Hello All! This is my first post on the forums. I do not currently own a Chinese motorcycle, but have been considering it for a few reasons, and would appreciate any insight that all of you may have for me.
To start, I drive a motorcycle every day, and do not own a car. I am driving a Suzuki Boulevard C50 for now, and I love it. I however am interested in venturing into the world of dual sport, and most particularly, off road riding. I do not wish to give up the boulevard to do so, and do not have funds to get a second hand japenese bike around here very easily that is not somebody else’s problem as of now.
I am far from afraid of maintenance, and I am just looking for something to drive on mellow off road trails here in Utah to familiarize myself with what it is like in the dirt again. I want to be able to drive the bike on frontage roads and back highways to be able to get to the many trails we have here in Utah without having to tow it around, so I need something with enough pep to keep up in mellow non-freeway traffic.
I am very interested in the large displacement options like the xy400gy and the JH600, but they simply do not seem available at this time. I know that Pitster Pro who is about 30 miles south of my house, used to rebrand an xy400gy as an LXT400 Pitster Pro, and have not had a chance to ask them why they do not carry it anymore, however I know this is not an option they are offering anymore. As for the JH600 I can’t seem to find any mention of it in the US through the proper channels and as such seems like an option I should forget about for a few years maybe.
Here are the three options that are available to me locally.
The First is the TMEC 200, available locally from XTM motorsports, who is 30 miles to the North of me, or so. I have found a decent bit of information here on this bike as well as on MCM. Here it is listed on their site:
http://xtmmotorsports.com/TMEC200%20...20Dual%20Sport
They have it listed at $2,100 on the site, but I have seen them advertise in local classifieds like craigslist and KSL for 1,699 as late as a week or two ago, so I am sure I can get it for 1,699.
The second one I am having a hard time finding much information about, though there is some mention of it on MCM recently. They are referring to it there as the BS200gy and BS250gy.
The version available locally from a company called Any and All Powersports a bit closer to my house is simply listed as a Basahn 250cc Enduro. It appears to have a typical OHV 223cc motor. Here is the local listing for it at $1,799:
http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=218...ashan&ad_cid=1
The third I am not considering as haevily because the price (albeit the quality most likely as well) is higher and is approaching a budget that with some patience I could find a quality second hand japenese bike for.
It is the Piter Pro LXR 250F, which on the site does not yet have a price, but I have found it around for the mid 2,000’s new. Here is the link to the Pitster Pro Page:
http://www.pitsterpro.com/bike/overview/id/66
My questions are what bike would you be considering with the TMEC 200 at 1,699, and the Bahsan 250 at 1,799? Does anyone have any more info for the Bashan or are you able to tell anything from the pictures in the listing? At only 100 more if the quality is similar it seems good to have the bit of extra power considering I am not a small guy. Like I said if the pitster is in the mid 2’s I would probably be better off being patient and staying on top of the used japenese market around here.
What are your guys’ thoughts and opinions on the matter?