JH600 Impression (2)

[Chinggis101]

Part 1

It's 34 Degrees Celsius outside, everything is hot, and I've just returned from my long awaited test ride on a red JH600. It was the European version, so a bit higher than the Asian version.

Let me start by saying I haven't ridden a bike this size for some years, although I have done some dirt road riding on a Yamaha 200 on a sugar cane farm over the last few summers. So I'm not making comparisons with any similar sized Japanese bikes or a BM.

My first first view of the bike was "Wow, this bike looks awesome". It looks far, far better in real life than in photos. A family from school were standing near the bike and they were all very impressed, their teenage son was drooling. There isn't a bike in China to match this one on looks.

I did some short rides around the school entrance and grounds, and it purred as we idled along. Went down a short steep hill, and it felt good coming back up. The road in front of the school is a long sweeping uphill, great for opening the throttle to see what's underneath. I went up and down a couple of times, then loaded the bigger of the two Jialing guys on the back and did a repeat up and down the hill a couple of times, I also took it onto a dirt track, onto some gravel and some soft/loose sand, builders rubble etc.

So how did it feel and behave?

The GOOD stuff:

To start with, it doesn't seem short on horses. In fact I was pleasantly surprised at how it handled the hill, two up. One of the stats mentioned the bike's power, quoted at 30kw (at 6500rpm). This had me a bit concerned about whether it would feel sluggish. I took it to about 5500/6000 revs, in 3rd (I think), with a biggish passenger, and I felt the bike wasn't really working very hard. At about 80kph I tapped off because we were near the top of the hill, and my eyes were watering. There was ample power for me.

I've already mentioned the looks. I think it looks awesome. With that big red tank it looks like it means business, although in a refined kind of way.

The ride was a mix of things. Overall it was a good ride and which I really enjoyed. If it wasn't for some of the hassles that I'll outline below, I'd buy it today.

The Rest:

Well, did I mention it was hot? In Robin Williams' words in Good Morning Vietnam - it was "HOT, DAMN HOT" - and not just the weather. The exhaust was also really hot, and so if we weren't moving it made my right leg feel kind of cosy. Although I don't remember my riding days in the dark ages that well I don't seem to remember the exhaust on any of my bikes making that kind of impression on me.

I think the problem of the heat from the exhaust was compounded for me because, although I'm nearly 6 foot, I found the European version too high for me. I have short legs and as you will see in the pics, I was really stretching to reach the ground. I want to sit on an Asian version, and I think if I'm closer to the ground I won't have to push/stretch down as much and so my right leg mightn't be as close to the side as it was today.

I also don't think the heat will be as much of an issue when the weather cools down or when it rains. But today, it did trouble me.

Here ends part 1. I'll do part 2 later this evening. Pics will follow, I need to get my thoughts down first.