Recommendations for a Dualsport bike

[zhu]

So according to you a Chinabike Zongshen has well damped shocks, but a Yamaha YBR250 has badly damped shocks? Hmm, I disagree, I suspect that the difference is just suspension travel. YBR250 is about 120mm travel and the Zongshen, not sure maybe 150-180 range. That suspension travel makes a more comfortable ride and faster ride over rough ground, I just can't buy that it has much to do with the situation. That is really all down to rider skill and tire choice.

If the bike is still going up and down on the shock for 3 or 4 cycles after the bump. Yes I would say it has a dampening problem. Uncontrolled travel is useless no matter how much you have .

The Ybr is built to be comfy around town and it is. But it is softly sprung and under dampened on both ends and having ridden mine for 4000km (before it got nicked) that is simply my opinion.

I have also ridden the Rx3 and it feels taught and under control. I know which one I would prefer to ride down a typical Chinese country road. Also simply my opinion.

As for getting a lemon , well it has a two year 20k warranty...

[prince666]

Hi all
As the Doc said this is now the 2nd time this year I have traveled from China to Thailand throu Laos and I can confirm first hand that all bikes 150cc - 1500cc can enter laos - very easy it's takes about 15 mins to do all the paperwork.

This trip from Hainan I entered the mainland and jumped on the express way to save time and I got to the Chinese/laos border at Bolten within 2 nights/3 days some 2600 km. Yes that's over 800 km a day on a YBR 125cc (modified) to 150cc

I've modified the rear shocks with some very good imported gas shocks that have longer travel which work well in the off
road sections you have to travel on sometimes in China. As for the trip I must say Yunnan is just one fantastic province to ride in and must be a must if you can so take note
Doc lol .
We'll need to keep this short as I need to sort out the ride plan to the golden triangle tomorrow, but then again I do have 4 months in Thailand - should be ok for time ;)

I have booked my place for the Motorcycle Burma trip which I have posted about on MCM.

Will post an update on MCM on how its turns out .

[ZMC888]

If the bike is still going up and down on the shock for 3 or 4 cycles after the bump. Yes I would say it has a dampening problem. Uncontrolled travel is useless no matter how much you have .

The Ybr is built to be comfy around town and it is. But it is softly sprung and under dampened on both ends and having ridden mine for 4000km (before it got nicked) that is simply my opinion.

I have also ridden the Rx3 and it feels taught and under control. I know which one I would prefer to ride down a typical Chinese country road. Also simply my opinion.

As for getting a lemon , well it has a two year 20k warranty...

There is obviously a heck of a lot more to a bike than its suspension, yes I have ridden a YBR250 and I agree that the suspension ain't that great, but really Zongshen is good? I highly doubt. Also for a few hundred yuan you can probably get some new Taiw*nese nicely damped rear shocks on the thing. The Yamaha is simply put a much better machine than the RX in nearly every way, why chuck that all away just for some extra suspension travel and possibly better damping? Also on a properly paved road it's better to have less suspension travel as the bike can tie itself in knots much easier with more travel.

Don't put too much faith in a 20,000 2 year warranty, they have to do that so be competitive. In reality most dealerships will probably take weeks or months to get new parts, as its a great way to drag out the warranty by having your bike sitting on their shop floor. You see this in other similar industries. Often times the boss will be 'away'. You may get your bike fixed for free when it goes wrong but life is short and do you want to be waiting for parts in the summer when you could be riding? Many Chinese dealership owners are 'certain' that the warranty is only related to engines and engine type parts as well.

I've seen three of these bikes in the wild and two, yes two different ones were dressed up as fakie BMW GSs. Bike is popular because the riders will possibly gain face from the uneducated onlooker thinks the bikes a baoma. Lame, enough reason not to want.

[prince666]

The YBR would and should be considered based on its reliability..l just wish they would make a proper adv bike out of it at the factory! My guess it would absolutely take over the Chinese market!

If the YBR GK was a 250cc then it would be sport on the 125cc it's just to low on power and not FI
all the rest is ok but need better shocks on the back with the tank range of over 500 km is a big help
please Yamaha put a 250cc in the GK

[cryptographicide]

What's your budget?

My budget is flexible. It is mostly dependant on when I want to buy the bike. I'm able to save about 8000yuan a month. Currently, I can put together 20000yuan. There are some larger expenses coming up soon. (The wife and I are travelling to t!bet for Losar.) Come spring time, I should be able to pull together the 35k for a JH 600. But I'm not sure if it's the bike I want. The X5 looks good, the RX3 is smaller but also looks good. I found an ultimate version with bigger aluminium panniers. And I am still really enjoying how the Jialing 250GY looks. I'm looking at all these bikes on www.newmotor.com.cn What a great website. Thank you MJH.

As far as the much trumpeted YBR 250. I can't find it. I'd be interested in it, but I have no idea where to find one.
I think this is what your are referring to, however, I thought that the YBR was a dual purpose.
2013080215155921513.jpg

I'm also worried that no Chinese bikes have any resale value. So lets say I buy an X5, it runs perfect without problems. (By the grace of Mao) Then 5 years from now, I we start getting sick of Chinalogic and need to return to Canada for our sanity. What can I get for this bike? Would it be better to buy it cheap and burn it down to cinders as is the Chinese way, or would it be better to buy expensive and get some resale out of it. I can totally justify the expensive bike if in 5 years it has only depreciated by the total value of the cheap bike. But if I'm only going to get 5000 kuai for my X5 after 5 years, is it going to be worth it?

[ZMC888]

My budget is flexible. It is mostly dependant on when I want to buy the bike. I'm able to save about 8000yuan a month. Currently, I can put together 20000yuan. There are some larger expenses coming up soon. (The wife and I are travelling to t!bet for Losar.) Come spring time, I should be able to pull together the 35k for a JH 600. But I'm not sure if it's the bike I want. The X5 looks good, the RX3 is smaller but also looks good. I found an ultimate version with bigger aluminium panniers. And I am still really enjoying how the Jialing 250GY looks. I'm looking at all these bikes on www.newmotor.com.cn What a great website. Thank you MJH.

As far as the much trumpeted YBR 250. I can't find it. I'd be interested in it, but I have no idea where to find one.
I think this is what your are referring to, however, I thought that the YBR was a dual purpose.
2013080215155921513.jpg

I'm also worried that no Chinese bikes have any resale value. So lets say I buy an X5, it runs perfect without problems. (By the grace of Mao) Then 5 years from now, I we start getting sick of Chinalogic and need to return to Canada for our sanity. What can I get for this bike? Would it be better to buy it cheap and burn it down to cinders as is the Chinese way, or would it be better to buy expensive and get some resale out of it. I can totally justify the expensive bike if in 5 years it has only depreciated by the total value of the cheap bike. But if I'm only going to get 5000 kuai for my X5 after 5 years, is it going to be worth it?

The YBR250 is a street bike. However with a few tweaks it could handle most conditions thrown at it.

However forget all these 250s. Prince has confirmed bigger bikes can get into Laos. With a passenger plus luggage I'd seriously suggest looking at another bike with a bigger engine. If money allows I'd buy a Thai import Honda CB500 or a KTM Duke 390 and re-purpose it with road/trail tires and box luggage, both bikes about 50,000 RMB I believe. With a better bike you'd have a really good chance of selling the thing in Thailand for a decent price or anywhere else and re-registering it.

I doubt you'd need to worry much about the resale of a Zongshen after 5 years, you'd be lucky to have much of a bike left to sell. You'll get more money for a better respected brand, because it will simply survive better and have more desirability in the used market. The longer time you are going to keep a Chinabike the less sense it makes.

[prince666]

The Honda CB500X would be a great bike for China and should be available in China next year with a bit of luck. I think the price will be around 70K rmb but Doc will know the price and might chip in with the correct price. OP are you thinking of riding from Shandong to Thailand?

The reason I ask is, if you are 2 up with all your gear then I think ZMC888 has a very good point - with a 250cc you could find it hard work so a larger cc would be better suited, also if you decide to jump on the Expressway then the larger cc bike will come into its own. I used the Expressway on this trip covering about 1200 km on Expressways and found it hard work with the YBR125 (150cc) sitting at 100 km at 8500 rpm (red line is 10K) and if I'd had a larger cc bike that would make it easier to ride 120km/h then I would of saved more time and a sore bum lol.

The other point that has been made is you could consider a rental bike in Thailand, instead of buying and riding one from China. The rental rates in Northern Thailand for a Honda CB500X is about 1200 b a day that's about 240 rmb a day but this amount can decrease in a longer term hire, say 2 week hire then the rental price should come down to about 150-180 rmb including side panniers, top box and a good crash helmet. One needs to factor in the additional expanse of flight tickets though, flying in and renting, means one also won't have the experience of riding through China which IMO is a must.

OP I hope to do the same trip again but I will likely start from Shandong province to Thailand - OP PM me if you might be interested in joining up for the ride next year.