Adventure Motorcycle Magazine Subscribe Now

Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12
Results 11 to 20 of 20
  1. #11 Re: Taiyuan rider, 200c Shineray questions 
    C-Moto Senior
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    Florida
    Posts
    111
    Slabo, thanks for your honest impressions on the Shinray, I always try and listen to people when they are honest, even if it's not what I would love to hear. I expect I would have some kind of issues with any bike, my R65 always had something or another that could use some fixing. I've never even sat on a chain driven bike, LOL.

    I'm pretty happy to see that your basically my height exactly and are OK with the bikes height, as this has been my biggest concern. As per the availability of after market or scratch parts I did not consider that it would be very hard, but come to think of it, I also haven't seen the first decent screwdriver since Ive been here.

    I'll try and also post some pics of the R65 also with this post.
    FirstR65.jpgSecondR65.jpgR65.jpgThirdR65.jpgFourthR65.jpg
    Reply With Quote  
     

  2. #12 Re: Taiyuan rider, 200c Shineray questions 
    Senior C-Moto Guru
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    was in China. will be back
    Posts
    654
    Nice bike!! I can see why you're attracted to the Shineray.
    With my height, the bike is just right. Another reason why I didn't go with the Qingqi then.
    I'm not saying it's a bad bike, but pay a bit more and you could get a Qingqi or a Galaxy and but you get a much better bike. I looked around, I couldn't find anything I like as much as the Shineray. No test ride, and I was relying on forums and anything I could find online to decide, so I went with the Shineray. 8800rmb and another 1200 for registration and insurance. But maybe I'm not doing a fair comparison. When I talk of the Galaxy or Qingqi, I'm talking about the 250cc bikes, and price is 14000 without registration. Now I remember why I got the Shineray, I couldn't afford anything else and thought all China bikes are equal!
    Today I fixed a small issue with the chain guide.

    We tested with GPS, now, with two up, getting a decent cruising speed of 75 Km/h with strong head-on winds. It's very windy in Kunming during the winter.

    If you're interested, I'd sell you mine. I'd let it go for 6000rmb. You will need new front brakes in 3000km, and new tires in 5000. Bike has 9500km on it so far. I change the oil regularly (every 1000 to 1500 km). Everything else is new. Parts for this bike are dirt cheap. Also, replaced the headlamp with a new one that doesn't leak. Replaced the seat with a harder red seat from Lifan. New chain and sprockets too. I put rubbers under the speedometer so it doesn't rattle itself to pieces. Also replaced the spark plug with an NGK one.
    If you want it, I could renew the insurance for a year, then you have a legal and insured bike for a year. Then I could start cursing another bike!
    Last edited by slabo; 02-13-2011 at 09:08 AM. Reason: fixed price
    Reply With Quote  
     

  3. #13 Re: Taiyuan rider, 200c Shineray questions 
    Senior C-Moto Guru euphonius's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    mostly Shanghai, sometimes northern California
    Posts
    3,222
    Dear Slabo,

    your bike sure sounded sweet when we met in kunming last month, and it looked great with the new seat. If you really are keen to get something else, surely you can find a buyer in Kunming if Maux doesn't bite.

    All I can say is, as you and Chen rode off into the (frigid) night, I saw a smile on both of your faces! You are a blessed man!

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

  4. #14 Re: Taiyuan rider, 200c Shineray questions 
    grumpy old sod jape's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    central victoria, australia
    Posts
    1,291
    Yeah, our Slabo has got the bug! He's looking for a new toy, I bet it is a cooool cruiser type next time?

    Seat height is more important than people realise, my Kinlon is a too high seat for most people but perfect for me at 6 foot plus, and especially as Chinese bikes are quite heavy you really need the two-foot-down ability. Makes such a difference in traffic going slow, at junctions and a lot in the bush where you have to stop and dab or kick or climb. Makes me a lot more confident.

    A true 75 kph with a headwind, 2 up is pretty good for these 200cc bikes. You've certainly improved it with the sprocket. I get about the same on the Kinlon 200cc.
    Kinlon R/T KBR JL200GY-2
    Reply With Quote  
     

  5. #15 Re: Taiyuan rider, 200c Shineray questions 
    Senior C-Moto Guru euphonius's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    mostly Shanghai, sometimes northern California
    Posts
    3,222
    Jape,

    Both of my dual sports are tall bikes -- the KLR650 even with 2" lowering links, and the stock JH600 -- and at 180cm but with a long torso and relatively short legs I can both feet on the ground, but only the balls of my feet, not my heels. Initially this made me uncomfortable, but I've gotten used to it.

    Almost.

    I had one doozy of a bike drop (somewhat akin to ChinaV's during that fateful puke-soaked day) when I was riding along a 20cm wide edge of a raised roadbed whose main roadway had been jackhammered into unrideable rubble. One of my boxes clipped a steel stake, and this pitched me to the right. There was nowhere to put my foot, as it was a steep embankment! As luck would have it, there was a tree there, and positioned just such that it caught my bike and allowed me to roll free, rather than getting sandwiched between tree and bike. The bike fell to lower than horizontal, so it was really really a bitch to lift it upright, which I managed with the help of two passersby.

    So now I'm usually more aware of just how much room there is for me to plant a foot on either side. I try to avoid such embankments, narrow bridges and the like!

    I can't see Slabo on a cruiser, to be honest. He's as safety conscious as I am (having witnessed my getoff in Kunming), and a cruiser would be a bad idea in a traffic choked city like Kunming, and would have little or no use in the wonderful mountainous terrain of Yunnan province. I'm guessing he'll step up to a better dual sport...

    A final word about kunming -- and apologies if I've already told this story. On the last day of my visit last month I and my two travel companions gave ourselves 2.5 hours to reach Kunming airport from the university district. We lost 20 minutes waiting for a taxi, then finally got a public bus that took us into downtown -- albeit through thick slow-and-go traffic. Once on the airport side of town, with 25 minutes to spare, we commandeered a "black car" -- an unlicensed cab -- and urged him to make haste to the airport. We made it maybe 300m in that vehicle, and started thinking about alternate means to get to Xishuangbanna, assuming we'd miss our flight. Then we saw them: Two "modi" on the side of the road. "Mo" is short for motorcycle (motoche), and "di" is short for taxi (dishi). We bailed out and used only a few seconds to negotiate our last-ditch ride to the airport: "50 RMB if on time, nothing if late." I, with suitcase, jumped on one, while my two mates hopped on the other. It was sheer bliss! We carved our way through traffic for the final maybe 4km to the airport, and covered the distance with about 3 minutes to spare. We got our flight.

    Next time I'll skip the bus and cab, and just go straight for the modi! Such is life in Kunming.

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

  6. #16 Re: Taiyuan rider, 200c Shineray questions 
    Senior C-Moto Guru
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    was in China. will be back
    Posts
    654
    Cruiser? No, difinately not a cruiser. And 'cool' is the last I would think about. Function over form for me.

    Also, I I have tendancies to get lost, and then I take the trails that seem to be pointing in the right direction. I've never used a map(can't find anything decent in pinyin and can't read hanzi yet), but getting lost in China is really fun. Surely, that puts me in places a cruiser can't manage. I always bitch about the bike but really it has never failed me, and i've been in some tight spots. I'll post my Kunming-Chengdu-Kunming ride report soemtime. I can't imagine making it on a cruiser. Once, after missing a turn, I ended up in some abandoned area, first time I've been somewhere in China with no people. There was a school, a police station, and some shops and small houses... but the whole village was abandoned. I had to cross streams.. all in the rain.. after 20 km, i gave up.. i turned back on the same trails. Going back, someone stopped and sprayed my wheels, like he was trying to disinfect them or something. I didn't see a sign and no one stopped me going in!!

    I want to ditch the Shineray because I'm spending alot of time on the road, and I'd like something smoother, more comfortable, and a bit more powerful. Maybe I'll convince Chen to go on longer trips then. I'd say a 250 is the sweet spot. Still light enough for me to toss around, and can cruise all day at 100km/h without sounding like an angry bear. I'm not sure I've seen a 250 that would fit me. I want something oil-cooled, DS tires, and prefer a big tank like the one on my bike. ChinaV's Qingqi seems too small for me, I'm not sure yet, also it comes with a motoard tires. Motorad tires are actually a better choice for me, given I commute daily on tarmac. But I have a recurring nightmare of being stuck somewhere in the mud and my wheels spinning in place.

    I haven't posted anything in the local kunming forum because I'm not sure when I can afford a replacement bike yet. I'll have to fork up an extra 8k for that. But if Maux takes the bike, it's a good excuse for me to get on my road bike and ride a bit. With the motorbike, i'm becoming very lazy.
    Reply With Quote  
     

  7. #17 Re: Taiyuan rider, 200c Shineray questions 
    C-Moto Guru
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Qingdao
    Posts
    282
    Hi slabo, I think I fully understand what you are looking for, my wife dont like the bike as well. I'm seriously looking into a sidecar for the "two up rides" to get that issue solved.
    From your requierements I immagine the Yamaha YBR-GY, but with the 250 engine - Yamaha is too stupid to put this bike on sale. That would be commfortable for two up, has the tires and upright seating position you need.

    I dont see any QingYi, Shineray,...that fullfills this, may the Galaxy SUV???

    Following questions come to my mind, Would it be possible to modify a normal YBR250 to a "GY" version? What would it cost? How much costs a used YBR 250?

    You are always welcome to try the punch of the X2 engine - I'm very happy with it for myself, but dont want to punish Yan with this. 2500km without issues - same as you only complaints because to western, but no reliability things, only nice to have, never let me down. Great bike for "one up"!
    Reply With Quote  
     

  8. #18 Re: Taiyuan rider, 200c Shineray questions 
    Senior C-Moto Guru
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    was in China. will be back
    Posts
    654
    The Qingqi QM250GY-B that ChinaV has is perfect if it could be setup for taller riders.
    scratch that, I just took a look at the Qingqi again, same narrow seat as the Galaxy! Maybe time to develop an iron butt?

    I have no idea how to go raising the Qingqi though. It's a comfortable tourer, and a capable off-roader if swap to DS wheels/tires.

    Thanks for the offer to try your X2, but I need to wait to grow another 10cm to be able handle it.
    Last edited by slabo; 02-14-2011 at 10:17 AM.
    Reply With Quote  
     

  9. #19 Re: Taiyuan rider, 200c Shineray questions 
    Senior C-Moto Guru
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    was in China. will be back
    Posts
    654


    What the equivelant of a Baja 250 in China? Ahh, I wish life were so simple here. A Baja 250, is that too much to ask for? A 10 year old bike!
    Reply With Quote  
     

  10. #20 Re: Taiyuan rider, 200c Shineray questions 
    C-Moto Senior
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    Florida
    Posts
    111
    Slabo, thank you, I do love that old bike of mine, it means much more to me than the sum of its parts for sure.

    Hymmm, it sounds interesting if you still want to sell it. However I don't think I'll be getting the bike for a while yet. I want to wait and buy it a few weeks before my trip would start. I have to admit that there is a lot of appeal in getting a bike that has already had most of it's kinks and oddities sorted out. Would the price be before or after shipping? I don't even know where I could have a motorcycle delivered, I guess the train station?

    Also, I've been talking to people at work and other folks and they say that here in motorcycle hostile Taiyuan they don't even issue a motorcycle license and that I should just go "freeballing" without a license. Of course I would rather have the license for obvious reasons and I would think it would be possible to get someone to do it for me in a nearby town, seems plausible enough. I've told them that I'm not interested in driving IN Taiyuan but around in the country side where motorcycles are permitted, and they seem to think it won't make a difference.

    If you have any pictures of the bike I would defiantly like to see it, sounds like a nice bike.

    At any rate, even if I don't buy it, thanks for the offer.
    Last edited by Maux; 02-15-2011 at 02:11 PM. Reason: more pesky questions
    Reply With Quote  
     

Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12

Similar Threads

  1. Chinese Easy Rider
    By Pfaelzer in forum Off Topic Discussions
    Replies: 12
    Last Post: 06-23-2010, 03:42 AM
  2. New Adventure Rider Magazine
    By DanKearney in forum Dirt n' Dual-Sport
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 02-04-2010, 12:30 AM
  3. Returning Beijing Rider
    By dreison in forum Welcome to MCM!
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 10-09-2009, 03:23 PM
  4. Hi, new rider needs help with Loncin!
    By pedro in forum Welcome to MCM!
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 07-22-2009, 02:53 PM
  5. GS Rider Looking to Cross China...
    By turbocharger in forum Welcome to MCM!
    Replies: 16
    Last Post: 01-15-2009, 03:39 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
  •