What’s better for me than YBR250/YS250?

**prince666** · 02-17-2016, 06:12 AM

IMO try and get the Honda CB 300 F made in Thailand I see loads every day here in Thailand and I like the look of the bike with a nice natural riding style with a good set of 50/50 tyres you should be good to go .
Hope to see you here in Thailand I leave every year in October and stay here untill end of March , BikerDoc is here with me now as I post and he normally leave China the start of the year and stays about 10 weeks and he would love to ride down with other people

Well good luck with your decision I am sure you will get it right and remember allways wear a crash helmet! Taxi driver in China don't care a shit !!

**Asymptomatic** · 02-17-2016, 07:47 AM

Honda dealer called. Turns out he can get legal CB300F's. They cost 38900rmb though. Still worried about it having terrible ground clearance compared to all other options. It is only 150mm much lower then...everything else I have seen. Are you sure this is the bike to get Prince666? The Z250SL has 180mm of clearance and was designed for India.

KTM dealer called. Turns out he can sell a new Duke 390 for 42800. Not that much more then the Honda. Still worried about reliability. However it has ground clearance of 170mm. The dealer did say, even though I am a few hours away, he would come to my city to fix and do any warranty work during the first year. The bike is also sexy as hell with dual sports on it.

This is the 200 but you get the idea.
ktm3_zps97a84d43.jpg

Meanwhile I am thinking, hell, I could get two Shineray X2's for the price of these bikes. At 17800 a bike, it may be the way to go. However the seat height is still insane for my short little legs. I might have to get training wheels for it. Just joking! No, seriously I might...

Originally Posted by prince666

Well good luck with your decision I am sure you will get it right and remember always wear a crash helmet! Taxi driver in China don't care a shit !!

I may not have the brains to wear my helmet all the time but if my wife catches me again it will be a guaranteed death sentence so I no longer have a choice.

Recent Update for me:
Wife just messaged me, for some reason the local Kawasaki dealer can not get the Z250SL and also said they will not service it or do warranty work. That is a little sad.

**prince666** · 02-17-2016, 09:08 AM

Honda or the KTM !
Was talking about this to the BikerDoc today he would go for the 390 Duke I like the CB 300F not sure which one ZMC 888 would pick but ZMC 888 is more into these type of bike then I am so listen to his point of view ! IMO the ground cleanse if it is 150mm or 170mm should not be a issue not much between the 2 ! I would be more concerned about getting better tyres that could Handel the bad stuff a bit better if you decide to tour around China because you WILL hit some very bad road at some point !
I myself are more into ADV type bikes so I am very biased towards them sorry I can't help much more but the final choice is yours!!

Read this today on a forum in Thailand ??? it may help you to decide ...

Re: Around the world riders stopping by a bar in Chiang Mai

The first Indian rider coming through on an Indian KTM. All the way from Mumbai on a KTM 200 Duke.

Link.......http://www.rideasia.net/motorcycle-f...8111#post58111

**ZMC888** · 02-17-2016, 05:28 PM

Originally Posted by Asymptomatic

Meanwhile I am thinking, hell, I could get two Shineray X2's for the price of these bikes. At 17800 a bike, it may be the way to go. However the seat height is still insane for my short little legs. I might have to get training wheels for it. Just joking! No, seriously I might.

Noooooo!
it seems so logical, I could get two of those for one of them. Fact is maybe yes, but it's half the bike and you can only ride one bike at a time.

A word about Chinese warranties - most Chinese mechanics are rubbish. Freckin iejits, especially those that work for these Chinese dealers. These Chinese dealers pay peanuts and have bugger all tools, so occasionally, yes you do have maybe a head mechanic that has a clue, but has one hand tied behind his back. Last job a Chinese dealership mechanic did was when our last bike was delivered, a junior mechanic had to pour distilled water in the battery but instead poured most of it over his foot. Then he tried to put the front wheel on the wrong way round and put 99psi in it.

The best mechanics nearly always have their own shops and tools. The local dealer is just somewhere you go if you need to claim parts on warranty. Obviously this is my city, other cities might be better. I only know three mechanics in my entire province that I allow to even touch my bike.

**ZMC888** · 02-17-2016, 05:47 PM

Originally Posted by prince666

Honda or the KTM !
Was talking about this to the BikerDoc today he would go for the 390 Duke I like the CB 300F not sure which one ZMC 888 would pick but ZMC 888 is more into these type of bike then I am so listen to his point of view ! IMO the ground cleanse if it is 150mm or 170mm should not be a issue not much between the 2 ! I would be more concerned about getting better tyres that could Handel the bad stuff a bit better if you decide to tour around China because you WILL hit some very bad road at some point !
I myself are more into ADV type bikes so I am very biased towards them sorry I can't help much more but the final choice is yours!!

Read this today on a forum in Thailand ??? it may help you to decide ...

Re: Around the world riders stopping by a bar in Chiang Mai

The first Indian rider coming through on an Indian KTM. All the way from Mumbai on a KTM 200 Duke.

Link.......http://www.rideasia.net/motorcycle-f...8111#post58111

Honestly I prefer the KTM in terms of design, and all things being equal I'd buy that. It's pretty and seems like fun and with road trail tires on it I reckon it will be hard to beat, and if it's 42,000, that seems quite reasonable. However it's made in India and assembled in China, which is a bit scary. 200 Km's between fill ups is an annoyance, but unless you are way out west you probably wouldn't run out especially if you bring a spare litre or two along for the ride.

On the other hand you know that a Thai made Honda will be very well made and reliable, have great resale. Is the ground clearance really an issue? Ground quality, sure, but you need some pretty huge humps to ground the bike surely?

**prince666** · 02-18-2016, 12:58 AM

2 for the KTM and 1 for the Honda ???? thats the votes ???

**Mot** · 02-18-2016, 05:13 AM

LOL! Thanks for all the input. Your write in campaign has brought the KTM back into the running.

I stayed up all night reading about the Duke 390. I suppose its not too scary.

Only 200km per tank though... *facepalm* I guess I could keep an empty fuel bladder with me and fill it up before going too far out into the sticks.

Sorry to keep you in suspense, but it will be about a week before I talk to a dealer. My "assistant" is still on holiday and enjoying her travels.

**Asymptomatic** · 02-18-2016, 08:31 AM

It is settled for me!

I am getting the Kawasaki Z250SL ABS version. The Dayang dealer here can do all the warranty services including getting the parts for me and the Beijing dealer will ship it to my front door for free. Thanks Mot, for letting me Hijack your thread and use it for my own good!

This bike is saving me about 8k and does everything I need it to and should do it reliably. Already found someone who can make a comfy gel seat for 200rmb. I will be getting some 50/50 tires though. Any suggestions on those?

I can trick it out to be a touring work horse like this Adventure Ninja 650
kawasaki-ninja-650-modified-dipesh-shah-image-2.jpg
kawasaki-ninja-650-modified-dipesh-shah-image-3.jpg

UNLESS of course, someone can convince me that the DUKE 390 wont be trouble stuck in traffic. Often in Changchun the traffic is much worse then Beijing and you can't filter or go around cars because it is 3 cars wide on a 2 car road. From what I read, this bike gets hot as hell and is terrible for stop and go traffic. I also read that the gearing/power band combo is terrible for getting around at slow speeds in heavy traffic.

**ZMC888** · 02-18-2016, 08:59 AM

Originally Posted by Mot

Only 200km per tank though... *facepalm* I guess I could keep an empty fuel bladder with me and fill it up before going too far out into the sticks.

I dunno about Zhejiang, but in Shandong I've never been over 50 Kms without seeing some kind of fuel station. Of course out west, might be a concern, but most bikes have a range of 250 Kms. Sure you're not overplaying it a bit?

**ZMC888** · 02-18-2016, 09:01 AM

Originally Posted by Asymptomatic

It is settled for me!

I am getting the Kawasaki Z250SL ABS version. The Dayang dealer here can do all the warranty services including getting the parts for me and the Beijing dealer will ship it to my front door for free. Thanks Mot, for letting me Hijack your thread and use it for my own good!

This bike is saving me about 8k and does everything I need it to and should do it reliably. Already found someone who can make a comfy gel seat for 200rmb. I will be getting some 50/50 tires though. Any suggestions on those?

I can trick it out to be a touring work horse like this Adventure Ninja 650

UNLESS of course, someone can convince me that the DUKE 390 wont be trouble stuck in traffic. Often in Changchun the traffic is much worse then Beijing and you can't filter or go around cars because it is 3 cars wide on a 2 car road. From what I read, this bike gets hot as hell and is terrible for stop and go traffic. I also read that the gearing/power band combo is terrible for getting around at slow speeds in heavy traffic.

Makes a lot of sense to kit out a Z250 like that.

I wouldn't read a lot into what some people say about the KTM Duke, it's made in India so some people, as with Chinese made bikes are simply hard-wired to hate at the first 'non premium' issue as a sign of the bikes 'inferior' quality.

If you buy a motorcycle for riding around a Chinese city, you are crazy, that's the job for a bicycle/ebike/motor scooter. Surely a motorcycle is for *escaping* the city and getting out into the mountains on the twisty roads, marking it down for a job it isn't for isn't exactly fair. Also a skilled rider can avoid many of the problems. I was told my bike is far too heavy and hot running for city riding, but I don't have any problems, just got to remember to plan trips using multiple right hand turns to get to your destination, which also bypasses many of the thieving lazy opportunistic police too.