Benelli BJ600GS - lessons learned

[SammyDV]

Exchange oil and filter after 300km.
Plenty of swarf at the magnetic screw.
swarf.jpg
Clean screw:
clean.jpg

[euphonius]

Dear SammyDV,

Well, that's one helluva first post!! We love useful, informative posts! Welcome to MCM.

Are you saying you bought a legally imported, Chinese-made BJ600GS in California? I'm sure I'm not the only one who will want to hear more about this.
--Price?
--Warranty terms?
--Service arrangements?
--Who's running the distribution network or is it on online vapor operation?
--Is the bike branded Benelli or Qianjiang or both?
--Where are you based and how were those first 300 clicks?
--Oh, is the odometer metered in KM or miles??

Would love to see pix of this bike in the wild in California (my home state).

Hope this is the start of a long thread and you'll regale us with more "lessons" and other feedback about the Qianjiang QJ600GS, er, Benelli BJ600GS.

cheers!

[SammyDV]

Are you saying you bought a legally imported, Chinese-made BJ600GS in California?

No, the bike is in China.

[euphonius]

OK, well I take it all back, or some of it. Still keen to see pix, and hear more about your experience. There is a lot of interest in this bike, and some skepticism.

Where in China is the bike, if I may ask? And how is it that you are in California if the bike is here?

cheers!

[998S]

Exchange oil and filter after 300km.
Plenty of swarf at the magnetic screw.

Nothing to worry about, that is part of the running in, they are mostly chips from the transmission gears.
Do an other change at 1500 km (and change the oil-filter), after that it should be much less.

[Zorge]

Exchange oil and filter after 300km.
Plenty of swarf at the magnetic screw.

Magnetic drain plug on my bike (which does not have proper replaceable oil filter, only centrifugal one) after second oil change at 1000 km.

And I'm not worried one bit about it.

After second and third oil change, it would be a reason for worrying, but now - no.

Chips_at_1000.JPG

[SammyDV]

Magnetic drain plug on my bike

Swarf from your bike is very similar to the BJ, but much less in quantity.
Most likely (and hopefully ) the swarf is from the gear box. Anyway, on most bikes, gear box and engine are lubricated from the same oil reservoir. Swarf from the gear box could reach the engine.
Besides, that high amount of swarf could indicate that the gear box is made in China, not in Italy.

[Zorge]

Don't worry - there oil filter your bike. Swarf will be kept away from oil passages and bearings.

[SammyDV]

Don't worry - there oil filter your bike. Swarf will be kept away from oil passages and bearings.

Yes, you are right. My concern is, however, more related to Quality in general.
That amount of swarf in the 80's would not be a big deal, but it is 2012 and cars (e.g. Porsche) have inspection intervals of 20Tkm...
I expected better from an Italian-made engine, but as questioned before, maybe the gear box is of Chinese production?

[euphonius]

Surely these engines and trannies are made in China, not Italy. Who developed this engine?

I think I just read yesterday in that long Russian review of the CFMoto 650NK that its engine was developed by AVL of Austria, the same outfit that developed the 600cc thumper in our Jialing JH600s. The Jialing thumper is certainly made in China, and AVL have a big design house in Shanghai. I'll bet that's where the CFMoto engine was developed, if the story is true, and surely the CFMoto twin is made in China.

As for Benelli/Qianjiang, with Qianjiang acquiring Benelli, presumably to obtain their technology and brand and market share, it would make little sense for the company to design and manufacture key components in Italy, especially if the bike is a new model. If it's a longstanding model, that's a different story. Anyone know with any assurance that this is NOT a Chinese-made engine and transmission?

Thanks!
Jeff