Re: Living the dream Nanjing
have you looked into getting one of these?
www.cjsidecar.com
Re: Living the dream Nanjing
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.
Re: Living the dream Nanjing
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
Re: Living the dream Nanjing
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.
Re: Living the dream Nanjing
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
Re: Living the dream Nanjing
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.
Re: Living the dream Nanjing
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
Re: Living the dream Nanjing
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.
Re: Living the dream Nanjing
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