchels for storing things. He also had two back boxes mounted either side of the rear wheel. The frame that supported those boxes also had a 90 degree cushion for the pillion-seat rider.
I could go back to the dealer and ask them if it's possible to order some but I know they'd be clueless to begin with. They'll promise to call their contacts and ask, but that may take some time. I'd need to go back two or three times to remind them before they get around to it.

One small piece of metal that is part of the exhaust is rusty, no other part of the bike is. I washed the bike a number of times, then rode it through the rain a few more times without putting oil on the chain once so I guess I was really asking for it to go rusty. I'll take some photos of it later.

Nice review Pete. Glad to see the YBR250 continues to impress. :clap:

Thanks Dewsnap,
How is the Raptor doing? What kind of mileage have you racked up so far? I passed the 3000km mark a few days ago.

I've just completed my fourth trip (last two on the YBR) to and from my wife's hometown. Half of the roads are great to ride on but the other half are awful so I've been trying new routes in search of better roads for a better overall ride.
I discovered a road on the way back a few days ago and made the mistake of taking it. This road was a really muddy, narrow and crowed village road that had suffered heavy rainfall the night before. Some of the roads were flooded and I delicately rode the YBR along 50ft of slippery mud banks, wheels only inches away from a huge pool of water where the road should have been. It was a real thrill to have avoided taking a swim in that water.
What's funny was that half of the village was out, watching me as I performed the stunt that the other motorcyclists wouldn't. I could feel their eyes on me as I was riding the mud bank, making bets on whether or not I'd slip up. I showed'em :muscles:.


Marco,
I know what you mean about having the extra power just in-case you need it. My dad only drives cars with an engine size V8 or higher. He says that it can get you out of the tight spots where accidents are likely to happen. He lives in the states though. He wouldn't like driving on Chinese roads, that's for sure :frump:.

It sounds like there are lots of open roads in your area. In Zibo I never get the typical aggressive driver hassling me from behind, they're only ever in-front of me for a few seconds before I leave them behind. I'm pretty damn aggressive and only get overtaken when I choose to stop.
Anyway, back to the point: The roads around here are rarely large enough to make me wish I had anything bigger than a 250cc bike. The roads are either too small or just too full of cars and bikes. The YBR gets me through almost everything and makes me feel like the fastest thing on the road... despite the presence of 3 three dozen illegal super-bikes stolen from HongKong or wherever.

I'm really happy to hear that this thread was a contributing factor in your decision to buy a YBR 250. What colour did you get? Oh, wait... I just took a look at your profile photo. It looks good in red. What colour offers did the dealer give you?

hi marco, pete convered your question to the full i'd say and after around 60000km (6x10000) with the ybr250 we have no problems at all. ad two up - for a couple of 100km on a fairly nice tarmac road in tibet i had a couple rideing the bike - their guess was that incl gear they got around 200kg on the bike. (i did not like it too much but it worked)
just had to bikes going with pillion to mt. kailash in tibet - nice roads for most of the part and real nice ride with around 150 to 160kg up i'd say. we shifted the girls in the pack up car when going gravel though! i am sure you will enjoy riding the bike - wherever it comes from ;-) btw. 5 new one's are on the way from beijing (the only place i could find 5pcs at all) to lhasa.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by euphonius

“Could well be"???

Heiri, now I'm beginning to understand why ZMC888 finds your posts so exasperating! What is it about facts that you find so difficult?

Your BMW buddies may be in denial, but that Loncin-built BMW engine is famous here in China, and very widely known. People who have visited the factory have posted pictures of the production line and the BMW engine for all to see, including this guy from India.

Here's another thread, alas in Chinese, though you can use Google's Chrome browser and accept its offer to translate the entire post into English, or German, in 2 seconds. The main poster is a Loncin employee. Even without translating, you can scroll through a few pages and see from the pictures alone that Loncin indeed builds the BMW 650 thumper (not to be confused with the BMW 650 twin, which is actually closer to 800cc) in its entirety and is very publicly proud of this fact, as are many chinese forum posters. Here are a few images:


Perhaps you'd like to buy one of these Chinese-made BMW engines. Prepare 12,000 RMB and browse to this link on Taobao (again, use Google's Chrome browser), which is where I found this image:

http://img07.taobaocdn.com/imgextra/...!!94883338.jpg

I do share your hope that we'll see that BMW engine in Chinese bikes, though I doubt BMW would be happy about that. No matter, Loncin has the technology and ability and perhaps already is doing this. The engine in our 600cc Jialings, which was designed by AVL of Austria, is a very close cousin of that BMW thumper. It's entirely possible that Jialing, rather than making them in house, outsources them from Loncin, which a just few miles across town in Chongqing.

The problem with the China market is that it's too restrictive and too small for anything above 200 or 250cc. Until motorcycles lose their stigma as farm vehicles and "the poor man's automobile", and become cherished for recreation and commuting by the middle class, demand for mid-sized and large displacement bikes in China will remain too limited to drive such innovation.

cheers!

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euphonius THANKS and i sincerely mean that!
what i wanted to say with " it could well be" was something in the line of "es kann durchaus sein" translated below. by NOW with the facts given by you i have to say of course there is no doubt. but i still do not see that because i do, as a non-native speaker, make "unclear" statements can cause such a fuzz. i guess i have to stay away of that kind of discussions! sorry to have disturbed your peace here!

Other people translated 'Es kann durchaus sein' into English:
German English

Es kann durchaus sein, dass dies für viele eine Schmerzgrenze darstellt, die sie nicht überschreiten wollen.
German: www.europarl.europa.eu/
It may well indeed be that many will see this as a pain barrier through which they do not want to go.
English: www.europarl.europa.eu/

Es kann durchaus sein, dass sie bei einem adäquaten Angebot eine Professur an einer anderen Universität annimmt.
German: www.lifescience-zurich.ch/focus10/oxenius-de.asp
It is absolutely possible that, with an adequate offer, she would accept a professorship at another university.
English: www.lifescience-zurich.ch/focus10/oxenius-en.asp

Es kann durchaus sein, daß dies nicht für alle Zukunft so bleibt, da die Gentechnik uns in anderen Zusammenhängen helfen kann, von unnatürlichen Methoden wegzukommen.
German: www.europarl.europa.eu/
This may not always be the case in the future, as genetic technology may help us to move away from non-natural methods in other contexts.
English: www.europarl.europa.eu/

To come back on the YBR 250, I saw a "new" 2011 YBR 250, with a different headlight, and surely others more subtle differences. Look below :

Current YBR 250 :
Attachment 5078


2011 version :
Attachment 5079

Anyone know something about this, if it would be available in China, and when ? I found this pic here : http://www.motorcycledb.com/Yamaha_YBR250_2011/34783 but no other info.

I went to the Yamaha store last Friday, but didn't know about the "new" version then.
What I saw is that the current YBR 250 version is listed at RMB 25,000, available in black or red.

Shit, I've just bought the old model! That would explain also the shortage of stock Heiri was talking about.

To be honest I don't like the new look, but damn it, I WANT THAT REAR DISK BRAKE!