Chongqing, a major industrial city located inland on the Yang Tze River, recently held it’s 7th annual CIMTE (China International Motorcycle Trade Exposition). Given its importance to the motorcycle industry and proximity to my home in Chengdu, I was excited to visit the check out the latest news and an opportunity to tour three of China’s largest manufacturers’ motorcycle plants.
Although not considered a major event as moto-expos go, many important names in the motorcycle industry displayed their goods, including scooters, sport bikes, dual-sports, motor cross and ATV’s. As most motorcycle conventions would have it, many of these fine curvaceous bikes were accompanied by fine curvaceous women! Let’s take a snapshot look at some of the offerings found at this year’s CIMTE.
Shineray
The most exciting of the new products introduced at CIMTE came from Shineray’s new 2008 line-up including the XY250GY and XY200GY-7.
One of the more creative displays at the expo, Shineray offered an assembled and fully exploded view of the 250GY to let attendees take a deeper look into the machine. This is a welcome sight and hints at some confidence in their products as well as some thoughtfulness to more progressive marketing and presentation styles.
The XG250GY sports many of the features previously thought missing on Chinese motorcycles and satisfies some of the North American demands such as a more advanced engine with more robust braking and suspension components.
In the braking department, the XG250’s front and rear disc are becoming more and more common on Chinese motorcycles but the front and rear suspension has been race developed and tested through Shineray’s International Motorcross team which now competes in Europe. (????)
The most exciting news about the bike however takes place at its heart. Rumor has it, Shineray has used a Honda AX-1 (NX250) based engine giving the 250GY a DOHC, four-valve, high-compression, water-cooled power plant with a 6-speed gear box. As a rider of an AX-1 in the past, if the performance of this engine is anything like the original Honda, we should all welcome the ability to cruise comfortably at highway speeds thanks to an added over-drive gear and still be light enough to kick-up some fun after the pavement ends. Hopefully more official details will follow on this soon.
To make the long hauls more comfortable, they’ve equipped the GY-7 with a long, broad flat seat, F/R disc brakes, with large built-in front and rear racks complete with saddle bag stand-offs. Last, but certainly not least, is the almost five gallon fuel tank which should keep the bike running longer than most would probably like to be in the saddle.
While Shineray focuses almost entirely on the off-road market segment, others chose a more street oriented product line-up dealing with scooters and innovative street-standards. One of the most eye-catching (good or bad) in this category was from the Jonway company
Jonway offers no off-road models but does manufacture a strong line up of street rides with a clear concentration on what looked and felt like well assembled scooters from the 125 to 250cc range.
The most interesting of their offerings and clearly BMW stylized was their YY250 which drew some attention from both Chinese and foreigners alike. Much to their credit, the risk they’re taking on the styling is bold but for a low output 250cc, I wondered if the body, plastics and metals wouldn’t prove too much weight for the engine. Low quality plastics and thin panel metal left much to be desired in the tactile department.
Continuing in the original styling department, Jialing’s highlight of the show was their venerable JH600 “BMW killer”. In the Chinese motorcycle industry, this designed and built from scratch motorcycle represents the boldest move taken in the Chinese motorcycle market to date. Manufacturing larger engines in China is not currently profitable and requires a great risk of resources.
The 600cc single cylinder is Bosch fuel injected and comes in a fantastic side-car variant (B designation), which can be bought privately but is mostly for military use.
Except ATV’s, Jialing offers a full line of vehicles from scooter to dual-sports and, as I was told, plans to re-enter the North American market by 2009 under a name other than Viva. Let’s hope to see some improvements from this manufacturing giant!
XGJao
Also offering a well rounded line up is XGJao who brought out their F5 model. While only sporting a 150cc engine the F5 scored some points in the style department; the hard edgy lines, like those found on the Suzuki SV series combined nicely with popular, up to date paint colors and schemes.
Complementing their street line with a slightly larger 200cc engine, we have the XGT-200GY-6. Slightly smaller and rounded plastics fit well with the plastic tank but didn’t offer anything particularly exciting to look at. It bears a striking resemblance to the Yamaha XT250.
Even though the current XG’s aren’t much to look at their neighboring display brought in some products from a little outside China.
Korean manufacturer Hyosung, imported by the YinXiang group, covered all types of motorcycles with more aggressive styling and detailed finishing in almost every way imaginable.
Not living in North America, I’ve never had a chance to see a Hyosung in person and was pleased with their level of quality and attention to detail. While not quite up to the “Big-Four” Japanese standards, were quite close and fit nicely between currently available products from China and Japan.
With all this going on inside, outside QingQi motor corpany had a test ride area with a small sample of their most popular bikes. QingQi hired a your “Extreme Sports” stunt rider to demonstrate some of the capabilities of their bikes which included wheelies and doughnut burn-outs.
I would love to have reported an endless stream of new and exciting products at the 2008 CIMTE, but we simply aren’t quite there yet. The Chinese motorcycle industry is in its infancy and currently working hard to figure out how it can best fit into the world market. Sales in developing countries and inside China now account for the lion-share of their business. Rightly so, this imbalance absorbs most of their attention and in order for their products to reach and have larger impact on the shores of North America and Western Europe much work needs to be done on both the manufacturing and consumer side of the table.
The most interesting part of this visit to ChongQing didn’t take place in the convention center but on a one day tour of three major manufacturer’s complexes. Stay tuned for a chance to see a little of what goes into your Chinese motorcycle (or any motorcycle for that matter)!
- MyChinaMoto.com's ChongQing Video Report -
04-20-2008, 07:32 AM
Brice
Nice report Carl. Whatever the subject landscapes, engines or booth babes you know how to frame them.
Spent 4 hours last week in GuangZhou bike parts "alibaba" market. Lot of interesting stuff for Chinese bikes of course but also some oem parts for Japanese bikes and biker gears. As usual I forgot the camera, getting old and Alzheimer is at the corner.
With an administrator title, I guess you are behind this new forum. Congrats for the launch mate, I wish you the best.
Brice
04-20-2008, 07:43 AM
CrazyCarl
Brice man!
Thanks for signing up and the good wishes. I really hope that a full range of people will get something useful from this site. If you have any suggestions on improvements please suggest them in the Suggestions area or send me a PM.
Did you see anything interesting in the GZ bike parts market?
CC
04-20-2008, 08:02 AM
Brice
Bought a carbon like muffler (350RMB), a 520 chain/sprockets kit (260RMB), an air filter (10RMB) all for the XJR.
Seen some import tires (Metzeler, Dunlop, Michelin, ...) Dual sport, dirt or road. Didn't ask for the price.
Also there are few shops selling complete bikes, mostly kid or pit bikes, quads. A mini sport bike with a 70cc engine is 600RMB first price. Nice to put in your living room.
It is not a gigantic market, no more than 150/200 small shops all very specialized but when you come from a city where bikes are banned it is wonderland.
There were few other foreigners, African and Mid Eastern guys. They were looking for parts/bike to export. Guangzhou is a huge trading place for these countries.
04-20-2008, 08:33 AM
CrazyCarl
The parts exporting business might be bigger news (and carry more profit) than new complete bikes.
Did you have a chance to attend the Canton motorcycle show in GuangZhou that just ended this week?
CC
04-20-2008, 08:58 AM
Brice
I miss this one. I'm working on a big web/software migration so I can't quit my computer more than few hours. 1 week ago, I even missed a SBK race which was on the track 2 kms from my home.
04-23-2008, 03:12 PM
culcune
Has Shineray released the XY250GY? We all know, thanks to Supsrignet, that the GY-7 has been released, at least in China, but has the XY? Just wondering :confused1:
04-23-2008, 04:46 PM
Supersignet
All the XY bikes are Shinerays. XY is the acronym for Shineray in Chinese which is XinYuan. The XY250GY is called the X2 from the factory and will be released in this coming June.
04-23-2008, 04:48 PM
culcune
I know from Chinariders that the biggest complaint has been no parts support. The situation does seem to be improving, and these bikes seem to be worth more parted than whole (SamM, you are a living example of this :clap:)
Quote:
Originally Posted by CrazyCarl
The parts exporting business might be bigger news (and carry more profit) than new complete bikes.
CC
04-24-2008, 05:36 AM
SamM
culcune,
I parted out my Jialing Viva VX200SX and made over $1900 to date on it. I just made a few dollars ($35) last week. Someone paid me for some parts I shipped out but forgot about. Another thing I find is that these guys are all VERY honest people. Only one person didn't pay me for parts I sent out. What he didn't pay for was so small an amount that I really didn't care. He bought most of the Jialing, so it was all good! I made all I wanted, so I didn't care. I still have a good bit of the Jialing left. Mostly, controls, brakes, and electrical parts. Anyway, I made more than enough to pay myself back for the Jialing and completely pay for the QLink I bought last summer. It's basically a free bike. I have ZERO money in it!
So far, I've made over $6000 parting out my KTM 950 Adventure. I tried to sell the bike for $8000 and couldn't. Last week, I sold the forks, swingarm and rear shock for $3000. The front fender and fairings went for over $300. I still have the engine, all the electrics (the bikes still runs), gauges, Brembo brakes, brakelines, hand controls, complete frame & brackets, subframe, turnsignals, taillights, mufflers, header pipes, fuel tanks, headlight, and most of the bodywork. I'm hoping to get $4000 out of the frame and engine alone. The other parts should net me $3000 to $4000 more. The money from the frame and engine will be used to pay for the new 2009 Kawasaki KLX250S that I want.
Honestly, I've thought about buying bikes just to part out. I have so many parts in my shop that I need to clean it out and get rid of that stuff first. I bet I have enough parts left to buy whatever bike I want. I parted out a Buell once and made a $7500 profit after paying myself back the $3000 I paid for the bike. :thumbup:
It can be done!
SamM
04-24-2008, 10:47 AM
CrazyCarl
Quote:
Originally Posted by Supersignet
All the XY bikes are Shinerays. XY is the acronym for Shineray in Chinese which is XinYuan. The XY250GY is called the X2 from the factory and will be released in this coming June.
Does that mean released in China or worldwide?
CC
04-25-2008, 01:10 AM
Jim
There are some great looking bikes here, that f5 looks pretty sharp too, but what gives, is it just me, or did half these pictures not even have bikes in them :clap:
04-25-2008, 01:27 AM
CrazyCarl
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim
There are some great looking bikes here, that f5 looks pretty sharp too, but what gives, is it just me, or did half these pictures not even have bikes in them :clap:
CC
Is there an 8 wheeler featured somewhere on this BB. I thought I saw one in one of the Expo pictures but I can't find it now. Perhaps its on the Adventure Rider site .... I don't remember now .... getting old. :confused1:
05-05-2008, 12:56 AM
eddie
Quote:
Originally Posted by culcune
I know from Chinariders that the biggest complaint has been no parts support. The situation does seem to be improving, and these bikes seem to be worth more parted than whole (SamM, you are a living example of this :clap:)
I noticed Galaxy Motorcycles at the Canton fair last week. They had a 150cc and 250cc dirtbike on display. Their quality looked better than any other bikes there. They had an American working the booth and he seems to understand the issues that we usually face when importing Chinese bikes, such as parts availability.
CC
Is there an 8 wheeler featured somewhere on this BB. I thought I saw one in one of the Expo pictures but I can't find it now. Perhaps its on the Adventure Rider site .... I don't remember now .... getting old. :confused1:
The 8 wheeler I think you're talking about was at the Jialing show. The picture for that may be in the video.
CC
05-22-2008, 12:32 PM
CrazyCarl
Almost forgot!
ChongQing is not only known for it's motorcycles but beautiful girls. Although all provinces in China claim to have the most beautiful girls some of the models at the show were worth mentioning.
Lifan had a good showing but unfortunately their display was not very well lit. <click on portraits for larger image>
Being more into landscapes, I'm not an experienced model photographer and this was a fun growing experience. Of all the companies, I'd have to say XGJao's ladies stole the show.
I'm surprised the Lifan models don't have a big tacky 5 on thier outfit ;)
05-23-2008, 04:40 AM
CrazyCarl
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim
I'm surprised the Lifan models don't have a big tacky 5 on thier outfit ;)
Doesn't look like there's much space for a big ol' tackey 5 there Jim. Where would you have them put it on their outfits? :biggrin:
CC
05-23-2008, 07:36 AM
Jim
Quote:
Originally Posted by CrazyCarl
Doesn't look like there's much space for a big ol' tackey 5 there Jim. Where would you have them put it on their outfits? :biggrin:
CC
I would've expected to see it right around where it says Lifan :wink: Like how the 5 is front and center on the common gy5 dual sport, or that atv she's posing with...
Not that I'm complaining... :drool:
Anyways... Did you have any more pictures from the Lifan section (wondering what types of bikes those girls in the back are posing with).
03-07-2009, 05:31 AM
kens
I'll be intrested when the Jailing 600's are in Canada.I think it would be just awsome to have one with a sidecar.
Great photo's Carl.
03-08-2009, 10:22 PM
CrazyCarl
Kens,
Thanks for the comments. I really love taking photos at bike shows and am still sore I missed the one in Indianapolis this year. :frump:
It would certainly be nice if the JH600 side car was sold in North America. There really aren't all that many option for sidecars here and a modern design with strong engine could be attractive. There certainly seems to be some developed interest in it, I guess it's just up to the importers now!
CC
03-29-2009, 02:06 PM
billinsuzhou
Anyone know when the 2009 Expo is in China
Great pictures from the 2008 show. I want to go to the 2009 show. Anyone know when and where it is being held? Anything special I have to do to get a ticket for getting in or is it similar to the shows in the US?
Cheers!
Bill
03-30-2009, 12:55 PM
CrazyCarl
Not sure about the dates but last year it was in April. I tried searching for the 2009 show on line but didn't see anything! If it is still on, you can probably register at the door. If I hear about the dates I'll let you know.
CC
03-30-2009, 01:46 PM
CrazyCarl
Diggin around I found myself "quoted" at the 2008 CIMTE by Qingqi...
"Mr. Carl, an American ZERO lover, shared his experience of Qingqi ZERO in the trial run arena, “I am looking forward to owning a motorcycle with high ability for hill-crossing and grade-climbing. Now I’m very happy as I find it finally.” At the beginning of May, Mr. Carl would carry on his half-a-year ecotourism and guided outdoor adventure to in Shangmeng, a small Tibetan village in the southwest border of China. He said, “The Qingqi ZERO can cross obstacles easily or even precipitous mountains, adjust the transmission ratio through 520 chain and chain wheel, and reach a high speed through the greatest power of the engine when running on the motorway. The handling and its response feel very good, and it is very easy to adjust the braking, so it is a terrific off-road motorcycle. I’m very confident about it.”
Looks like I need to work on my English grammar! :lol8::lol8::lol8: