Attachment 11636
This is the excellent waitress who kindly chilled a crate of beers down for me, I wasn't brave enough to explain the meaning of her t-shirt to her :lol8:
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Attachment 11636
This is the excellent waitress who kindly chilled a crate of beers down for me, I wasn't brave enough to explain the meaning of her t-shirt to her :lol8:
It is Kazakh tradition that if they come across a fellow Kazakh traveller they should offer food and shelter. You to them look like a Kazakh .Happened to me quite abit up in the mountains.Quote:
Originally Posted by futianshenzhen
Great RR.Who said Xinjiang not worth travelling too.Name starts with G as I recall.
:popcorn:
At this rate, this thread might be a contender as the most read thread knocking the Dong Fang DF250 TRB Bobber thread of the top spot.
Keep it comin...
Cheers guys!
Well that's about it actually. In summary i'd say that the trip exceeded all expectations in terms of scenery, people and roads. Although the latter were a bit too straight most of the time! The yingang was fantastic as ever, an absolute joy in the twisties. The 250 at less than 17 grand is a steal IMO, once the brand becomes more established i'm sure the price will rise. The upcoming 600 version at 24 grand is seriously tempting even though i just forked out on a second hand JH600.
I'm flying back to Urumqi on Monday 27 to continue the adventure. I will be passing through Kashgar, Hotan and Turpan before shipping the bike to Beijing for the next advendture in July, when I'll be riding to Harbin via the northernmost point in China. At the moment all this will be done solo as none of the Guangdong riders can release themselves from prior commitments. But if anyone up north is up for riding long distances in a day and has some time off let me know.
If this is true then it will be priced substantially lower than every other legal mid-sized displacement motorcycle manufactured in China. So time will tell if it comes to be just where cost savings might have been made, and consequently how reliable the bike might be.Quote:
Originally Posted by futianshenzhen
Share the details, photos etc. Looking forward to some additional views and experiences about the JH600 in due course. Will this be your ride in July?Quote:
Originally Posted by futianshenzhen
Yes it will be the an absolute bargain! And this is excatly the problem yingang have at the moment!! Many people look at the 250 for 16,800 and think it's too cheap, the brand just makes farmer bikes etc and decide to pay around 25 for the yamaha or susuki etc. So now they have decided to release larger capacity bikes at higher prices and still people will say "it's too cheap, the quality must be rubbish!"
The bike I ride has improved beyond recognition since ChinaV did his review, mainly in the rubustness of the frame, the rear suspension and brakes. All the great work they have done in the factory will now come into its own with the 600 cc. Because they haven't had to develop the engine they can take a now well running jialing product from under their noses for next to nothing. That's why it'll only be 24 grand.
The only question I asked was could the frame handle the extra power? The answer was yes, its a very strong and actually pretty heavy steel frame and with the improvements I mentioned above I think it will be fine. For me the yingang is an amazingly fun bike and only loses out to the JH 600 in comfort over long distances, straight line speed and the way the jialing glides over mid level potholes! In every other department the yingang 250cc beats it and I think the 600 version will obviosuly be more than competitive in the power department but the jialing is a better long distance tourer, especially with a passenger.
My jialing isn't registered yet, i've sourced a fapiao and am now in the hands of some local mates who are using their guangxi to try and help. Fingers crossed. All the rides this summer will be on the yingang, they have given me free storage in any of the showrooms nationwide which is a massive help.
great trip, looking to your next installment!
Well I'd hazard a guess that many others would feel it was/is too expensive. I've lost count of the number of people who make comments or remarks on the Jetmax 250 maxi scoot who feel that 20K (total ownership cost out the door made of RMB17600 MSRP plus sales tax, then plating, insurance etc) is over the top, especially for a Chinese brand one that is little less known. While any of the Jap bikes I own here receive differing comments when the prices are 3-6 times that of the Jetmax. Most Chinese seem more approving.Quote:
Originally Posted by futianshenzhen
Given that IMO few domestic Chinese brands are associated with quality etc this seems logical. Generally speaking the foreign brands have better QA/QC/QI mechanisms in place (sure, there can be exceptions to this), are more likely to opt for better materials and design tolerances, concepts etc to put out a product that will withstand scrutiny. Basically foreign brands are more cognisant and acutely aware of customer perception and goodwill. Domestic brands, are more likely to want to reach the pot of gold at any cost (referring to a Chinese proverb). Even if to do so might be seen as short sighted to an outsider.
YMMV.
I wonder who those motorcyclists were. :naughty::naughty:Quote:
Originally Posted by futianshenzhen
Thanks for filling in the gaps besides those pictures we've been following on Wechat. Seriously brilliant stuff.
Too bad you missed Qilian shan:
https://public.sn2.livefilestore.com...469.JPG?psid=1
Hey, I totally understand your malaise towards Chinese companies but why bring scooters into this? They are like fat birds my friend, great fun til your mates see you riding them! Oldie but a goodie! and don’t they have their own separate thread here on MCM? All im trying to say is that at the moment you won’t find a better value for money motorcycle than the (posh) yingang range.
I agree totally that the foreign brands are more likely to have better ’ QA/QC/QI mechanisms in place’ etc but you can’t fault yingang for the direction they are taking. There is one guy who is basically in charge of all the “cool” yingang bikes. I know the guy, he went to uni in the UK and just loves all things two wheels, the CEO is happy to give him free rein as long as he makes money. And from what I hear, margins are low but they are the top selling 250 in south America and are one of the only Chinese companies who are innovating (with Chinese characteristics), shineray have basically been cheating by copying yingang engines and stealing all the thunder on MCM!
Now – customer service….
Yingang have basically knocked everyone else out of the park! I have been given incredible freebies and service nationwide just because I ride their bikes like they want to be ridden. They are just starting in this market and are obviously trying to make a name for themselves that is about a lot more than taking the veg to market. Write them off if you want but I reckon you’ll be made to eat your words
tom's thread should be a guide for any forgeiner to ride in china. it can be a text book. the way to kashgar, it will be breath taken Grand beauty. enjoy the bike and the journey.
Savage report you absolute pikey.
You seem to have attained that elusive balance in your life where you do just enough work to spend the rest of your time doing what you love. Few people ever manage to get it so right, respect to you and all your achievements.
You make a solid case for the yingang and their future models. I have a few questions:
- Is it possible that you are getting preferential treatment and that their customer service isn't as good as you claim? For example, back in '09 i got a lot of free parts for my galaxy and thought they had phenomenal after sales service, but chinaV on the other hand often contemplated suicide rather than having to deal with them.
- If shineray stole the engine from yingang, how come the X2 came out two years before?
- How are they getting the JH600 engine? Will it be the old stalltastic version?
Looking forward to seeing this 600 anyway. Twice the power of the ybr for the same price...
Hey Felix,
With regard to your questions...
Preferential CS treatment - it's possible! I don't know any other laowai who ride a yingang bike so who knows?! If I was to hazard a guess though, I’d say probably not. Because they are a smaller company and are trying to expand and improve their brand, I’d say they would provide the great CS I receive to everyone. Raymond is the guy in charge of the "cool" yingang bikes and he is a passionate biker himself and he just gets it. I also deal with people on the parts desk and while they don’t speak English they are very efficient and parts are shipped efficiently and without error, I’m sure this would be the same for any customer.
Which came first, the shineray or the yingang? Good question! I had to check up on the details and well, it’s complicated but basically yingang. Yingang 'developed' the engine and in 2007 they sold 57 prototype engines to shineray. Why? you may ask. Well, at that time yingang didn’t have a suitable frame to put that engine in and they wanted to recoup some of the development costs. They now admit that they chose the wrong customer and regret it. I’m reading between the lines here but I don’t think they realised that shineray would jump the gun and release their bike immediately, the engine was still being developed and it seems shineray were happy to let their customers ‘test’ an engine that still had a lot of problems. Yingang continued to improve it and consequently the yingang unit is now apparently more powerful than the shineray version. I think yingang have a grudging respect for the ‘brave’ decision that shineray took and the success they’ve enjoyed although they are kicking themselves for selling them the engine in the first place!!
The story of the jialing engine is another example of how dog eat dog the Chinese motorcycle industry is! Apparently there was a walkout of jialing engineers involved with the 600 cc engine which forced jialing to outsource production to I think the cummings factory, I forget the exact details but the jialing engine is now made by a factory which usually builds diggers and the like. I don’t know any more details about that but anyway yingang managed to sweet talk the good folk at cummings (or somewhere similar) into selling them the 600 engine and it seems jialing couldn’t do a thing about it. I imagine they are less than amused by yingang coming in and sneakily gaining access to a now well functioning power unit without incurring any of the development costs! Yingang told me that the engine will actually be better than the jialing version as it will be easier to service, I’d be amazed if it stalls like the old jialings used to.
I too can’t wait to see it! I already have a substantial collection of bikes, 5 at last count, but may well be tempted myself! At the very least I will be upgrading to a 300 or 350 in my current frame.
All the best mate, and I hope to see you out on the road sometime…
Here are some stitched images that i was too stupid to upload earlier. Being a computer caveman I didnt realise there was a file size limit and have just leant all about image reduction software!!
Felix - love the cumshots thread, great idea!
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Quote:
Originally Posted by futianshenzhen
From a chinese forum Moto8, Yingang Unicorn ridder will have a tour from chongqing to Huoerguosi, the border to KAzak in July. it will go through G318 and G219. they should be the most charllenging road in China. if the thing is ture, I will translate that threds from Moto8 to this site. and if we are lucky enough, we should be able to see the rummor 600 and new 250 Unicorn.