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National Day Ride 2010 (Anhui + SW Zhejiang)
After bad weather reports over Mid-Autumn Festival sent me to Shaoxing rather than the planned Anhui ride http://www.mychinamoto.com/forums/sh...hlight=motokai, I finally got out west of Shanghai over National Day with 5 days of flawless riding weather.
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My route took me west of Shanghai on the G318 thru Zhejiang and into Anhui. There was about 200km of decent tarmac passing Huzhou and onto Guangde - well not quite onto Guangde. About 20km east of there I found the road disappearing from under my front tire. It was packed, dry, hard road with lots of potholes. With mostly highway mileage logged onto the JH600 in Shanghai and Zhejiang this was her first test of crap roads, and I thought it would be fun as well. And for how long could it last? 10km perhaps?
This was my "hard" lesson in how Chinese repair a road. They don't do it in small sections, but instead take a mad length of anywhere from 50km to 200km and tear the the whole thing apart. In this case it was 100km of dirt, mammoth holes, dust and yes...mud and more mud.
While riding thru this (and deluding myself that the bad roads were going to end just around the next bend) I intellectualized the need for some notification system on how to avoid vanishing roads when trip planning - because Google Maps doesn't yet offer this. Thanks to ChinaV, there's now a thread discussing this topic: http://www.mychinamoto.com/forums/sh...ghlight=chinav
I pushed on closing off Day-1 in Xuancheng:
Distance: 326km
Riding Duration: 6hrs
Avg Speed: 54.4kph
Motokai's First China Mudbath
Re: National Day Ride 2010 (Anhui + SW Zhejiang)
Day 2 would be a short sprint to the mountain area of Jiuhuashan (1324m). Jiuhuashan is "the other Huangshan", which is less crowded with 99 peaks of amazing views in all directions - including mouth watering mountain twisties that are closed to motorcycles. Sorry guys!
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But this little rule was conveyed to me only after I found the road up to the top where the hotels are. At the gate the police jumped out at me from every direction with a confused look on their face asking how I got up there. I rode of course. They explained that it's been a few years since they allowed motorcycles up the mountain, and the last guy who tried that day was sent back down. After a nice chat with them and explaining that I already booked a hotel they were friendly and decided it would be okay for me to stay provided I left my motorcycle with them. So I called C-Trip quickly and booked a hotel! ;)
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Have to include some gratuitous photos of the spectacular nature and scenery of Jiuhuashan. Back in the Tang Dynasty there were 3,000 monks and nuns worshiping in over 150 monasteries here!
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With the tourists, comes the RMB! (Weather was good, so it was a good week for the monks)
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Day-2 ended with low mileage but very sore legs from hiking:
Distance: 143km
Riding Duration: 2hrs
Avg Speed: 71.5kph
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Re: National Day Ride 2010 (Anhui + SW Zhejiang)
The plan for the next day would be RIDING! Now with my bike back from police custody, I would ride the S103 south past Huangshan Mountain Area and thru Huangshan City onto the G205 and the G320 to Southwest Zhejiang to meet a friend living there. This would need good WEATHER and good ROADS. It was a sunny day, which meant I already had one requirement taken care of.
So it was back down the mountain.
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Re: National Day Ride 2010 (Anhui + SW Zhejiang)
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Re: National Day Ride 2010 (Anhui + SW Zhejiang)
As the roads challenged, the speeds slowed and the sun set...I wasn't going to make it to my friend's place. So riding thru the dark I stopped at the first city I could find - Kaihua, Zhejiang (close to the Jiangxi border). Was a solid day of riding nonetheless:
Day-3 (Kaihua, Zhejiang)
Distance: 317km
Riding Duration: 9.25hrs
Avg Speed: 34.3kph
The next day would take me a bit further south to the G320 then back north, looking for a place to spend the night before heading back to Shanghai the following day.
And it here that I found the S210 between Pujiang and Tonglu (no photos, sorry - but I'll be back).
It was Europe-like. A beautiful mountain road winding road thru a valley with many tunnels and devoid of Blue Trucks and farm equipment. It's one of those roads where you can open it up in 5th, and downshift to 4th for the wide corners then back to 5th. Smooth and fast with magnificent views. Mark this one on your map if you're ever in Soutwest Zhejiang.
Day-4 (Fuyang, Zhejiang)
Distance: 348km
Riding Duration: 6.5hrs
Avg Speed: 53.5kph
Fuyang sunset and hotel parking!
Re: National Day Ride 2010 (Anhui + SW Zhejiang)
Day-5 was slabbing back to Shanghai thru Hangzhou. There are no motorcycles allowed in Hangzhou but I somehow wandered off the G320 unintentially and found myself riding right thru downtown. But without event made it out the otherside and back to Shanghai.
Day-5 (Shanghai)
Distance: 245km
Riding Duration: 4.5hrs
Avg Speed: 54.4kph
Trip Totals
Distance: 1,379km
Riding Duration: 28.25hrs
Avg Speed: 48.8kph
Re: National Day Ride 2010 (Anhui + SW Zhejiang)
holy shit, 'kai. that was worth the wait! if it weren't for my collarbone i'd be pissed that you didn't wait for my return to make this ride!
MORE PIX!
Re: National Day Ride 2010 (Anhui + SW Zhejiang)
Some great photos there MotoKai, looks like a nice adventure :clap: . I always love catching a glimpse of the highway when you're stuck on some torn up national road, nothing like rubbing salt in an open wound :lol8:. A wise decision on day 3, pushing on into the night wasn't worth the risk :thumbsup:.
Cheers!
ChinaV
Re: National Day Ride 2010 (Anhui + SW Zhejiang)
What a trip motokai, nice one! That's a pretty ballsy first solo ride! You are a magician with that camera!
We took the S210 from Tonglu to pujiang on our recent trip too, it was indeed a very nice road. Unfortunately, the one section that i was most looking forward to has been replaced by a long tunnel. Ah well...
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Re: National Day Ride 2010 (Anhui + SW Zhejiang)
Craig, Glad that you had a great ride over the National Day holidays, 1,379km all by yourself, a rather bold move. Our entourage of 7 riders went a bit further than you. On our Day 2 we also went on S210, which is a very pleasant road indeed. I was told that the section from PuJiang to YiWu is also quite nice. Generally speaking Southern ZheJiang and Northern FuJian are great parts to bike around, with FuJian apparently winning hands down on the number of twisties, as I discovered on Day 5 and 6 of my trip, going down through LongQuan, JingNing, Lishui and a bit of FuJian.
I am still not in the habit of carrying a camera during my trip, which I'd like to change so I can also have some pictures to share in the future.
For that section of tough road from XuanCheng to GuangDe, if you can call it a road, most Chinese riders who frequent www.motorfans.com know it as a highly challenging and challenging experience. It is about 60km, which probably seemed like forever for you. It is particularly aggravating as the highway is probably right next to it within sight which you are not allowed to get on. Too bad we did not compare notes before you started your trip. I would have warned you beforhand. I had similar bad experience last year from JingDe to HuKou, over 100km in total, which shakes one to his core. At least your section was a bit shorter. :-)
Hope someday we do manage to get together for some adventure riding. Looks like both our JH600s held up nicely during our trips (Mine did over 2000km)
Re: National Day Ride 2010 (Anhui + SW Zhejiang)
Milton,
do tell us a bit more about how your JH600 is performing! are you happy with the bigger bike?
cheers
Re: National Day Ride 2010 (Anhui + SW Zhejiang)
Quote:
Originally Posted by
euphonius
Milton,
do tell us a bit more about how your JH600 is performing! are you happy with the bigger bike?
cheers
Hi Jeff,
I've been riding my JH600 for about 3 months so far, logged around 5000km on it. I also own a Honda Magna 750 since 2006 (which is currently left in my Boston home), so I am not without some experience on big bores.
Up till now I have only replaced the spark plug and added an Adlo box on the back. 刘志东 has suggested, rather strongly, that I replace the battery and the chain soon. I think I will follow his instruction as soon as I find out what to replace them with. I will probably add a pair of hand guards in order to make sure any fall will not break the clutch handle or the gas handle, which is very likely to happen due to its weight.
My JH600 has been performing rather ok, but with frequent engine stalling and a few bouts of rough rides during my last trip, which I blame it to perhaps bad gas. It failed to start on me in the morning once, but recovered after I left it in the garage for over an hour. On lower gears it is difficult to get predicable response and definitely doesn't run as smoothly as my Honda Magna. However, on higher gears, especially on highway when I kick in above 4th gear, it is as smooth as one can expect.
But my biggest problem with this JH600 is my lack of confidence in its consistency and reliability. On the saddle there is always somethings nagging in the back of my mind such as:
- Would the rubber chain guard hold up? Would it fail and derail the chain like what it did to Motorkai?
- Would I be able to start it again when it's been under the rain for a while? There are many such incidents reported, including one by you.
- Would it run rough after the next fill-up. It is very finiky about the quality of gas, as I've personally experienced.
- What would happen to me when I suddenly get a flat on the highway, as there is an inner tube in the tire which does not react to puncture well. (I can't really blame Jialing for this)
To be fair, I personally have only experienced 3 above, but other not so desirable incidents have been reported in many forums. Maybe I am too well informed.
With Honda Manga and the GN250 I own previously, I am usually quite confident in their ability taking me to wherever I want to be. (Both those bikes have puny gas tank though, which ran dry on me a few times) With JH600, I am always a bit apprehensive about what it would do in my next trip.
Its weight and height is definitely an issue. Now I always have to plan ahead before I stop. It is so tall and heavy that the only way to move it out of a tight spot is to get off and push it. It is quite a struggle to pick it up if you fail to "keep the rubber side down".
Other than those small problems and my confidence crisis, it is a fun bike to ride :-)
Cheers!
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Re: National Day Ride 2010 (Anhui + SW Zhejiang)
Thanks for the comments guys. Couple of more photos below for euphonius. You better get back soon before the cold sets in (already hitting a low of 12degrees in Shanghai today!)
- Temple at Jiuhuashan (拜佛)
- Variation of "Where's Waldo?" but this one is "Where's Motokai?" (Click to enlarge and try to find me)
- What the S103 looked like for most of the way....love tree-lined roads!
There is something quite spiritual about a solo ride amongst the templed mountains, beautiful scenery and awesome weather. Trust it would be different in a different environment and/or under different conditions - so thankful for the experience!
Without incident is remarkable thing to say after a 5-day journey 1400km ride. The JH600 and and I are keeping each other happy. The only thing I can really comment on is related to the "bad gas" problem Milton referred to. Happens too often, and I haven't sourced the core reason. Is it the "E"? I know there are threads on MCM discussing gas at length so no need to go into it here, but I think the JH600 is uber-sensitive. I have my spots in Shanghai to get good fuel, but when on the road I hesitate getting a full tank anymore. This sucks, but thankful for the big tank I can still run almost 200km on a half-tank. I don't mind stopping now and then to stretch the legs - and refueling often beats a full tank of kryptonite!
Which brings up the final photo here: While gassing up at 中国石油 south of Huanghshan I came across this group of Harleys. Was good fun being an American on a Chinese bike riding up on 70 Chinese guys on Harleys - always creates lots of confusion for the posse.
See this link for a laugh: http://www.mychinamoto.com/forums/sh...0-Experiences)
Re: National Day Ride 2010 (Anhui + SW Zhejiang)
The JH600 does sound like it's ultra sensitive to bad petrol. I have no answers, just comparison. With my XTR, in almost 2 years and over 20000km of riding in all sorts of parts of china, only had "bad gas" symptoms 2 or 3 times. With the CJ never, but that thing can run on baijiu... Are there any riders out there with bikes technologically closer to the jialing that can comment on their experiences? Is it normal for big fuel injected singles to be so sensitive to chinese petrol?
I enjoyed playing "where's motokai" and even though it took me a while to realise that i was looking for you in the wrong picture, i still managed to find you. There you are hiding beside that tree!
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Re: National Day Ride 2010 (Anhui + SW Zhejiang)
Good Find Felix!
I can now see Motokai among the Harleys.
And after taking a closer look I also see another non-harley rider. This guy's on a scooter dressed out in visibility tape. Hmmmm..........
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Re: National Day Ride 2010 (Anhui + SW Zhejiang)
Hey man,
There are a few of "outsideers" in the H.O.G that day. We were all leaving HuangShan after our yearly "rally"(only about 400 bikes from all over China, not sure if you can it a rally). The Shanghai Chapter went in two groups, the highway group (mainly new drivers, being herded back to shanghai, they all had BIG yellow stickers with numbers on their helmets so the ride captains could keep track. The other group mainly westerns took to the mountain roads, we took 10 hours including stops to get from HuangShan back to Shanghai....
Winston
