Hi from southern California!
 

Hey guys,

Just bought a 2006 Zongshen GS250 this weekend. Already having trouble with it, but wanted to say hi before I started asking for help. Been riding for maybe 9 months - had a 2005 Kawasake Ninja EX250 before this, but I busted'er up pretty badly. Looking forward to learning what makes this Zongshen tick.

Good to meet you guys.

Welcome!

Do you mean a ZS250GS sport bike? I'm quite interested in those, and I'd love to see pics.

Was your EX250 a single cylinder?

Thanks!

Yes. It was listed as "GS 250G" in the Craigslist ad.

The EX250 was a 2-cylinder, at least according to http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/20...05/engine.html.

The previous owner was telling me a couple things were swapped out. I believe the muffler isn't stock, and I believe he said the wheels were taken off a CBR...? Memory fails me.

Pics follow :D

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...925_092824.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...925_092831.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...925_092841.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...925_092849.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...925_092927.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...925_092934.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...925_092941.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...925_092950.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...925_092956.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...925_093003.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...925_093010.jpg

Where in So Cal are you? I used to live in Northridge in the L.A. area.

That's a really clean bike. The wheels and muffler are stock.

The brakes have the dreaded anti-lock device on them (the gold bits); I recommend that you lose them.

Welcome; we are glad you joined us. :hi:

That's a very clean, good looking motorcycle. :tup:

Thanks!

I'm in Santa Monica. I haven't spent much time in the valley, yet. Any recommendations if I were to explore the area?

Good to know those parts are stock. I must not have been paying good attention when the seller was describing things. Do I just take the gold piece off and leave it, or do I need to seal it off or something?

Santa Monica, you say? A good friend from high school is a cop for your city--I won't name drop here, but if you needed some 'courtesy' I could tell you in a PM. I doubt your bike will get you in much trouble, however, as far as speeding goes :)

If you are new to L.A., then take your bike up the coast and take one of the canyons back towards the Valley. I believe the first canyon road that will take you back to the Valley is Topanga Canyon. Somewhere through Topanga you will cross the (in)famous Mulholland Drive. Worth a ride on, too, if you wanted to wait to see the 'Valley' later on. You don't have to ride like a MotoGP racer, either, in spite of what the numerous youtube videos filmed there show! However, if you choose not to take the Mulholland diversion, and do get all the way into the Valley into the western edge of Woodland Hills, there is not much to see in the 'Valley' riding through.

I might be going over Thanksgiving, so keep in touch, and we could meet up, but I won't have my Chinabike. But you can at least see the 'Valley.'

Another good ride would be clear up the coast to Ventura County, and back down the coast back home. You have probably done that, already, but it is a nice ride to do over and over.

Welcome. That is a nice looking bike. The ABS gold pieces require you to undo the brake line from them. You take them off and reinstall the brake line to the caliper. This will require a you to bleed the brakes.

Bleeding is a little tricky the first time, but not difficult. Try reading this: http://www.dansmc.com/hydraulics.htm

That is an excellent article. :tup: Brother Dan always does a good job. :)

Sorry for the silence. Been in the office until 1-3am every night this week. Haven't taken much time on the bike...

Until the damn headlight died on me. Looking at it, the filament for the normal light appears to be dead. The bright filament is fine, but I'd rather not be blinding people all the time. Tried looking online for the bulb, but I'm only finding complete assemblies. Multiple places suggest just finding the model bike it's copied from and source those parts. Anyone know what the ZS250 is based on?

Still haven't taken the time to kill the ABS and replace the spark plug. That's planned for this weekend, after I get some sleep. I'll update with new shininess soon, hopefully :D

EDIT:
Figured you guys may be interested in seeing the headlight and assembly: http://imgur.com/a/gOH3S

EDIT 2: Found that the bulb is a 12728 S2 Philips Duplo 12V 35/35W. Hoping to grab one of those and be illuminated again.

EDIT 3: I have no idea what kind of fitting it is. I'll keep researching, but suggestions welcome.

My TMEC's headlight bulb was an anomaly...I ordered a few from the distributor in Chino, Cal. Excalibur Motorsports when my old bike's bulb blew--no one around Yuma had them. Their site is www.atv4usa.com It looks like it might be the same bulb?

However, I would think you want to blind drivers, especially in the L.A. area. All the collection of 3rd world countries' immigrants gathered in one metropolitan area unleashed on the streets need a good blinding--that's the only way they see you!! Drive with your brights on with pride!!! Plus, like I told you, I personally know a SM cop... ;)

Your bulb is also known as a BA20D bulb. It is a common bulb used in scooters, so you might find one at a scooter shop. You can certainly find these bulbs for sale on eBay. However, I suggest you convert your headlight to an H4 bulb. The standard, 55W/60 H4 bulb is brighter, and more readily available. :tup: You can read about the H4 bulb conversion at the following thread. ;)

http://www.chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=6145

You guys are my heroes. I started looking for BA20D and was getting a little worried at other forum posts I'd seen. I'll definitely upgrade to the H4 :D I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks!

Spud, can you explain how to change the socket? I don't know which wires should go to which. The H4 socket is unlabeled

Photos of sockets

Does it matter where the blue, green, and white wires go?

According to this video, it doesn't matter which wire goes to which... so I'm going with that.

Success! I installed the new socket and headlight, and it seems to be working beautifully! It's almost dark, so I'll take her out for a night ride pretty soon.

I also replaced the spark plug. Thing is, it still "skipped" a moment shortly after starting her up. I'm guessing the spark plug wasn't the issue, then?

Didn't have the opportunity to remove the anti-lock system on the breaks. That will have to wait until late October, when I'm back from an overseas work trip.

Thanks for all the help!!!! I'll continue updating as time progress (unless you suggest I open a new thread).

Good for you. :tup: I'm sure you will like the H4 bulb much better than the BA20D bulb. :)

Good work on the headlight. How did the night ride go?

X2; please tell us how you like the H4 bulb. :)

Sorry guys. Had a company trip last week. Things went beautifully. I did something slightly wrong - high beams + normals are mixed up, but it works! Still is pointing down, though. I have trouble reading street signs on dimly lit roads :/

Quick blurb about how I did it in case someone else comes along looking to do the same:
Detached the front fairings and mirrors from the frame. Detached the headlight assembly from the fairings. Disconnected the plastic coupler so that I could play with the headlight aside from everything else. Pulled the bulb + socket out of the lamb assembly. Cut the wires to the large bulb. Removed the rubber... bulb thing? Crimped the cut wires from the plastic coupler to the new H4 socket - supposedly it doesn't matter which wire goes to which, but that may be why my high-beams and normals are mixed up. Inserted the H4 bulb into the socket (don't touch the bulb part!!). Put the socket+bulb back into the lamp assembly - no cutting required, but it did take a little force. It was super snug in the lamp assembly, so I didn't feel the need to use the rubber bulb (also, I forgot to put it around the H4 socket wires, anyway). I just duct taped the hell out of the socket on the lamp assembly once I was done, but not quite yet. Reconnected the plastic coupler on the assembly to the bike's electrical system. Positioned the assembly and did a test run. Lights turned on fine, but they were pointing the wrong direction. Rotated the H4 socket+bulb in the assembly, tested again, then duct taped. Put everything back together and win :D

The lights pointing down is still a problem for freeway riding in the desert at night, which is troublesome as my girlfriend lives an hour away in the middle of the desert :( I've just been making her come down here XD Any ideas on that front?

EDIT: Oh, and the brightness is absolutely excellent. Good call on upgrading to the H4 :D She dims a bit when the signal comes on, but I was having that issue when the old bulb, too.

I always need to trim a little from the base of the H4 bulb before I install it in the BA20D socket. If you headlight was aimed properly before, and now it isn't, the tight fit of your H4 bulb is causing an improper alignment of the bulb with the reflector. ;)

It was never really aimed properly. :doh: The nice part about the way it fits into the assembly is that it's forced to be flush with it. It's pointing straight into the assembly.

Maybe having it flush is no good? What did you use to trim it down? A dremel? Any suggestions on how to hold it in place once I position it correctly? Or just duct tape the hell out of it?

Thanks a ton for all the help! :D

A flush fit is good; I wouldn't mess with it. :tup: I have to cut a small notch in the base flange of the H4 bulb to get a flush fit. ;) My bulb is held in place by a wire clip.

Yo I'm from SoCal and I just goty hands on some project gs250. Would love to learn more about this bike!