Breaking in my new JH600 around Chongqing
Day 1:
My first time. In Chongqing, with a big bike. After several years in Shanghai, two on an electric scooter, one on a beautiful second hand YBR125 (thanks to MCM and Steve_R) during which time I had been wanting to and constantly talking about my nebulous plans to explore China by a "big" motorcycle, I had finally ordered the JH600, some weeks ago, on the advice of an adventurer friend and based on what I had read on this forum. So, bike unseen, on that particular day on impulse really, I had transferred the money, faxed the form, reluctantly filled out by a Chinese friend of mine who tried his best to make me see reason (thank you, LK), and coordinated with the Jialing sales rep by QQ instant message that I would pick it up in Chongqing in person and there it was, waiting for me, surrounded by a small crowd, on the street outside the Jialing factory. On the first warm day this year, around 4.30pm on a Friday.
Handover was fast, I signed a letter, got my keys, gestured for instructions on how to turn on the bike and slowly made my way, heeding the three words of advice that the Europe export rep who kindly interpreted had given me "be careful". Three times. The Jialing staff had looked worried, like they had just given a dangerous toy to a child that didn't know anything. So I was careful.
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6103/6...8abbb556_z.jpg
MotoKai and Euphonius had prepared me for this a few days earlier (thank you, both!) but meeting my own motorcycle was still a big deal. I had read all this theory about how you should break in your new bike hard within the first 20miles, a few minutes in each gear 75% red line and some minutes in between for temperature equalization etc. I had imagined this in great detail and had enjoyed how it had all been playing out in my mind. On that day, however, there were sounds and sights and air and there was traffic and the theory just didn't seem so important anymore. I must have gone into the red a few times in first gear and, it shames me to confess, by accident really as I was mistakenly looking at the speedometer. The rest of the break in concluded on some windy roads up and down a hill with plenty of engine breaking and that was that. Most of the breaking in happened in my head that day.
I stayed at a simple "farmhouse" bed and breakfast which I had trouble finding using google maps so I stopped by the road to ask for directions, or more accurately, in my shameful hapless foreigner way handed my phone, having called a Chinese friend back in Shanghai to intercede on my behalf, to a friendly young couple who invited me to join them for Hotpot and offered to ride with me to the place. They found the owner, she opened the hotel, I was the only guest, it must have been off season, and locked the bike into the courtyard.
Re: Breaking in my new JH600 around Chongqing
Day 2:
I got up with the sun, it was a good day, warm, dry and not cloudy, just the haze of the Chongqing fog dulling the scenery. My plan was to head west. Maybe into Sichuan. The road I took this Saturday morning was pretty busy and got worse when I ended up on a side road that got increasingly muddy and full of gravel.
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6058/6...3de06740_z.jpg
There was a brief moment of glory on a side road where I posed for some self-timer pictures that I sent home from my phone. Shortly thereafter I got stuck between a line of massive trucks carrying gravel.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7102/6...f5ccabde_z.jpg
I lost my balance twice, once at km 80 sitting on the stationary bike waiting for a truck to pass, when my boots lost traction on the gravel (the bike fell gently to the left, came to stop at about 45 degrees) the other time at km 100 when I was trying to pull the bike backwards from the road shoulder and I slipped again on the gravel (the bike fell to the right and came to rest at 90 degrees). That second time a little bit of gasoline dripped out of the tank, I'm not sure, maybe the lid is intentionally not airtight. I had struggled to pull the bike backward from the hard shoulder on the gravel, to the great amusement of passing families of three and four on smaller and much lighter motorcycles. I managed to right the JH600 and maneuver the bike back eventually and the frustration and self-pity soon passed when I was back on the road. Funny how that makes everything better. Still don't like gravel though.
That episode got learning to deal with the different horizontal positions out of the way. The 2011 version of the JH600 comes with an engine guard, which did its job. Writing about all this now on my phone, on the plane back to Shanghai, a few days and 500km later, it feels silly, I just did it wrong, like holding an infant for the first time. It's awkward. And this particular one has a healthy weight at birth.
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6114/6...e37f22b1_z.jpg
The further west (and away from Chongqing) I got, the more the quality of the air improved and the haze retreated to reveal something of a blue sky. Being on a motorcycle I think is always a good thing, at any weather, but on those rare days when the air is crisp and the sun is shining, it can be glorious and nothing else matters in these moments. That morning, it was not quite like that, but getting there.
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6034/6...27c63346_z.jpg
I had some dried tofu in one of these extended suburbs that are permanently under construction and just kept going west on minor roads. I changed google maps to sogou maps, they load better in China and there is an app that works pretty well. I went onto another set of side roads and felt much more comfortable with mud and gravel and without too many trucks. I saw some people eating and in my very limited Chinese asked if I could eat here, too. It turns out that it wasn't a restaurant but some kind of a party. I like to think that the truck drivers and their families had their weekend celebratory lunch there and in any case, I made my peace with them. I accepted a cup and a half of beer that I shouldn't have and a cigarette that I didn't manage to smoke very credibly but the warm and delicious food and the friendly group of people sent me off on my way in the best of spirits.
When my phone started running out of battery, I stopped in a small village road store to drink some milk tea drink and charge my phone. Sitting down on a bench I watched a group of children crowd around the motorcycle. My pathetic attempts at conversation as per usual ended up in an awkward smile on my side and laughter on the side of the kids. With the help of another Shanghai friend and my recharged phone, the communication the went something like this:
"Where are you going?"
- to Sichuan
Laughter
"This is Sichuan"
- Oh
- West!
More laughter
"No you're not, the bridge down the road is broken"
- Oh, maybe I will find a hotel
"There is a hotel"
- Great, where?
"After the bridge"
- Oh
"You need to take this detour"
"Let me write it for you"
- Thank you ^_^
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6041/6...863a36c7_z.jpg
Indeed the bridge was broken but I was guided around it by following a moto taxi that industriously ferried passengers stuck on either side of the bridge around. The detour led through a construction site and up a steep muddy path and I was retroactively grateful for the mud and gravel training of earlier in the day. By the evening, that morning episode seemed to have happened to a younger version of myself.
There really was a hotel, warm water, warm food, and before nightfall. I was in some small place in Sichuan, and in all the confused emotions felt something like the elation of being alive. The motorcycle was happy to, it got offered special parking in the dining room.
Re: Breaking in my new JH600 around Chongqing
Wow, that is a great way to get a new bike and to get familiar with it.
Nice write-up, almost in real time.
Just one word of warning, be careful with your tires in off road conditions.
As you can see, the grooves are very small, they collect the dirt, and dont release it quickly.
That makes them even more slippery.
Have a good and safe trip!
Re: Breaking in my new JH600 around Chongqing
So much for getting your feet wet! You dove right in! Shit!
Glad you're enjoying the bike and had quite a little adventure on your first ride.
Thanks for the stories and pics.
Question: How did you end up registering the bike? Plate? Insurance?
Comment: All the JH600s have skid plates - see photo here.
[Sorry wrong photo - don't know how that one got on here, try this.]
Ride safe!
Re: Breaking in my new JH600 around Chongqing
Ach du lieber zweirädlichen Gott! Wir haben hier jetzt ein Philosoph-Fahrer!
This surely counts as an "off the deep end" ride report. Dude barely speaks Chinese, picks up his first big bike at the factory, then drives "west" into the unknown. Solo. And survives to tell the tale, including how he dropped his shiny steed twice in the first 100 clicks yet recovers enough to take some nice iPhone pics for his mum (and us) and even note down the weather for us slackers back in Shanghai and beyond.
And the bike! She's looking bloody nice in red. And what's this? She's bare-kneed up front! No bellows! I'm guessing she didn't stall, no? At least not of her own accord.
Damn. Very nice report, Christoph. You're off to a great start! Thanks for the stories and pix. Let's ride!
cheers
Re: Breaking in my new JH600 around Chongqing
Congratulations on the new bike and its first steps! You'll get used to the weight.
Furthermore, good to see there finally is a SH guy out there riding. Others like E, just sit at home to watch the rain and have his bike(s) collect dust :clap:
Re: Breaking in my new JH600 around Chongqing
G'Day,
Looks great in RED........ best Jialing JH600 colour yet and red bikes are always faster!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Barry
good to see there finally is a SH guy out there riding.
Excuse me, know of a few guys riding in Shanghai, not MIC bikes but riding........
Re: Breaking in my new JH600 around Chongqing
What a delightful read. Reminds me of why I fell in love with touring on motorcycle in the first place. Loved how you managed to mingle with local people by just asking if you “could eat here”. Very cute. I will try that myself next time.
Very honored to have our new JH600 rider representing Shanghai for a demo ride in Chongqing and not complaining how cold it was. Your bike color red obviously was not previously approved by the local Jialing gang. It does appear to be faster than the blue though.
Thanks for sharing. Cheers!
Re: Breaking in my new JH600 around Chongqing
Dear all, thank you for the encouraging words! Those were some special days to me. I didn't feel like I was going completely "solo", I knew that there would be help at MCM if I break down somewhere :-) And I had Euphonius' and MotoKai's mobile numbers. It was really hard to go back to my normal routine "as if nothing had happened" ...!!
@998S: Good point, there really was quite a bit of slipping on the back wheel, but I started getting the hang of it. Eventually I may get another set of higher traction wheels but I'll use the stock wheels for the next year or so I think.
@MotoKai: Thanks again for preparing me ahead of the trip, was really helpful to have had a chance to meet another JH600 beforehand. The salespeople seemed to think that the police would be satisfied with the fapiaos so I had those rolled up inside some thicker paper around my toothbrush (they wouldn't let me fold the fapiaos). I heard that insurance is mandatory but it doesn't actually cover a very big amount of money as I remember (?). I need to get all that sorted out when the bike is in Shanghai.
@Euphonius: Thanks again for introducing me to the gang! No, she didn't stall. There were some occasions were she wouldn't immediately start, especially after a 5 minute break with the motor still warm, a few slightly embarrassing moments, but then when switching off and on a few times, it would start again. Probably some ECU malconfiguration? Yes, let's ride!! I need to get those panniers from Gu Rui :-)
@Barry: You're right about the weight, my trusted YBR125 feels really flimsy now! I remember not too long ago, it seemed like a HUGE bike (compared to my electric scooter...)
@TB-Racing/Milton: When I was first considering the JH600, I didn't like the front design much, but ever since making it "mine", it now seems beautiful to me ... and about the color, I had real difficulty convincing the sales guy to give it to me in red, he kept saying that black was more popular and that he could change the choice of color in my form, no problem, whether I was absolutely sure and that maybe I was making a mistake etc. but I had heard on MCM about the red bikes going faster, so I was steadfast.
Life is good :-)
Re: Breaking in my new JH600 around Chongqing
Quote:
Originally Posted by
cz81
There were some occasions were she wouldn't immediately start, especially after a 5 minute break with the motor still warm, a few slightly embarrassing moments, but then when switching off and on a few times, it would start again. Probably some ECU malconfiguration?
Weird, never had this issue. Was it on the sidestand and in neutral? If it is not properly in neutral when on the sidestand it won't start either! Neither will it start when it's in gear 1-5 and on the sidestand.
Re: Breaking in my new JH600 around Chongqing
That ride report was fabulous! Just curious as to how much the bike cost?
Re: Breaking in my new JH600 around Chongqing
Sounds like a great experience. I'm also curious as to the price of the JH600.
Re: Breaking in my new JH600 around Chongqing
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Steve_R
That ride report was fabulous! Just curious as to how much the bike cost?
The 2-wheelers are 31800 rmb.
The 3-wheelers are 45800.
Re: Breaking in my new JH600 around Chongqing
go take a look at the Jialing website... the price is listed! A simple search would also bring up the information...
