Regal Raptor DD250G-2 (2008-09)

[ZMC888]

Nuhaus,

I would certainly council your friend to make sure he is buying an 09 version (check vin plate on header), and possibly make sure the dealer is of good reputation who will honor his warranty commitments and register the bike.

Here is my MCN style review!

Engine 3/5
Engine design is as old as the hills, being designed in the 1960's, the original Honda version of the engine is certainly 'bulletproof', if looked after, but the Chinese built versions have lower build quality, so run hotter and are less smooth and well balanced, but are comparable in the lower rev ranges.


Ride and Handling 4/5
The front and rear shocks are capable on flat roads but are poorly damped on bumpy roads, bike geometry is pretty good and the bike is quick in town and agile and entertaining on tight mountain roads and decent Cheng-Shin tires certainly help. Brakes are fairly good, but higher grade compound pads would certainly improve stopping power and reduce possible brake fade.


Equipment 2/5
The dash is rubbish, and seems to be a cheap YBR125 copy, the kilometer readings often don't align, the speed needle can stutter, and we are unsure whether the bike is really producing the amount of revs it says, it says 7000, but the bike feels like it is on 8000 rpm. There is also no gear indicator, so you end up doing a lot of counting and memorizing your revs and feeling the bike to be certain which gear you are in.


Quality and Reliability 3/5
The bikes I would say are certainly cheaply made, and poorly finished compared with a 90's Honda for example, but then the price is reasonable so it's not a surprise. However they are not without redemption and there are nice little touches such as the nicely shaped gas tank and cap, the capable tires, perfectly adequate brakes, cool looking and comfortable seat, so you feel good on the bike. On the negative side the bike has vibrations at high RPM, mostly I believe, due to the exhaust system. Riding in the rain will cause certain cheaper bolts and a few components like the exhaust to spot rust. All the important bolts were of good quality and torqued and thread-locked properly. Cheaper less important bolts were of variable lengths in some cases sometimes rubbing on the frame.

If looked after, including being garaged or covered, being ridden in nice weather, regular oil changes and checking bolts, removing rust, bike could last quite well. If looked after lazily, bike could deteriorate quite quickly.


Value 5/5
The bikes are great value for money. They have a good power to cost ratio. But be aware you get what you pay for. I'd certainly rather have two of these and have a Chinese factory workers' annual salary in spare change, rather than a YBR250. Certainly I would suggest that the DD250G-2 might not suit someone who can't garage or cover the bike, or is lazy about maintenance or wants to ride in all weather.

[iamcanjim]

The vibration issue may not be due to the exhaust but due to the engine design. Mine vibrates like crazy at higher revs and it's a genuine Honda. A 180 degree parallel twin without a counterbalancer vibrates a lot.

As for the engine design being as old as the hills, that's true. My buddies' CM200 from 1978 back in Canada was identical. Makes a pathetic amount of horsepower for 230 ccs, but should last a long time. Yours should be making about 20 hp, as it's likely tuned for higher end. A stock Rebel makes 18 hp. Considering the Suzuki GN250's make 21 hp on a single cylinder...

Honda makes a 250 90 degree vtwin with 33 hp, and in some versions 45 hp.

What kind of top speed are you getting? My Rebel (which is pretty damn tired) will hit 115-125 km/h, so yours should be hitting 140. My speedo is inaccurate, so that speed is gps obtained.

[ZMC888]

iamcanjim,

The exhaust was a POS! We put copper flange seals in the pipe where it bolts into the muffler box underneath and used exhaust putty to seal it tighter. After that the bikes were much less vibey and very smooth under 5000 rpm. Added exhaust wrap would be nice too.

There are other areas which could be better, around the registration plates there are vibrations and around the back of the seat could be improved. Obviously there are engine vibrations too, but these are noticeably different to bike vibration noise.

Yeah it isn't very powerful considering it's a twin, but it is as powerful as pretty well any other Chinese 250.

I've taken the bike up to 130 km/h on the flat without tail wind, but I think the gearing will allow 135-140km/h.

[Nuhaus]

My friend bought his yesterday and has put maybe 200K on it so far. He quite likes it (his first bike ever) and is learning a lot. Today however, we drove it into Shanghai and then over to Tianma and it ended up with a major oil leak coming from the head (yep we were taking it slow, new bike and inexperienced rider both in mind). At Tianma we found a decent mechanic who could take the head off completely, replace the gasket seal and then clean it up so that it's running fine again. He claims that these bikes can hit some pretty high speeds after modifying the jets, airbox, and muffler. So, my friend made a date with him to get a shorter exhaust system installed (idea being to start small and see how good the work is). I'm hoping the mechanics at Tianma work out better than the ones near Xincun Lu in Shanghai did for me. I'll keep you posted as things develop.

[ZMC888]

Nuhaus,

Major oil leak is no surprise really, just poor factory installation, very easy to fix in China.

Exhaust system is a tasteful design, but the implementation is poor, the header is a sleeved design, which is probably restrictive, and is heavy. Header needs to be wider and of better quality single layer steel. Joins under the bike to the muffler box and also look like they won't live for long under use on the bumpy Chinese roads.

Exhaust vibration needs to be eliminated before any other mods are worthwhile, as engine and exhaust vibrations feedback.

We have found suitable pipe, but are looking for someone willing to bend it. I'd like two single piece pipes front to back, and then put mini mufflers up by the tail light. But a shorter system with two small straight through mufflers where the muffler box is now would be OK, as long as the system is air tight and vibration free.

I doubt the bike could go much faster than 140km/h unless you do some serious power mods, and then change the sprocket. Although it would be fairly easy to improve acceleration.

[Nuhaus]

Can you please post pics of the mods you guys have done / are doing to your raptor exhaust? I'll send you some of the stuff we're getting done out here too. Tianma is a racetrack with some pretty high end modification possibilities, from custom pipes to just about anything. Again, this is China so I won't be surprised if promises do not quite live up to expectations.

[ZMC888]

My friend removed the whole of the rear section of his exhaust, I tried it but disliked the noise and the appearance.

We removed the exhaust system and noticed that the exhaust was noticeably loose and and couldn't be tightened effectively. So we put two of these brass o-rings on each connection area:



We then put exhaust sealant on the connections and tightened the system properly until very tight. Seems as though the tighter the system the less vibrations there are. We did this at a professional exhaust service and replacement garage for cars and motorcycles. Avoid car only garages as they seem not to understand the needs of motorcycles and how to effectively seal systems.

Will post more pics when we have done further mods.

I forgot to mention, tighten all the bolts yourself with threadlock if you have it using a 13mm socket until very tight as Chinese rarely tighten things adequately as they are scared of shearing or threading bolts.

[Zorge]

I was considering this:

Reminds me of a sportier Nighthawk 250... Which are solid all round bikes. Can't wait for the pics!

CC

Looks like naked Honda Varadero 125

[Nuhaus]

Actually, when I park my CB400 beside it, they both look very similar, the main difference being the pipes. The tank, headlight, and display are almost exactly the same.

[ZMC888]

With the DD250G-2 they've tried to mix up the DNA on a CB250N and a CB400, with a modern twist.

The liquid cooled version does look very different, a little like a naked Honda Varadero 125.

I felt the bike was very familiar riding it for the first time, as I have rented CB400s on many occasions, and owned an 80s CB250RS.