Howdy from Houston

[CC-John]

Howdy y'all!

I stumbled across this place after searching for more info on ChiCom motorcycles after watching a on a YouTube channel I follow. Been having an itch for a while to get back into dual sport type bikes for a couple years, but the sticker shock of anything from the big 4, and clean used bike prices put a quick damper on that itch.

Then after watching that video, I started giving the ChiCom bikes a closer look and definitely am impressed with the bang for the buck I'm seeing. I'm no stranger to dual sports, grew up with a slew of Honda XL's (70, 100, 250, 500) from the mid 70's thru the mid 80's.

I think I've narrowed my choice down to the Templar 250 X for building a sweet neighborhood scoot for running errands on or occasionally loading it on a hitch carrier to haul it north of Houston to ride the trails in the National Forest.

Already have a short list of mods from lurking around here for the past few days. Since this bike will be a 70/30 pavement pounder I'm planning on fitting it with a set of Shinko 705's, and either a 40 or a 42 tooth rear sprocket installed during the build. In addition, it will get the carb rejetted, cat delete, and a full teardown and build with no fastener left untouched, untorqued or un Loctited, along with all factory fluids getting replaced.

Gotta get my finances settled after dealing with a few house repairs after the little storm we just had blow through, but hope to be able to place an order in a month or two. Then the fun begins!

Damn! Didn't mean to write a novel for a first post.

[Crossbar]

Just got my Templar X a few months ago - love it so far. The Honda Shadow is feeling neglected right now.

[CC-John]

After everything I've researched on the Templar, it just checks all the boxes for what I'm looking for. And the fact that its a true 250cc is just icing on the cake.

Need to start looking into local motorcycle safety courses so I can get get a motorcycle endorsement on my driver's license.

[Thumper]

Good luck recovering from that "little storm"

I almost took a job at UTMB (Galveston) more than two decades ago. The place was washed away soon after.

[CC-John]

Originally Posted by Thumper

Good luck recovering from that "little storm"

I almost took a job at UTMB (Galveston) more than two decades ago. The place was washed away soon after.

Thanks!

Other than playing the "hurry up and wait" game waiting on a fence contractor to show up so I can get my fence replaced/repaired. I've already got all 40 of my weekly pool service customers back to pre storm condition. So, life as I know it is pretty much back to normal.

But as far as hurricanes go, Beryl wasn't too bad. I'm a Houston native, lived here 57 years, and Alicia back in the early 80's was probably the worst to hit Houston in my lifetime. We had sustained winds of close to 115 mph and gusts to 125/130, and there was major structural damage to thousands of homes. Ike in 2008 wasn't much worse that what we experience in a strong afternoon thunderstorm. Most of the stuff on the news about our power issues is directly related to CenterPoint not doing regular tree pruning/removal in their aerial easements.

[cheesy]

Welcome aboard.

[CC-John]

Originally Posted by cheesy

Welcome aboard.

[bigdano711]

Solid choice with the Templar X. Thumper tried to tell me, but I stuck with the Hawk 250 carbed. It was more in line with my pocket book and I got kinda dead set on it. There is a possibility I will sell the Hawk and get a Templar X, but not any time soon.


Welcome to the Chinabike Revolution! Viva la resistanz!

[JerryHawk250]

Welcome!

[bigdano711]

Just watched the vid...that guy needs to wrench more and talk less! Holy Mother Of Buddha!

[CC-John]

Originally Posted by bigdano711

Solid choice with the Templar X. Thumper tried to tell me, but I stuck with the Hawk 250 carbed. It was more in line with my pocket book and I got kinda dead set on it. There is a possibility I will sell the Hawk and get a Templar X, but not any time soon.


Welcome to the Chinabike Revolution! Viva la resistanz!

I was originally looking at the Hawk, but the fact that it's actually a 230cc engine and the old school forks is what steered me towards the Templar. I'm also a corn fed country boy at 5'10" and 240#, I'd have to do a big bore kit on the Hawk right out of the box to bring it's performance up to that of the Templar. I'm also more familiar with the OHC design engine in the Templar

[CC-John]

Originally Posted by JerryHawk250

Welcome!

[CC-John]

Originally Posted by bigdano711

Just watched the vid...that guy needs to wrench more and talk less! Holy Mother Of Buddha!

Yeah.... He can get a bit long winded!

But he's an old school hotrodder like me.. Carburetors and breaker points forever!!