roadrunner intro

[Roadrunner]

Hey Maux, I just got my 200GY-7 the other week.



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Living in Chongqing, the guys at the shop just had one sent over from the factory so no assembly was necessary. They did give me a small pouch of basic tools but nothing comprehensive enough for self-assembly as far as I can tell. The price we settled on was RMB9500 (8000 for the bike and 1500 for the registration) after starting at 8800. They didn't have any luggage options available but they said I should go with soft luggage instead of the hard stuff with the stock racks the bike has. I'm thinking about getting some Wandefu cases though (like the ones China V sorted out for his Galaxy), just for the side racks.

I paid about RMB200 to get my New Zealand car and motorcycle license transferred to a Chinese license. My friend sent me through an English version of the Chinese road code. PM me if you'd like a copy.

The bike got a flat tyre within the first three hours of ownership, which wasn't a particularly good start, but after that was cleared up we got along quite well. This is my first dual sport and I find that it handles nicely. It's a little high though. If I was shorter (I'm 5'10"), I would have problems reaching the road safely with my feet. I think it's possible to adjust that though.

I've never owned a GPS before so I had to do loads of reading through MCM and this post from ADVrider.com about GPS units and I found that the safest cheap option is the Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx, but that's just based on my preferences and my lack of experience with gadgets. I've been riding with it a couple of times and found that I was riding in places that didn't have roads on the loaded China map that it came with. My unit also doesn't read Chinese characters (as the OS is only in English) so the place names aren't identifiable, but hopefully I can get around that problem by making routes through the map software given with the unit (MapSource). Issues aside, it is waterproof, looks rugged enough to withstand a couple of falls and looks like the right navigator to have on a trip to out-of-the-way places.

I've been told that camping is illegal in China and can bring more headaches than it's worth, and that I could use the money I would spend on camping equipment at truck stops and motels instead of carrying extra stuff around. Apparently accommodation can be found everywhere.

Let us know how you get on.

[euphonius]

Dear Roadrunner,

Thanks one impressive first post! I can tell you'll be a great asset in this forum as you learn more about your bike and start racking up the kilometers.

Considering that Chongqing is the beating heart of China's motorcycle industry I'm surprised we have so few members there, though I suppose there could be lots of lurkers. You've got some very good riding pretty much right under your nose, and in almost every direction. My very first kilometers were in Chongqing, but I had no idea where I was going or how to get there, so it wasn't much of a ride -- just enough to bang my Jialing JH600 around and run her in a bit. Would love to come out there again.

By the way, what brings you to CQ, what are you doing there and how long do you expect to stay?

Again, great first post and there will be many members keen to hear more about your adventures.

warmest Lunar New Year's cheers!

[jape]

In case you are wondering, I moved this so Roadrunner has his own thread.
Welcome mate, as Euphonius said a great intro, thanks!

[Roadrunner]

Thanks for the welcome guys. I’ve been one of those Chongqing lurkers for a while now and been meaning to do an introduction.

I’ve been riding for just over 18 months, on and off. The bike that got me started on my learners was a little Kawasaki KRZ150 in New Zealand. I knew I was going overseas before I bought it and I wanted to get some experience driving on two wheels before I left, just in case I had the opportunity to motorcycle around some of the countries I would be visiting.

I sold it and paid for a trip to Pakistan and India, where I worked for six weeks each on an exchange internship, which were basically volunteering assignments. I stayed in Karachi, a city of between 12 and 20 million (noone I talked to really knows) “working” for the World Wildlife Fund as marketing intern. Then we crossed the Wagah border into Indian Punjab to work in a small village teaching English for a social entrepreneurship program (http://www.educare.in/).

A friend lent me his Enfield 500cc Thunderbird to get from Delhi to Agra (to see the Taj Mahal), which was an intense introduction to Indian roads, especially when night fell. Not long after that I hired a 2006 350cc Enfield Bullet Electra (my friend bought a 1999 Enfield Bullet Standard) and we rode around as much of India as possible in two months. While the riding itself was amazing, there was always some niggling problem with the bikes, usually the clutch which we never managed to properly fix. We headed up through the foothills of the Himalaya in the north down through Delhi, Rajasthan and Mumbai to Goa, where we spent a week relaxing by the beach as the tourist season came to a close.

I had to put the bike on a train back to Punjab so that I could return it in time to fly to Chongqing and start my job here on the set date with Eastonk Consulting, which is a company that organizes educational exchanges to other countries for middle and high school Chinese students. I’m working in English language support for the next 18 months, which basically means that I help with their English most of the time. I also escort them on their exchanges every six months so I’m heading to California in the next couple of days which should be a welcome change from cold, cloudy Chongqing.

I’m planning a trip around China on my shiney new Shineray XY 200GY-7 for just over three months between company exchanges. I got my license about two months ago, and I’ve had the bike for two weeks now and I’ve been doing a little twisty-road practice in the hills around Chongqing. I also found a huge deserted construction site with mounds of packed dirt which was great fun until I had my first fall and had to roll it backwards downhill to start it up again. I’m no bike expert, but it looks like this bike could get me right the way around. If I let it.


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I’ll make a new thread with my trip preparations, bike stuff and the equipment I’ll be using when I get a bit more spare time.

Happy Chinese New Year!

[Maux]

What an awesome post and thanks for the info and links!

Sounds like you've already got a lot of experience in riding on the rougher stuff. I'm still not sure how I'm going to make it work out.

It's good to know about how high the bike is. I'm about 5'8" and I really like to be able to stand over a bike so I think I would like to get it lowered maybe 3". The options for bags is also a nice insight, I really haven't had a chance to look around much.

The situation you have at work seems really interesting too, maybe I could look into something like that after I wrap up my contract here in Taiyuan.