Tricking out the Galaxy XTR250

It was during May 2009 we have made up our mind to get a smaller bike to do the kind of riding we want to do in 2010. If you have read my ride report "The Nujiang Ordeal" posted at ADVRIDER, you would probably know that the Road of Death was a bit too much for my JH600 to handle. However, long distance bike touring is still ay its infant stage in China and there is no factory in China that sells a small adventure touring bike. We have looked everywhere and have contacted a few possible maker. Galaxy turns out to be a willing partner in helping us to get where we wanted to go. Hence, the cooperation started sometime in autumn. I would like to share my experience in the process so folks interested in getting a Chinese made adventure touring bike will know where to look at.

If you have read China V's threads, you would have learnt a bit about my project. After a couple of visits to Galaxy's factory in Guangdong, I have listed out about 30 items to be modified/changed/make over or build from scratch based on my knowledge in bike touring. I will let the photos do the talking. Don't ask me how much as this is a one off deal and we have not yet come up with the cost yet. But if Galaxy will put this in their program, the final product should be much better and less expensive as a one off deal.

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My bike being fitted out at the factory

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A cockpit rack to set the bike power distribution for GPS & 2 way radio etc.


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Crush bars and extra lights



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Saddle bag racks & luggage racks

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The luggage rack may be a bit over kill but it did its job well after almost 10,000km of riding.


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O ring chain replaced the stock chain which is only suitable for track use and the Kenda tyres are not tough enough to handle the roads filled with sharpe objects.



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15 liter plastic fuel tank has a range of about 400km of easy riding solo but if riding 2 up and pushing hard will only last about 300km. The fuel tank has a shutoff valve on each side but no reserve valve. So I usually ride with only the left side valve on and when it runs dry, I still have a bit left on the right side to last me about another 30km.

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Rear brake paddle changed to a CNC tricked one so it is less easy to damage in case of a spill.



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Bush guards added and brake and clutch lever changed to CNC machined levers for better hand feel.


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To put the XTR250 on the road, I have to go get all the paperwork done in 2 1/2 days and these are the receipts and invoices involved. I think this will make China V feels a bit better after 3 months of waiting for his paper work to be done for him.

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The factory staff are used to production line assembly work and has little knowledge of how to customise a bike so it was very much hard work for me to get my ideas through to them. Well, we all learnt something in the process.



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The supervisor does not know what he is supervising for when the workers started to do they think is the right thing to do.



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Parts laying on the table ready to be installed.

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This is what the bike looks like when it finally rolled out of the factory on a trial run to Hainan Island.



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A close up of the front end.



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Letting my friend to do a little spin on the beach.

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Got to show myself:lol8:



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A bit of offroading is called for to get a better view.



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View from the rider's seat

Great pics Franki but the blue font isn't working!

CC

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Originally Posted by CrazyCarl

Great pics Franki but the blue font isn't working!

CC

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Hi CC,

Do you mean the blue does not show well on grey background? I can see font in blue.

Franki

It makes me feel like I'm watching a 3D movie. My eyes are having trouble focusing.

Nice pics, though.

Good stuff franki. Would be great to see some of those options become available from galaxy!

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Originally Posted by Franki

Hi CC,

Do you mean the blue does not show well on grey background? I can see font in blue.

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The orange is better but still quite large. Anyway... looking forward to the rest of the report!

CC

Quote:

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Originally Posted by felix

Good stuff franki. Would be great to see some of those options become available from galaxy!

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Thanks, It am sure Galaxy will come up with a line of accessories for their products after refining them.:rolleyes1:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CrazyCarl

The orange is better but still quite large. Anyway... looking forward to the rest of the report!

CC

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You have to forgive my poor eye sight, Carl.:lol8:

Very nice! I really hope this bike happens. I will be one of the 1st to buy one.

Like the mods. What are you running in the driving lights? HID? Any upgrade to the alternator?
Were you able to get Galaxy to adapt the EFI system from their SUV250 for your bike?

6V

Quote:

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Originally Posted by felix

Good stuff franki. Would be great to see some of those options become available from galaxy!

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Give it a few more months, I think Galaxy will be able to have some done as opyional parts.

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Originally Posted by kingdm54

Very nice! I really hope this bike happens. I will be one of the 1st to buy one.

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It is coming along. I think a few other Chinese bikers have already placed their ordewr with Galaxy.

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Originally Posted by sixvolt

Like the mods. What are you running in the driving lights? HID? Any upgrade to the alternator?
Were you able to get Galaxy to adapt the EFI system from their SUV250 for your bike?

6V

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I don't know why, for some reason, Galaxy didn't put HID lights on. It is just a standard 12v bulb. Yes, we did change the alternator to an 18 stage one which gives out just a bit more than 200w. It think we need more juice.

I have not riden the Galaxy FI XTR so I am not sure how reliable it is. Carb has its adventage in really remote parts of China.

I am going to the factory today and should be able to get some answers before I did more posting about the XTR modifications.

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New mounting bracket for the fog lights on new crush guard:thumbsup:

Nice lights. (where are the red & blue police lights...?)
I was experimenting last week with a similar projector light. It came with an H3 halogen, but I put an H3 HID in it.

Please keep the info about your XTR coming, Franki!

6V

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Thank you 6V for the encouragement. Here is another wider view of the light mounting and new crush guard.

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A re-worked saddlebag frame that looks and works better for softbags:lol8:

That rack looks strong enough for hard luggage! Is Galaxy bending/welding that up for you?
I was at the Apollo (Orion) factory yesterday. They have a nice line of 250's, but none can be registered in mainland China, yet. Maybe by the end of the year.

6V

The rack is strong enough to carry 10kgs for 7500km without any problem. All were done in house of Galaxy. I think you can order this XTR250 Rally version some time in May. Contact the factory direct for specific details.

Here is a photo of the new seat made by Galaxy for our upcoming trip. The route map is in Chinese but I am sure you can figure out the general location.:lol8:

Franki, keep the pictures and info flowing!! Have a good ride on your trip!!! (Lots and lots of photos are required, LOL)

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Originally Posted by culcune

Franki, keep the pictures and info flowing!! Have a good ride on your trip!!! (Lots and lots of photos are required, LOL)

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I will surely post a bit more photos and info here about tricking out my XTR250. We have made new changes to the bike but it is in transit to Yunnan at this moment. I shall be telling more after my Tibet trip ends in about 2 months.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Franki

I will surely post a bit more photos and info here about tricking out my XTR250. We have made new changes to the bike but it is in transit to Yunnan at this moment. I shall be telling more after my Tibet trip ends in about 2 months.

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Give me a call (see PM) when in Kunming, would like to peek at your Adventure Galaxy. I just picked up my Shineray X2 and have some plans myself.

Greetings from Kunming

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Originally Posted by andre555

Give me a call (see PM) when in Kunming, would like to peek at your Adventure Galaxy. I just picked up my Shineray X2 and have some plans myself.

Greetings from Kunming

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Good luck with your X2. Sorry that I missed you in Kunming. Here is a photo of our bikes in Ranwu Lake, Tibet.

Regards,

Franki