What’s better for me than YBR250/YS250?

[Mot]

lol, Asymptomatic. We're thinking along the same lines. I just took longer to format my post.

For me it comes down to what our learned members say about legality and ground clearance.

The Honda has the least ground clearance at 150mm. Is is sufficient? The Kawasaki is tied for best in class at 180mm

The Honda does have the wider pillion thicker pillion cushion of the two, but the Suzuki is more generous and the Yamaha is a boat comparatively.

What says the rest of you?

[Asymptomatic]

Yes! I wonder if we will end up with the same bike.

I will know for sure about getting a legal Cb300f tomorrow.

Meanwhile, the Yamaha is just to heavy. I want something very maneuverable.

The Suzuki is 50 pounds heavier then the Honda with significantly less power. It also has no ABS which for me is sad. Did I mention ugly?

So, if I can't get the Honda then I'm getting the z250sl. The Honda is only 25 pounds heavier but has the power to make up for it and then some. Not to mention is way more comfy for a passenger. I think I would be happy with both!

Of course I'm still waiting to hear what others say about ground Clearance.

[prince666]

"You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink"

I am sure that when you end up with a pure road bike if you stick to your main roads with no road works in hand you will be fine but if you wish to travel far afield in China so to speak then your road bike with the standard tyres and limited ground Clearance. you could have issues.
Nuff Said.

I also had a concussion and a huge lump on my head because I did not have my helmet on.

Hope your choice about bikes is better than your judgement with appropriate safety riding gear ?

[Asymptomatic]

"You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink"

I am sure that when you end up with a pure road bike if you stick to your main roads with no road works in hand you will be fine but if you wish to travel far afield in China so to speak then your road bike with the standard tyres and limited ground Clearance. you could have issues.
Nuff Said.



Hope your choice about bikes is better than your judgement with appropriate safety riding gear ?

So your saying you've never once rode your bike without a helmet? I don't care what anyone says, a jaunt down the street once in a while with out gear feels amazing and refreshing.

Do you always have something worthless to say in every single thread you comment on? I should not waste my time. Based on most the threads I have read that you left a comment on you are a troll.

[prince666]

I definitely want to ride down through Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, etc. (hopefully with some of you hooligans) I’d also like to tour two-up in the mountains out west Yunnan, Sichuan, Xinjiang, maybe a trek to Everest base camp.

Great to hear to wish to ride down to Thailand so if I may I like to post some pictures of the worst bits of roads I have encounter in just China on the way down to Thailand and Laos and Vietnam can be a lot worst? so if you wish to travel then try and pick a bike which has the capabilities to handle the bad stuff with some easy then with the good stuff the bike will be a walk in the park.

By the way you will find it very hard to try to get to Everest Base camp on a standard road bike not impossible but very hard Buck & Amy did it on a CFMoto TR you can read about the ride here.... http://www.thegreatrideofchina.com

hainan&thailand& china 2014 2015 019.jpg


hainan&thailand& china 2014 2015 084.jpg


hainan&thailand& china 2014 2015 096.jpg


hainan&thailand& china 2014 2015 099.jpg


hainan&thailand& china 2014 2015 102.jpg

[prince666]

Do you always have something worthless to say in every single thread you comment on? I should not waste my time. Based on most the threads I have read that you left a comment on you are a troll.

With over 1000 post and ALL off them are trolling and NO never ride with out a helmet?
Best to keep on topic which i am trying to do?

[prince666]

Days 63-64: The Road To (And From) Everest
Posted by: Buck in Tibet, Trip Diary September 22, 2013 4 Comments
September 19th-20th; 13,550km-13,816km; Old Tigri to Everest Base Camp to Lazi
We were a bit lax with our preparation to get on the road today because we knew we only had 70-80km of driving to do. It was going to be all dirt and gravel road (or “bumpy road” as our guide likes to call it), but if it was anything like the 70km we did yesterday, everything should be ok even if we were a bit slower.


Rock Fields and Sand Pits

IMG_1823-300x224.jpg


The dirt roads of today made yesterday seem like pure asphalt. The biggest problem was that for the first half we were dealing with either sand (which our road tires can’t grip onto) or long expanses of rock fields which were extremely treacherous going over on two wheels. For some parts there didn’t even seem to be an actual road but rather just different tracks through the rock fields and sand worn down by four wheelers finding their way towards a common goal. The second half of the day got marginally better as we were on what seemed to at least be an officially marked road but we still had giant rocks, deep potholes, and overly aggressive drivers to contend with.
In the end it took around 7 hours before we finally arrived at the “tent city” where we would spend the night 4km from Everest base camp. The camp was an assortment of makeshift guesthouses made out of tents arranged around what was essentially a parking lot for all of the visitors and there were a lot of them. Some foreigners there and a lot of Chinese who were on holiday for the national mid-Autumn Festival break. The tent we stayed in was packed. The main area already had a group of 8 Hong Kong tourists so we got a spot in the back where the cooking and staff sleeping areas were.

[ZMC888]

As far as I'm aware all four bikes listed are legal on Chinese roads. I'd go with the Honda CBF300 or save some money and go Z250, both will last well and serve you well. However they are a bit low-slung on about the third of Chinese roads that are constantly under repair all summer. If you were going a long way I'd mod them to be road trail suitable, possibly with minimum a road trail front tire. Or even front and rear road trail tires, sump guard, racks and hand guards. I' m lazy so I'd just switch the tires to imported road trail tires and throw some soft panniers over. Of course we'd all like a made in China Japanese branded road/trail 250-400cc bike, but that part of the market seems to have been left to the Chinese manufacturers.

ps Prince does have some very useful insights, but he can be opinionated and argumentative sometimes, make friends, you'll learn something.

[Asymptomatic]

This is MOT's thread. I'm not sure what his plans are but if I leave the city it will be to Dalian or another city nearby. A few days ride at most away. It should be about 98% paved. The majority of my riding will be commuting 15km into town and back home in the city.

If you saw me mention traveling in the thread somewhere, that will be on a rented Chinese dual sport. I don't plan to take that trip with the bike I buy.

Meanwhile, the Honda dealer told me the Cb300f is illegal here as well. That being said, Z250sl it is.

The lady on taobao did try hard to convince me to buy the CRF250L. She said she could have a Chinese bike that looks exactly like it plated and registered and give me matching plates and book. Just interesting what they do here openly on the Internet.

I do plan to buy some broken Chinese dual sport and tools. Not so much to ride but to get running as a hobby and learn how to do most of my own work.

[Mot]

Great to hear to wish to ride down to Thailand so if I may I like to post some pictures of the worst bits of roads I have encounter in just China on the way down to Thailand and Laos and Vietnam can be a lot worst? so if you wish to travel then try and pick a bike which has the capabilities to handle the bad stuff with some easy then with the good stuff the bike will be a walk in the park.

hainan&thailand& china 2014 2015 019.jpg

Thanks Prince! Great pictures, very informative. I was under the impression a road bike with above average clearance would handle those roads with a set of road trail tires. ZMC888 seemed to confirm that. Am I deluded?

Only the first picture concerns me. I hope you continue on your merry way around the curve on the badly washed out tarmac and not have to plow through that morass of mud.