SG400 and Hayalon - Page 2

ChopperCharles · 10-19-2021, 04:05 PM

So, I flew to California from the East Coast, picked up my SG400, and rode around California for two weeks. I just got back on Friday.

First impression: The fit and finish appears really good. The bike is larger than I expected. It's small, but it's not SR400 small or SG250 small. The seat is quite comfortable, I like it a lot. With a gel pad I was good for 6-10 hours in the saddle every day. The engine is a gem. It runs well and once broken in has plenty of power to hold 80mph in 6th, even up minor hills. (a large grade will require a downshift). Around 7000 rpm the power hits hard and the engine sounds beautiful. It has plenty of passing power if you drop a couple gears. The speedometer is 3mph off at 45mph, and yet only 2mph off at 94mph. Yep, I briefly hit 94 (speedo)/92 (gps) on highway 99 coming back into LA. And I was still getting passed. The engine does lose quite a bit of power at elevation. At 6000 feet and I'm downshifting a lot more.

The engine is geared for 110mph at redline in 6th. It doesn't have the horsepower to reach 110 though... so this is a prime candidate for lower gearing. If the gearing is lowered, 6th gear will have more torque, and the bike will probably hit 100mph. 96mph is so close, 100 is probably only one tooth away. That said, gearing it lower would also make acceleration in all gears better, and also raise the rpm at 80 in 6th into the bottom of the power band. I'm guessing the bike has 14/48 sprockets. I dont' have mine here yet, so I can't count 'em. Going to a 13T front sprocket would drop top speed to 102, but the bike should be able to achieve it. It'd be a 7% increase in torque across the board.

Now for the bad. The rear suspension is terrible. TERRIBLE. Beyond bad. The shocks have NO REBOUND DAMPING. Every bump causes a pogo-stick like procession of 4 more bouncing "waves" before the shocks settle down. And usually that first hit bottoms the shocks completely. Sometimes the first bounce bottoms as well. Hitting a mid-corner bump on an otherwise smooth road upsets the suspension and causes the bike to wallow and want to run wide. On a truly bumpy road, the bouncing suspension never has time to settle down, and it's like riding a bucking bronco. On a road that my Benelli Leoncino Trail would eat for breakfast, the SG400 is reduced to 25mph or less, because it's simply uncontrollable any faster. The rear shocks are SO bad it's actually impossible to evaluate the front forks.

Also, the exhaust header pipes are the first thing to touch down when leaned over, not the footpeg feelers. This wrecks the pipe and also doesn't leave a lot of room for mistakes. Once you're scraping hard parts there's no more lean angle available. The turn-in is also slow and deliberate... it has me wondering if the bike was actually designed for longer shocks. Longer shocks would quicken the steering and allow the footpeg feelers to touch down before the exhaust. And would also provide more than 1.5" of suspension travel. But then the bike wouldn't have a low 30" seat height... so I think a decision was made to make the bike appealing to new and small riders rather than make the rear suspension actually work correctly.

I'm looking at options for the shocks now. I'm probably going to try the RFY cheapie shocks on eBay, just to see how they work on the SG400. I may also do the popular rebuild of the RFYs, which often have air in the oil side of the shock.

The other option I found is $280 for Hagon shocks for a Triumph Thruxton.

Honestly I'm leaning towards the Hagons, but I kinda want to buy the RFY just to see if they can make things even a little better.

Finally, it gets nowhere near 70mpg. I got an average of 45mpg riding in California. Which is essentially up and down a winding mountain path between every single town (because every town is in its own valley). I also rode up the coast on US1. And I got 45mpg. Best I got was 50mpg. That's still 200 miles between fill-ups, but that's 100 miles short of the 300 miles per tank that they advertised. Now granted, I am heavy and I had saddlebags on the bike, so maybe I'll get better mileage when the bike is back home and the saddlebags off.

Has anyone bought and received the Hayalon yet? It looks like it's got more suspension travel, but no idea if it's good suspension. Zongshen after all has had trouble with suspension. The RX3 is over-sprung for small people, the RX4 is over-sprung even for enormous people, and the SG400 is both under-sprung and under-damped. My guess is the Hayalon is more of the same, but I haven't ridden one yet.

The Hayalon is trying to look Italian, with its red trellis frame. But the Benelli 302S has the same horsepower and *is* italian. At least italian-designed, with italian-designed suspension. And it's only a $200 difference in MSRP. The 378cc zongshen engine has a bit more torque... but the 302S mill has a lot more character and the bike is a total blast to ride. I'd really like to see a head-to-head review of the two bikes.

Charles.

10-19-2021, 04:05 PM	#1
ChopperCharles Join Date: Feb 2018 Location: RDU, NC Posts: 677	SG400 and Hayalon So, I flew to California from the East Coast, picked up my SG400, and rode around California for two weeks. I just got back on Friday. First impression: The fit and finish appears really good. The bike is larger than I expected. It's small, but it's not SR400 small or SG250 small. The seat is quite comfortable, I like it a lot. With a gel pad I was good for 6-10 hours in the saddle every day. The engine is a gem. It runs well and once broken in has plenty of power to hold 80mph in 6th, even up minor hills. (a large grade will require a downshift). Around 7000 rpm the power hits hard and the engine sounds beautiful. It has plenty of passing power if you drop a couple gears. The speedometer is 3mph off at 45mph, and yet only 2mph off at 94mph. Yep, I briefly hit 94 (speedo)/92 (gps) on highway 99 coming back into LA. And I was still getting passed. The engine does lose quite a bit of power at elevation. At 6000 feet and I'm downshifting a lot more. The engine is geared for 110mph at redline in 6th. It doesn't have the horsepower to reach 110 though... so this is a prime candidate for lower gearing. If the gearing is lowered, 6th gear will have more torque, and the bike will probably hit 100mph. 96mph is so close, 100 is probably only one tooth away. That said, gearing it lower would also make acceleration in all gears better, and also raise the rpm at 80 in 6th into the bottom of the power band. I'm guessing the bike has 14/48 sprockets. I dont' have mine here yet, so I can't count 'em. Going to a 13T front sprocket would drop top speed to 102, but the bike should be able to achieve it. It'd be a 7% increase in torque across the board. Now for the bad. The rear suspension is terrible. TERRIBLE. Beyond bad. The shocks have NO REBOUND DAMPING. Every bump causes a pogo-stick like procession of 4 more bouncing "waves" before the shocks settle down. And usually that first hit bottoms the shocks completely. Sometimes the first bounce bottoms as well. Hitting a mid-corner bump on an otherwise smooth road upsets the suspension and causes the bike to wallow and want to run wide. On a truly bumpy road, the bouncing suspension never has time to settle down, and it's like riding a bucking bronco. On a road that my Benelli Leoncino Trail would eat for breakfast, the SG400 is reduced to 25mph or less, because it's simply uncontrollable any faster. The rear shocks are SO bad it's actually impossible to evaluate the front forks. Also, the exhaust header pipes are the first thing to touch down when leaned over, not the footpeg feelers. This wrecks the pipe and also doesn't leave a lot of room for mistakes. Once you're scraping hard parts there's no more lean angle available. The turn-in is also slow and deliberate... it has me wondering if the bike was actually designed for longer shocks. Longer shocks would quicken the steering and allow the footpeg feelers to touch down before the exhaust. And would also provide more than 1.5" of suspension travel. But then the bike wouldn't have a low 30" seat height... so I think a decision was made to make the bike appealing to new and small riders rather than make the rear suspension actually work correctly. I'm looking at options for the shocks now. I'm probably going to try the RFY cheapie shocks on eBay, just to see how they work on the SG400. I may also do the popular rebuild of the RFYs, which often have air in the oil side of the shock. The other option I found is $280 for Hagon shocks for a Triumph Thruxton. Honestly I'm leaning towards the Hagons, but I kinda want to buy the RFY just to see if they can make things even a little better. Finally, it gets nowhere near 70mpg. I got an average of 45mpg riding in California. Which is essentially up and down a winding mountain path between every single town (because every town is in its own valley). I also rode up the coast on US1. And I got 45mpg. Best I got was 50mpg. That's still 200 miles between fill-ups, but that's 100 miles short of the 300 miles per tank that they advertised. Now granted, I am heavy and I had saddlebags on the bike, so maybe I'll get better mileage when the bike is back home and the saddlebags off. Has anyone bought and received the Hayalon yet? It looks like it's got more suspension travel, but no idea if it's good suspension. Zongshen after all has had trouble with suspension. The RX3 is over-sprung for small people, the RX4 is over-sprung even for enormous people, and the SG400 is both under-sprung and under-damped. My guess is the Hayalon is more of the same, but I haven't ridden one yet. The Hayalon is trying to look Italian, with its red trellis frame. But the Benelli 302S has the same horsepower and is italian. At least italian-designed, with italian-designed suspension. And it's only a $200 difference in MSRP. The 378cc zongshen engine has a bit more torque... but the 302S mill has a lot more character and the bike is a total blast to ride. I'd really like to see a head-to-head review of the two bikes. Charles. Last edited by ChopperCharles; 10-19-2021 at 04:47 PM.
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