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  1. #1 Recommendations for a Dualsport bike 
    C-Moto Regular cryptographicide's Avatar
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    Hi Everyone, I've been lurking on MCM for about two years now. I moved to China about three months ago. (Yantai, Shandong) I'm in the process of getting my license and intend to be 100% legal. As far as experience goes, I've been riding for around 10 years, 1 of those years in Korea. According to some, this puts me within the minimum amount of required riding experience to handle Chinese driving. And God, is it scary. Anyway, Getting my license is taking some time and I don't have the money saved up yet. It should be here in the spring. But, I've been shopping around and am wondering what people think of some of my choices so far.

    What I am looking for:
    -a 250 CC dual purpose. 250 is important as I want to go into the Golden triangle and getting a 250+ bike into Laos gets tricky.
    -a wide backseat. My wife is going to be riding with me and she is far from an iron-ass. So the seat must be more than just a cloth wedge... you know what I'm sayin?
    -able to offroad and able to do long distances. I plan on doing both.
    -a large enough clearance between the front fender and the tire that mud doesn't get stuck in between.

    I realize that short fender clearances tend to mean wedge-pillion seats. Maybe there is such a thing as a compromise? Maybe TIC and I should pick one or the other.

    Beyond that, any general pointers regarding quality or things to avoid would be appreciated.

    I've found a few bikes that catch my eye.
    The Jialing 250GY looks good.
    Zongshens RX3 looks super cool, but perhaps a poor track record?
    I'm also a fan of shinerays options.

    Does anyone have any recommendations? And thoughts? Experiences?
    1995 Suzuki Intruder (2005-Present){Canada}
    2003 Daelim Daystar (2011-2012){S. Korea}
    2014 Jialing 200 GY5A (2015-Present) {China}
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  2. #2 Re: Recommendations for a Dualsport bike 
    Senior C-Moto Guru zhu's Avatar
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    Rx3 without a doubt
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  3. #3 Re: Recommendations for a Dualsport bike 
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    Quote Originally Posted by zhu View Post
    Rx3 without a doubt
    Might want to consider the qingqi 200 or 250. Also going under the name pioneer.
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  4. #4 Re: Recommendations for a Dualsport bike 
    Senior C-Moto Guru ZMC888's Avatar
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    I've never really heard it's harder to bring a 250cc plus bike into Laos, are you limiting yourself on heresay or reality? I think you should really think about a Jialing JH600 if your buget allows, seems like the right bike for all that touring.

    Some people have the warped view that big (bigger bike than they have) bike equals death, and do everything to possible to steer people onto some commuter single, but the reality is larger displacement bikes in the hands of a prudent rider can be safer as they can get you out of trouble especially with cargo and a passenger, and are just more fun when the road allows. Also renting in Thailand is so easy and cheap, worst case senario you can stil ride the golden triangle anyhow.

    Also don't limit yourself to a Chinabike just because they fit the 'dualsport' bill. The reality is a Jianshe Yamaha YBR250 kitted up with road/trail tires is a much more reliable and trustworthy 250cc companion than some cheapo Chinabike Honda copycat 'we couldn't be bothered to assemble it properly becuase we only care about money' machine. They just don't put enough effort into small domestic bikes, because the locals want cheapness not quality, and they deliver that in spades. For most Chinese guys a small motorcycle is just a stop-gap measure while they are saving up for mianbaoche.

    Honestly if you find China riding scary, that's good for mental health, but to be honest in terms of safety that's the wrong attiude, you should be highly defensive and hostile. When you find yourself making dozens of calcualtions a second ready to give idiots a tonge-lashing you're ready to ride on the Chinese street.
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  5. #5 Re: Recommendations for a Dualsport bike 
    Senior C-Moto Guru zhu's Avatar
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    Here is why the RX3 gets my vote.

    Not a copy of anything
    Four valve head
    Good power
    Injected
    Two year warranty
    Comfy
    Stylie
    Not too expensive
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  6. #6 Re: Recommendations for a Dualsport bike 
    Senior C-Moto Guru ZMC888's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by zhu View Post
    Not a copy of anything
    Clearly a design influenced from BMW GS models.
    2013659383195040.jpg
    and a reverse engineered Honda engine. So not really.

    Also it's Chinese. It might be not bad, but I'd still prefer to re-purpose a YBR250.
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  7. #7 Re: Recommendations for a Dualsport bike 
    Senior C-Moto Guru zhu's Avatar
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    All the bits of plasticie will break off eventually leaving a rough diamond I reckon. Its so long since I saw a bmw out on the road I have forgotten what they look like .

    not sure this engine is a copy , sohc 4 valve watercooled, copy of what ?
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  8. #8 Re: Recommendations for a Dualsport bike 
    Senior C-Moto Guru culcune's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by VroomVroom View Post
    Might want to consider the qingqi 200 or 250. Also going under the name pioneer.
    These bikes haven't been mentioned from you guys in China much. I do think they deserve a look.
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  9. #9 Re: Recommendations for a Dualsport bike 
    Senior C-Moto Guru ZMC888's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by culcune View Post
    These bikes haven't been mentioned from you guys in China much. I do think they deserve a look.
    This company are near me, in the next city. Maybe 10 or so years ago they got some new management and practically all worthwhile (to our mind) development was stopped and the company started to manufacture Peugeot Scooters and 125-150cc Suzuki badged scooters and singles. As far as I can tell their 250s were a half baked proposition until only a short time ago. Yes they are a good choice with the Suzuki licensed engines and match up pretty well in power to the YBR250 with actually dual sport models. They could have (and really should have) done all this ten years ago meaning that they are now heavily overlooked by the Chinese and expat community alike.
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  10. #10 Re: Recommendations for a Dualsport bike 
    Senior C-Moto Guru ZMC888's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by zhu View Post
    not sure this engine is a copy , sohc 4 valve watercooled, copy of what ?
    Honda NX 250 1989

    Displacement: 249.00 ccm (15.19 cubic inches)
    Engine type: Single cylinder, four-stroke
    Power: 26.00 HP (19.0 kW)) @ 8500 RPM
    Top speed: 128.0 km/h (79.5 mph)
    Compression: 11.0:1
    70.0 x 64.8 mm (2.8 x 2.6 inches)

    Fuel control: DOHC
    Cooling system: Liquid
    Gearbox: 6-speed
    Transmission type,
    final drive:
    Chain
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