Zhejiang to Fujian - JH600 home ride
Hi,
Those of you, following my tread - My New JH600 - know, that I went up to Zhejiang province, a town named Yongkang to ride my JH600 back to Fuzhou.
A quick intro for the other readers: I am a proud owner of a Jialing JH600 motorcycle in China. Not only do I like riding motorcycle, but also I like working and modifying my bikes. I have sent the JH600by truck from Fuzhou - where I keep the bike -to a friend of a friend,who will do some modification work there for me (like adding panniers and luggage rack). The job is done now and I start a 5 hours ride by car to get to Yongkang from Fuzhou.
The plan is to ride mostly on smaller back-roads. Google map and GPS preparations done. distance roughly 600km. Time: 1 (no way) or 2 days.
Here a map of the ride:
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/Biking/Z...3_StAXw-XL.jpg
Day 1 - getting to Yongkang
This is a long day, starting early morning from Hong Kong to Fuzhou by plane. As usual, if you want to reach a place early, there is delay. After boarding, the pilot announcement "problems with the water-flushing system on all toilets. aircraft change. Delay: 1.5 hours.
In Fuzhou, drive to my garage in Lienjiang, packing my gear, quick lunch and off by car to Yongkang.
Weather: cold, dark and rainy. Don't take many pictures on the way up, but just to give you an idea:
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/Biking/Z...2_GVZzq-XL.jpg
Arriving at the hotel in Yongkang, I meet up with the guys who bring my bike on a small truck:
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/Biking/Z...3_hboq5-XL.jpg
The bike looks great. More details can be seen there: My new JH600. Everything is made as discussed. I can't wait to get off and ride.
But...!!! They don't want to give me my bike right now....:
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/Biking/Z...0_gtJTQ-XL.jpg
...because first, as always - dinner time:
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/Biking/Z...7_KZLbr-XL.jpg
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/Biking/Z...5_GgTWW-XL.jpg
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/Biking/Z...5_4w8jL-XL.jpg
The night doesn't end at the restaurant. :goodtime: We continue with some beers at a nice little bar and the guys are showing me their tread on moto8.cn. WOW, what a surprise! The whole story of my JH600's ordeal to Yongkang and all details of the make-up discussed in Chinese. By now over 100.000 clicks and the first post just came up in March. I never thought that there is such a big community out there in China, interested in JH600 motorcycles. Too bad I can't read Chinese, really. :confused1:
(The smaller pictures are borrowed from my friends Chinese tread - I hope you guys don't mind)
Re: Day 2 - Starting off...
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/Biking/Z...5_KgTnb-XL.jpg
In one village I see many shredders, chopping wood into little chips and open roofs, under which people seem to dry these chips. I wonder what is this for?
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/Biking/Z...0_z8RGo-XL.jpg
Re: Day 2 - "Road of Stones"
ATTENTION - ADVENTURE AHEAD!!!
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/Biking/Z...7_U6tt8-XL.jpg
On the way, when mountains are steeper, I see a lot of stones, rocks and landslides. In general, even not much traffic, there is massive road construction everywhere. Older roads, unpaved, are being replaced by smaller or bigger concrete or even asphalt roads. The speed of construction comes at a price:
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/Biking/Z...6_GdFFR-XL.jpg
I am not sure, how this happened. Based on traces this happened some days before I came there:
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/Biking/Z...5_53nXV-XL.jpg
More rocks on the street. I do not want to ride here during heavy rain:
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/Biking/Z...0_mXorH-XL.jpg
The little river below is being blocked by several dams along the road:
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/Biking/Z...1_mdR54-XL.jpg
And here we go. The end of that road? It looks like riding back those 80km out of that valley:
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/Biking/Z...7_7E8bk-XL.jpg
Closer inspection. Wood and bigger rocks are blocking the little "foot-path"...:
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/Biking/Z...1_4UGEX-XL.jpg
Some locals arriving at one side of the roadblock, and leaving at "my" side on a waiting truck. I'm alone here now:
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/Biking/Z...1_4UGEX-XL.jpg
Look at the natural rain-coat, the guys wears on the leftt:
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/Biking/Z...7_YBNnU-XL.jpg
Still time by time some rocks are coming down from there:
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/Biking/Z...3_MtNMN-XL.jpg
What happens now is about 30 minutes of road improvement work. Moving wood and rocks to make a path for the bike. Protected with helmet and bike jacket. I'm dirty and sweaty now. Taking the panniers off the bike, fire it up and push it in first gear towards the landslide. Heart is pounding. What if I get stuck? Constantly looking for falling rocks I push the bike up. Then I can't move forward. A piece of wood catches the bike at the other side. I climb on the seat to kick the bike free. Break pedal is bent now. I move on - still looking for rocks. after some minutes of pushing its over and done. Two more runs for the panniers. A cigarillo and 2 bottles of water. Cooling off and get relaxed again. No pictures taken during action.
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/Biking/Z...7_Rn7v7-XL.jpg
Looking back:
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/Biking/Z...1_bxvKt-XL.jpg
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/Biking/Z...8_ZXdae-XL.jpg
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/Biking/Z...7_8Nt9x-XL.jpg
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/Biking/Z...1_rjfXF-XL.jpg
Damage assessment. The bent break pedal is soon back to original shape thanks to soft chinese steel quality. The aluminum engine sump guard is a bit dented. Nothing, which a plastic hammer can't fix later at the garage. Obviously the newly installed protectors had done their job, especially protecting water pump and hoses:
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/Biking/Z...8_bsopZ-XL.jpg
Roadwork is still ongoing here. I wonder how this road looked like 1 year ago:
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/Biking/Z...3_4r867-XL.jpg
Can you see the flying bamboo trunks:
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/Biking/Z...5_PArHp-XL.jpg
A cable car for bamboo:
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/Biking/Z...9_b86k7-XL.jpg
more slides and rocks:
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/Biking/Z...2_HEe7K-XL.jpg
The road is really carved into the steep mountain sloop:
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/Biking/Z...3_qRTmJ-XL.jpg
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/Biking/Z...0_DuU2V-XL.jpg
Workers cleaning off the road:
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/Biking/Z...1_dmZ47-XL.jpg
Here you can see the old road on the right,which is actually under water - river dam project - and track of the new road, not on the map, where I am riding.
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/Biking/Z...1_G2Qfx-XL.jpg
Day 2 - Riding on south...
Back on the S 228 - bigger road, I am taking a break and some nutritious food. No time for restaurants. I want to ride on and see how far I still can get on this day.
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/Biking/Z...4_4Z5NP-XL.jpg
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/Biking/Z...5_7P5Xb-XL.jpg
Playing around with the camera...:
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/Biking/Z...1_6crLf-XL.jpg
Still nice mountains around - almost no traffic at all on this brand new road.
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/Biking/Z...3_AUK6z-XL.jpg
A waterfall, next to a tunnel:
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/Biking/Z...4_8jNh5-XL.jpg
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/Biking/Z...4_58Soo-XL.jpg
There are tourist spots around. Hard to identify though... for me at least:
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/Biking/Z...8_wNYpy-XL.jpg
Re: Day 2 - Lucky in the evening
As I ride on, I open the visor of my helmet to get some air in, almost at the same time something hits me on my right eye and I just see a stone falling out of my helmet. Not a small one. Pain, tears, I think blood at first. Stop at the side of the road to check - lucky, first of all, no blood, not a scratch. But the vision of my right eye is totally blurry now, even after 20 minutes rest. I ride on, keep the visor closed, since the slightest wind cause the eye even more to itch.
I think this was a close call... It reminds you, how fragile everything is. Also this trip. In a moment you think everything is under control. Nothing can happen - you are the hero. A blink of an eye later, almost everything could be over. Broken skin, hospital, stitching, or worse... The trip would have been finished.
Lucky for me - not this time.
However, as it gets darker, the eye still in some pain and vision not back to normal. I realize there is no way for me to press on today. As all of you China riders know well, the night is dangerous on the road here and with all car driving on high beam at any time, my bad eye - it was almost impossible to get a clear sight.
Fu'an - a small town about 150km before my final destination comes just at the right time. After confusing the local police building - which was colorful illuminated - with a hotel, I finally found a decent looking place for the night. No English? no problem! With a little patience communication is easy...
Again, all the excitement - no pictures of the hotel taken. Just a final look at the parking spot besides the security booth and a picture (in case the bike would no more be here the other day...:icon10:...
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/Biking/Z...1_XGxVh-XL.jpg
This guy promised to watch out...
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/Biking/Z...6_L8FsL-XL.jpg
Re: Day 2 - Lucky in the evening
Wow, AW, glad you made it back in one piece! Can't wait to see and read the adventure on your second day!
Hope the eye returned to normal with some rest. Sobering words you've written about the thin line between joy and disaster. Safety first. Always. All The Gear All The Time.
Now I'm more excited than ever about finally getting my JH600. I'll have a look through that moto8.cn thread.
Keep it coming!
cheers,
jkp
Re: Day 3 - Ride in the rain
Very sweet report, AW! Absolutely inspiring! The picture of you in your Fuzhou garage says it all -- grinning ear to ear (and no obvious trauma to your eye).
Pictures are a nice size for downloading here in Shanghai. No delays at all. (Not sure where mychinamoto is hosted, but sometimes it's slow, so I'm guessing it's offshore.)
What image size are you posting?
See you soon if you are indeed coming up for Chinaplas.
cheers,
jkp
Re: Zhejiang to Fujian - JH600 home ride
PS, is that your old Jialing muffler hanging from the ceiling?? Nice artwork. How did you like the ProDuro?
cheers
jkp
Re: Zhejiang to Fujian - JH600 home ride
Hi Jeff,
just sent you an email. Yes, its the old muffler. I am thinking of making a beer dispenser out of it... Got any ideas?
The ProDuro is great I think. I don't have a comparison to other mufflers, but this one surely gives more throttle response and more power. Its a bit louder too - but not too disturbing. anyway, loud pipes save lives, right? In China for sure. People hear you and are more aware something faster and bigger is coming... You need to live with some back-fire noise. For me it was worth the effort.
Greetings,
AW.
Re: Zhejiang to Fujian - JH600 home ride
A great report AW and the pictures really bring it to life, thank you. I have wireless broadband at long last, but slow at less than 40kbs because of weather but the pictures were fine. Anyone stuck on dial-up may complain. When I post a thread anywhere with lots of pics I just state 'pic heavy' in the title so people can choose.
Any idea what the phone numbers spray painted on the walls are for? Anything like the cards left in telephone boxes by ladies of the night? Might be handy if you are stuck in a town without a hotel!
I smiled when I read about your eye, (with sympathy) as I have a very bad habit of forgetting to drop the visor at times because for years I rode without one so I am used to cold wind on my face, I had a couple of exciting episodes from that bad habit. Glad your eye recovered so quickly, must have been a shock. Seeing that bike crashed on the edge of the road is sobering too. I do hope someone thought to look over the edge in case the poor sod is still laying down there somewhere waiting for help ...?:mwink:
The crash bars did their job, worth the money even if you replace them, they probably saved you from a disastrous event with a smashed radiator or worse.
Good luck, jape
Re: Zhejiang to Fujian - JH600 home ride
Jape,
here some more wall pictures. Anyone out there who can help jape and us to translate and see if those number are useful, and if yes, for what? :naughty: :naughty: :naughty:
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/Biking/Z...0_BPaJd-XL.jpg
http://pfaelzer.smugmug.com/Biking/Z...0_ifkAB-XL.jpg
Hope there is somebody fit in chinese language to lift the mystery...
AW.
Re: Zhejiang to Fujian - JH600 home ride
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Pfaelzer
Great story AW. Looks like you have more excitment than you have asked for.
Guys, don't know if you have been on the road too long or on the internet too long, haha, the telephone no. on the wall in red is for excavator rental service, not special room services. You dig?
And the telephone nos. in black at the bus station is for permit/certificate/ID services - fake ones of course:deal: Need a university degree from China or a driving license?:riding:
Cheers,
Franki
Re: Zhejiang to Fujian - JH600 home ride
Franki,
thanks (or not) for taking our illusions to reality... :naughty: You are our officially certified writing on the wall translator now! anyway, for those of you thinking about making a motorcycle drivers license - you got the right number here.
I got the perfect adventure -even the time was much too short. It cries for more...
Greetings, AW.
Re: Day 3 - Ride in the rain
Pfaelzer,
Thanks for the great ride report and photos. Every ride report I read on MCM adds fuel to my fire and makes me look forward to my next trip to China. I agree how it's possible for a perfect ride to go to sh*t in an instant. I've seen that happen before. I'm glad you're incident was not serious. Looking forward to more ride reports and updates on your bike modifications. By the time you have your JH600 perfect, I hope I'll be ready to purchase one and take advantage of all of your experience with it.
A question about your Zumo. Has Garmin corrected the issue that existed with units that were purchased outside of China having a 400m offset on maps purchaesd in China? Last time I was there, my GPSMap 60Csx was worthless in built-up areas because of this.
Cheers,
Dan K.
Re: Day 3 - Ride in the rain
Quote:
Originally Posted by
DanKearney
Pfaelzer,
... By the time you have your JH600 perfect, I hope I'll be ready to purchase one and take advantage of all of your experience with it.
A question about your Zumo. Has Garmin corrected the issue that existed with units that were purchased outside of China having a 400m offset on maps purchaesd in China? Last time I was there, my GPSMap 60Csx was worthless in built-up areas because of this.
Cheers,
Dan K.
Hi Dan,
guess the bike never will be really "perfect". The project will go on forever I guess. New ideas are coming up all the time. Looking forward for you getting your bike and seeing pictures. The more bikers in China the better.
The ZUMO is bought in Germany. I bought the China map from Garmin online, at that time not knowing about the "chinese government requested" off-set. I had to learn it the sad way...Why are those guys in the US not honest about it? I called them and they recommended me a "correction file" after several calls - but as I found out later, it does work on some devices, but not on the 660. Many are feeling cheated if you look around in the net. I also got a chinese Garmin, with a functioning map, but Garmin China does not sell any waterproofed devices. I enjoy things to be as good as possible - well no choice here for the ZUMO but to get another map from the net, where people have been playing around and correcting the off-set (among others). It's a little tricky to get that map running - bit it works all right now. Of course no updates.
I haven't checked lately on the Garmin page about news on this map. Last time I checked, I couldn't find the China map anymore.
Greetings,
AW.
Re: Day 3 - Ride in the rain
AW,
Most excellent ride report :thumbsup:, it looks like all those modifications are paying off nicely. I think many people would have turned around at that land slide :eekers:, very brave of you to push forward and tackle it. Between the modification updates and ride reports, you're making it hard to get things done at work these days.
It's too bad about Garmin, they make some great devices, but they're probably doomed to fail in the coming years. Android and the iPhone OS will continue to take their market share as both devices (in a weatherproof case) are probably much better options as a GPS for China. The 400 meter offset is just a way to make sure that foreign GPS brands can't offer a quality user experience and thus, share a level playing field with their China competitors. Garmin can't talk about the China problem without negative impact on their business here, unfortunately many people are not informed of that when making a purchase. Hats off to you for having the patience to figure out how to hack it, many others have given up.
Your workshop is stunning :bling:, so many toys, and everything is so nice and neat, man am I jealous of a work area like that :bowdown:.
Heard you might be in Dongguan soon, please let me return the favor and buy you dinner or at least a few beers.
Cheers!
ChinaV
Re: Day 3 - Ride in the rain
AW,
You'll be happy to know your Garmin offset can be corrected. I've got the identical device -- Zumo 660, purchased in the US -- and took it to Garmin's distributor here in Shanghai to have the China map installed. The last step of the installation was to go "up to the second floor" and recalibrate to de-offset the offset. Ryan Pyle (of http://cnbmwrider.blogspot.com/) gave me this tip, having done the same with his BMW Navigator IV, which is a Zumo 660 with an extra 4-button slide mount. Price was 599 rmb for the China map (only available in pinyin) and recalibration; not sure what they'd charge for just the latter.
So bring your Zumo with you when you come to Shanghai next week, and we can get you sorted out.:thumbsup:
cheers
jkp
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Pfaelzer
The ZUMO is bought in Germany. I bought the China map from Garmin online, at that time not knowing about the "chinese government requested" off-set. I had to learn it the sad way...Why are those guys in the US not honest about it? I called them and they recommended me a "correction file" after several calls - but as I found out later, it does work on some devices, but not on the 660. Many are feeling cheated if you look around in the net. I also got a chinese Garmin, with a functioning map, but Garmin China does not sell any waterproofed devices. I enjoy things to be as good as possible - well no choice here for the ZUMO but to get another map from the net, where people have been playing around and correcting the off-set (among others). It's a little tricky to get that map running - bit it works all right now. Of course no updates.
I haven't checked lately on the Garmin page about news on this map. Last time I checked, I couldn't find the China map anymore.
Greetings,
AW.
Re: Zhejiang to Fujian - JH600 home ride
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Pfaelzer
To pour more cold water on prurient-minded readers, that giant poster of the happy aging couple is posted by the village Communist Party Committee, and is promoting a program offering government financial rewards that will "bring smiles to couples in their golden years" if they comply with family-planning quotas during their fertile years. in densely populated rural places like this, the quota is probably one child per family unless the first one is a girl, in which case you can apply for a permit to try for a boy....
AW is showing a side China that visitors don't see if they don't venture beyond the big cities and tourist spots.
cheers,
jkp
Re: Zhejiang to Fujian - JH600 home ride
Thanks for the great report mister! Nice pictures and the bike modifications seem to have proved themselves very useful already!
The areas you rode through have been teasing me for a long time now as it's the closest interesting (mountainous) region to suzhou but i never have enought time to make it all the way down there on my XTR. I made it as far as wenzhou last october (i could have made it further if i hadn't spent a few days riding with the sidecars) but my goal for this year is to make it all the way down fujian.
Thank you also for that brief but hard hitting reminder of how quickly shit can go wrong on a perfect trip. I am going to start gearing up more responsibly now. Glad you made it through without any permanent damage!
Re: Zhejiang to Fujian - JH600 home ride
Things went fine, Felix. We all need a bit of luck at a time.
I hear you are having a nice, much bigger trip ahead of you. Wishing you guys luck too and a good adventure. Have you heard about the earthquake today in Qinghai province? If you have plans to get down as far as Fuzhou somewhen, let me know. Maybe we can meet up. I got a nice place there. A bit outside of town though.
Cheers,
AW.
Re: Zhejiang to Fujian - JH600 home ride
AW, i don't think the earthquake will affect our plans as qinghai still quite far from where we are planning to ride.
If i can make it down as far as fuzhou one day you will be the first to hear from me!
Re: Zhejiang to Fujian - JH600 home ride
felix, have a good and safe ride. Let me know early if you come to Fuzhou so that I can make sure to be there.
AW.
Re: Day 2 - Starting off...
hey the chips are for beding to sleep on.......
