Shineray X2X review, Guandong

**Zorge** · 03-23-2015, 01:42 PM

Yamaha plus Lifan equal bad mojo... Kinda...

**Slenderman** · 03-25-2015, 05:31 AM

As for the breaking spokes:
Never had problems on the front on my X2,
but on the back they broke like being of paper. (guess it's from the weight of luggage on the back)
they always broke at the threats inside the nipples. after breaking and exchanging maybe 20 or 30 of them on various trips on the side of the road, the whole rim was bent.

so I swapped the whole rear wheel for an X5 one. the spokes are same diameter, but not tapered. The rim is about 2 cm wider and has a stronger profile, because of "edged steps" instead of smooth curvy hump (if you know what I mean). The hubs are exactly the same, so it fits without any issues.

On the big trip last year I brought a whole bundle of spare spokes, but didn't break even a single one. And that was more than 20.000 km in 4 months from Shanghai to Europe!

if you want to see what I changed on the bike see the list here:
http://monkeykings.jimdo.com/bikes/chris-bike/

**modron** · 03-25-2015, 09:31 AM

It seems like good and simple solve.
How was the engine on that trip? Any drama?
Ive heard that the x2 engine is much more reliable than the x5, I even recall reading on some honest forum that shineray would prolly sell more x5 s if it had x2 engine on it. I saw your blog and it's excellent, some mechanical info/comaprison between the two would be great. Or maybe I missed it?

**ShuBen** · 03-25-2015, 09:51 AM

Thanks for the valuable feedback on the spoke issue.
I learned from a German spoke manufacturer the cheap spokes have the thread end cutted while good spokes have rolled thread.
Rolled thread has the advantage that it has nearly no notches where the crack could start.
Second influence is of course the spoke material. But as we learned: what costs nothing is nothing! So i had to figure out that a really good spoke cost about 12 RMB/piece (ca. 1.80 Euro)

On my X5 I had a big issue with rear spokes too but they cracked off at the lentil shaped head inside the hub.

Has anyone seen a CNC hub for the X2 / X5?
In that case I would invest in it incl. good spokes and eliminate that problem sustainable.

**NZBrakelathes** · 03-25-2015, 09:54 AM

Taobao I've seen CNC hubs before - don't know if it matches your bike or if you need to make a new wheel and sprocket etc etc

**milton** · 03-25-2015, 09:55 AM

Originally Posted by Slenderman

...
On the big trip last year I brought a whole bundle of spare spokes, but didn't break even a single one. And that was more than 20.000 km in 4 months from Shanghai to Europe!

if you want to see what I changed on the bike see the list here:
http://monkeykings.jimdo.com/bikes/chris-bike/

Wow, what a trip. I wish you guys could have furnished more content. I take it more is coming?? This "silk road" tour is something I've been dreaming about but not able to get it organized.

Good to hear that there is an inexpensive solution to the X2 spoke problem. I went the expensive route, which has held up well luckily.

That Safari gas tank must cost a bundle.

**prince666** · 03-25-2015, 10:05 AM

. They claim that the top speed of the new one is 161km/h.....while the old ones claimed top speed is 100km/h

I Would imagine this is a typo error and I can't see a 18kw hitting 160kmh !!! Like most Chinese manufactures numbers are pulled out of the air !!!!! or should I have said ass

**ShuBen** · 03-25-2015, 10:43 AM

@Milton: with expensive route you mean high quality spokes?

**milton** · 03-25-2015, 11:00 AM

Originally Posted by ShuBen

@Milton: with expensive route you mean high quality spokes?

By expensive route I meant I had Comstar custom-make a rim for my X2 (the rear). The replacement spokes are the standard ones for 亚翔 LD450， which are thicker and hence probably stronger. I haven't had any problems since the upgrade. The front wheel has been ok.

You can see how 亚翔 LD450 looks like by getting on Taobao.

Comstar is a supplier of motorcycle wheels located in Shanghai suburb. My Jialing 600 has stock Comstar wheels, which have been trouble free after 46K.

**Slenderman** · 03-28-2015, 06:41 AM

Originally Posted by modron

It seems like good and simple solve.
How was the engine on that trip? Any drama?
Ive heard that the x2 engine is much more reliable than the x5, I even recall reading on some honest forum that shineray would prolly sell more x5 s if it had x2 engine on it. I saw your blog and it's excellent, some mechanical info/comaprison between the two would be great. Or maybe I missed it?

Drama?.. Yes! In uzbekistan my piston melted after a very skechty fillup at a lonely gas station in the middle of nowhere. Sold as 80 octane, but I doubt that it was. (we had to fill 80 octane a couple of times before and it was fine) The x5 probably could stomach the same crappy fuel because it has less compression.
Otherwise both engines were fine all the way! We rode them quite hard, but checked especially the oil almost every day.

My opinion, I'd rather have an x2 with an x5 engine in it. (before the trip I even thought of buying an x5 engine from taobao and put it in my bike, but try to explain that to any authority!)

Originally Posted by milton

Wow, what a trip. I wish you guys could have furnished more content. I take it more is coming?? This "silk road" tour is something I've been dreaming about but not able to get it organized.

Good to hear that there is an inexpensive solution to the X2 spoke problem. I went the expensive route, which has held up well luckily.

That Safari gas tank must cost a bundle.

if you want to know anything more specific about our trip, just ask me. We probably won't put anything new on our blog since we're both busy with getting our careers back on track and also trying to register our bikes in EU.

The safari tank was the most expensive mod on the bike. But totally worth it! I ordered two of them from Australia without knowing for sure if I could make it fit. Luckily it worked easier than expected. If anybody is interested, I think Winston still has the second tank, new and unused (and no bike to put it on).