My blog of a WK650i / CFmoto 650NK

Ten days ago (16/01/2013) I bid a tearless farewell to my Jetmax 250i, and to take its place a WK650i rolled off the back of the delivery van. I must admit it looks the business. Unfortunately it was late afternoon and night was drawing in, and it started to snow :taz:. Damn! Darkness and snow... I quickly got into my gear and went out for a ride, after all I couldn't just wrap my new toy up...

First impressions were good, smooth engine, plenty of power and a decent headlight. The snow was really coming down, best head home - managed to get 20 miles in...... I couldn't dry it off and had to leave it at the mercy of the elements.

Next day I duly removed the snow, and gave it a good hose down to remove the salt it picked up from the road, nice dry with old towels and a leaf blower, then on with the cover (neighbours must have thought I lost the plot)..

No riding until 6 days later when the road surfaces where gritted and safer, took it to work and back, temp was at best 0deg, and the bike didn't falter.... When I got home I quickly hosed it down again and good drying before the cover went on..

Snow, ice, freezing temps until today. So I thought I would take some pics and start my blog.

My first job today was to fit a battery charge lead, and I have ordered some heated grips and a chain oiler.

Wish me luck guys with my new WK650... I will post regularly and hopefully give an insight on whats its like to live with.

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more pics

These look like they have alot of potential! I see them on the CFMoto US site, but not sure if the are available here, yet. Congrats on the new bike, and thank you for being the proverbial Guinnea pig:thumbsup:

A bit of brake cleaner on the disc brakes and pads will clean that up and reduce contamination of the surface, anything not to do with stoppping or moving apply ACF50 to those that seem to be easily affected by the uk winter.

Kennon

Congrats of your bike.

Haven't seen ever that big rusting issues, especially on a new bike.

Grit salt is horrible, perhaps its a way to slowly get rid of old rusty cars in England by further accelerating a early retirement for vehicles in a bid to keep spending on the up.

Kennon

Hi Mr Hunter,,,, I,m sorrry to hear of the demise of the Jetmax,,,I myself and me did also consider a CF 650,,but in the end bought a Honda NC700X,, I never really made the choice between the 2 bikes,,,the technology of the Honda just shone though..Regarding corrosion,,I have not had time to clean my bike since I bought in Nov (Yes I know,,I,m a lazy git) I have no corrosion whatsoever ..Still I like the colour of your bike,,I hope for you ,,you have better luck then with the Jetmax.....all the best....

I got mine about 2 weeks ago and notice rust on the welded mounting brackets on the fuel tank when the dealer was showing the bike to me and he said they have arranged a new one, but also when i filled it up the other day I noticed that the paint in the filler neck was frying up / pealing, but my biggest concern is your bike going to be the one to watch as you are in a more wet climate and other bikes will follow the corosion that yours has?

Ghost Hunter, thanks for taking the plunge on a CFMoto, we are all keen to see how things pan out. The rust should be expected, rust like this is a problem on the Chinese made Yamaha YBRs too, corner cutting in galvanizing. Chinese hate 'throwing their money away' on things like R&D and adequate lighting, so your bike will probably have the rust attracting potential of an 80's Alpha Romeo. Don't get me wrong your bike is probably one of the best they've ever made.

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Originally Posted by lipsee

Hi Mr Hunter,,,, I,m sorrry to hear of the demise of the Jetmax,,,I myself and me did also consider a CF 650,,but in the end bought a Honda NC700X,, I never really made the choice between the 2 bikes,,,the technology of the Honda just shone though..Regarding corrosion,,I have not had time to clean my bike since I bought in Nov (Yes I know,,I,m a lazy git) I have no corrosion whatsoever ..Still I like the colour of your bike,,I hope for you ,,you have better luck then with the Jetmax.....all the best....

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Honda 2013 CB500 would have been my choice new, but the NC700 can be scooped up for very reasonable prices 2nd hand. Wish I had your choice in China. Like you would have bought a Honda.

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Originally Posted by ZMC888

Ghost Hunter, thanks for taking the plunge on a CFMoto, we are all keen to see how things pan out. The rust should be expected, rust like this is a problem on the Chinese made Yamaha YBRs too, corner cutting in galvanizing. Chinese hate 'throwing their money away' on things like R&D and adequate lighting, so your bike will probably have the rust attracting potential of an 80's Alpha Romeo. Don't get me wrong your bike is probably one of the best they've ever made.


Honda 2013 CB500 would have been my choice new, but the NC700 can be scooped up for very reasonable prices 2nd hand. Wish I had your choice in China. Like you would have bought a Honda.

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,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, I never saw the CB until after I bought ,but honestly it would not have affected my choice..I always like the idea of low down torque and good fuel economy,and the handling ain,t bad either,so all in all I,m best pleased...,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, ,,,,,,Regarding the said Cf moto 650,,perhaps Mr Hunter should think about a trip to "All year biker" and get the bike coated with ACF50 fluid,,,its very good corrosive barrier... Allyearbiker have agents all over the place..
http://allyearbiker.co.uk/How_to_-_Apply_ACF50.html

My dealer really stepped up to the plate and sorted me a new WK650i / CFmoto 650NK prepped and delivered within a week. I cannot fault his customer service, and I would recommend him as a dealer to anyone.
TOP MARKS TO YOU SIR



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My new bike arrived today.
Stay tuned for my blog.
I may even get started this time :mwink:

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Few more pics.

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Battle scar from crate/transport :taz:

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What happened to your first 650i?

Kennon

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Originally Posted by Kennon

What happened to your first 650i?

Kennon

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Water pump decided to divert the coolant to the tarmac (deja vu my jetmax), emptied in an instant. Engine was glowing by the time I stopped.........

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Originally Posted by WirralGhostHunter

Water pump decided to divert the coolant to the tarmac (deja vu my jetmax), emptied in an instant. Engine was glowing by the time I stopped.........

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so this is a replacement to the rusty one? and it is now leaking collant

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Originally Posted by bezinga1

so this is a replacement to the rusty one? and it is now leaking collant

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Yes this is a replacement for the rusty one. It was also the rusty one that dropped all its coolant. Not bad going for a bike two weeks old....
I haven't had a chance to ride the black one yet - just arrived today.

Dear Wirral,

Really admire your resilience and good humor about this string of lemons. This must be infuriating to the importers, who probably also were swayed by the good reviews and placed a substantial financial bet on this bike and CFMoto/Chunfeng as a manufacturer. Over here in China, guys like you who complain about quality just get taken out back and shot -- how's that for quality control? -- so it's fantastic that these bikes are being subject to real world quality controls at the hands of lads like you in a country with a free press.

OK, I was kidding about them shooting people. China is starting to have rambunctious user forums where lemons get trashed for all to see, but we are not yet seeing fast, proactive and public responses from the manufacturers, who probably just take some unfortunate employee out back and shoot them when the complaints come in.

Anyway, they say sunlight is the best disinfectant, so shine as much light on this bike, and your experience, and the so-far honorable service provided by your importer/dealer so that people can evaluate the overall experience of this bike based on facts. Sorry that you are the crash test dummy, but you are handling the trauma well. I'd be getting right pissed by the third lemon in a row, and I admire your sobriety and balance in reporting your experience.

Thanks for that, and keep it coming! Four's a charm!

WGH, I am sorry to learn of the difficulties you have experienced with all but the last CFmoto-bike. Not a good sign at all. I'm only guessing that perhaps in all haste CFMoto has dropped the ball seriously in terms of QC/QA perhaps in ramping up the production numbers to meet demand created by favourable reviews. At least that's all I can think of unless in that haste CFMoto might have started outsourcing some of the production to third parties, with likely even poorer QC/QA systems. With such a diverse portfolio, better than average reviews (for Chinese made motorcycle/ATV/UTV products), and increasing access into new markets, it's likely that CFMoto have ramped up the number of employees in all haste and it's probable that both training and product knowledge haven't been to the level of the past. Added to that the increasing pressures employers are facing to both recruit, train and retain staff in mainland China, it's likely another contributing factor to poor QC/QA outcomes. This is becoming a major issue in China currently.

This is all conjecture though on my part. If things are failing in terms of CFMoto products, then I'm sure dealers globally will by nature via feedback mechanisms exert pressure on the parent company, hopefully leading to positive improvement. I'd be curious to know what conversation your dealer has been having with CFMoto in China, and how those conversation are being received. CFMoto prides itself on spending/investing 30% in R&D. But who knows about that as it is still fundamentally a Chinese company with all the inherent philosophical failures therein.

WGH you know my personal views on CFMoto products and indeed an attitude I'm not discriminatory about, as I feel all Chinese products (and even services) share the same fundamental QC/QA problems. I have had my share of little issues with my CFMoto bikes, but they have been minor annoyances. On the Jetmax, CFMoto were quick to replace numerous items via a recall a month or so into ownership before I was even aware there were problems. That had been reassuring to a large degree. I've done substantial amount of mods to my Jetmax, some minor, some a little more involved - 50,000km and counting. None of the issues you'd had with yours. None of those Jetmax's that I know owned here have suffered the same fate as yours.

Drop me some info via PM or email, as I mentioned in our last communication (along with any photos of the failures), and I will make some calls after the Chinese New Year/Spring Festival to my CFMoto contacts on your behalf. If nothing else, the message might filter up to the person that matters. I can only try, because I'd like to see at least one real motorcycle manufacturer in China, get it right.

http://www.buttonempire.com.au/media...file_1_944.jpg

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Originally Posted by WirralGhostHunter

My new bike arrived today.
Stay tuned for my blog.
I may even get started this time :mwink:

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I,d love to buy a "bike in a box" like that a real virgin bike!!!,,,Jeezes Ghoust I hope this ones a goodun for your sake...WKs HQ is not far from where I live,,,,any problems you could come over and we could pop round and "duff em up"

I live in China. The Haojue Suzuki GW250 has just risen to the no1 on my bike shopping list. :rolleyes1: I said I'd never buy another China bike, for a moment there I was going to ignore my own advice and go with that bigger engine........

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Originally Posted by ZMC888

I live in China. The Haojue Suzuki GW250 has just risen to the no1 on my bike shopping list. :rolleyes1: I said I'd never buy another China bike, for a moment there I was going to ignore my own advice and go with that bigger engine........

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"Never say Never"

Sorry to hear about the problems of the first one hopefully the black one will do you fine.

Kennon

Its still raining, but I thought I would tend to a couple of jobs on my new bike. Today was the fist time I was able to take off the bike cover since it arrived.

I don't like working in the rain :mwink:, so I pushed out my beloved cruiser and wheeled in the 650 (still partly covered). First job on the agenda, was to fit a battery charging lead. I did this on the last one and ended up leaving it on because of the meltdown and prompt transport back to the importers.. Any how easy job, and I can tuck it out of the way when not in use.

If you are following my blog, you will know how quickly the rust bug takes hold of these bikes. Kennon and lipsee recommend ACF50, and I duly purchased a 500ml bottle and pump from ebay.

I really want to give this bike the best start in life, so off with the seats and on with the job of spraying the magical fluid. This stuff protects battleships, jet fighters, submarines, oil rigs... I hope it can work it's magic on my bike.. I'll let you know shortly :rolleyes1:

I was working in the cramped confines of my garage, so pictures are not too good, but managed to keep the rain off, and get very good spray coverage. I made sure I got into all the nooks and crannies..

I will reapply this again when the weather dries up, but it has had a baptism ACF50 style.

I think the fluid would benefit from being warmed up, and this is exactly what I will do next time around.

The supplied pump works very well, if you haven't seen one, the pump itself sits on top of the canister, five to ten pumps after it creates a nice spray pattern. The spray came out rather thick, I will let you know how it performs once warmed up.

Long story short, two canisters was all that was needed to cover everything, so I still have plenty left.

Here are some pics...
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Some more pictures of ACF50 application.

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Last two, headstock switches & linkages. Also gave the tank filler assembly the treatment.

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I purchased the Tutoro chain oiling system. I decided to go for the maxi kit with brackets, dual oiler and other bits and bobs. I will need to have a think about the fitting location, and I will post the results here. Going to wait for some drier and warmer weather first...

Here's some pics for now...


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good to see your giving her a good start to life, I own a spanish bike so its pretty prone to rust appearing when i found ACF 50 it made things allot easier to keep on top of.

Kennon

Hi Ghost,,,,Its good to see you kept your mojo during the trials and tribultions of the last couple of months of your chinese bike experience.. Now to business,,you cannot treat this bike like a jap bike,,it really has to be kept under cover,if your garge is full of Stuff !!! then get a cover,,I put on a micro cloth over my bike then the cover to save from scratching...ACF50 is a good idea,,many bikers use it,,,I go cheaper and alot messer option of using spray chain grease or spray oil directly on the bike during particuly salty days..and leave until spring(cos I am a lazy git).....Another thing I would "run this bike in" the old fashioned way,by keeping the revs down and not straining the engine at all..NO BURN OUTS !!! maybe changing the spark plugs to NGK,,,my old Bashan dirt bike ran better for that....The chain oiler is a good idea,but take time fitting so you hide all the tubes ,,otherwise they end up looking like a dogs breakfast,,,, I tried to post a pics of me and my Honda NC,,,but it was too big,,,I will try later!!!!,,bear in mind you saved 2 grand,,by going chinese regards Philip