New Girl in the Group!

[humanbeing]

... It was the toughest five kilometer ride of my life. No brakes, all bearings and bushings completely shot, no oil in the forks, etc. I also couldn't figure out the shift pattern, it always seemed to end up back in first. Oh well, made it alive...barely.

...

Honda CG125 clone powered by Taiwanese Kymco machine. I warned these bike in #14

[CrazyCarl]

Cannonball, the old ZX150 had a circular shift pattern which I think is the only other popular shift pattern available in the Chinese bikes.

Down is still down and up is still up, but instead of hitting a shift stopper, you cycle through the gears again and neutral was in between 1 and 5. So when you upshift from 5th, you go back to neutral then 1st. Took some getting used to but found it was quite handy in traffic!

CC

I'm not exactly sure what pattern this bike has. My F650 broke down on the way home last month, and one of the cops let me borrow his bike so I could go fetch some bits to fix it. It was the toughest five kilometer ride of my life. No brakes, all bearings and bushings completely shot, no oil in the forks, etc. I also couldn't figure out the shift pattern, it always seemed to end up back in first. Oh well, made it alive...barely.



Cheers!
ChinaV

[Ekkicore]

i'm back!
and still in Quzhou, Zhejiang.. where i went for my first riding lesson today!! on a zhongshen zs200gy..
was a bit intimidated by it and having to manage the clutch, gear-changing and break, so i didn't actually RIDE anywhere.. just moved forward and learned to stop..
but i did alright.. my teacher was proud :)
my arms got tired after a while though so i went back onto a manual scooter to practice gear-changing so i wouldn't find the big bike so daunting the next time..
all i can say is.. i had so much fun today, i'm already craving my next ride!
and i'm definitely, definitely more in love with bike riding than ever! :)
can't stop smiling.. :) :) :) :) :) :)

[jape]

i'm back!
just moved forward and learned to stop..

WB. That is all you need! The rest is just a function of time and distance. Now don't get too excited and jump on without leathers or kevlar and a helmet - make sure you gear up every time. One crash and slide on your face will take ALL the happiness out of it. You don't lose the pleasure, it is for a lifetime - you may get lazy at times or even forget because life is busy, but one day you see a bike and ... off you go. And it is something you can share but is also very individual and personal. Just .... free.

[Ekkicore]

haha i think i'm gonna practice on the scooter more, until i'm comfortable with gear-changing.. i was wondering though, is the seat height on the Qingqi taller than the Zhongshen? cuz i found the Zhongshen to be just right on normal roads, but on dirt if i've stopped over a pothole then i can barely push out of it cuz i'm on tiptoes..
i guess the moral of this story is to stay away from potholes!

[felix]

Yes potholes are best avoided, especially big ones at speed! I'm don't know the specific seat heights for those two bikes but they're probably pretty similar. All dirt bikes are tall as a result of having long suspension. Long suspension is good because you're less likely to get stuck in a pothole in the first place!

[jape]

There is some info here (in the thread linked below) that might help, ( ie look at motards ... lol) and I am sure somewhere here I read of someone found a shorter bike for his missus in the last few months ... hopefully someone else will remember the thread?

As you are small built, (lightweight too?) you can probably lower rear springs if you can find a good helpful mechanic who knows his stuff so the setup is balanced. Sounds like just a couple of centimetres will be enough so you have various options with tyres, rims, springs, shaving the seat down. It is more a case of getting a lot more practise in on different models and types before you choose I think, after a while one 'bike will feel more right as you go slow and maneuver, lighter in the hand, more balanced as you stand up on the pegs and slowly tweak the throttle over bumps then sit back and rev up round a curve - that is the one to go for.

I don't know where you are in China compared to our members but someone will be living near you and willing to meet up and assist in all this I am sure. Everyone has their own favourite but it is an individual thing, so get the time in on different bikes if you can.

The arm strain shouldn't be as bad as you are getting, you really need a knowledgeable mechanic to help with all this setting up of bike, bars, levers etc. and very soon the changing of gears will become automatic. A bike with gear indicator lights helps while you learn but in the end you hear/feel the revs more than anything else to decide when to change.

http://www.mychinamoto.com/forums/sh...or-a-short-guy

[MJH]

haha i think i'm gonna practice on the scooter more, until i'm comfortable with gear-changing.. i was wondering though, is the seat height on the Qingqi taller than the Zhongshen? cuz i found the Zhongshen to be just right on normal roads, but on dirt if i've stopped over a pothole then i can barely push out of it cuz i'm on tiptoes..
i guess the moral of this story is to stay away from potholes!

About an inch taller 31" for the Zongshen and 32" for the Qingqi if it has 17" street tires, the Qingqi bike with 21" and 18" wheels has a seat height of 35 inches.

[Ekkicore]

still trying to learn the difference between a motard and an enduro.. from what i can gather, enduros have bigger (especially in the front) knobbly tires whereas motards have street tires that are the same both front and back (17" was i think..)?

if this is the case, is it possible to put street tires on an enduro, would that make it lower and could you then call it a motard??

sorry for sounding like the n00b that i am.. :p

[jape]

Yeah, names can be a misleader. I wouldn't worry about the names, more the design and whether you can ride it easily and safely on the roads you will be on most of the time! That is what matters. And then you look at reviews and forums like this to get feedback on models and makes because they all vary and again, names can mislead - just because they call it off-road doesn't mean it will survive there!.

Most bikes you see on here are off-road designs designed to become street legal and ridable by softening slightly the difference between on-road and off road bikes.

Ie, The different frame design, low end power, different springs and centre of gravity, knobbly tyres and so on of the true off-road dirt bikes is softened a bit to make them easier on a long ride on ashphalt. They become road-trail or dual-purpose bikes in the manufacturer's naming styles.

Some just have lights and indicators bolted on, some are designed properly to perform as a good compromise between the two conditions. They can go on rough roads - where a road bike rider has problems because of low frame, soft springs, seating position, balance, smooth tyres etc. But that balance difference, ride position and the need for ground clearance on rough tracks, mud, streams etc. makes the dirt bike styles taller for the rider in many cases -once you get away from the smaller bikes. The wheel size obviously makes them taller and knobby tyres makes them taller again!

So some makers and designers tried to compromise a bit better than just bolting indicators and lights on a dirt bike. They softened the engine gearing to spread the power all over the usage, not just torque to get through ruts and mud and up steep wet hills, but smoother all through to cruising speed. They softened the springing a bit, put on smaller wheels and smoother tyre profiles! The softer end of these bikes is called motard, the harder end, road/trail.

Here is a good pic of the two together. Look at the wheels especially. http://www.kinlon.com.au/models.php

Basically the same bike. The road/trail has bolted on lights and indicator and thats about it, the motard has different wheels and tyres, more design for street credibility in the plastics and styling, even the engine colour! So there is no hard and fast rule, it goes across a range from road racers and cruisers to utility bikes to motards and road/trail and then pure off road.

You can change tyres and so on very successfully, especially in the way you are thinking, from knobblies to street and get a height difference - just be careful with wheel changes though as sometimes what is designed for one style is often best to keep, depends on the overall design and manufacturer. The first thing to think of is where and how are you riding. What degree of 'off road', and even if that off road is only now and again, when you do go off-road, do you need a proper off-road design because it is very rough and potholed?

In China most people seem to decide on a dual purpose. This is because of the road conditions. And then they change sprockets/springs/tyres/mufflers/seats to get better 'on road' usage!!!!!! A 'motard' style designed properly could suit you very well : lower, softer but still capable in most off road conditions. But if you want to ride to Tibet, the pure enduro is best.

Do some more reading and keep getting on and off as many different bikes as you can. A good experienced rider is more likely to succeed anywhere, in any conditions on a bike that suits them, than on a bike they don't fit!