Opinions and suggestions on Adventure style motorcycles

I'm looking for an ADV bike with at least some off-road capabilities. Since it will primarily be on paved roads, my bias is in that direction. Love the dual purpose bikes, but not for any long distance. I'd love to hear of any models I've yet to discovery and/or opinions on the bikes in this category. As a frame of reference on where my tastes lie my last motorcycles in the US included a Ducati Multistrada and a KTM 530 exc. My dream bike here might be a KTM 690 enduro, but alas that seems to be a pipe dream and I do like the idea of trying out a Chinese motorcycle.
Below is a summary of what I have looked at so far.
Colove KY500X. This is the front runner for what I am looking. The spoked wheels (tubeless tires) and seemingly capable suspension (by KYB) give it more potential for off road, or at least rougher roads. Its got a 471cc motor from Loncin which I believe is a copy of the capable Honda CB500 motor. It makes 50hp and weights in at 178 kg. The price I was quoted was 37800 ¥ and 4600 ¥ for the luggage.
Zongshen RX3S (Zs400GY-2) 380cc twin cylinder, 36hp, 185kg.While I’ve seen pictures with spoked wheels the models I have found all have cast wheels. The front is a 19.” I failed to take good notes when talking to a sales person but I think he quoted me a 32880 ¥ price. The bike did have a full set of luggage so not a bad price.
Zongshen RX4 – I cannot find this model in any of the Zongshen shops I have been to. It is a 450cc single with 43.5hp and weighing 450lbs. It appears to come with full luggage. I have no information on the price or the wheel set. My language difficulties have made it difficult to learn anything from the dealerships.
Zontes 310 ADV. For the money 25800¥ this bike is a front runner. With 34hp and a weight of 159kg the power to weight ratio is not bad. Overall it is a good looking motorcycle. The motorcycle has a lot of features, keyless operation handlebar adjusted windscreen and seat… The wheels are cast 17” with no indication of spoked wheels being an option. The price makes this very attractive but the limited power and impression of little off-road capability are drawbacks.
Loncin DS8; 650cc, 50hp, 198kg (435 lbs). I saw one of these, used, on a showroom floor. My initial impression was not good and lacking time that day I did not attempt to get information on the motorcycle. What I have learned since makes the bike sound pretty good. The model I saw had cast 17” (?) wheels. I’d like to get more information on this motorcycle.
CF Moto 650MT. A good looking motorcycle with good reviews internationally. The 650 twin reports to have 52kW or 70hp. Its reported weight is 468. The styling and finish are among the best I have seen in China. It appears to only come with cast wheels, 17” front and rear. The price is 43900 ¥.
Motrac MG 500. I have had no luck finding this model anywhere in Chongqing. The only information I found was from a member on this site. He listed the specs as: 32800 ¥ or 38800 ¥ with full luggage. Reported power is 35 kW or 47HP. I have had no luck finding additional information like the weight and wheels it has.
Benelli 502 TRK. Another very good looking motorcycle. 499cc engine listed at 47hp with a weight of 235kg. While most pictures I saw on the web showed 17” cast wheels the model in the dealer showroom had spoked wheels with a 19” front. To me it maybe the best looking Chinese ADV bike, right there with the CF Moto. I was quoted a price of 44800 ¥. The display model had full luggage but I failed to confirm it that was included in the price. Unfortunately the reviews of this motorcycle have not been kind. To quote one reviewer: “The TRK has the weight of Butterbean and the punching power of a small dog.” He was equally unkind to the brakes and suspension.
I know there are lot of models I have not mentioned. The smaller ones such as 250cc are just to small for my liking on longer distances. Most of the more endure slanted models are too uncomfortable on long rides and are typically not great on pavement.
Anyone with opinions along this line? Reviews of these bikes or similar? Knowledge of models I have missed?

I've got shineray X5 and it's not bad. Sure it's vibey over 6000rpm and the brakes are not great but the suspension is pretty good and it's comfortable enough with a good sheepskin. I geared mine down and it does 100-110 km/h comfortably. In stock configuration it would prolly do around 120 comfortably.
I dare not ride faster in China as them farmers never look while driving or walking.

Thanks modron. I did see a Shineray X5 on the street but have yet to find one in a shop. I've yet to get outside the city and ride. If I knew I was going to find, and ride a lot of dirt roads, trails, etc. that bike would be on my list. Right now my expectations are more small paved roads, possible in poor condition and some dirt. For that reason I'm leaning more on the street side of a dual purpose bike. if I find a lot of dirt roads, trails, etc. I may just end up with two bikes. Are the roads you ride on sufficiently bad (or fun in my opinion) to justify the more off-road orientation of your Shineray?

How is the reliability of your Shineray? I saw a lot of comments in that regard on the web. Granted they seemed to be old and likely related to early production.

It never had me pushing it so guess its pretty reliable tho it feels like the transmission will fall apart any moment. I had a few minor issues but nothing serious.

I used to do long trips to remote areas hence the choice of bike but since I bought my work picked up and I don't have the time. I'll prolly be selling it next month when I get back to China. I don't have the time now to ride far so I'll get an enduro bike to trash around and possibly a scrambler for that yearly relaxation trip to West of China :) have my eyes fixed on SWM SV440 silver vase or benelli leoncino

I understand there is a connection between Shinray and SWM. Are SWM's manufactured in China now? The scrambler style is becoming big again, and for good reason. Both of those models look great.

The SWM bikes 440cc /400cc are made in China but with better components and refined engines compared to the 400/440 Shinerays.
The SM and RS models are imported from Italy.

The X5 is now long in the market. So there are acceptable second hand bikes for 10 t0 15k RMB. With some maintenance you get a simple quite reliable bike with good offroad capabilities. Maybe a bit heavy but possible to handle (see also my old X5 review)

For buying new I'd look at the CF650MT for more road orientation and the HJ500X (Honda CB500X clone).
Also the Suzi DL250 is worth a look. Its a smaller but reliable machine with good quality.
For real serious offroad orientation there is still nothing chinese in the market.

But to be honest on our tours through the grasslands and Beijing mountain backyards we did it with groups of 1200GS, 800GS, X5 and Shineray 440 Sramblers.
When gong with bigger bikes 400+cc are recommended. The rest is active upright sitting position, suitable tires and longer suspension travel.

ShuBen thanks for the tips. I'm trying to find information on your suggestion of an HJ500X. Appears to be a Hengjian manufactured here in Chongqing. In pictures it looks very similar to the Motrac MG500 (which I have not found in person) as well as the CoLove KY500, which is currently at the top of my list. Found a Facebook page for Hengjian so I sent them a message trying to get information. I'll see what happens there.

Interestingly on the Facebook page Hengjian is pushing motocross bikes. A HJ250 H1 2 stroke! Looks very much like a Husqvarna clone. There was also a video of a 4 stroke MX model but no information on that.

On a side but related note; when I arrived in Chongqing I found a listing for a KTM 690 enduro. After considerable effort I found out the bike was unavailable, had been sold, was never real, or otherwise not for sale. I would love to find a used KTM 690. Do they exist in China, leagally? Not really interested in a grey market model.

There have been a few legal KTMs 690 homologated by individual procedures from KTM as I heard. But all these bikes have been sold instantly. Have a look at the SWM RS500R. That is at least a legal option.

The Bikes you mentioned with 500cc have all the same Loncin engine. How long these brands will exist? Who knows.....

The HJ 2strokes are not really satisfying I heard from the community. I thought to get one but after the feedback I cancelled that idea.

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Wish I knew what kind of riding was available around where I live. If there are plenty of off-road, small dirt roads etc. the SWMs would be a great option. The 500 looks very similar to my KTM 530 exc back in the US. Love the bike, but not so much on longer rides on paved roads. I'll try to find a RS500R in my area. Given it's an import I guessing a fairly hefty price? The 650 superdual looks nice as well and if that is available in China could be a great compromise. I had been mostly ignoring imported bikes due to the prices. Maybe I need to reconsider.

How about CFmoto 650 MT? See the report here in the forum. Reasonable price and for travelling a good option. I think you don't plan hardenduro on these bikes :-)

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I don't know about that, I was thinking about the Erzberg Rodeo if I could get a few kinks worked out (the biggest being skill level) :scooter: I am considering the CF Moto. It was the first bike I found that I seriously considered. Still haven't ruled it out but the CoLove 500 has a little edge with lighter weight (albeit with less power), spoked 19" wheels and the KYB suspension. It just looked a little more dirt road worthy. The almost 6000 RMB lower price is also a factor.

Wouldn't it be great to see a multi bike comparison like the magazines in the West do, or used to do.

For reason of getting a more mature bike with certain experience I would spend more money on the CFmoto even the CoLove looks tempting.
For a certain time we also saw some more Info's from Motrac but it seems getting silent again. Will they disappear or disappeared already? How about parts supply then, .... and why that should not happen to CoLove....
I prefer : Play safe

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ShuBen, That's a good point. I have thought of that at least a little. Given the CoLove has a Loncin motor that appears to have been around for some time I'd hope motor parts would be available. The bike uses Bosch fuel injection so that should be okay. KYB suspension means fairly universally available parts. It appears the bike is assembled by Jialing in Chongqing where I'm currently staying/living(?) CF Moto, SWM and Benelli definitely seem the best Chinese manufacturers currently set up for the international market. I just have an internal liking for a company willing to step outside the current pseudo-adventure bike mold, and actually use design and parts that, on paper at least, make the bike potentially what I consider a real adventure bike. Your advice is solid, my internal rational, maybe not so much. I'm off now to find the SWM dealer, your prior posts have peaked my interest. Your opinions and advice, even if I'm not the best at following them, are much appreciated.

Send me a PM with your wechat ID and i forward you my SWM contacts in ChongQing.

;-) .... of course we would be also interested in a review of the 500cc CoLove ... ;-)

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Did you go to a SWM dealer? Did they maybe have any of those new scrambler bikes? I'm not sure whether they are available in China.
https://www.swm-motorcycles.it/wp-co.../SIX-Red-L.jpg
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Look at this. There is a wee problem with that Colove bikes and the company admitted it. That's a first here

http://www.newmotor.com.cn/html/cjdt/99417.html

Modron,
I did go to the Shinray/SWM dealership. They did have 2-3 scramblers on the floor. I thought I took pictures but can not find them so I guess I didn't. I was short on time and got distracted trying to get information on the 500 or 650 SMW so I didn't spend much time looking at the scramblers. I'm not positive they were SWMs (Is there a Shinray branded scrambler?)
Thanks for the heads up on the Colove recall (I assume that the Excelle, CoLove, and another brand I can't recall right now are all the same factory). i actually don't see that as necessarily a bad thing. As the article pointed out nearly every manufacturer/model has some recall issues. The fact that Excelle/CoLove actually did a recall rather than blame the customer or ignore it seems like a good thing.
I'm still leaning toward the 500x, though I have to admit those scramblers are looking good.

It's definitely a good thing that they informed people about that problem. Just very unusual in China.

I asked around about those scramblers. Unavailable in China

Well guys I pulled the trigger on a CoLove 500x today. Waited until too close to the Spring festival so can't get the insurance and plates for 7-10 days but I get the motorcycle tomorrow. Looks like no ride report for at least a week, which gives me time to gear up. The very short test ride I did felt good, seat feels lower than I expected and it does not feel light, but no adventure bike I've been on does at slow speeds. Build quality and feel are nowhere near my Ducati back in the US, but at 1/4 the price no surprise there. It does have the KYB suspension and is adjustable. The wheels are spoked tubeless, BMW style. If the bike handles the rough roads and dirt I'll be a happy camper. The owner put me down for a owners group ? and mentioned they have a ride to Tibet planned in June. If I can get in on that, which I think he said was possible, that alone would be a big bonus.

Congrats for being a guinea piggy for that bike!
Now its on you to deliver pics, critics and description to advise others.
The stage is yours ..... :naughty::popcorn:

Hopefully it will be good news on the new bike. Going to be about a week before I can ride as the New Year has shut down getting the plates and insurance until then. I'll post information and a review(s) once I get out to ride.

I have a Benelli TRK502X. Most of the bad reviews were of the TRK502. The X has all the issues sorted and it is a great bike, very willing motor and really comfortable for long distances. The bike comes fully kitted and the price includes the luggage boxes. The X is the one with spoke wheels and a 19' front wheel. It has different gearing to the normal 502 and also comes with a centre stand and improved brakes, some of the criticisms of the normal 502.

I am doing long rides on mine and love it to bits.

I was on Sunday in several bike shops to see whats new and saw the CoLove ZY500X in reality.
From first impression without riding it I can say following:
a) The welding seams I saw at the frame are surprisingly clean and even
b) The screws all over the bike appeared at higher standard than the usual military greenish crap
c) the coating appeared smooth and even from optical impression
d) the AL cast parts looked professional
e) the windshield is made quite material with uneven edges. The fixation is improvable.

All in all it was a positive first impression.

Now I am looking forward to the real riders review.
If that also shows positive results on long run I believe that bike might become popular.

The only thing I wonder is when BMW will sue the manufacturer for stealing copying the design.

For what it's worth
for the money ,HP, and KG
My money is on the Cfmoto 650 MT
With over 48.000 km cover with riding all over China on the MT.
IMO it ticks a lot of box's.

the CF 650 MT is for sure an attractive bike and quite well built from what I saw in the shop.
But it has a bit more street orientation which is for long travel very suitable.
... and when I read 48k km without major trouble ... then that sounds reliable to me.

I am personally a fan of a 21/18 wheel setup. My GS has 19/17 which is also ok, but honestly I prefer the slim tire version of an Enduro bike.
So my SWM makes now more mileage than the GS. .... and it wheelies better :riding:

Spot on Ben
Should of mention
Its best to fit a set of Trail 2 or MT60 tyres.
As to 21/18
Yes my best Opption for a ture ADV bike .

Attachment 20273

@prince: can you find other wheels for the MT, e.g. 19" front or even a 21/18 setup?

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@GSR: any news about your Colove 500?
....want some bike porn and report 🏍🏍🏍🏍🏍

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Thank you Mr Ben
But sadly the MT is going
Based mainly in Thailand Now.
And my AT is well sorted and cost 50% cheaper then in China.
But thank you for your advise