Hi Jerry,

It seems to me that you have some dirt in your carburettor, so a strip down and a good clean should solve that one.

I would take it nice and easy on the bike for the first 500 km and not fully "open her up" until you've done at least 1000 kms if you want the engine to last. I would also be changing the oil and oil filter frequently for example at 100 kms, 250 kms, 500 kms, 750 and 1000km. Oil and filters are cheap, an oil and filter change gets rid of the swarf that the engine produces during the running period.. I think that I would inspect the oil after each oil change to see what's in there.

From what I have read it seems that you need to fully rebuild your bike ( except for the motor ) before leave onyour trip. A complete rebuild to make sure that it is correctly put together,not as it comes from the factory. And use thread lock on all the bolts so that they stay where they should be. There are very few mechanics in China that would know how to do this so it is could be a good option that you do it yourself and at the same time you will learn about your bike in case it you have problems on the way.

Over the last few weeks I have been considering the X5 for myself as it is the only option available for my biking tastes. I have drawn up a long list of improvements, i would change all the electrics to Honda ( even 20 year old Honda parts are better that new Chinese ones ), same for cables. Fit a Mikuni carb ( they always work ! ), rebuild all the rest of the bike exept the engine which seems to be ok.


Hope I have given you somehting to think about.

Symon