Regal Raptor DD250G-2 (2008-09)

**lightend** · 04-16-2010, 10:57 AM

Originally Posted by ZMC888

Review at 7000 kms (+10,000 with friends 2008 model=17,000 kms)

The bike never fails to run, but it can be question sometimes of how it decides to run! The weather conditions effect the engine, wet, cold and hot make it run poorly, sometimes the bike seems fuel-starved, other times fuel-rich.

The bike is based on a Honda CMX250 which is a cruiser, in terms of its swing-arm, wheelbase and tire-size, which means the wheelbase is really a cruiser distance not that of a naked road bike, this seems to make the handle more cruiser-like than maybe it could be. The pegs are big and are out a fairly long way, so knee-down stuff is trickier than on a YBR or CBF150. You are also sitting in the middle of the thing which is stable, but the bike can't wheelie at all as the rear wheel is too far back.

Think maybe like this , but obviously much less extreme!

The gearbox works well, other than it has a tendency to jump back from 2nd into neutral, when changing from first, both bikes we have have this tendency, unless very firmly changed from 1st to 2nd. The exhaust and speedo are junk, there also seems to be some power restrictions in the exhaust system, such as a double-lined header with a third restrictive steel sleeve. The baffle which is centrally located is prone to being bashed and has some other silly restrictive things in there (probably for emissions) and there is no way for condensed water to get out of the system. The clamps and places where the exhaust bolt to the frame are poorly welded and seem prone to snapping, we have snapped 5 between us on two bikes.

Also the warranty lasts a year, or 6000 kms,. So I have to pay for everything from now on, and I only bought it in late August 2009!

In the long term I'm not that worried, I bought the bike knowing it wasn't perfect and have improved it so far by dampening down everywhere I can with pieces of rubber, and changing the brake pads, which has made it stop quicker and less vibratory. Now the bike is out of warranty I will change the exhaust system, to make it less restrictive and run it all the way back in a solid piece with aftermarket mufflers at the rear. Put a K&N type air filter on. Change the rear shocks if I can find some the right length. Maybe stock CB400 may be OK. Change the leads to NGK, rev and speedo and possibly carb and or jets. In the longer term even the swing-arm and the engine to Jialing. Spending 2000-3000 to make it more like a nighthawk isn't a worry.

I've heard unconfirmed reports that RR want 13,000 for this bike in 2010, but unless its been massively improved it certainly isn't worth more than 10,000, and with reports that the Yamaha YBR250 has this year dropped to 23000 RMB, and maybe even 20,000 is possible, this might be a better and more reliable choice for a 250 in China.

I would only recommend the RR if:

1. You are really desperate to have a twin, not a single.
2. You realize it has flaws, and will try to spend money to upgrade the bike/fix whatever goes wrong.

Fully assess your options before buying this bike, it's by no means terrible, but there may be better out there, but it's gonna be hard to tell with test rides being so rare in China, and the fact the few riders are properly objective about the strengths and weaknesses of their machine.

bloody hell, just wrote out a long message, i clicked submit and it asked me to log in again, grrrr,

so in shot this time,
live in ningde, fujian,
bike costs 11,800
need bike for 3km each way to work,
need bike to travel on 2 day camping rides (1000km over 2 days)
can this bike do it?
am new to bikeing, i was always a car person.

bike looks big and powerful, and mean looking, can scare locals, would be good

thanks
LE

**ZMC888** · 04-17-2010, 01:22 PM

For touring I can't really recommend the bike, as it's generally too unreliable. When it goes well it is a good bike and it is a good design but this has been inadequately implemented by factory cost cutting and sloppy workmanship. There are to be fair many worse Chinese motorcycles out there, but understand that this bike is a gamble long term as to whether it will be dependable, and in the short term the bike will have teething issues. You may only have a few issues and get lucky or you could be unlucky and have never ending problems!

If you have the money go for something more reliable, such as a CBF150 or a YBR125 or YBR250. In fact given the poor repair of many Chinese roads I would suggest a motard rather than a pure road machine, as motards being based on dirt bikes can much better cope with bumpy roads and general abuse. So a Jialing JH600 or Qingqi 200/250 motard might be amongst the best choices.

**lightend** · 04-17-2010, 03:47 PM

Originally Posted by ZMC888

For touring I can't really recommend the bike, as it's generally too unreliable. When it goes well it is a good bike and it is a good design but this has been inadequately implemented by factory cost cutting and sloppy workmanship. There are to be fair many worse Chinese motorcycles out there, but understand that this bike is a gamble long term as to whether it will be dependable, and in the short term the bike will have teething issues. You may only have a few issues and get lucky or you could be unlucky and have never ending problems!

If you have the money go for something more reliable, such as a CBF150 or a YBR125 or YBR250. In fact given the poor repair of many Chinese roads I would suggest a motard rather than a pure road machine, as motards being based on dirt bikes can much better cope with bumpy roads and general abuse. So a Jialing JH600 or Qingqi 200/250 motard might be amongst the best choices.

i really am sorry to say that i dont have that much cash to buy a honda or any thing like that. i am stretching my self out with 10,000 as it is :-(
ok thanks for the advice. yeah the first bike on http://www.mychinamoto.com/forums/sh...-2D-QM260-GY-B) looks okish (well more my style than the second bike, but still looks like its been crashed into an immovable object), and if its reliable then i guess i had better get something more like that.

although looking on taobao they seem a bit on the cheap side to be any good http://search.taobao.com/search?shopf=newsearch&q=qm250

its a shame as the bike in the shop did look very very nice. but i cannot deal with temperamental bikes just yet. cheers zmc888

any more thougts are welcome

**ZMC888** · 04-17-2010, 11:43 PM

Well the Sundiro Honda CBF150 and Jianshe Yamaha YBR125 are within your budget at about 9000-10,000. These two bikes are really proven reliable.

The QM200/QM250 is at the end of the day a Chinese design, but heavily based on the Suzuki DR200/DR250, and not reverse engineered but semi-officially as Qingqi have a joint venture with Suzuki. It would seem that the Qingqi has had some issues, although rare, it may be a little bit more of a gamble than the Yamaha or Honda. If power isn't important to you go with the Yamaha or Honda, if it is take a bit more of a gamble with the Qingqi. Also remember that there are many Honda based singles around and that a Chinese 200cc-250cc single engine may slot straight in to the Honda.

**lightend** · 04-18-2010, 03:59 AM

Originally Posted by ZMC888

Well the Sundiro Honda CBF150 and Jianshe Yamaha YBR125 are within your budget at about 9000-10,000. These two bikes are really proven reliable.

The QM200/QM250 is at the end of the day a Chinese design, but heavily based on the Suzuki DR200/DR250, and not reverse engineered but semi-officially as Qingqi have a joint venture with Suzuki. It would seem that the Qingqi has had some issues, although rare, it may be a little bit more of a gamble than the Yamaha or Honda. If power isn't important to you go with the Yamaha or Honda, if it is take a bit more of a gamble with the Qingqi. Also remember that there are many Honda based singles around and that a Chinese 200cc-250cc single engine may slot straight in to the Honda.

agh, now thats a very interesting idea. getting a Honda CBF150 then dropping in a 250 chinese engine.
ZMC888, you are full of useful knowledge, i very much appreciate the input. I will defiantly look into this as a very real alternative to a raptor.
Thanks very much
Me

**ZMC888** · 04-18-2010, 10:16 AM

agh, now thats a very interesting idea. getting a Honda CBF150 then dropping in a 250 chinese engine.
ZMC888, you are full of useful knowledge, i very much appreciate the input. I will defiantly look into this as a very real alternative to a raptor.
Thanks very much
Me

I've got two mechanics who say it will, one that says no. Most Jialing 125cc bikes can accept engines up to 250cc too.

**lightend** · 04-18-2010, 11:51 AM

o no, i made the colossal mistake of walking past the shop. and thinking it would be nice just to sit on it. red springs and duel front disks made me feel nice and at home, especially the way you sorta feel at one with the bike almost instantly.

that was a mistake, but a bigger mistake was turning down the test ride 2 times then accepting it after the third time.

what was a bloody huge mistake though, was definitely asking if i could use it for a bit of a longer ride to my house and back. they accepted and off i went, after almost falling off the back

(damb fist gear pulls hard) i settled right into the drive. then after returning and checking the body work over. i cant see any problems at the moment with the bike.

o dear god that was a bad mistake. i havent been able to get the smile off my face since returning home.... 5 hours ago......

**ZMC888** · 04-18-2010, 12:58 PM

Like I said, it is a good bike when it runs well, but there isn't any guarantee of that.

Issues thus far: 9000kms - 8 months

1. Many vibrations and buzzing sounds coming from bike. Put rubber under the tank and around many areas between pieces of metal and changed tacho. Partially fixed.
2. Exhaust system comes loose around baffle box/muffler. Bike ran hot and couldn't breathe well. Changed entire exhaust system to run straight through. (not recommended)
3. Bike occasionally drops back into neutral from 2nd after changing from first.
4. Oil leak into magneto area and then out of side. Fixed with correct sized seal. (after 4 attempts).
5. Oil leak due to cracked engine casing due to incorrect sized factory bolts and poor factory engine installation. Engine re-welded but new engine or casing may be necessary. (out of warranty)
6. Pegs grind on ground before bike is at full lean.

Honda CBF150 - 2 years 25,000Kms. (Previous bike)

1. Oil seal (5 RMB)
2. New rings (23,000 kms)

Yamaha YBR125 (as reported my forum member) Shanghai to Berlin 20,000+ kms)

No issues

**lightend** · 04-18-2010, 01:26 PM

ok i take it your is the new one, so to sum up, if i decided to get this bike, before any long trips i need to,
1 stock up on rubber for vibrations that may come mid trip,
2 change all seals on the bike and put in new bolts when putting back together.
and if have time add a a K&N (or similar) air filter mounted near the front with some rubber piping running into the air inlet port.
as for leaning, i wouldnt worry about that for at least a year, doing a cbt course in the uk doesn't get you experienced enough to have the guts to lean more than 10 degrees. i am not one for going fast around corners. (in cars i have met stationary objects at the other side of these corners. so have learnt do slow right down for corners)

As far as i have read, the bike always starts, just a case of if its healthy or not and what damage you are doing by starting it up can be quite bad. I will try and keep my self away form it but im not promising any thing, if we meet up for a road trip at some point and im on a 250g,

=

**ZMC888** · 04-18-2010, 11:14 PM

It's a gamble that's all. You may get lucky if choose to buy the bike. There is a chance they have improved their factory QC this year.

If I were you and you do buy one, I'd pay an experienced mechanic for a day of his time to disassemble and reassemble the whole bike using loctite and a torque wrench and big sheet of rubber and a stanley knife before you ride it!

Oh I solved the peg problem by putting old CBR pegs on it!

In some ways I don't want to dissuade you, the bike is fun and matches up to the Chinese roads well, its just that pesky Chinese quality.

There is a great little Jialing 250 twin based on the Honda Nighthawk, but its pretty rare (you'd need to phone the factory). I'd have a go at pricing and finding one before I shelled out the cash on the Raptor if I had my time again.