Losing the cam timing chain
 

dh,
Did you have an earlier post about losing your cam chain when you had about 2,000 miles on your SSR XF250? How did that work out? Was it covered by the one year warranty by SSR? :hmm:

dh, I really look forward to your review of your SSR XF250! I'd love to do one on Q but since no one can buy one anymore, what's the point?

1CYL the short answer is yes, but I will add a story here. By the time that happened the warranty was in the "parts only" phase. The 12 month warranty consists of 6 months parts/labor + 6 months parts only. At that time it was unlimited mileage, I believe SSR has put a mileage cap on their warranty now.


When this problem came up I had go from Vegas back to LA to drop the bike off at the dealer I bought it from. The dealer then took the bike down the street to SSR's headquarters where they looked it over and decided to do a new engine swap. The dealer said the stock motor was repairable but the engine swap was the fastest and cheapest way for SSR to get my bike going again. Maybe they had extra EPA/CARB test engines laying around?


The dealer brought the bike back out to Vegas a few weeks later which saved me another trip to CA, and SSR only asked that I pay $200 for labor for the engine swap. I should add that after some TU250 forum reading on cam chain tensioner adjustment, I now believe this issue may have been caused by a stupid owner tinkering(yes me) and not a defect in the bike. Whatever the case, I am grateful for the way SSR helped me. When it came time to re-register the bike in CA the DMV noticed that one digit in the engine number had changed, and said I needed to take the bike to Highway Patrol to verify the engine wasn't stolen. Luckily they changed their minds and decided it was probably a clerical error in the end!

Here in Southern California it is still common to see a Qlink or SSR pop up on Craigslist so I'm sure someone would appreciate it! For how common the XF bikes are in Southern California, I would think there would be more reviews and videos available. In downtown San Diego recently I saw two XF250's in one morning which I go excited about.

In a very recent motorcycle.com article on the top 10 budget bikes, I noticed they still include the Qlink up near the top of the list even though it hasn't been sold for a few years now.

That's good to hear. I don't think I've seen a SSR XF250 on the road up in the Sac area. I'll have to go haunt the dealer again and see what he has. He had a used white one (2016) with only 300 +/- miles on it for 2499.00 I'm sure he repo'd it. It looked brand new and not thrashed at all.

What is the stock gearing on the XF? What aftermarket rear sprocket is available (if even needed). If I remember, it is the front sprocket that you go up a tooth on them?

2LZ when I see used private party Xf250's on craigslist they seem to run around $1500 down this way.

Culcune the stock front sprocket is 15t I believe. I was able to fine a 17t on Amazon by searching for Tu250 stuff(Oil filters are $8 for a 3 pack as well). Rear sprockets are available from lextek and taobao.

With the 17t the bike is a lot happier at 70mph and gas mileage is better too. If I only needed to cruise at or below 65 I would run the stock size and enjoy the low 1st gear on trail riding.

I am 6'3 190lbs and ride between sea level up to 5,000 feet.
With the 17t at 70mph rpms are at 6,600 and I get about 65 mpg.
With the 15t at 70mph rpms are at 7,000 and I get about 55 mpg.

Regarding financing, my credit union motorcycle rates were around 5% last I looked so I used a credit card with a 0%/16 month deal and was able to pay it off before the 0% rate expired.

How much good luck can a man possess:hmm:

More Q/SSR similarities.

My stock setup on my XP200 is a 15/48.
I went to a 16/44 and it wouldn't pull me in 5th against the wind worth a dang, even with the jetting and pipe......but it would rip down a hill or with a tail wind.

I went back to the 15 on the front and kept the 44. That seemed the ticket....but then I was wanting a little more low end so I am now at a 15/46 and it's the sweet spot. Still do 70 mph but have a more trailable 1st gear. Pulls better throughout the band also.

The Q takes:
JTF 409 on the front
JTR 809 on the rear.

What about your SSR?

2LZ The aftermarket front sprocket is a JTF434.16. Now I wonder if its actually a 16t.

pretty sure the 16 means 16 teeth

Ssr xf250
 

Hey guys,

I've been following on this forum for probably a month now. I decided to get an SSR XF250 from a dealership about 3 hours away and had them deliver. Its a 2016, brand new, but it has the street tires on it. I have barely ridden it yet because we've been having the normal Kansas spring weather, so it's been raining a lot. I'm looking to put tires dual sport tires on it, probably Kenda 270s. I've been searching for specific parts for upgrades and stuff on it, but haven't found a ton. I know the stuff is out there, it's just a matter of figuring out what fits. I'll probably buy an RPS Hawk next, unless that Tekken ever comes out..

http://www.jtsprockets.com/catalogue/sprocket/jtr279 seems fits...

That's a beautiful SSR XF250! Welcome to China Riders and I'm glad you joined us! :-)

I think you're really going to like the SSR (QingQi) product. They are of a very high quality in fit and finish and have modern engineering.

The supermoto version, as you have with the street tires, is very reminiscent of the Qlink XF200. It was a very popular motorcycle here at one time and was actually raced by one of our members with very impressive results against the Japanese brands. Also, the supermoto version has a 17" both front and rear, where the dual sport version of the XF250 has a 17" rear and 18" front.
I have the Shinko 700's on my Qlink now and really like them as a dual sport tire. Very sure-footed on gravel roads and comfortable on the street, as well.

https://www.amazon.com/Shinko-Dual-S...ko+700+5.10-17

Regarding mods, you don't have to do much to the QingQi product other than proper jetting for your altitude and maybe an aftermarket muffler but that's not a must. The real Mikuni CV carb is a nice unit and works very well. No need to switch carbs for an aftermarket. The air boxes breathe quite well, support the carb and it has a very well-designed stock filter, but I still drilled a bunch of 1/2" holes in the top of my Qlink air box to open it up a little.

I look forward to your review and riding esperiences on your new XF250 and again, thank you for joining us. It's refreshing to see another QingQi product in a Sea of Hondoids! ;-)

Are you able to register a Hawk in Kansas? I haven't been keeping track of that here.

Thanks for the likes guys! It's hard to find a place where people don't just immediately hate on a chinese bike. As for registering a hawk in KS, I'm not sure, but i do want one, or a Brozz... or a Tekken... or.. lol You get the picture.
I was wanting to do something a bit more aggressive offroad so was thinking the Shinko 244's or the Kenda 270's. Several of those don't list a 4.6 for the front, but it sounds like you can use a rear and move it to the front and it's not a big deal. Here's what I've found so far, anymore input will be appreciate as well!

I was looking at these for the handguards, but not sure if they'd work on mine or not. It doesn't give much info
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000LGU4BS...V7IJB5EL&psc=1

Here's the carb kit:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01G68EYS8...I2A5L1B6JV7TOI

Looking here for exhaust: http://chinesemotorcyclepartsonline....3051/Pulse/0/0

Just the little i've ridden it, it seems like the throttle isn't very responsive, but it still needs broken in and what not. Where are you getting your oil filters? I imagine jetting it will help a lot as well - i'll also take off the EGR.
I also HATE that it won't start and run unless the kickstand is up. I may just bypass that all together, but i kinda wish i could get it to run in neutral with the kickstand down. Kinda wanting this to be my adventure bike.