Hello from Boone, NC

[GlennR]

After seeing Spudrider's Zongshen reach 60,000 miles I decided to come here to learn more about which Chinese bikes are best. I've been to Alibaba.com and am amazed & overwhelmed by the vast brands and low prices.

My main concern is parts availability. Without a dealer network & parts the Chinese bikes will never be accepted by the American consumers.

btw, how much will shipping cost to order a bike from China to the east coast?

[FastDoc]

The best are the Q Link and derivitives and the Yamaha based Zongshens.

The Zongs are not available, and have not been for several years :-(

The Q's are available factory fresh. The SSR's are the same, but with some improvements.

Any of the others, the Honda CG125 pushrod clones are all good for what they are, but fairly far behind the Zongs and Q's in performance and quality. Still good tough. I have had 3 or so.

Parts for these, annd all the others are fairly easy to get through us in the used market, and eBay has zillions of parts as does Tao Bao. There are many websites that can provide pretty much anything, and cheap. It takes a little doing, but it can all be done.

[Weldangrind]

Welcome!

I'll echo Doc's comments and add that the Q's are derived from Suzukis. Excellent machines, according to the experiences of others here. I recall only one Q-Link failing, and that was subsequent to the owner trying to extract unreasonable speed and power from 200cc.

I've had several of the pushrod 200-230cc Honda clones, and I love 'em. I have one OHC Honda clone, but I have yet to put any miles on it. I expect that it will have the reliability of the very similar Honda XR200.

As Doc often says, you need a sense of humour to own a China bike. This is a terrific community that is ready to help in theory, but you'll be on your own for physical work.

[culcune]

Thanks to the EPA crackdown a few years back, it will be virtually impossible to have a bike shipped direct from China, since they need to have EPA certification. Many states require DOT, too.

As far as decent bikes with parts availability go- Qlink 's 200cc enduros are great bikes, but pricey (for Chinese bikes). Similar, and OEM'd by the same conglomerate in China (and pricey) are the enduro twins in both 200cc and 250cc sizes. Confusing why they have the same bike with two engine choices, but the 200cc is very close to the Qlink but lower cost while the 250cc is only available from SSR. The engines used are either near clones of the Suzuki DR200 or another Suzuki (250).

I bought a used 2009 TMEC 200 Enduro just about a year ago, and have commuted straight through the past year, 30 miles/ day. The 2013 model is several hundred dollars lower cost than the SSR 200, and uses a Zonshen Built engine-the far more familiar Honda derived CG. I have been pleased with my bike.

Spudrider's bike and engine is a Zongshen built engine based on the Yamaha TW200 engine-it is a fluke among Chinabikes in that it was pretty much the only Chinese bike based on the Yamaha; sadly, they have not been available for a few years now, at least not in the US.

I commute on a

[GlennR]

Originally Posted by culcune

Thanks to the EPA crackdown a few years back, it will be virtually impossible to have a bike shipped direct from China, since they need to have EPA certification. Many states require DOT, too.

That's a bummer. I was looking forward to trying to order them. Maybe a dual-sport and a sport bike. I have a Yamaha XT225 and thought I'd see how the various China bikes compare.

Oh well,... It sounds like the Chinese Mfg's will have to jump through some political hoops to sell bikes here. Maybe the US market isn't worth the trouble, considering the emerging markets' demand. I'm sure the Japanese are relieved to have the US to themselves.

[FastDoc]

Your XT is an excellent trail bike. The Chinese bikes, although good, don't compare.

In terms of suspension, transmission (5 vs 6 Speed), ergonomics, weight, parts availability, they don't compare.

Spud's Zong being an exception, but bear in mind his is heavily modified. It did not start out being such an excellent trail bike when he received it. It took a bit of research, and hard work, and a high degree of skill for Spud to make the Zong what it is today.

Zongshen did, however, provide the substrate, much of which is unmodified.

[FastDoc]

BTW I wish the Japanese had more competition, but in a way they do with each other. Both kawasaki and Honda are trying to underprice each other with etter and better machines. They are doing this by making their bikes and engines in countries other than Japan.

China makes BMW engines.

[SpudRider]

Your XT225 is an excellent, dual sport motorcycle. If well maintained, I don't see any reason why your XT225 should not reach 60,000 miles on the odometer.

I converted my Zong to an XT225 swingarm, shock absorber, and rear wheel. This conversion greatly improved the stock suspension. The forks on your XT225 are also superior to the standard, Chinese forks on my Zong, and most other Chinese, dual sport bikes.

With a dry weight of 238 pounds, your XT225 will be very much lighter than my Zong, or any other Chinese, dual sport motorcycle, including the QLink/SSR/Pioneer bikes. Your Yamaha, 6-speed transmission is great! I don't think you will find the equivalent on any Chinese dirt bike.

Finally, a Chinese motorcycle won't give you the extensive, Yamaha, dealer support network, and easy parts availability which comes with any Japanese motorcycle.

As with FastDoc, I strongly encourage you to ride, maintain, and enjoy your Yamaha XT225. It's an exceptional, dual sport motorcycle. I consider it a classic.