Suzuki GW250 impressions

We should be able to release the first wave of products by year end. We're preparing the online retailing package, find the proper staff for the customer service etc...

I'm staying in Atl 'til next spring, winter is our R&D time over there, will get the monster project done.

i saw a flyer about the china motorcycle accessory show in Nanjing, also in Oct, how does that compared to the chongqing show? who are the attendees at these shows, dealers? bike owners? i'm interested in doing a showcase at one of these shows next yr but it'd be best if the bikes can be shown in Haojue's factory booth.

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Originally Posted by Lao Jia Hou

Hey Daz - welcome aboard MCM. Good to see you here.

I, for one, am definitely looking forward to your company's customized GW products. The prototypes I have seen pics of look fantastic.

Good luck at the Atlanta bike show. If you head back for the Chongqing show, we'll catch up. I think Robert will still be in Germany.

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It has been a while since I have added anything here. Apologies.

I've picked up a few GWs, of various models & colors, including the new GW250S (Travel Edition) and a sharp looking GW 250 Sport (just a regular GW, but with a cool Blue & White color scheme). I am really enjoying the GW250S (Travel Edition) - the upright seating position is more my style.

Here is a pic of the two of them on a recent mountain run (Jing'rs will probably recognize the vista pull-out).

http://i44.tinypic.com/2upfxj9.jpg

http://i40.tinypic.com/6p7qk3.jpg

http://i39.tinypic.com/2dm6zpv.jpg

The bikes continue to purr along. They are definitely excellent city/mountain bikes - very nimble, easily navigated through gridlocked traffic (i.e., Beijing 24/7) and easily tossed through sharp mountain corners. Although they can handle expressway speeds, that isn't their strong point.

However, the first little hiccup happened yesterday (next post).

Yikes!!!!!!!!!!

http://i41.tinypic.com/2hf27pz.jpg

Your initial thought is probably the same as mine - oil & water (damn, damn, damn) - and all of the "worst case" scenarios that one immediately thinks of to cause that horrible milky white mess. This happened on the Blue & White 250 Sport.

The leak came from a cooling hose joint, at the radiator. But a quick check of the engine oil window showed that it was still pure & clean (WTF? mixed oil/water, if in the crankcase, will cloud that window very quickly). That made me think that oil was being pushed into the cooling system (only moving in one direction), but that simply didn't make sense. Also, the coolant reservoir tank was pure & clean green.

So, why the white gunk?

A search of Chinese forums uncovered that this is not uncommon with the GW250s. It seems that a number of GW owners have experienced the exact same thing, with a leak occurring at the same point, and white stuff spraying onto the engine & headers.

Apparently, however, the spray exiting the poor joint is not white, but rather the normal green coolant mix (from factory), that has a higher-than-normal Glycol content and turns a white color when it is forced to dry almost immediately (which it does on the header/engine).

Apparently, there has been a batch of GWs that did not have the coolant hoses properly tightened, and this has happened.

Well, that is the story I have been reading on forums (which, of course, are always 100% accurate and true). I'll examine things more closely over the coming days, when I've a bit more time.

Needless to say, seeing white stuff is really scary. Anyone who has been around muscle car rebuilds knows what this means, and it is not a pretty picture.

PS: Before you say it (I know you are thinking it) ... no, no no ... yes, I do get excited on the GWs, but not THAT excited. :lol8:

By the way, for anyone interested, Suzuki produces two types of coolant that is recommended for the GW250:

1) Long life coolant (green in color). This is what comes in the bike from the factory. You mix this green coolant with distilled water (50:50 ratio). Don't use regular tap water, as the bike has an aluminum radiator core that will clog/corrode from minerals inside tap water. Distilled water is inexpensive and readily available from any Watson store (comes in a clear bottle with a green cap). Watson usually places it alongside regular bottled water. The label clearly states "Distilled Water". Also good for batteries, of course.

2) Super long life coolant (blue in color). This is premixed. You just pour it into your cooling system, right out of the bottle.

I'm not sure if it is ok to mix the two different types of coolant. I have the GW250 shop service manual and it doesn't mention anything about mixing the two different coolants.

Birdshit?

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Originally Posted by euphonius

Birdshit?

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Quick eye, but I don't think so. Tastes much differently! :naughty:

Little update.

I needed to get a servicing done on a GW.

I wanted the dealer (Qili Motors) to check the valve clearances, as I had not had this done and it was well past Suzuki's recommended mileage limit.

Qili refused to do it, saying "they are fine, we don't hear anything - we'll do it when we can hear the valves rattling away." You can't make this shit up.

So, an argument started ... but, of course, in Qili's view it is the "expert" and I am the typical dumb customer ... worse, I am a dumb foreign customer. No amount of reasoned explanation helped - I was confronted with the "just come back when it is broken and we will fix it" mentality.

Fine, I will do it myself ... but I have better things to do.

I didn't even want to get into the Suzuki recommended "check torque settings on all major fasteners" ... Qili's technician walked around with a crescent wrench seeing if things were tight. Sigh.

Same bs here. We can't actually go to the dealer to have any work done, my toolkit is better than theirs, they don't have a torque wrench or even a tire pressure gauge.

I have to take the bikes to independent mechanics or do things myself, it's the only way. I'm going to get my valves done pretty soon, but not by the dealer.

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Originally Posted by ZMC888

... they don't have a ... tire pressure gauge.

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Haha - right you are!

I forgot to mention something else the "technician" performed.

Qili Motors spent a lot of money acquiring and renovating a new building for its service department. It is impressive, by Chinese standards. For example, each station has air hoses on a retractable overhead spool.

So, the "technician" pulls down the hose, attaches a pressure gauge with a trigger at the end (so air can be shot out), and he begins to spray the dust off my bike. I have no friggin idea what part of "maintenance" he is doing but ... after spending 5 minutes blowing some dust off the bike, he detaches the gauge and returns the air hose to the ceiling.

I'm sitting in the "Customer Comfort" area, a few feet away, and I just can't take it. I walk over and ask ... "uh, excuse me, would you mind checking my tire pressure?"

Damn, you would've thought I was asking him to bake a cake! He reluctantly did it. I double-checked at home, late last night (tires were cold) ... sure enough, 44 in front, 48 in rear.

Another example of upgrading the hardware, but the software is still version 1.0.

Yep, they need to by micro-managed down to the last detail. One time I asked a mechanic of 30 years if he could put some oil down the throttle lines as he was installing a throttle cable anyhow. He gave me a look as though I'd just asked if I could bed his daughter, then he squeezed black used engine oil down only the push line (of a push pull throttle) and gave me a smug look.

Often I fix, maintain and adjust my bikes near my apartment complex. They seem to have no word for maintenance only 'fix', 'preserve' or 'adjust'. They keep coming over and asking 'are you fixing your bike?' 'Is it broken?' No just checking the tire pressure, checking the chain tension etc. The concept of maintenance seems utterly lost on all but about 2% of the very best Chinese mechanics.

Damn, damn, damn. These guys don't fool around.

Got a apologetic call from Qili's owner. He said he'd punish the reluctant technician (who was also a little rude to me) by docking him a month's pay. Shit. I begged him to reconsider, perhaps a day's pay might be more reasonable ... or just a good talking to, and a stern warning.

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Originally Posted by Lao Jia Hou

Damn, damn, damn. These guys don't fool around.

Got a apologetic call from Qili's owner. He said he'd punish the reluctant technician (who was also a little rude to me) by docking him a month's pay. Shit. I begged him to reconsider, perhaps a day's pay might be more reasonable ... or just a good talking to, and a stern warning.

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Maybe the tide is actually starting to turn.............

It is always good to have some hope, no matter how little there might be of it.

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Originally Posted by TexasAggie

Maybe the tide is actually starting to turn.............

It is always good to have some hope, no matter how little there might be of it.

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Seem to recall these or similar comments/sentiments expressed in other threads...

+1... there's always hope, no matter how big or small one perceives that hope to be, or representative of change or otherwise.

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Originally Posted by Lao Jia Hou

Damn, damn, damn. These guys don't fool around.

Got a apologetic call from Qili's owner. He said he'd punish the reluctant technician (who was also a little rude to me) by docking him a month's pay. Shit. I begged him to reconsider, perhaps a day's pay might be more reasonable ... or just a good talking to, and a stern warning.

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What? Is this Qili shop in China?

Seriously though, good to know that there's at least one non-expat person in Beijing who understands the notion of "preventative maintenance".

On a similar note. Went down to a 'local' motorcycle shop today with a friend to get his brake/fork/steering sorted - his front fork's clunking on hard application of the front brakes. Loose head bearing right? Well, the nut locking down the head bearing is already as tight as can be, so we think it's something else. After explaining the problem to the technician, he goes, "Oh that's easy! Stop using the front brakes and only use the rear brakes". I gave him a look of disbelief and asked him "You're joking, right? Is that really your solution". And he said, "Yes".

*smacks palm on forehead*

Oh China.

TIC... logic free zone

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Originally Posted by branng

Stop using the front brakes and only use the rear brakes.

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And when the rear fails, just use the Fred Flintstone method ...

Attachment 14592

^Or not...
....just hit someone else (like a local yokel), and claim it was their fault... not yours since this is a non-liability, non-responsibility zone

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Originally Posted by branng

the nut locking down the head bearing is already as tight as can be

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Uhhm, I'm hoping you mean that it's properly torqued and not that it's actually tight?

Cheers!

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Originally Posted by ChinaV

Uhhm, I'm hoping you mean that it's properly torqued and not that it's actually tight?

Cheers!

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Well it's a bike which we got from a smaller Chinese manufacturer as a product sample - I can't say too much more for now (for commercial reasons). There were no torque "specs" per se so we were, as an experiment, trying to find the point where the fork clunking issues (bearing too loose) transitioned to steering and handling issues (bearing too tight). Having failed to find that point, we just thought we'd pop round to a local mechanic that we knew of around the corner for a second opinion.

Good thing we did. Or else we would've continued thinking the problem was the bike, and not the rider's insistence on using the front brakes. :rolleyes1:

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Originally Posted by branng

Good thing we did. Or else we would've continued thinking the problem was the bike, and not the rider's insistence on using the front brakes. :rolleyes1:

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You funny guy :lol8: :chinese:

Hope you don't develop a clunk in the rear as well.

Cheers!

can anybody please assist I am trying to find a SMC dealer in china that can send OEM parts overseas. we here in Bali are trying to convert 250l3 into the 250J=h but it has proven seriously difficult to get these parts.. the boxes front fairing wiring harness sirens etc...
I have many times tried to talk to Haojue by email but never reply to my email. also tried Taobao.com but none of the sellers want to send overseas or just get confused and slack in translation.
We here at Inazuma Owners Division in Indonesia and myself have been trying desperately for a long time to get these parts but no success yet.
I have parts lists and PDF's and such which themselves were a nightmare to obtain for the GW250J.

My intention is to provide conversion kits and installation in association with a Suzuki dealer here in Indonesia as currently they can only recommend fiberglass copies produced locally and of low quality.
There are so many people lining up ready to buy the parts from me as soon as i can find a dealer willing to send the parts to Bali.
PLEASE help.. The only thing i can think of now is dealing direct with a SMC parts dealer in China.. but contacting one has been a nightmare. Can somebody please help with email or website of Suzuki parts dealer in China? contacting Suzuki China has proven useless by their Global website and I have extensivly tried to deal with Suzuki Australia and Indonesia.. these model and parts are not available for order .
This could be a lucrative business opportunity for the right person in the coming year. as there are over 200 bikes ready to convert here already .. just waiting on me .Attachment 16694Attachment 16695Attachment 16696Attachment 16697Attachment 16698
here as a eye candy foto of my last shoot with my Inazuma :) enjoy..