Adventure Motorcycle Magazine Subscribe Now

Page 2 of 3 FirstFirst 123 LastLast
Results 11 to 20 of 21
  1. #11 Re: Slabbing to Moganshan (and back) 
    Senior C-Moto Guru euphonius's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    mostly Shanghai, sometimes northern California
    Posts
    3,222
    Quote Originally Posted by Marco View Post
    Very very very nice thread. Like the way you narrate!

    I would love to join you guys. When is the next trip planned?!!
    Dear Marco,

    Would be happy to have you along. Nothing planned in the next couple of weeks, inasmuch as I'm already in the midst of an extended ride through Guizhou, Yunnan and western Sichuan. But we'll be doing one- and two-day outings regularly. I just heard tonight that there's a big motorbike gathering somewhere in Shanxi at the end of August. Supposedly an announcement in www.moto8.cn but a quick look didn't locate it for me.... There's also a Jialing-organized ride to somewhere in Anhui in a couple of days. Info in English HERE.

    cheers!
    jkp
    Shanghai
    2010 JH600 "Merkin Muffley" (in Shanghai)
    2000 KLR650 "Feezer Ablanalp" (in California)
    Reply With Quote  
     

  2. #12 Re: Slabbing to Moganshan (and back) 
    Rides with Ann Pfaelzer's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Hong Kong, China, Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam, USA, Pirmasens
    Posts
    254
    Hi jkp,

    nice report - I like the pix and the police vests . Looks like your JH600 is running well. How many kilometers did you put on it by now? Any issues so far?

    Good luck and greetings,
    AW.
    Modifications and talk around the JH600

    My New JH600
    Reply With Quote  
     

  3. #13 Re: Slabbing to Moganshan (and back) 
    Senior C-Moto Guru euphonius's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    mostly Shanghai, sometimes northern California
    Posts
    3,222
    Quote Originally Posted by Pfaelzer View Post
    How many kilometers did you put on it by now? Any issues so far?
    Hello Pfaelzer! Does this mean you've returned to our hemisphere? Long time no see! Hope you had some excellent rides in Europe.

    Unbelievably, I'm already approaching the 10k mileage limit of my 1-year warranty. I'm just hitting 8k after a long round-trip between Shanghai and Beijing, the second half of which I did entirely on the expressway, and this current trip into southwest China. I'd be at 10k already if I'd ridden the 2k-plus to Guiyang from Shanghai, but instead I put her on the train and saved at least 4 days of dull riding. I'm now in Kunming, having ridden the brilliant new expressway from Guiyang. This ride put to shame the rather amazing engineering achievements of the Shanghai expressways.

    Next I'm off into the wilds of Yunnan, working my way west to Dali, then north to Lijiang. From there I need to get to Kangding aka Garze, and have to decide whether to take a more westerly route north via Zhongdian aka Shangri-La, or a easterly route up through Lake Lugu. Either one goes through very high desolate country -- a real mental challenge given that I'm riding solo!

    As for problems with the bike -- nothing significant. I had a bad tank of 93 octane petrol in Shandong that had me thinking the ignition was failing, but that worked its way through with the next tank. In Beijing I had the bike washed, and almost immediately had a problem with the starter motor, which simply stopped working. I'm guessing some water got in from the high-pressure spray wash. By a stroke of luck my next stop was the Beijing Jialing service center, and that's where it refused to start! So they pulled the starter motor out, pulled it apart and cleaned the contacts, and it's been fine ever since. Only other minor issue is the kill circuit in the side stand, which is preventing me from starting up in anything but neutral even when the stand is up. I'll probably disable it, but I've found that if I let the side stand snap up quickly, rather than letting it up slowly, I can start in any gear with the clutch disengaged.

    Biggest discovery: The bike is a champion on the expressway! She runs at 120 kph for hours and hours at a stretch without complaint, and will still accelerate from 120 if need be. I've not even approached the 8k red line, having maxed out at 7k-plus. She's smooth as silk, with virtually no vibrations, at 120kph.

    For the kind of distance touring I'm doing, with interludes off road and on very rough pavement but also long stretches of perfect expressway, she's the real deal! Very pleased!

    You up in Fuzhou any time soon?

    cheers!
    jkp
    Shanghai
    2010 JH600 "Merkin Muffley" (in Shanghai)
    2000 KLR650 "Feezer Ablanalp" (in California)
    Reply With Quote  
     

  4. #14 Re: Slabbing to Moganshan (and back) 
    Life Is Good! ChinaV's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Guangdong, China
    Posts
    1,508
    Hi Euphonius,

    I'm enjoying your China adventure while the wife and I continue our America adventure.... good stuff

    Did I read you correctly that the JH600 has a 10,000 mile warranty or is that 10,000 kilometers? Either way it's pretty lame as that kind of distance can easily be covered in a couple month of riding.

    I've done the Lijiang to Garze area a couple times now and can send you some of the kml files if you're interested. The route I did with Felix and Daniel out of Luguhu could get pretty tough on the JH600 and might not be such a great idea alone. CrazyCarl and I did a different route via Zhongdian that was mighty cool and would probably be better for a solo rider.

    Any reason you need to go to Garze? G318 is ass and there are some much nicer roads I would hit if I was up in that area.

    Happy trails!
    ChinaV
    Reply With Quote  
     

  5. #15 Re: Slabbing to Moganshan (and back) 
    Senior C-Moto Guru euphonius's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    mostly Shanghai, sometimes northern California
    Posts
    3,222
    Quote Originally Posted by ChinaV View Post
    Did I read you correctly that the JH600 has a 10,000 mile warranty or is that 10,000 kilometers?
    Yeah, lame indeed. According to my understanding it's 10k km or 1 year, whichever comes first. And, yes, I'm racking up the kilometers.

    I've done the Lijiang to Garze area a couple times now and can send you some of the kml files if you're interested. The route I did with Felix and Daniel out of Luguhu could get pretty tough on the JH600 and might not be such a great idea alone. CrazyCarl and I did a different route via Zhongdian that was mighty cool and would probably be better for a solo rider.

    Any reason you need to go to Garze? G318 is ass and there are some much nicer roads I would hit if I was up in that area.
    An outdoors outfitter in Zhongdian, Kevin Skalsky, gave me similar advice by phone last night, saying the route north via Zhongdian was more appropriate for a solo ride, and probably just as spectacular. But he hadn't ridden the Luguhu-Garze stretch. A guy who has, Josh Pollock who hosted your crew at Salvador's, told me the Luguhu route should be fine. So I'm a bit torn. Would love to see Lugu Lake, but I'm not sure I'm ready for long stretches of unpaved, unmarked road, especially in this season of massive rainfalls that are playing havoc with hillsides across western China.

    I do need go to Kangding/Garze to visit a hospital that the SEVA Foundation, an American charity, is building there. I'd heard the road from there back to Chengdu is nice.

    I am also in the market for suggestions for Kunming to Lijiang. I'm told it's not brilliant country, and that the expressway to Dali is only partially finished. From Dali north to Lijiang it's heavily trafficked unlimited access highway, which is the toughest riding in my book. Any alternate routes?

    Finally, when you mention sending KML files, I'm not sure even how to use those with my Garmin Zumo 660. But happy to try!

    Looking forward to a mammoth report on your little jaunt around Murrica!

    cheers
    jkp
    Shanghai
    2010 JH600 "Merkin Muffley" (in Shanghai)
    2000 KLR650 "Feezer Ablanalp" (in California)
    Reply With Quote  
     

  6. #16 Re: Slabbing to Moganshan (and back) 
    Life Is Good! ChinaV's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Guangdong, China
    Posts
    1,508
    Hi Euphonius,

    I posted a file for you to look at in google earth here. If you don't have google earth, go to http://maps.google.com and enter http://www.contactdi.com/map/yunsch.kmz in the search bar. This link might also work.

    The road to Luguhu is good, but the road going north out of Luguhu gets pretty bad, especially if there's been a lot of rain. The road going north to Litang from Zhongdian is great, you won't be disappointed. If you have enough time, keep going north from Litang to G317 and then make a big loop to get back down to G318 and Garze, there's some awesome stuff in there.

    Cheers!
    ChinaV
    Reply With Quote  
     

  7. #17 Re: Slabbing to Moganshan (and back) 
    Senior C-Moto Guru euphonius's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    mostly Shanghai, sometimes northern California
    Posts
    3,222
    Wow, amazing, thanks! I just dragged the kmz file onto google earth on my mac, and shazaam!

    Am I correct in interpreting the red lines as dodgier routes, while blue are clear sailing for a relative newb like me soloing on a 600cc Chinese thumper?

    And it seems you've plotted two routes between Garze and Chengdu -- the shorter route via Ya'an and the long northern loop via panda country (Wolong). that northern route is also in red; should I interpret this as riskier? This northern route is NOT the G317 you mentioned, which loops much further to the north. Why not take that G317 up through Aba and then down to Chengdu via the earthquake belt (Wenchuan), rather than using it as an alternate to getting to Garze?

    Sorry for all the questions! One more: How many days riding time should I be planning for these routes? Is this days and days of riding time, or can some of these stretches be done in a day? I realize this is a bit difficult to quantify!

    thanks again!
    jkp
    Shanghai
    2010 JH600 "Merkin Muffley" (in Shanghai)
    2000 KLR650 "Feezer Ablanalp" (in California)
    Reply With Quote  
     

  8. #18 Re: Slabbing to Moganshan (and back) 
    C-Moto Senior Wrangler's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Location
    Shanghai
    Posts
    132
    What a beautiful ride! I was in Anji myself that weekend. Got to do some rafting and fishing in the streams but was wishing I could ride around the hills. Glad some people got to enjoy the scenery and curves! =)
    Reply With Quote  
     

  9. #19 Re: Slabbing to Moganshan (and back) 
    Rides with Ann Pfaelzer's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Hong Kong, China, Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam, USA, Pirmasens
    Posts
    254
    Quote Originally Posted by euphonius View Post
    Hello Pfaelzer! Does this mean you've returned to our hemisphere? Long time no see! Hope you had some excellent rides in Europe.

    ...

    cheers!
    Hi Euphonius,

    I am back in Asia again. Europe was nice, but had to cancel my big ride for this summer to give priority to the family. Surely I did some riding around my hometown. Some day trips and to increase fun factor, I was able to acquire a 1995 HP2 Enduro for my little collection in Germany. Be assured - there was a lot of fun, even my road and off-road adventures this time are no match to your rides in China.

    Been up at Fuzhou for two days this week. No riding, but took some pictures of the new carbon side plastics, which the guys completed now. I will post that later. Still have some traveling to do, but with September I hope to spend more time in Fuzhou for riding and wrenching... I also got a plan to come to Shanghai. I will let you know. Hope to catch up with you there.

    Greetings,
    AW.
    Modifications and talk around the JH600

    My New JH600
    Reply With Quote  
     

  10. #20 Re: Slabbing to Moganshan (and back) 
    Life Is Good! ChinaV's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Guangdong, China
    Posts
    1,508
    Hi Euphonius,,

    Sorry for the late reply, the blue track is the route I did with CrazyCarl back in 2008 and the red track is the recent trip with Felix and Daniel. The middle part in red from Luguhu to Litang is pretty rough, everything else was a mixture of the usual China roads. 250-350 kilometers in a day is possible, it just depends on how many times you stop and take pictures along the way.

    If you have time to go up to 317 and then come down through the earthquake area that would be a great ride. I just wanted to give you a heads up on G318 from Litang to Garz as it's not such a great ride. The only reason CC and I went through there in 2008 was the fact that everything north of it was destroyed in the quake.

    Have a great ride!
    ChinaV
    Reply With Quote  
     

Page 2 of 3 FirstFirst 123 LastLast

Similar Threads

  1. errr i'm back
    By ChinaKnight in forum Welcome to MCM!
    Replies: 6
    Last Post: 07-26-2010, 08:14 PM
  2. Come back? Not for all the scooters in China
    By bikerdoc in forum Industry News and Moto Talk
    Replies: 21
    Last Post: 07-19-2010, 05:10 AM
  3. Back roads and Passes Colorado
    By DanKearney in forum Ride Reports and Meetings
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: 08-22-2009, 02:22 PM
  4. No, please, give me back facebook!!!
    By iamcanjim in forum Off Topic Discussions
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 07-22-2009, 12:10 PM
  5. Back in the China Bike Game
    By Supersignet in forum Ride Prep and Making Tracks
    Replies: 14
    Last Post: 07-09-2009, 04:58 PM
Tags for this Thread

View Tag Cloud

Bookmarks
Bookmarks
Posting Permissions
  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •