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  1. #1 Honda CBF190R - Brought it home! (PIC HEAVY) 
    C-Moto Senior galenernest's Avatar
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    Hi everyone,

    I want to share some pictures of my new motorcycle. I've only put about 60km on it, and haven't really gotten a chance to take it into the mountains where it belongs, but my first impressions are very good! It feels very light, and has adequate power (still in the gentle break-in period so I'm not running it much past 6000RPM right now). A few odd little issues (this is China): No kickstand kill switch! I took it to the shop today and asked them why it doesn't have a kickstand kill switch. I thought maybe someone had forgotten to hook it up while it was being assembled. Well, they told me that this model doesn't have one. I find this so hard to believe, anyway I asked if they could add one, and the shop manager said he would look into it and call me. I might end up adding one myself and just use the engine stop circuit and tie it in with the kickstand. The other little thing that I suppose could happen to anyone is that after about 20km of riding, I just felt that it lacked power. I took the seat off and discovered that the very careful gentlemen that unpacked my bike had stuffed the toolkit and owner's book directly onto the airbox intake. Well, suffice it to say that after removing the blockage, the bike ran 100% better.

    Now I am shopping for better tires because I want to toss the stock nonsense as soon as possible. It seems that the Pirelli Sport Demons are available on taobao for around 1300rmb a set. I ran those tires back in the states on a small displacement bike and I was very happy with them. I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with the sport Demons (or other name brand tires) sold on taobao. Are they real, or fake?

    Anyway, on to some pictures I took yesterday:















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  2. #2 Re: Honda CBF190R - Brought it home! (PIC HEAVY) 
    C-Moto Guru TexasAggie's Avatar
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    Be careful about what you wish for, you might get it. One of the first things to strand me on my China bike was the kick stand safety switch. I ended up wiring around it out in the middle of nowhere in countryside 4 years ago. I did redo the jump but I am more confident without the switch. I rode bikes for 10 years before they even started adding these. Anyway, your call but be aware that these are known to be weak links in many makes of motorcycles, including those made outside of China. The location means they are exposed to the worst environment of crap being thrown up into them of submerged in low "fluid" crossings....

    Looks like a fun little bike. Enjoy!
    DT
    Keeping the rubber side down.....most of the time.
    Nanjing wheels:BMW F800GS / Texas wheels:BMW R1200GSA & 70' Bultaco El Bandido
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  3. #3 Re: Honda CBF190R - Brought it home! (PIC HEAVY) 
    Senior C-Moto Guru Zorge's Avatar
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    Cute bike!

    And nice tuning.

    On my bike, I would prefer better spring on a kickstand over kill switch (although I have one), but those are everyone's personal preferences.

    About tires: is one on the front fitted properly? Look at the thread pattern...
    Ask me nothing - I DO NOT speak english. Really...
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  4. #4 Re: Honda CBF190R - Brought it home! (PIC HEAVY) 
    C-Moto Senior galenernest's Avatar
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    Thanks for the insight on the kickstand switch, guys. I realize that it's one more point of failure. The reason I want one is that I have a terrible habit of forgetting to put the kickstand up before blast-off... it's nearly caused me to wreck before, haha!

    I'll check the front tire, too, and yes it looks like it's mounted backwards. I'll double check the arrows the next time I'm downstairs. Nice eye for detail!
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  5. #5 Re: Honda CBF190R - Brought it home! (PIC HEAVY) 
    Senior C-Moto Guru Zorge's Avatar
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    Lowered kickstand is not a thing to be laugh about, especially when this damn thing (almost) throw you off the bike.



    P.S. - I just realized, it's "Bird's nest" stadium in background.
    Ask me nothing - I DO NOT speak english. Really...
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  6. #6 Re: Honda CBF190R - Brought it home! (PIC HEAVY) 
    Senior C-Moto Guru ZMC888's Avatar
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    Congrats on the new ride! Great color choice.

    I had a Sundiro Honda CBF150, and it was uber reliable, only popped a fork seal in over 35,000 kilometers, IMHO it's a bit better made than the Jianshe Yamaha YBRs.

    I would seriously council against adding a kick-stand kill switch, as any Chinese mechanic will bodge your wiring. It's a fight to get them to use a soldering iron, let alone putting in another fuse and circuit and covering it with heat wrap (that I've never seen in China). The Honda kick stands are designed to pop back up if they are left down and drag on the ground, it never caused an issue for me and the CBF150 never had one either. If you can do the electrics properly yourself, then it would be a good idea. If it's a bodge then first sign of rain and you'll turn you super reliable Honda into a Chinabike.

    What brand are the tires? Duro, Kenda or CST? Sometimes they aren't too bad for commuting or in the dry and you might be financially better off fitting Pirellis in the spring. As far as I am aware the Pirellis are real. Some of the Pirelli and Metzler product lines are made in China. The Angel ST's are for example, although you might be better off buying them on T-Mall or trying to get them through a specialist mechanic than on taobao.
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  7. #7 Re: Honda CBF190R - Brought it home! (PIC HEAVY) 
    C-Moto Not-so-Noob thedoc62's Avatar
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    nice bike, looks a lot like KTM 390 Duke and Benelli BN 302 and has also something of Kawa models
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  8. #8 Re: Honda CBF190R - Brought it home! (PIC HEAVY) 
    C-Moto Senior galenernest's Avatar
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    Well, lots of advice against putting in a kickstand switch.... really making me reconsider that one, now. I'll ride it around for a while and let time make its judgement, then. Maybe after leaving the kickstand down once or twice by accident I'll have a different opinion.

    The stock tires are CSTs, and I am thinking I'll wait until I've done a thousand or so km before swapping them for a name brand. New bikes in the States almost always came with shit stock tires, even if they were name brand, it was well documented that the manufacturers used special, low quality OEM model tires for new bikes. So I'm always a bit wary of whatever they're putting on new motorcycles these days...

    Thanks for the feedback. When I get more seat time in I'll have more to say about the bike itself! :)
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  9. #9 Re: Honda CBF190R - Brought it home! (PIC HEAVY) 
    Senior C-Moto Guru ZMC888's Avatar
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    CST's usually aren't terrible. Cheng Shin Tire are a massive Taiwanese company and under their umbrella they have Maxxis, so they have the means to make a decent tire. It's that they covet their 'premium' Maxxis brand and won't have them made in China so they aren't cost effective for an OEM tire.

    Most likely the CSTs are just a tad hard to please the Chinese commuters so they won't really perform in the wet and cold, but are likely streets ahead of any Chinese tire, and better than Duro and Kenda, which are also Taiwanese made in China tires.

    I'd order the Pirellis now, and switch them out after the bike's run in or wait until the spring.
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  10. #10 Re: Honda CBF190R - Brought it home! (PIC HEAVY) 
    C-Moto Not-so-Noob
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    sweet bike Galen!

    ..hey, not sure if you care. But, your photobucket account doesnt seem to be password protected, so people can browse all your photos. just an fyi.
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