Mrs. 2LZ TT250. Into the Fire....

[Darkrider]

Originally Posted by Weldangrind

I can't see pics either, and that's with a PC. Perhaps it's a Photobucket problem.

Usually happens when pics are moved around or deleted.

[2LZ]

Hi gang,
Yep, unfortunately my file here overflowed a couple times and I had to delete a bunch of pics. I did it from oldest to newest and I didn't think I got this recent. Bummer....

jdiggyd, which pics were you looking for in particular. I can repost.

[Sullybiker]

For stuff like this it's worth using imgur or something similar.

[ben2go]

I use flickr. Photobucket lost almost a GB of my pics and they gave me a free pro account to make up for it. Then photobucket was taken over by a different organization a few years later. They started screwing up my stuff again. They also suspended my pro account and sent me back to a basic account. I took up with flickr about that time. I haven't had any problems since. I only maintain my photobucket account because I have a lot of write ups and pics on a few forums that are still being used.

[timcosby]

its best to just post them here. cant tell you how many times i go to some forums and see attchment unavailable cause they have closed there photobucket or flick account.

[hertz9753]

It's just click on "Go Advanced" and click on the paperclip after that. I have heard people on mobile can't do it.

I have the same Tusk 30mm risers, Scott grips in a different color and the fake Fox crossbar pad also in a different color the match the grips. I think had the grips or pad before 2LZ posted his pictures.

[2LZ]

Originally Posted by hertz9753

I think had the grips or pad before 2LZ posted his pictures.

Great minds...........

[SamM]

2LZ,
Great thread! There is a lot of valuable information here. I'll be putting a deposit down on a new 2018 Zongshen TT250 next month. They have posted a few upgrades for the 2018 model on the CSC website. Bigger brakes and a digital dash are high on my list of wants. This looks to be the best chinabike out there for the money. The $2345 price with crating fee, does not bother me in the least. Mine will be the copper color but your wife's white TT250 looks great. The Mikuni VM26 sounds like a great modification. Are you impressed with the performance gain with it?

My goal is to have the bike ready for the 2018 Smokey Mountain Crawl. I had been looking at buying a new Honda GROM or a CCW FXR125 but the TT250 caught my eye a few weeks ago. Thanks in part to your thread here, reports of CSC customer service and YouTube videos from Josh on the Each Adventure channel. If nothing else you helped turn at least one buyer onto the TT. I also thanked him on his channel comments.

Again, thanks and I hope you update this thread from time to time. One thing. Would you please repost the picture of your trash can/air box delete mod. I'd love to see that.

SamM

[pyoungbl]

My left fork cap started to weep oil. I called CSC and they sent me a replacement. The instructions for fork maintenance can be found under the RC3, not TT250 and cover all the necessary steps to replace that cap. It's not hard but is a bit more involved than just unscrewing the cap and screwing the replacement on. In particular, there is a dampening rod that you have to move over from one cap to the other. In all this probably took me an hour with normal hand tools. As usual, great service from CSC.

[2LZ]

Originally Posted by SamM

2LZ,
Great thread! There is a lot of valuable information here. I'll be putting a deposit down on a new 2018 Zongshen TT250 next month. They have posted a few upgrades for the 2018 model on the CSC website. Bigger brakes and a digital dash are high on my list of wants. This looks to be the best chinabike out there for the money. The $2345 price with crating fee, does not bother me in the least. Mine will be the copper color but your wife's white TT250 looks great. The Mikuni VM26 sounds like a great modification. Are you impressed with the performance gain with it?

My goal is to have the bike ready for the 2018 Smokey Mountain Crawl. I had been looking at buying a new Honda GROM or a CCW FXR125 but the TT250 caught my eye a few weeks ago. Thanks in part to your thread here, reports of CSC customer service and YouTube videos from Josh on the Each Adventure channel. If nothing else you helped turn at least one buyer onto the TT. I also thanked him on his channel comments.

Again, thanks and I hope you update this thread from time to time. One thing. Would you please repost the picture of your trash can/air box delete mod. I'd love to see that.

SamM

Thanks for the kind words, Sam! The project was actually a load of fun.
So far, our TT250 has been excellent. Of course, we don't ride like we used to but I would have no doubt about its ability to take a good hammering.
As requested, here are the trash can mod pics.

[2LZ]

Originally Posted by pyoungbl

My left fork cap started to weep oil. I called CSC and they sent me a replacement. The instructions for fork maintenance can be found under the RC3, not TT250 and cover all the necessary steps to replace that cap. It's not hard but is a bit more involved than just unscrewing the cap and screwing the replacement on. In particular, there is a dampening rod that you have to move over from one cap to the other. In all this probably took me an hour with normal hand tools. As usual, great service from CSC.

Our leaked right out of crate. Of course, CSC was all over sending a new replacement.
Then I took the leaky one apart and fixed it for a back-up. Use a heat gun to break the red locktite loose, clean out and replace the o-ring. Pretty simple fix, if you have some time to burn.

[SamM]

Thanks, 2LZ! It looks great!

[Blaze]

Originally Posted by oddthought

I assume you mean an extra $1,000 over a Hawk. Well, let me tell you!

Advantages of a TT250 over a Hawk for me:
1. Very little assembly required. My TT250 was delivered to my door with the mirrors and optional handguards uninstalled. I had to spend about 5 minutes getting the mirrors on and taking the bike off the pallet, then it was able to be ridden.
2. Parts availability: I'm perfectly happy to pay a bit more at the outset in exchange for the knowledge (proven a few times over when I've broken parts because I'm not a good dirt rider yet) that they'll have the parts in stock and can get them directly to me quickly. Compare this to a Hawk, which may or may not have parts available, and if they are available, the parts may not be designed for that bike specifically.
3. CSC warranty: If something breaks (which it often does on a new model regardless of brand) I'd rather the seller could send me a new part without hassle.
4. Full service manual: few new bikes (none I'm aware of, actually) have a decently written, well-illustrated service manual covering all routine maintenance items. I don't like to be told to take the bike to a shop, and I don't like having to research online for someone else's opinion on how to perform a maintenance or repair task.
5. The price when I bought it, including registration, skid plate, and luggage plate, was less than 2500.

As far as maintenance goes, I'm an admitted gearhead, so I don't mind getting into the maintenance myself. Changing oil actually takes me longer than adjusting the valves since I realized that the gas tank doesn't have to come off to adjust them. Besides, valve adjustments are basic maintenance and should be performed regularly on pretty much any motorcycle.
Any new motor I get, regardless of brand or type, I will run for a few hundred miles and then change the oil. The manufacturing process naturally leaves behind residue and I don't want it to stick around.


Now, there have been a few things that weren't impressive to me: my brake fluid was awful, the speedometer cable snapped even after I greased and rerouted it, and the front sprocket had the wrong number of teeth. CSC gladly sent new parts for the cable and sprocket, and the brake fluid wasn't difficult to change. However, I can see that there are folks for whom these might be deal breakers. I'm not one of them. I bought this bike knowing that I'd be doing some work on it. In fact, that's part of what I look forward to.

Does it need performance mods? I don't think so. My bike, with me on it, gladly maintains 50 mph anywhere and is perfectly happy out on the trails and non-highway roads. Will I be modding it? Probably! I want to. I think it's fun to play with. Is it any different from modding a Hawk? Perhaps not much, but I do know that if I encounter any problems at all, I can replace the parts and get the bike back to a known-good stock state easily and reliably.

I'm a happy camper with my TT250, and I think many others have agreed so far. 2LZ, in this thread, has clearly indicated that he and Mrs. 2LZ have enjoyed the bike a lot and he thinks he can make it even better. It's not a transition from mediocre to good, but from good to better, and I think that's what riding any China Bike is all about.

Wow.. CSC should use this in some of their promotional material because you may have just swung me (years later). I've been looking for a first bike for awhile now (Bike/Wrench noob) and my close friends that ride (all of whom own Groms + big cruisers and buy their bikes exclusively from the one dealer in town) keep trying to steer me to join Team Honda citing "reliability, a known brand name, EFI" ect.. As a single father (none of them have kids) cost is a MUCH more important factor to me than they may realize, which is how I stumbled upon CSC in the first place. This post may just be the motivational speech I need to pull the trigger.

While I'm actually looking at the SG250 and not the TT250 (I'm... vertically challenged?) I stumbled upon this thread searching for "TT250 Engine Mods" because I know they use the same power plant. This has been a very fascinating read (although 90% of the photos don't load for me) and been very informational. If I fall in love with the experience of owning/riding the SG250 the way I have with it's styling and premise then eventually I'd want to scramble it and I think I'd take to trying to adapt pretty much everything I've read here that's applicable (especially trying to make that exhaust work as a high mount for the scramble). The information on the forum and CSC's customer service give me a lot of confidence that even as a novice, I could figure things out wrenching which is almost as exciting to me as the prospect of riding.

Long story short. I'm inspired. Great information. Thanks to all involved.

[2LZ]

Originally Posted by Blaze

Wow.. CSC should use this in some of their promotional material because you may have just swung me (years later). I've been looking for a first bike for awhile now (Bike/Wrench noob) and my close friends that ride (all of whom own Groms + big cruisers and buy their bikes exclusively from the one dealer in town) keep trying to steer me to join Team Honda citing "reliability, a known brand name, EFI" ect.. As a single father (none of them have kids) cost is a MUCH more important factor to me than they may realize, which is how I stumbled upon CSC in the first place. This post may just be the motivational speech I need to pull the trigger.

While I'm actually looking at the SG250 and not the TT250 (I'm... vertically challenged?) I stumbled upon this thread searching for "TT250 Engine Mods" because I know they use the same power plant. This has been a very fascinating read (although 90% of the photos don't load for me) and been very informational. If I fall in love with the experience of owning/riding the SG250 the way I have with it's styling and premise then eventually I'd want to scramble it and I think I'd take to trying to adapt pretty much everything I've read here that's applicable (especially trying to make that exhaust work as a high mount for the scramble). The information on the forum and CSC's customer service give me a lot of confidence that even as a novice, I could figure things out wrenching which is almost as exciting to me as the prospect of riding.

Long story short. I'm inspired. Great information. Thanks to all involved.

Hee hee....yah. It's not that the pics aren't loading, I had to delete a ton of them because my folder was full.

I have three CSC bikes and am happy with all of them. No regrets.

[superjocko]

I know I'm grave digging here, but I just wanted to say, Great thread! Not sure how I missed this one when doing research prior to buying my 2024 TT250. I echo most of the positive stuff here though. It's a really good bike and it's great with the right mods. I currently have the stage 3 moto cult kit installed with a Nibbi PE 28 flange type carburetor. I'm very happy with the power now, even without really wringing it out due to the low miles I still have on it. It's barely broken in yet with just shy of 200 total miles and only about 50 of those with the stage 3 top end and Nibbi carb. A few more minor personal preference mods and I'll be dialed in. I'm looking forward to a lot of fun miles on this bike. Thanks for the thread! It was a good read even after the fact (for me). Maybe I'll run across your path up near Volcano. It's not far from me and would be a nice ride on a good weather weekend.