Soberpete's YBR 250

[ChinaV]

I would be curious to know what the real top speed is as measured by GPS and not the speedo. Most of the speedo's are 10-20 km/h out at 100, and I'm seriously doubting a 250cc single cylinder bike can pull 140 km/h with stock gearing.

My Yingang 250 indicates 142 km/h on the speedo and that = 121 km/h on GPS.
My QM250 reads 130 km/h on the speedo and that = 120 km/h on GPS.
My Galaxy 250 was pretty accurate at 123 km/h on the speedo = 120 km/h on GPS.

None of the Chinese 250's I've owned have ever hit over 125.

Great stuff Pete...keep it coming.

Cheers!
ChinaV

[td_ref]

I would be curious to know what the real top speed is as measured by GPS and not the speedo. Most of the speedo's are 10-20 km/h out at 100, and I'm seriously doubting a 250cc single cylinder bike can pull 140 km/h with stock gearing.

My Yingang 250 indicates 142 km/h on the speedo and that = 121 km/h on GPS.
My QM250 reads 130 km/h on the speedo and that = 120 km/h on GPS.
My Galaxy 250 was pretty accurate at 123 km/h on the speedo = 120 km/h on GPS.

None of the Chinese 250's I've owned have ever hit over 125.

Great stuff Pete...keep it coming.

Cheers!
ChinaV

a little punk did a red line top.speed in a 125cc--check the gps screen shot. as comparison, the 250s top speed are under impress.
SC20110427-144340.jpg

[soberpete]

This YBR250 really seems like it's worth the money. Fast, easy, comfortable, reliable, could make a great china touring bike! I'm curious though; how does it handle on bad roads with dirt or potholes, compared to the dual sport touring bikes that some of us use?

I've never ridden a touring bike or dirt bike of any kind so I'm not the best person to reply to your question. Here's my opinion though:
I've ridden over bumpy city roads, very bumpy mountain roads, roads with some gravel and another which was almost pure sand: The YBR is still smooth and comfortable over bumps and small holes doesn't seem to have any problems with a little bit of gravel, however, the sandy road was tricky and I almost lost it over a thick patch of gravel while riding around an outdoor car-park last night. It's definitely a street bike but it can handle a little off-road if the need arises.

[moilami]

Nice you are happy with your bike

[soberpete]

I would be curious to know what the real top speed is as measured by GPS and not the speedo. Most of the speedo's are 10-20 km/h out at 100, and I'm seriously doubting a 250cc single cylinder bike can pull 140 km/h with stock gearing.

My Yingang 250 indicates 142 km/h on the speedo and that = 121 km/h on GPS.
My QM250 reads 130 km/h on the speedo and that = 120 km/h on GPS.
My Galaxy 250 was pretty accurate at 123 km/h on the speedo = 120 km/h on GPS.

None of the Chinese 250's I've owned have ever hit over 125.

Great stuff Pete...keep it coming.

Cheers!
ChinaV

Noob question:
How would one measure speed via GPS? I need some sort of GPS navigation system on the handlebars right?
I'm hoping that the speedo will be more accurate than inaccurate as it is a fairly reliable Japanese brand . I will only be sure after the GPS speed test.
I just had an idea... I'll ask the police to speed test me with one of their camera guns!

[soberpete]

Moilami...
I'm very happy with the YBR. Very very happy!!! Over the moon in fact .

[jape]

I've never ridden a touring bike or dirt bike of any kind so I'm not the best person to reply to your question. Here's my opinion though:
I've ridden over bumpy city roads, very bumpy mountain roads, roads with some gravel and another which was almost pure sand: The YBR is still smooth and comfortable over bumps and small holes doesn't seem to have any problems with a little bit of gravel, however, the sandy road was tricky and I almost lost it over a thick patch of gravel while riding around an outdoor car-park last night. It's definitely a street bike but it can handle a little off-road if the need arises.

Sounds like you have found the ideal bike for you, for now. I think the handling questions are as much to do with a rider's riding position, gearing, fork and spring travel on any bike. As well as tyre choice of course. Having ridden roads bikes through bush and dirt bikes through town, apart from extremes, most handle a broad range of riding surprisingly well. Its only either end of the scale you need speciality. The main thing is to find a bike you can handle well and like and it seems you have done that.

Its things like reliability and 'fixability' that show up long term that make any bike more ideal for me, wherever I ride it! When it comes to handling, the places I make my mistakes aren't so much any particular surface, you can slow or stand or lean or whatever to handle that, it is the transition zones from one to another where I usually slide/drop or miscalculate. Today I stopped on grass next to tarmac to adjust my helmet. the Kinlon handles both OK, it has a good compromise setup I feel, and I nearly lost it as the bike went from grass to tarmac, back wheel sliding one way and front sliding the other! Instinct kicks in, sometimes adding revs gives you momentum and balance, sometimes dropping revs gives the bike time to adjust. I just wish I knew which to apply .... front wheel skids at speed are the worst feeling ...

Its strange, just a few pounds drop in tyre pressure (because I didn't check them this week der) made the bike handle very differently on all surfaces. I though softer would be fine on an R/T but it was quite a bit worse, especially the back, just five pounds too.

[euphonius]

Ah, wet grass with a mud substrate!

In one of my earliest solo rides as a newbie rider in California, I rode out Coleman Valley Road from Occidental to Highway 1 in California, and as I crested the final bluff before the long descent to the Pacific I couldn't resist pulling off the road to admire the sweeping view. Nice wet grass, with a sloppy mud substrate, and a downslope on a soft shoulder to boot! Very bad idea of a good place to pull over. As I braked front and back, sure enough, the front wheel got all skittish and started to slip out from under me. I corrected, then overcorrected, and she slipped out the other way, putting me into a slow-motion high side. I tried to plant my foot on the downhill side, and it just went out from under me, and down came my KLR. Fortunately, the mud slowed her forward momentum as the foot peg sank in (and came off) and she didn't roll down the hill toward the Pacific! But there I was, with the bike dropped on the downhill side of a very slippery hillside, as the sun dipped into the ocean. Took all the strength I could muster to right her and get back to the tarmac. Then rode 45 miles home without a right foot peg (and was too much of a newb to think of using the pillion peg)...

We live, we learn....

cheers

[soberpete]

Hey Guys!
It's been a while since my last post but I've been busy during since then.
On Saturday I took the YBR down to my wife's hometown of Mengyin. Set out from home at 04:45 and pulled up at her front door at 07:10. It was 155km journey down some good and some bad roads and I was pretty proud of the good time. I was able to keep it around 78kph (5000rpm) most of the way due to empty roads. She was right by the window when I arrived and I'll never forget the look on her face .

Took a photo or two while at her house. The family works with scrap metal so it's not the most beautiful sight but it's home:
DSC01048.jpgDSC01046.jpg
DSC01049.jpg

I wanted to see how far I could get on one tank of petrol so I filled it to the brim just before leaving Zibo on the Saturday morning. I stopped by the petrol station closest to my house and thought that the tank was almost empty but it still had more than I expected. I told the pump-lady to start by putting in 100rmb. It got to 97.8 and then overflowed. I then knew it was as full as it could be so at that point I reset one of the trip-meters.

Rode back home on Sunday, adding another 155km to the clock. Left the wife's home at 08:30 and got back home just after 11:00.

ZMC888 and I then went for a nice 290km ride on the following Monday. We left town around 08:30 and didn't get back until about 16:30. A leisurely 8 hour ride on mountain roads down south of Jinan . We stopped by a petrol station on the way home and I was worried about how far the YBR could go since filling up before Mengyin. We pulled up to the pumps, the trip-meter was at 539km and there was still about an eighth or so in the tank. I feel that it might have reached 600km on one fill-up but can't say so for sure. I filled the tank up to the brim and reset the clock again. I'm trying for 600km this time!

By the time we got back I was grateful to be at home. Over three days I'd covered over 600km and my left wrist was in pain (I keep adjusting the angle of the clutch lever and couldn't get it right until after Monday).

Here are a few photos of ride. I only took a few of this one area. It was a really nice view but my camera doesn't do it justice:
DSC01053.jpgDSC01052.jpg

Just before taking these photos, ZMC888 and I swapped bikes and I rode the Raptor for about 5km. I enjoyed it thoroughly! Here are my thoughts...
Good things:
-I like the peg positioning. They are a bit further forward than the YBR and gave me a feeling of comfort as well as control.
-The handlebars were in a very comfortable position also. They are swung backwards a little more, bringing my elbows closer to my chest. It's much more comfortable than the YBR (with it's relatively horizontal handlebars). I cheer myself up by reminding myself that it gives me more leverage and control while cutting through traffic in the city and dodging the craziest of drivers.
-The engine sounds lovely. I gained lots of selfish pleasure while having the ability to get everyone's attention by revving . There is a nice vibration that goes through the whole bike. It feels like a beast.

Not so good things:
-The brakes aren't bad, but not as sharp as the YBR's.
-The mirrors vibrate with the bike and I could barely see anything in them.
-After pulling the throttle right back there is a split second delay before the power kicks in. There is no such delay on the YBR. It goes as soon as you want it to, if not, sooner.

ZMC888. Is there something that can be done about the throttle delay? Maybe it's a problem that can be fixed by adjusting the fuel supply to the engine?
I mentioned this once before and I'd like to say it again because it might be due to the same problem: While riding behind the raptor I can usually smell petrol.

[ZMC888]

ZMC888. Is there something that can be done about the throttle delay? Maybe it's a problem that can be fixed by adjusting the fuel supply to the engine?

I'm fairly sure the carb rubber air intake has a split or crack and needs replacing, possibly and or a dirty carb and maybe I need a new air filter too. Need to get it fixed.