My new JH600

[TexasAggie]

ZM,
sorry but I have not even sat my fat arse on the bike yet, much less rode one. I am buying based on the threads I have read here. I just figure it has to be better than my cj750. I can tell you I can get the front wheel up on my old XR650 in the USA and it is tall and top heavy with large desert fuel tank and desert night lights and although I have never been a road racer it handled the winding switchback mountain roads of Baja just fine. I will let the experts give you facts on the the JH600. I figure it is worth a shot. Worst case, you have some fun for not a lot of money.
DT

[euphonius]

ZM,

ditto from here in Shanghai. okay, i have had my fat arse on a jh600, but it was standing still and attached to a sidecar in a decrepit shop in gubei, so that hardly counts. but, as has been demonstrated by the few posters who have them, it's about the only choice of a big bike that is pretty up to date, and resembles a real motorcycle.

will it wheelie? check out this link

this is something I found in the chinese forums, and has some okay images of the new Mighty Tiger Version, launched in 2009, which is not yet featured on the Jialing website but is in a handout I was given by a Jialing guy who visited Shanghai last week.

If you've not found details about the basic JH600 online, have a look here and you'll see it's a fairly advanced piece of technology.

And finally, here are some images from the factory, also from the Chinese web. They make a lot more of the JH600B sidecar model in olive drab, which they sell in large numbers to the PLA, and which can be seen in at least one image. The "two wheeler" as it's called is made in very limited runs, maybe a few dozen a month. And they are basically hand assembled. Very little automation.

Is it a "motard"? Well, call me back in 5 or 10 years!

cheers
jkp

[ZMC888]

euphonius, thanks to your link the answer to my questions appear to be
yes.............and


probably!

[Pfaelzer]

Phaelzer,
Great threads. You, jkp, and CrazyCarl convinced me. I live in Nanjing most of the time and my wife (local gal) called the factory today. I cannot thank everyone enough for the useful information. I went thru this by myself in 2006 buying my Chang Jiang and it really cost me. Hopefully, I can get a bike by end of May. Keep us posted on your tweaking. I am 188cm tall and 125kg (sounds better than pounds) so this motorcycle is first one I have read about in China that should support me. I have an R1200 Adventure in the USA but I have only put 3K miles on it in 2 years so I miss riding but just could not accept paying $40K for a bike I know I will take soil samples with at some time or another. This option is very appealing to try. Thanks again.

Hi DT,
you have surely made the right choice - as if there were other options... Actually apart from the CJ, that is the only street-legal bike suitable for you in China so far. Being a GSA rider as well, I have to warn you however, imagine a F650GS with 40% less power on 400 ccm, this will get you closer to what you have to expect here.
I went to the Galaxy factory yesterday with ChinaV, had the chance to sit on an XTR250. Nice cute bikes, built for motocross. I bought one for a friend and consider to buy one more for myself, but different purpose than the JH600. This bike (around 100kg of weight) will surely deliver fun on single trails and in the woods around Fuzhou.
Anyhow, I am very sure you are going to have fun with the JH600. Again, welcome to the club. Hope to see and read more about you and the bike.

Cheers,
AW.

[TexasAggie]

The joys of the cj750. Buying one and then working on it.

True fun in Texas

Here's to hoping the JH600 is closer to True Fun in Texas

[Pfaelzer]

Hi guys, I've been following these threads for a while, and I'm still not quite sure. It's not that I'm against the bike it's just that the bike is designed for adventure touring, whereas I'm more interested in riding down familiar roads that have lots of sharp mountain turns, so something more 'motard' would be more what I'm thinking about. Going the reverse way from you guys and unbolting as many things as possible to make it lighter instead of adding GPS and luggage racks and cases. Obviously in a western country there are plenty of bikes that suit my riding style, but here in China choices are much more narrow it seems either very expensive, 250cc or illegal! The Jialing fits into a unique place in the market, as it's affordable, legal and has more than enough power on these crazy roads.

What I'd like to know never having ridden the bike is how capable would this bike be if it were ridden hard on road? Do you think it would be possible to get your knee down on or wheelie this bike?

Or is the bike really just a bit too tall and top heavy, pegs too high, designed for too much of a specific purpose etc for any of the nonsense I'm talking about? Thanks for your input!

Hi ZM,

good approach from another but the adventure riders angle. Strip it down an make a super-motard corner eater... I think the bikes design has clearly limitations here. It was built originally - as I understand it - for sidecar use purpose. The frame therefore is heavy and strong and very wide too, especially in the seat area. This is comfy, but given also the rather F650GS style of seating position inside of the bike - makes it hard to plant a foot on the street next to the front wheel... For a nice drift - power/weight might be the next issues.
however, for me it is still fun and you can go fast with good lean angles in tight corners. It reacts well, and with a bit of counter steering I think it possible to keep up with a regular bikes, with the only limitation on acceleration and speed due to the of the lack of power. Still a good deal for me in China.

Anyway, there is surely stuff, which can be done to make the bike more sporty and lighter. Look at this:



...and the guy here didn't even take out the main stand (which is a bit weakish and at the wrong position anyway) and he could replace the aluminum rack as well with something lighter.

By the way, do you notice the steel plate at the side? This is a valid modification - even though the execution is not the best example of esthetics. The original plastics are looking good, but in the leg are are getting even more wider, that the already wide seat. When riding in standing position - you feel more like John Wayne than a motocross rider. Hard to hold and control the bike firm with the legs and keep a good stand on the pegs. This is one of my longer term projects - making more sportive plastics for improved off-road riding. Would be great to find some solutions out there (except for the one on this pic).

Other than that, if you happen to be in the Fuzhou area, give me notice and you can ride my bike for testing. I would take the boxes off for you then...

Cheers,
AW.

[ZMC888]

Pfaelzer, thanks for the reply, the offer for a ride and the photo.

The guy's straight through pipe, luggage rack, center stand and tires are not to my not to my taste. I'd go your way with the laser muffler and maybe think about changing the bar height. Obviously the height of the bike is a concern for knee down antics, but then again not having to worry about the pegs grinding before the bike is at full lean angle is an advantage anyway and with a nice rear tire the bike would drift a fair bit I'm sure so would certainly keep me entertained. I'm not keen on over-modding the bike just really bobbing it down to a lighter weight, mainly by taking off metal parts a without altering light-weight aesthetics like plastics. Or possibly putting a bigger rear sprocket on it.

If the bike is 195KG curb weight and it has 3KG of oil, 2KG of water and 15KG of fuel is 20KG, minus some metal could see the dry weight down to 170KG, very reasonable for a 600 single.

[Pfaelzer]

HI,

time for another update on the recent modifications done up in Yongkang. The guys completely developed the new skid-plate from scratch.

Making a paper gauge first:



Welding and bending work:



The raw part. Some more welding and final anodizing still needs to be done:



Finally completed at the bike including a plate on the main stand. All of this should prevent damage and also help the bike to slide over off-road obstacles such as wood or rocks:



The engine protection helped me for sure already during my ride back to Fuzhou when pushing the bike over a land-slide. Things got a bit rough and the marks can be seen on following pictures:






Summary: The new skid-plate really looks good adventure style. It works too, definitely protects the engine. Two points, which I will think a bit more about.

Aluminum quality: The repair of the dented plate was rather easy. Some work with the plastic hammer - all done. This makes me think if there are stronger, automotive grade of aluminum sheet materials available in China like for example a 5083 or 5086 type.

Mounting: The parts are "hard-bolted" to frame and center-stand. For ideal protection the plates should be rubber-mounted so that they can give a little way when stressed. It also can help on vibration problems - which I can't find on this assembly here.

So long. One more good news: The new wheels are at my place in Germany and ready for shipment. Bad news, due to the volcanic ashes over Germany, no air traffic is possible, which means, delay again.

AW.

...back to overview.

[Franki]

I share my point of view. It is not possible to obtain Serise 5 or 6 aluminium alloy plates in Yongkang in small quantities. Min. order quantity is half a ton and wait for at least one month. Your decision to make the sump guard was just before the delivery of the bike and you wanted everything done in 14 days. That left us very little choices. If you can supply the 5083 or 5086 plate, we would be more than happy to make it for you. The same goes for the rubber damping washer as we didn't have enough time to find these parts. This is an one off job and not a production run where we can source materials in quantity and have a production lead time. I made up the design as we are building it.

HI,

time for another update on the recent modifications done up in Yongkang. The guys completely developed the new skid-plate from scratch.

Making a paper gauge first:



Welding and bending work:



The raw part. Some more welding and final anodizing still needs to be done:



Finally completed at the bike including a plate on the main stand. All of this should prevent damage and also help the bike to slide over off-road obstacles such as wood or rocks:



The engine protection helped me for sure already during my ride back to Fuzhou when pushing the bike over a land-slide. Things got a bit rough and the marks can be seen on following pictures:






Summary: The new skid-plate really looks good adventure style. It works too, definitely protects the engine. Two points, which I will think a bit more about.

Aluminum quality: The repair of the dented plate was rather easy. Some work with the plastic hammer - all done. This makes me think if there are stronger, automotive grade of aluminum sheet materials available in China like for example a 5083 or 5086 type.

Mounting: The parts are "hard-bolted" to frame and center-stand. For ideal protection the plates should be rubber-mounted so that they can give a little way when stressed. It also can help on vibration problems - which I can't find on this assembly here.

So long. One more good news: The new wheels are at my place in Germany and ready for shipment. Bad news, due to the volcanic ashes over Germany, no air traffic is possible, which means, delay again.

AW.

[Pfaelzer]

Hi Franki,

I try to find some aluminum sheets for future use and let you know then.
Having said that, don't get me wrong here, I like the job, which the guys have done in Yongkang and would do the same procedure again - no doubt. Things are looking good and they work too... but you know Germans, always looking to improve things for a better quality - that's why the world got Benz and ass-kicking BMW motorcycles

Greetings from Shanghai - AW.