Shineray / XinYuan X5 review

Short update on the bike's fuel tank capacity:
After running quite close to an empty fuel tank I refilled and got 12,7L in. I guess it had still 1L to 2L in the tank. So the statement in the technical data found in the internet says 19L capacity. That's definitely wrong. I would say 14 to 15L max. I reached 265km with my wild ride. I will contact the Shineray expert I met at the Beijing dealer to get the official information.

I nearly finished a total of 1000km.
With some light offroad activities and open throttle widely :riding: ... latest consumption is 4.78L / 100km.

On a nice straight empty road I let run to its limit and end up at 125km/h at about 6.5k RPM in 5th gear. In 4th gear I got it up to max of 7k RPM where is the max performance of 30HP. (??)

Anyway, today's fun factor was high again :thumbsup:

After a great 260km ride through the BJ mountains I found during my after tour bike check a critical issue caused by insufficient assembly of the cover pipe for the front brake line guidance.
The cover pipe should be fixed with a clamp at the lower part of the fork. When the fork is diving the pipe and brake line should travel upward and getting directed by a plastic guide on handle bar level. Unfortunately I didn’t pay attention that the brake line can travel through the lower mount bracket freely. So the line and bracket are rubbing continuously. The photos show the result after 1200km. The break line needs to be replaced urgently.
I will also send the photos to Shineray for there attention as this is a safety issue even I believe that the wrong installation was done in the BJ dealer location.
By the wrong assembly also the speedo cable is affected and the cable cover broke already.

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Originally Posted by ShuBen

On a nice straight empty road I let run to its limit and end up at 125km/h at about 6.5k RPM in 5th gear.

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Oh oh ... the JH might win this one. :naughty:

Very interesting about the cables, etc. This type of build-quality is not uncommon on any new product launch - the manufacturer wants to get the item out the door and into the market, asap, using early-adopters as beta testers. Classic examples of this are Microsoft products :lol8:, although they have improved over the years.

Good progress review with detailed pics, thanks!

@LJH:
regarding the wrong brake line assembly I am quite sure the problem happened during assembly at the BJ dealer. Normally the bike comes in a crate and front wheel, handle bar etc are not mounted.

UPDATE:
Shineray informed me that the fuel tank capacity is 16L.

hey Shuben, I was riding near summer palace and i think i ve found your shop. it has Honda logo right? They had 3 shinerays x5 and they offered me a test ride. I have to say I loved it, the sound of the engine, the acceleration, amazing. I don't have much experience with motorcycles but compared to my lawn mower its great. If you left your bike there I wouldn't be suprised if I tried your bike because it was covered with dirt. The engine sounds great but while riding I think I've heard some other weird sounds, but I had to little time to figure out what was that. I like the look of the tank, it's massive and the bike feels to be more slim than mine. The other thing is that this bike still looks like a prototype, so not perfect, with stickers coming off. And there are more rusted parts than in mine bike after 2 years outdoor. Anyway going back on mine bike felt like riding a bicycle. I'm jalouse.

Most probably it is the shop. At Ma Lian Wa Bei Lu, right? I am just surprised that they have X5 there. Maybe customer orders? I guess you rode the test bike. It looks like never saw a wash and not at all cared. On left side the rear foot peg holder was broken when I rode it. Anyway, my one is in my garage, and ..... clean again (it must be kind of German cleaning genome.)

The rough sound is maybe when you ride on low RPM in gear 4 or 5. The engine doesn't like that.

Hi ShuBen, here's a good question is your bike EFI or Carb'ed....???

I ask because they at Shineray's booth they mentioned using a Siemens EFI.... but the pre launch version I tested here in Shanghai had a carb and manual choke...

SF

Its a carburetor version. I chose that and I am happy about this because somewhere in the middle of nowhere I still have a chance to solve fuel problems and make the bike running again. When the EFI is dead only a lorry helps you....

You can choose a carb or efi version? Thats great! Efi was the reason I wouldn't buy it. But without EFI it has no problem with the pollution regulations? Or you can pretend its the Efi version?

In the shop they had 3 shinerays. They said there are two foreigners who bought from them.

I heard that they want to switch from carb to EFI.
Anyway, as said, I prefer carb. The dealer said to register the carb version is no problem. Maybe he goes there with an EFI Certificate and tell them its an EFI bike.
I guess in the registration bureau not many guys will be able to distinguish carb and EFI.

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Originally Posted by filipu

In the shop they had 3 shinerays. They said there are two foreigners who bought from them.

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One bought an X5 and one is still waiting for his X2! Probably it's those guys :lol8:

Hi ShuBen,

great review... I couldn't stop reading :thumbsup: ... oder einfach geiles teil ;) ....what happend to your new bike, any updates on that...? I reckon I'll buy one here in SH after passing my DL test... means, I"m highly interested in any updates about the new bike and the "issues" you found...

One question on top. I'm quite small for a German guy and concerned about the seat hight with min. 845mm according to the spec. (My K1200S in Germany has 810mm and that's already the limit for me)...

Any comments on the suspension when you just sit on the bike (sure I know that it will vary ;) just try to get a general feeling before finding a dealer here in SH...

BTW... anybody here in the thread who knows a reliable dealer in SH? (still a newbie in the whole CN bike business...)

as i learned the new bike is on the way to BJ.

you question:
the suspension works fine for me. Didnt adjust anything yet.
For height: when I sit on with my 100kg/ 186cm i get both feed flat on ground. The sit height is then 860 to 870mm i would say.

Snev313,

The CF moto dealer on wuzhong lu in Shanghai will have X5's in May. I ordered one from him but he told me to wait till the second batch comes out in May as there are some bugs with the first batch. Knight Rider on Hunan lu in Pudong has X5's now and I believe they still have a test bike to try....

Thx Shanghaifingers,

I think I'll wait then and order as well one from the second batch... I also want to see what the A plates are doing... hope they go down in price a bit ;) ...what plate do you ride?

And did the dealer handle for you also the plate, insurance, etc. sorry for all the questions ;)

Best, Sven

Thx ShuBen,

I'm way smaller ;) guess I need to try it and see if reach the ground comfortable enough...

Best, Sven

Shanghai Fingers, the dealer on Wuzhong Lu (Jeff Zhu), also advised me to wait around 2 months for the factory to correct for problems discovered during the 1st release. Can you please give me the address on Hunan Lu in Pudong for Knight Rider? Please include the cross streets.
Thx.
Zhaoman

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Originally Posted by Zhaoman

Can you please give me the address on Hunan Lu in Pudong for Knight Rider?

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top right hand corner has a link, click onto the link: Advanced Search

the search function does real miracle work: http://www.mychinamoto.com/forums/sh...hanghai)/page3

Plates are probably not coming down anytime soon... They dropped after new year due to an artifical rise in the price... Buy now and make money on it later...

Just today I learned that the real serial production of X5 is not started yet. What I have is like a pre series. WTF they are doing there? It seems to be really banana wear.
The fruit is mellowing in the customers hand.
(reminds to past MS Windows versions)

Versuchskaninchen!

@Sabine: yeah i know i am a little guinea pig ..... But now come the two advantages out of this.
a) i can rip that bike to pieces to satisfy my old mechanic desires (and i stand last evening in the garage to de-assemble here a bit and there a bit and put it together again. ... love to do that and see a lot of things could be improved)

b) my wife asked my to buy a F800GS to have at least one good bike .... yeeeeeeeehh :lol8: .... THANK YOU, SHINERAY !!!!!!

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Originally Posted by ShuBen

my wife asked my to buy a F800GS to have at least one good bike

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Don't let your wife see the latest edition of Consumer Reports ... BMW was at the bottom of the list in terms of reliability (but ranked high in terms of brand loyalty).

I wonder a little.
I checked various German long distance tests .... and all are satisfying, e.g.

http://www.tourenfahrer.de/index.php?id=3070
(Learn German! - or - Google is your friend)

Also in the German Forums I check out the customer satisfaction ... and it is High.

However .... Mama, I want one!

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Originally Posted by ShuBen

Learn German!

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I just checked ... nope, not on my bucket list. English, French, and a little Portuguese/Arabic/Chinese has already filled my tiny brain.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ShuBen

Also in the German Forums I check out the customer satisfaction ... and it is High.

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Likewise, I've heard that Aussies like Vegemite ... gives them great satisfaction. :eek2:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ShuBen

However .... Mama, I want one!

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OK, before Barry chimes in with something that happened last week, I confess that I bought an F800GS (completely farkled out, beautiful, A-plated, and very reasonably priced). The owner, however, called me a couple of days later saying he'd changed his mind (not for sale). I then dragged the GW group to Goldenport, where two brand new F800GS were available.

Yup, like a beautiful woman, there can be high maintenance costs ... but for some reason, we still succumb to temptation.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ShuBen

Just today I learned that the real serial production of X5 is not started yet. What I have is like a pre series. WTF they are doing there?

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Great information... I'm interested in buying one. Did you get any info on when the production bikes will be available? Would you recommend waiting or just go for it?

"GW group to Goldenport, where two brand new F800GS were available."


too bad! how much does a new F800GS cost??

consumer reports talking about BMW cars?? or moto?

The consumer report I read in German are ALL related to F800GS motos.

From Shineray I heared they will not start production at large scale until they have solved the problems they had recognized and recorded. They couldn't tell me when real production will start. MAYBE!! beginning of May.
The BJ dealer was quite surprised about that news.

I can say for the bike I ride now temporary, except the rough clutch / gear switch problem it runs great and makes a lot of fun.
The problem start every time when the engine gets hot. In cold condition its fine and nothing to feel.
After talking to a bike engine expert I learned this problem is caused by insufficient manufacturing tolerances which causes Aluminum casing and gear steel parts expand with different coefficients.

@kkcat

"GW group to Goldenport" ... this is the race track location in BJ?
Where is GW group exactly located?

I was reading that Aluminum has a higher nearly twice the linear and volumetric coefficients on thermal expansion then steel, but steels rates of expansion are a result of their composition, that being the quality of the steel used. In other words they may have the tolerance correct to the original but not the quality of the steel?