Time to sell this junky Chinabike!

[Savage]

I'm always checking site's looking for a good deal on a 400 or 650. It would be nice to have more power, plush syspension and possibly a smoother ride. But everytime I get some time and just get out and ride my GY-5 I have a fun time! Took it for a nice ride out on the trails and then went and rode the "single-road" backroads. It doesn't have enough power to power wheelie but maybe that's a good thing for me and my family. I can just cruise around on it and not have my "game face" on, ie. I don't have to be serious while riding for fear of it spinning out or pulling a wheelie out from under me. I can just ride and enjoy the view.
So would a bigger, smoother bike be nice? Yes, but I sure do have a good time on this bike that I basicly have no money wrapped up in.
If you don't know, my handlebar risers have made my bike a MUCH more enjoyable ride.
I think I good goal for our bikes is to strip them of as much fat as we can to make them as light as possible. That would help wake them up alot.
So anyway... I don't see myself selling my "junky chinese bike" anytime soon.
It's a blast!

[czowner]

Must admit I keep having similar thoughts, do I buy a larger bike for "best", but I see it not getting used much. My Chinese trail bike has done everything asked of it over this summer, including nearly 1000 miles over a long weekend.

Jonathan.

[TeamCheap]

Well it looks like our bikes made it another year (just barely-touch and go at first) If they had given me much more trouble I'd have parted them out.

I can say now that my bike is able to with stand some serious trail riding and come out of the woods just fine but it took some doing to get it that way.I will be setting up my wifes bike much like mine this winter.

After she rode mine this weekend she gets off it and says "WOW I want my bike setup like that" so I'll remake hers this winter but keep the stock engine and see if the same things work on it that worked on mine.




A DRZ400 for me is still not out of the question and a TW200 for the wife if I can find the right used one.
What would most likely happen Is I'd buy the TW200 first and she if she can ride it offroad and if not just sell her china bike and the TW200 and my china bike and get me the DRZ400.

[SamM]

Why not just get a Chinese copy of the TW200? I only have $810 in mine but I have seen them for sale on ebay for around $1600. Admittedly, mine has a bent frame and swingarm, that we can only figure happened during shipping. It looks like QLink is going to warranty the bike. That's what they keep telling me!

The 2008 Yamaha TW200 is a great bike and the price is not bad at $3799. I like Yamaha motorcycles very much. One of the reasons I bought the Chinese Yamaha clone.

[TeamCheap]

That Q-link looks bigger/taller than the TW200, are the tires the same size.

I think the bigger/fatter tires would help her out in the sand and allow her to ride the trails around here and still have fun and fi we want we could then blast down the roads.(cant ride the quad on the roads here)

[IronFist]

I wrote the same thing as savage on another thread. I didn't think that my bike would make the season. Then I went on my 1200 Km ride. I expected it to die so I could get another bike. It's still running strong. I can't give up on a bike that has never let me down, and it's payed for. I'm gonna put a few bucks into it over winter, but not a lot. I'm saving for my next bike, and the longer this one lives, the nicer my next bike will be.

[SamM]

No, the X-Ranger is about the same size as the TW200, it's fairly small! The tires are a little different. The TW200 has a 14" rear wheels and the QLink's rear wheel is 15". Both bikes have 18" front wheels.

We can ride quads here on paved roads without lines and any public dirt or gravel road. I recently sold my Polaris 500HO. I just think they are too dangerous for our hilly country and for road use. WV has the highest death toll in the country with ATVs. Had a guy get killed just the other day over the hill here. I didn't want any of my family members to be counted among those statistics. My 13 year old daughter was asking everyday to ride the 500. Not happening! My next ATV will be a side by side. Probably an electric Bad Boy Buggy. I'm not doing gasoline powered vehicles anymore. Just bikes! Electric vehicles figure right in to my energy efficient plans. I have to finish the house first though. I'm not sure if that oversized 4 wheel drive golfcart is really worth 8 grand! :roll:

[culcune]

BTW, I would prefer the Zongshen Sierra/Qlink X-ranger/Vento Mountrack (when Vento had them) over the TW200.

[madmaximum]

I had very similar thoughts when I first got my Roketa. I was thinking that it was going to be an unreliable, parts falling off, piece of crap. I don't feel that way anymore. If I could get this thing to hold 55 uphill or in a headwind I wouldn't hesitate to take it anywhere. I have put 3700 miles on it since the end of April and it has been a trooper. The funnest 1000 bucks I think I have ever spent. Makes the trips to the store to pick up a few items much more enjoyable.

[TeamCheap]

I'd just go with a TW200 since there are about 6 or more dealers right around my house with the parts for it plus I just like yamaha products.(and suzuki- )

I'm not really looking to get rid of my bike just yet but I would like my wife to be able to ride a dual-sport offroad with me and a TW200 would be about her best bet.

I have a few more serious changes I want to try/do to my lf200 to see just how far I can push it.
Front/rear suspension mods.
a steel tube around/under the engine.
a vapor computer(maybe).

[SamM]

One thing is for sure! If you have warranty issues, you'll get them resolved much quicker with Yamaha and Suzuki. QLink is still jerking around the local dealer about my frame and swingarm. Three weeks and still no official word on what they will do. I imagine the dealer will swap me the X-Ranger they have for mine, when QLink decides what they're going to do.

For sure, if it's parts or a warranty you're worried about go Japanese. Still these are great little bikes!

[Savage]

Parts come to our shop for our Lifans in 2-3 days.

[pumpkin]

about two or three months ago i went to the same dealer sam's q-link is at to get a starter soliond and they said it would be about two months. i ended up getting the one from sam's viva. so i guess it depends on the dealer.

[Savage]

Sounds like it depends on the make to me.

[madbare]

I would love to try to get the TW's rear tire to fit in the Qlink/Zongshen bike. I wonder if there is enough room and this could be done? Sam, if you get a chance, could you please measure the distance between the swingarm where the tire mounts. Also see if you can measure the width of the swing arm mount is? From these we should be able to compare to the TW measurements and see if just the tire will fit or we would need to change out the whole swingarm. Sounds like a fun project. First, I guess I need to find a a cheap Qlink or Zonghsen..doh! If I know this conversion could be done, I would buy a bike and do it. hmmmm

Steve