Living the dream Nanjing

Just found this site last night while surfing the net. Glad to see others interested in dual sport bikes. I have lived in Nanjing for 6 years. Riding and racing off road motorcycles since 1969. I presently own several motorcycles in the USA and China. 2000 Honda 650 adapted for Baja riding, 2008 BMW R1200 Adventure in the USA and have a 2006 CJ750 here in Nanjing. I was looking to buy another BMW R1200 Adventure or maybe the new Yamaha XT1200Z here in Nanjing but cannot get over the pricing I have see so far. I cannot justify US$40K for a bike I know I will drop in the rocks at some point. Anyway, I have been looking at Chinese bikes and see the JH600 has had some success stories. Anyone know where to get one of these in or near Nanjing, Jiangsu province? Any other ideas? I am old, 6'2", and 270lbs. so I prefer bigger bikes that can support my fat ass.

Remember to try and keep the rubber side down

have you looked into getting one of these?

www.cjsidecar.com

Already have one. Got it in 2006 and ride it around locally. Old school cool but shit reliability. I sent it to Beijing to get upgraded electrical and that has helped but still do not trust it to take on a long trip. I hate working on them while on excursions. Prefer to just ride them. I will keep it as I have good mechanic to help when I cannot fix it but wanted something I could take off road with more reliability. Thanks for the suggestion though. I have learned that nothing is easy here but it usually works out if you are tenacious.

Welcome to the site TA,

If you have good Chinese skills or someone to communicate for you, I would suggest a direct order from the Jialing factory. Many people have suggested flying to the factory, riding around for the 1000 kilometer break in and then letting the factory perform the 1st service. After that, you can ride it home or send by train.

Several members here have recently made the JH600 purchase and I'm sure they can help you out.

Good luck!
ChinaV

Thanks, I might do that. My wife is Chinese so get to cheat with my communications. I sent a inquiry request to Jialing yesterday. I am open to flying there to see the bike but was hoping they had a dealer here in Nanjing. Appreciate the heads up.

Hey, Aggie,

Buying a bike from Jialing is not so easy as just flying up there. They only make them in limited monthly lots, and orders received after a certain date are pushed to the next month. You can only buy them from the factory. They are good people, but don't expect strong marketing and sales. (They gave me a purchase contract and told me to fill it in myself.) The guy to call is Li Shilin at +86 23 6519 4232, and like most of the crew he speaks only Chinese.

They have several versions of the JH600 available now, including a new "Strong Tiger" version that comes with deluxe paint, ABS panniers and a Givi-style box, engine shrouds, aluminum wheels and some outlets for your GPS. I'm in the midst of purchasing the older, more basic model, which is functionally identical to the Strong Tiger but absent all the frilly farkle.

Please look elsewhere in this forum for some very good postings on the Jialing, particularly from Franki, who has clocked more than 30k km on his, and, just this week, Pfaelzer, who did a lovely ride from Zhejiang to Fujian.

Good luck!
jkp

euphonius,

This is good information. I have a Chinese logistics team here along with my Chinese wife that I used to help me buy my CJ750 in 2006. I understand very well what you refer to. I saw the posting from Pfaelzer. That is what got me interested in trying a JH600. I was about to buy a used R1200 Adventure here in town for RMB125,000 but it was too beat up for me at that price. Thanks to all for any and all guidance.

I know of some similar beat-up beemers out in Urumqi and Kashgar. The ones in Urumqi are legal, and for sale, but at similarly stratospheric prices. those in kashgar were smuggled in from hongkong, and cannot be registered at any price.

I saw some guys pushing a Harley Fat Boy through Hankou Lu yesterday in the rain. Made a double take, and wheeled back on my bicycle to have a look. Some guys from H-D Shanghai were loading it into a truck after a little exhibition in a shopping mall. they said they are selling 20 or more a month, mostly to super-rich chinese who use them to tool around shanghai. as with the beemers and benellis and ducatis, these carry a 100% luxury import duty in addition to a plate fee of nearly 40,000 RMB here in Shanghai. Ouch. Not that I'd ever want a hog.

unless you are extremely committed to a certain bike, or just gold plated, i think the jialing is about the only choice for a big bike in china.

cheers
jkp

Sounds like good advice. I will try to buy a JH600 ASAP. I can always spend the fortune later if the JH600 is an epic failure. I have no issues paying a small premium for a great bike but I also have always found a way to crash them so I also need a good way to repair them! I will proceed with the fun as you suggest. I will have my wife call the factory tomorrow.

so you ARE gold-plated!

actually, i think the Jialing will be very rewarding. read franki's JH600 impression thread, and also pfaelzer's My New JH600, which shows you exactly how much fun it can be to try to farkle these bikes in a vacuum. pfaelzer and franki have been coaching me in recent weeks, and i think we can create some critical mass for us Jialing riders and any future joiners. I've already had contact with barkbusters in australia, and some other farkle buskers around the world, but have nowhere near the experience that franki and pfaelzer have gained. i think this will be a richer and more rewarding experience than just paying through the nose for a beemer and then worrying about how much every little repair is going to cost....

jkp

hehe

I just have my priorities where they belong. I have a BMW in the USA. IT is a great bike but I was definitely worried about working on one here in Nanjing. The JH600 sounds interesting and I am going to see what happens tomorrow. I hope we can all meet some day.
DT

i do have a great friend who just went the beemer route, and now is owner of the first F800GS in Shanghai, if not in all of China. That's not an inexpensive bike in the US, but add the 100% luxury duty and $5,000 for a plate here in Shanghai, and like you said it's starting to look like a $40k bike.

he and i are looking forward to riding together, and comparing our respective experiences -- him with a world-class, reliable but expensive ride, and me slumming with my JH600! It'll be a blast regardless.

of course we'll meet. i'm just down the pike from nanjing, and will be heading your way before too long.

cheers,
jkp

If you make it to Nanjing, let me know.