GingerAdam's TransAsia Adventure!!!

**GingerAdam** · 10-11-2009, 03:10 AM

Yeah, your pictures are good though!

Well I went down to the South West market and the QuinQi and Yamaha shops are right next door to each other so I looked at both, and a random friendly guy then took me around all the second hand shops. Second hand was expensive for what it was - I think I'm still going for the new, Yamaha prob YBR-G, even though it's not a dirt bike geom (It seems like the shocks and Geom are unchanged for the -G, they just raise the mud guards and change the fairings?!) for the and it was 8890RMB before haggling - due to the big headlamp, big comfy seat, good rack and reliable build quality (touch wood). Thanks for the info about the emissions Tokyokid, that helps swing it for the Yamaha. Is it the 09 version only? From that I guess you speak/read Chinese... How hard were you hitting the bumps on the way, and what speeds do you think you could have done 1 up?

As for the QuinQi the QM200-1 was cheaper than the YBR at 8480RMB although I was advised to take the QM200-2 at about 9000RMB. They'd probably haggle though. (By the way they quoted the Sundown at 1500RMB. The Quin Qis have about 30% more power for the same weight as the YBR, I think the chain and sproket is better and the geometry is proper off-road with much more travel. But it would be great if people Crazycarl, Forchetto, ChinaV or someone else with one can tell me how to avoid the following concerns...

Firstly the build quality. In the shop the display models had missing footrests, loose hoses, missing parts (e.g. the dirt protector for the rear shock) and cracked plastic fairings - for sales they get one from the back but it doesn't bode well for the quality control or doing 15,000kms without major problems?

One of the guys in the shop had his -2 in the back for repair; a friend had ridden it and 'broke' it. Suzuki designed Quin Qi engine but bigger than the locals have, so would parts be a problem in some places?

The rack is OK but the seat is so narrow so tying a bag (plus a coke bottle or two) to the top looks difficult - the Yamaha had an extra set of tie points for this. I guess I'd have to get a modified rack for that bike, or go with two smaller bags, one front, one back. And is the headlight on the -2 powerful enough for riding at night? Finaly, is it registerable in Europe?? Not a major concern but would be nice to know.

BTW I don't want to beat up on the Quin Qi, just work out what machine will be better/easier for crossing the continent. The final decision might depend on how well the haggling goes at the shops!!!

As for registering either bike, I need to find a Chinese friend to help me out... Hopefully at the uni I can. It costs 1200RMB to do that here in Sichuan and you can buy the bike without but I think not doing it would just create more problems later on. I'm hopeful of confusing officials in further countries with rego documents written only in Chinese!! Got to go and get a visa extension then hopfully buy the bike Tuesday or Wednesday...

Thanks!
Adam

**ChinaV** · 10-11-2009, 02:51 PM

Wishing you the best of luck on your purchase. I think the QingQi is better suited for rough roads, but tokyokid swears by the Yamaha, so I don't think you will go wrong with the YBR either. As you said, probably comes down to which shop gives you the best deal. Both of these bikes will get you there, but you're trip is going to knock a serious chunk out of their life spans. My big hang up with the YBR is the 18" tires and the tiny 125 motor. The QingQi has standard 18/21" tires (very easy to find) and these handle much better in the dirt and gravel.

I guess what you want is a QingQi 200 for the ride to Europe, and a YBR125 once you get there

.

Cheers!
ChinaV

**GingerAdam** · 10-11-2009, 03:26 PM

Thanks ChinaV... I noticed that you have shed light on a few different maintanence jobs with the Quin Qi on the forums - so I guess the question is what kind of stuff tends to happen in the first 15,000kms, and how many kms have you got on yours? Do you tighten the spokes much (I read every 1000km or you might damage the hub). I'll be taking it a bit easy... I'll probably do the first oil change fairly quickly on either bike too. Was it you I remember posting a picture of a fractured cam or something? That looks a bit of a problem if you can't get the part.

If I get to Europe I'll happily deal with cruising on a dirt bike. I noticed that they do get sold in the UK sometimes too, not sure if they're registerable or just as dirt bikes though. I'll also have to get a license on the way for bigger than a 125!!!

**culcune** · 10-11-2009, 03:27 PM

I wonder if you can "map" out Suzuki shops along the way if you went with the Qingqi? I would hesitate to try such a long ride with a 125cc engine, but that could be the 'merican in me (and how if a bike has anything less than 1200cc's I am supposed to disregard it if the US forums are any indication).

**GingerAdam** · 10-11-2009, 03:44 PM

That's a thought. How many parts are directly replaceable on the Quin Qi? Is there a thread for that? And is the clutch and gearbox also Suzuki design? I'm guessing that actually the frame and shocks for either bike will probably be OK, the sprockets and chain are easy to replace so the cause of bad problems is likely to be the engine, gearbox, clutch.

I'm still new to motobikes so anything over 200cc scares me right now. I probably shouldn't have admitted that. In fact I expect I'll be scared of my wits in the built up areas of China, and then cursing the lack of power out west...

**ChinaV** · 10-12-2009, 08:24 AM

My first QM200 originally belonged to CrazyCarl and then I passed it on to Bryce, it's now in the hands of Supersignet. Bike has held up well with all the abuse, I guess about 20,000 kilometers so far. If you find a good deal on a QM200, I would suggest the following.

520 Chain and Sprockets (most stock QM200s' have 428 which is junk).
Higher handlebars.
Rubber footpegs.
Handguards.
Eternal Rise Dual-Sport tires (stock Kenda ones are junk).
Cargo Rack (some have it some don't).
Learn the correct way to tighten and check the spokes.
Adjust the valves around 1500 kilometers and every 10,000 k after.

Along with some decent tools, I would carry the following spare parts.
Clutch plates: just the cork fiber ones, the metal ones should be fine.
Spare front and rear tubes and small pump
Oil Filter
Spark Plug
Couple extra spokes
Clutch/Brake lever
Liquid Gasket / Metal Epoxy / Zip Ties

Check your chain adjustment and lubrication every day and change your oil every 3-5 thousand kilometers.

If I was headed out of China, I would probably send tires and tune up parts somewhere out west and do a major tune up before leaving. The prices for motorcycle work are only going to get more expensive as you head further west.

One other thing, learn how to change a flat tire before you go, flats don't usually happen in convenient places

.

Cheers!
ChinaV

**tokyokid** · 10-12-2009, 01:09 PM

Originally Posted by ChinaV

Both of these bikes will get you there

Thats what i am not sure about. QingQi themself told us that there bikes are not made for long distance trips when we ask them about a trip to europe.
We talk here about a transcontinental trip, not some crusing around asia where fixing is easy and cheap. In europe no one make you a part if they dont have it, they just order it. From all the ride reports here you can see that these chinese bikes need constantly fixing and you always need to be afrait something falls off and so on. On a 20k+ trip you have better stuff to do than take care all the time about the bike.

**culcune** · 10-12-2009, 05:01 PM

tokyokid makes a good argument for the Yamaha, as he has done such a ride. Personally, I would go for the bigger engine YBR250. 250's are not all that much more powerful than 125's as far as learning on. have you PM'd Forchetto? I know there is a list he compiled of all the brand names that the Qingqi's go by in the world, and perhaps that could help you map out a route? The argument of dirt bike tires vs. street tires is significant, too, which would lean me towards a dirt bike.

I do think if you can take the trip at as slow pace as you can with many stops, most any bike should make it.

What about a japanese branded dirt bike vs. the Yamaha branded street bike? Are they available there?

**culcune** · 10-12-2009, 05:15 PM

If you went with the Qingqi, here is the thread, with the list, probably incomplete, of all the brands and model names of the 200cc dirt bike around the world, thanks to forchetto. Some of these should help you:
http://www.mychinamoto.com/forums/sh...ghlight=qingqi

**GingerAdam** · 10-13-2009, 10:59 AM

Originally Posted by ChinaV

Along with some decent tools, I would carry the following spare parts.
Clutch plates: just the cork fiber ones, the metal ones should be fine.
Spare front and rear tubes and small pump
Oil Filter
Spark Plug
Couple extra spokes
Clutch/Brake lever
Liquid Gasket / Metal Epoxy / Zip Ties

Check your chain adjustment and lubrication every day and change your oil every 3-5 thousand kilometers.

If I was headed out of China, I would probably send tires and tune up parts somewhere out west and do a major tune up before leaving. The prices for motorcycle work are only going to get more expensive as you head further west.

One other thing, learn how to change a flat tire before you go, flats don't usually happen in convenient places

.

Cheers!
ChinaV

Well I've got a new visa and found someone who can translate in the shop and (hopefully!) help me register the bike so in all likelyhood I'm going to have to put my money where my mouth is tomorrow... I'll head into both shops and haggle; the Quin Qi QM200-2 was recommended to me as they said it has the 520 chain and sprocket (and a better exhaust?!) It has a small cargo rack but I'll take my pack down and see if I think it will fit I can ask if they have a bigger rack; I test fitted it on a Yamaha-a-like so I'm confident for the YBR. As for everything else I'll probably be going in a few days so I'm not sure I'll be able to do much more than minor stuff to either bike. Maybe the shop can help though.

Then I'll go into Yamaha and see how cheap I can get a YBR125... Hondas and Suzukis like the YBR were about 6000RMB in Leshan. Jap branded bikes as opposed to the big brands sounds interesting, thanks Culcune I don't know anything about them though, quality for cheaper is great - if they're quality bikes...

I hear what you're saying about the 250, I'll check the prices when I'm there; but there is a (hopefully small) chance I'll loose the bike to the police or on a border if it all goes wrong so I do want to keep costs down.

ChinaV thanks for the repairs list; I guess it's most of it is relevant to both bikes (do both use cork clutch plates?) I'm surprised that an oil filter would be hard to come by; it is light though, I'll go with you experts. What kind of tools would you take or will a small socket set do for most field repairs. I can do flat tyres on mountain bikes with my eyes shut but I'll check I can do a moto too...

As well as inner tubes, do people use puncture repair patches or is it dangerous?

On the road I'll let you guys know how it's going on the reports page (thanks for all your help guys

) but for until then for all the prep I'll stay on here.

Wish me luck...
Adam