Considering a China Bike ... again (Advice requested)

[jaytravels]

Hi there everyone, while I am new here I am no stranger to the chino bikes as it were. I am mostly from the GY6 world. A little about me

I drove a 150cc (highly modified) Baja 150 GY6 from the top of Maine to Key west (mile Zero) back in 2011. The trip was watched by over 44 countries and you may have heard of it, it was called Myspectacularjourney. Once I reached Key West (and had gone through a host of parts and trials and tribulations) myself and the scooter enjoyed a nice retirement. The trip was beyond words, and if anyone here was around then, they know what I am talking about.

With this experience and the 3 years after where I acquired a few more models in my garage while in the keys (And one more when I moved to California) I know how to do everything from a stator swap to a piston ring change all the way to a gear change out down to a muffler routing. I feel my mechanical skills and electrical knowledge is enough to combat the "issues" that owning a chinese product comes with.

Now thats out of the way, i am taking a 15,700 mile trip this summer. NOT on the chinese bike, but in an SUV. The dirtbike I am looking at will be used to reach areas SUVS cannot, and will be used as a transport vehicle (on/off road" while the SUV is in "Basecamp" mode.

I do not need anything super powerful. i am 6'5" and 200 pounds. I was debating on the Tao Tao TBR 7 Dual Sport, but have since decided on the Bashan BSR 250.

I am curious if anyone has anything to add or point out. The dealer is preordering me a 2020 model now. I know I also could have gotten a "deal" with a crated model, however after you add in taxes, shipping, and most importantly TIME I felt better going to a dealer straight up, they will run one PDI prior to my arrival, and once I complete the sale they will provide one more prior to my driving off the lot. You cannot get that attention from the crated route.

Again Thanks for listening, attached is a photo of the bike I am looking at for my needs. There will be no motocross for this machine, strictly trail, forest roads, and possibly some desert sands riding.

[culcune]

Any of the Bashan models should fit your needs if the BSR is not available (you didn't mention the dealer, but a few are known for taking your order and then calling you back to tell you they are out of stock of model A; "We will send you model B instead..." I have not seen the BSR advertised for a while, which is why I am bringing this up. Heck, most any Chinese dual-sport should be up for the task except for the Magician (seems to be one that a few nembers have had issues with). The TBR7 is a good, solid bike.

[NzBrakelathes]

Originally Posted by jaytravels

Hi there everyone, while I am new here I am no stranger to the chino bikes as it were. I am mostly from the GY6 world. A little about me

I drove a 150cc (highly modified) Baja 150 GY6 from the top of Maine to Key west (mile Zero) back in 2011. The trip was watched by over 44 countries and you may have heard of it, it was called Myspectacularjourney. Once I reached Key West (and had gone through a host of parts and trials and tribulations) myself and the scooter enjoyed a nice retirement. The trip was beyond words, and if anyone here was around then, they know what I am talking about.

With this experience and the 3 years after where I acquired a few more models in my garage while in the keys (And one more when I moved to California) I know how to do everything from a stator swap to a piston ring change all the way to a gear change out down to a muffler routing. I feel my mechanical skills and electrical knowledge is enough to combat the "issues" that owning a chinese product comes with.

Now thats out of the way, i am taking a 15,700 mile trip this summer. NOT on the chinese bike, but in an SUV. The dirtbike I am looking at will be used to reach areas SUVS cannot, and will be used as a transport vehicle (on/off road" while the SUV is in "Basecamp" mode.

I do not need anything super powerful. i am 6'5" and 200 pounds. I was debating on the Tao Tao TBR 7 Dual Sport, but have since decided on the Bashan BSR 250.

I am curious if anyone has anything to add or point out. The dealer is preordering me a 2020 model now. I know I also could have gotten a "deal" with a crated model, however after you add in taxes, shipping, and most importantly TIME I felt better going to a dealer straight up, they will run one PDI prior to my arrival, and once I complete the sale they will provide one more prior to my driving off the lot. You cannot get that attention from the crated route.

Again Thanks for listening, attached is a photo of the bike I am looking at for my needs. There will be no motocross for this machine, strictly trail, forest roads, and possibly some desert sands riding.

If needed look thru my store for upgrades add on etc.
Might be useful

https://www.ebay.com/itm/303381504495

you will see Hawk or TBR7 compatible things etc etc.
Enjoy the ride!

[Megadan]

Pretty much most of the Hawk stuff also applies to the BSR in terms of upgrades/mods.

[jaytravels]

Originally Posted by culcune

Any of the Bashan models should fit your needs if the BSR is not available (you didn't mention the dealer, but a few are known for taking your order and then calling you back to tell you they are out of stock of model A; "We will send you model B instead..." I have not seen the BSR advertised for a while, which is why I am bringing this up. Heck, most any Chinese dual-sport should be up for the task except for the Magician (seems to be one that a few nembers have had issues with). The TBR7 is a good, solid bike.

I apologize for not putting the dealer in here, the link below takes you to their website. I want you to know I have personally put my hands and butt on the bike in the photo, albeit in red. I have visited them in person twice and have the phone number to the cell phone of the owner. At the present time they are ordering another black one just for me.

Four Seasons Powersports

I have heard stories (I think I read them here) about people getting crated ones ordered and then getting mad when they were told they werent getting the same bike, however that is the advantage (at least I think) in an in person dealer. These bikes are assembled and ready to ride right out of the lot.

Also as for the TBR7 I really liked the bike, however for whatever reason i found NUMEROUS people on the net that said they had problems from day 1 (something about a spacer not coming in the back rim, and a carb having to be completely redone prior to any riding, among other things). I heard this from several sources and I think it just turned me off on that bike. I heard as well the Bashan's usually ride good right out of the crate.

Anyway to each their own and I appreciate the feedback and the links, I am sure I will need parts sometime.

[jaytravels]

Hey Everyone

So as you can imagine the world is going crazy right now. The company I wanted the Bashan from is being told it would be 8 weeks from China for the bike I mentioned earlier.

I did find a RPS HAWK 250 street legal from a dealer in Texas. They say they will take it out of the crate, do a full PDI and then repack it on a pallet and ship it to me. With time running out my options are becoming extremely slim.

https://www.txpowersports.com/New_ha...-assembled.htm

Can Anyone tell me if the Hawk would work for my trip, anyone ever ride this specific bike, should I be looking somewhere else for the BSR?


I did check with the lady and they do have them in their texas warehouse and they meet all the street legal requirements of my state, only question mark is a label that sometimes is affixed to the bike, which I do not think I have ever seen in my states ATVS/UTVS. Its called a "NHTSA Label"

Thanks for any quick replies, I need to order this by tomorrow to get it to me in time!

[alex_in_az]

Originally Posted by jaytravels

Hey Everyone

So as you can imagine the world is going crazy right now. The company I wanted the Bashan from is being told it would be 8 weeks from China for the bike I mentioned earlier.

I did find a RPS HAWK 250 street legal from a dealer in Texas. They say they will take it out of the crate, do a full PDI and then repack it on a pallet and ship it to me. With time running out my options are becoming extremely slim.

https://www.txpowersports.com/New_ha...-assembled.htm

Can Anyone tell me if the Hawk would work for my trip, anyone ever ride this specific bike, should I be looking somewhere else for the BSR?


I did check with the lady and they do have them in their texas warehouse and they meet all the street legal requirements of my state, only question mark is a label that sometimes is affixed to the bike, which I do not think I have ever seen in my states ATVS/UTVS. Its called a "NHTSA Label"

Thanks for any quick replies, I need to order this by tomorrow to get it to me in time!

I got my TBR7 from them, they did the PDI for me and strapped it to a pallet and it arrived in perfect shape. They had run it 1st and there was still a couple of pints in the tank. It started up when I hooked up the battery and pressed the starter

[jaytravels]

Hey your in AZ as well, glad you had a good experience with them, any issues registering your TBR7? How was the process, time to ship, arrival, anyone else have any good things to say about TX or the hawk itself?

[culcune]

Try Advanti in Mesa. They show they have the Bashan Storm, but they close at 4:00 today. A Storm was ridden from Salt Lake City to New York City by a young woman from Israel who came to the US for an extended vacation. It was her first bike ever, and she was fairly short, but managed to make the trip.

https://www.advantiautogroup.com/det...b-250/49806410

[jaytravels]

Yeah I checked avanti , they want 1999 without tax, 2000 for a chino, they lost their minds. Im likely going with TX Powersports.

[jaytravels]

Originally Posted by jeffrey

I would go for the Storm 250 it has the counter balanced engine so it will be less buzzy at speed. Only draw back the speedometer is not very good and no gas gauge and no gear indicator.

Lol no fuel gauge , bad speedo , no gear indicator, but only $2000 , what a bargain!

[culcune]

Originally Posted by jaytravels

I did check with the lady and they do have them in their texas warehouse and they meet all the street legal requirements of my state, only question mark is a label that sometimes is affixed to the bike, which I do not think I have ever seen in my states ATVS/UTVS. Its called a "NHTSA Label"

The Hawk is technically certified as an 'Off road dirt bike' by the EPA. It won't have an NHSTA label, but SHOULD be easy enough to register here.

Originally Posted by alex_in_az

I got my TBR7 from them, they did the PDI for me and strapped it to a pallet and it arrived in perfect shape. They had run it 1st and there was still a couple of pints in the tank. It started up when I hooked up the battery and pressed the starter

I have seen Alex's bike in person; nice bike and should be up to the task. Kind of an inside joke here, but it was able to take the same terrain off road between Surprise and Wickenburg as my Subaru Impreza car!

Originally Posted by jaytravels

Hey your in AZ as well, glad you had a good experience with them, any issues registering your TBR7? How was the process, time to ship, arrival, anyone else have any good things to say about TX or the hawk itself?

I think if you are ordering a bike from them, they should be okay. For either the Hawk or the TBR7, use the Motocheez discount code. The TBR7 is 49 state street legal as certified by the EPA/DOT, so registration will go smoothly, but so should the Hawk considering several of both bikes are already registered here. That is usually where snags occur--the 'pioneer' who is the first to buy a particular bike via mail-order has to jump through a few hoops at their particular state's DMV office, even those with the NHSTA label. For the extra buck$, you should try one of the offsite MVD offices who can usually get bikes registered quickly and efficiently. Several years ago, I had a 49-state legal dual-sport, the TMEC 200, and tried to register at an offsite office a few blocks from my home. They said I had to go to the MVD for an inspection and there was nothing they could do. Ironically TMECs were registered here already and had the DOT certification. But, I guess at the time, there must have been issues with mail-ordered Chinese bikes, hence the snag. From what I understand, it should be easier to do nowadays.

My two hesitations with using TX is 1) out of respect to the guy a few years back who was nearly ripped off by them, member Azhule, and 2) they are one of several online dealers who make you jump through a few hoops to get your paperwork (MCO). It takes week(s) according to numerous members. I would generally want to be on the road ASAP, so would buy from a dealer that actually gives you the MCO and bill of sale WITH the bike. Some members have had to go through 30+ days of hassle to get their paperwork (not necessarily at TX, but at one of them that makes you register AFTER you receive the bike, wait for paperwork, which is generally coming on 2 weeks at that point (including the one week or so shipping the bike), and then the back and forth begins with them not signing it correctly (every state is different) or not notarizing it (again, every state is different) etc.

[culcune]

Originally Posted by jaytravels

Lol no fuel gauge , bad speedo , no gear indicator, but only $2000 , what a bargain!

Even with those details, the Storm really is a good bike; I personally might go $1700 OTD and maybe go as high as $1800--the bike is assembled and registered, after all. My TMEC 200 was the same way--I relied on my odometer for fill-ups, but since I really only commuted on mine and it was 33 miles roundtrip daily, I knew that every 3 days it would be a good idea to get fuel (it was a 3 gallon tank). I probably could have gone 4 days if I really wanted.

[jaytravels]

Hey Everyone, thanks so much for the replies.

TO clarify (maybe I did not do that prior) the bike WILL NOT be registered in AZ, it will carry plates from my home state (Maine) and I do not think they require a NHTSA label to be affixed to the bike.

Also concerning the paperwork fiasco's I have heard of, my friend actually lives 15 miles from the shop for TX Powersports. He has agreed if I purchase the bike, to take custody of the paperwork, instead of waiting for them to mail it to me. He will then mail the paperwork directly to Maine, so I can start the plate process while the bike makes its way to me.

I do not honestly care if its a hawk, TBR7 (although I heard bad things about those) or a Brozz, Storm or chicken bike lol, as long as it can do the job that is all I worry about.

Hope that clarifies everything, thanks guys!

[alex_in_az]

Originally Posted by jaytravels

Hey your in AZ as well, glad you had a good experience with them, any issues registering your TBR7? How was the process, time to ship, arrival, anyone else have any good things to say about TX or the hawk itself?

registering was easy, just took the MCO form to my local 3rd party DMV and they did it all for me. I think it cost about $210 OTD for plates and convenience fee.
the bike shipped in 4 days and arrived in a big box truck with a lift gate on the back. the driver had a pallet jack and we pushed the palleted bike into my garage. after unwrapping it, I had minimal things to bolt on and there were no dings or scratches like people keep complaining about with crated bikes