Living the dream Nanjing

[TexasAggie]

Just found this site last night while surfing the net. Glad to see others interested in dual sport bikes. I have lived in Nanjing for 6 years. Riding and racing off road motorcycles since 1969. I presently own several motorcycles in the USA and China. 2000 Honda 650 adapted for Baja riding, 2008 BMW R1200 Adventure in the USA and have a 2006 CJ750 here in Nanjing. I was looking to buy another BMW R1200 Adventure or maybe the new Yamaha XT1200Z here in Nanjing but cannot get over the pricing I have see so far. I cannot justify US$40K for a bike I know I will drop in the rocks at some point. Anyway, I have been looking at Chinese bikes and see the JH600 has had some success stories. Anyone know where to get one of these in or near Nanjing, Jiangsu province? Any other ideas? I am old, 6'2", and 270lbs. so I prefer bigger bikes that can support my fat ass.

Remember to try and keep the rubber side down

[iw84u]

have you looked into getting one of these?

www.cjsidecar.com

[TexasAggie]

Already have one. Got it in 2006 and ride it around locally. Old school cool but shit reliability. I sent it to Beijing to get upgraded electrical and that has helped but still do not trust it to take on a long trip. I hate working on them while on excursions. Prefer to just ride them. I will keep it as I have good mechanic to help when I cannot fix it but wanted something I could take off road with more reliability. Thanks for the suggestion though. I have learned that nothing is easy here but it usually works out if you are tenacious.

[ChinaV]

Welcome to the site TA,

If you have good Chinese skills or someone to communicate for you, I would suggest a direct order from the Jialing factory. Many people have suggested flying to the factory, riding around for the 1000 kilometer break in and then letting the factory perform the 1st service. After that, you can ride it home or send by train.

Several members here have recently made the JH600 purchase and I'm sure they can help you out.

Good luck!
ChinaV

[TexasAggie]

Thanks, I might do that. My wife is Chinese so get to cheat with my communications. I sent a inquiry request to Jialing yesterday. I am open to flying there to see the bike but was hoping they had a dealer here in Nanjing. Appreciate the heads up.

[euphonius]

Hey, Aggie,

Buying a bike from Jialing is not so easy as just flying up there. They only make them in limited monthly lots, and orders received after a certain date are pushed to the next month. You can only buy them from the factory. They are good people, but don't expect strong marketing and sales. (They gave me a purchase contract and told me to fill it in myself.) The guy to call is Li Shilin at +86 23 6519 4232, and like most of the crew he speaks only Chinese.

They have several versions of the JH600 available now, including a new "Strong Tiger" version that comes with deluxe paint, ABS panniers and a Givi-style box, engine shrouds, aluminum wheels and some outlets for your GPS. I'm in the midst of purchasing the older, more basic model, which is functionally identical to the Strong Tiger but absent all the frilly farkle.

Please look elsewhere in this forum for some very good postings on the Jialing, particularly from Franki, who has clocked more than 30k km on his, and, just this week, Pfaelzer, who did a lovely ride from Zhejiang to Fujian.

Good luck!
jkp