Review of China Bike Dual Sport "250" (it's really only a 229cc engine!)
I last owned a motorcycle (1982 Honda CB900 Custom) 15 years ago and I wanted to get back into it. I live in the Midwest, so I thought a dual sport would be a good entry-level bike. I knew nothing about China bikes; I didn't even know they existed. I stumbled upon them online and I was quickly lured by the prospect of owing a brand new motorcycle for a little over $1000. I read mixed reviews online, but was blinded by the light, so to speak. There were some positive reviews, and I figured (more like hoped) the bad reviews were just close-minded reviews written by "haters".
I ordered a model called the "Enforcer" from a brick and mortar dealer based in Tennessee. This bike is also known as "Hawk 250". I felt safer ordering from an actual store. The process actually went relatively smoothly. I ordered in on a Monday in early March, and I received the bike the following Monday. There was some assembly required, but I didn't mind that. I read a lot online about assembly and the importance of using thread locker during the process, etc.
(http://i584.photobucket.com/albums/ss281/dharmajairam/Bashan%20Enforcer/20170309_121243_zpsuxykf1jb.jpg)
After it was assembled and I actually wanted to ride bike is when all the problems began...
First, the Good
a). It's a fairly good looking bike. After all, it's a clone of the Honda XR150 (not found in the US), just bored out to 229 instead of Honda's 150cc; so, it looks the part of a dual sport motorcycle.
Now...The Bad
a). Everything else...something different broke on the bike every week...no joke.
In the 5 weeks I owned the bike, I only put 35 miles on it. Most of this was due to down time of repairing the bike and hunting down replacement bolts, etc. The low miles was also due to the bike breaking so often didn't really inspire confidence in the quality of the bike in riding it beyond the small town I live in. I ride my GS 90 miles, roundtrip to work. I didn't get past a 5 mile trip with the other bike... Riding it was too scary.
Problem 1
The first problem I encountered was a stripped bolt in the bracket that secures the handle bar. The handle bar came loose and twisted downwards. Seemed like a simple fix...just tighten down the 4 bolts that hold it in place, right? Well, one of the bolts stripped while tightening it. This needed to be replaced (a.k.a., rigged up) with another bolt from the hardware store.
Problem 2
Speedometer cable actually came loose while I was riding! This was a bit more scary. I looked down at the speedometer and it read "0". Then, I noticed my speedometer cable dangling in the wind as I went down the road. This easily could have got caught in my front spokes. I had to stop and reconnect it, and then limp home. It came loose once again during the slow ride home.
Problem 3
The bottom bolt as the front fork was stripped and could not be tightened. From reading online, you're recommended to change all fluids in the bike, including the fork oil. When removing the bolts at the bottom of the forks, I noticed a problem. One bolt as tight, but the other was kind of loose. It didn't leak fluid, but it definitely felt different than the other bolt. As you can imagine, the side with the "bad" bolt, didn't go back together. I had to hunt down a bolt to replace the bad bolt.
Problem 4
The bike came with a brand new, "name brand" battery and battery fluid. It just would not hold a charge more than one day. I'm guessing it was a knock off of a name brand battery. Every time I parked it in my garage, I had to keep it hooked up to a battery tender. One would expect the battery to hold charge for more than 24 hours.
Problem 5
Rear tire blowout. I rode the bike a mile around the block and when I returned home, the rear tire was flat. I took it to a bike shop to get the rear tube replaced. The mechanic said the rear tube was very thin and cheap and the valve stem came apart from the tube.
Problem 6
Very weak front brakes. I didn't notice this at first because I only rode this bike. Then, one weekend this past April, I took the MSF course and rode a used, beat up Honda Rebel 250cc. It wasn't a great bike, but I finally had a chance to feel what brakes on a bike should feel like. They were very tight and effective. Then, I jumped back on the China bike, only to return to the squishy, weak brakes. I changed the brake fluid the DOT 4 (again, it's recommended to change all fluids anyway). The brake fluid change made no improvement to the weak brakes.
The quality of the ride wasn't great. It was squirly on the road and did not feel "planted" at any speed over 40mph. Also, due to the small size/weight of the bike, I got pushed around by wind gusts quite a bit. Again, the bike didn't inspire confidence. The handlebars shook so bad that the rear view mirrors were useless.
Based on my weekly issues and aggravation with the bike, I figured it would be one problem after the other and I decided to sell it. I don't mind working on bikes, but I didn't want to spend more time fixing it than actually riding it.
Overall, my experience with the Chinese dual sport was horrible. I do NOT recommend anyone buy any of these bikes. I found it to be super unreliable and really cheaply made...I know what you might be thinking...big surprise, right? My hope for this post is to help others avoid making a similar mistake that I made. Perhaps someone on this forum knows someone who might be considering one of these bikes...don't do it!
Thanks for taking the time to talk about it. I too have some experience with a Chinese bike, but don't have as much negative to say as you.
In the MSF program we have 3 "Q-Link" bikes. Supermoto style, they look sharp, and are basically a clone of a Suzuki DR200. In fact, there is a lot of speculation that the engine and frame are OEM Suzuki. That's where the good tends to end.
Suspension is meh, on one of them the fork cap cracked and because of the way the parts are handled we couldn't just get a fork cap, had to order a whole new fork leg. Turned a $5 repair into a $150 repair.
Brakes are about as bad as you experienced, so bad that I thought they were oil contaminated when I first rode one. Nope, all 3 feel the same. Maybe new pads would solve the issue, but for a program bike we aren't that concerned about it. It stops fine from speeds around 20mph.
The cluster is meh. It actually has a gear indicator, but the speedometer has a KMH priority instead of a MPH priority so we often have to tell students to read the inner numbers instead of the outer ones.
And the real oddball is the engine cutoff switch. It's backwards! Usually down is run and up is off, this one has up as run and down as off.
That being said, for $1500 each they've more than paid for themselves as program bikes, and they have been pretty reliable. Not all Chinese bikes are complete crap.
Actually, the stuff coming from CSC seems to have a decent reputation. A lot of the typical Chinese stuff plagues them like low quality plastic, inaccurate instrumentation, and just "you get what you pay for" quality control, but I've talked to more than a few people who own those $3000 adventure style bikes who all seem pretty happy with them... For the money...
I think if I ever get a Chinese bike it will be an SSR Razkull. Think Honda Grom, but half the price and styled to look like a 5/8 scale Ducati Monster.
I'm familiar with the SSR Razkull and the CSC RX3 adventure bike. The problem with bikes from CSC and SSR is that, for China bikes, they are relatively expensive (except the Razskul). Take the CSC RX3 for example... By the time you buy it and ship it to your house, it's closer to $4000... And your still stuck with a 250cc engine for $4000. My point is that your $4000 is much better spent on a used Japanese bike. I will never buy one again. :dunno_white:
My $1000 dual sport China bike was absolute crap that rode like crap. I would have been better off buying a used Japanese bike for $1000. The difference between how that bike and my current Gs feels on the road is like night and day.
Used GS and GSTwin forum backing it up is very very hard to beat.
Its a pity Suzuki threw it all away.
Suzuki's thinking is that "we don't need to cater to people who mainly are used bike buyers" Except, GSTwin also encompasses every new bike and entry bike owner. They are not going to be adding to the Suzuki owners family by ignoring the beginners.
You buy a kawi you have agood experience, your next bike - the bigger kawi. Honda understands this well, Suzuki does not.
Cool.
Buddha.
Quote from: The Buddha on May 20, 2017, 07:02:46 AM
You buy a kawi you have agood experience, your next bike - the bigger kawi. Honda understands this well, Suzuki does not.
Honda needs to hop on the demo bandwagon, though.
" Honda needs to hop on the demo bandwagon, though."
+1 for that. Sally was was VERY interested in buying a CBR500R or the naked version. Couldn't get a test ride. So she said stuff em. Went to KTM . They gave her the 690 Duke and said go and ride it upo the mountain ( to be fair we raced with a few of the guys at the shop). She rode it up the mountain came back and bought it...at TWICE the price. Honda you are idiots.
I wouldn't mind one of the new Rebel 500s, but me and cruisers don't tend to get along well for more than a half hour. The mid-set pegs don't feel bad from sitting on one in the showroom, but I don't want to buy a Rebel just to get lower back pain in 10 miles...
really enjoyed the write up ski_rush! applause!
Quote from: Watcher on May 21, 2017, 03:27:25 PM
I wouldn't mind one of the new Rebel 500s, but me and cruisers don't tend to get along well for more than a half hour. The mid-set pegs don't feel bad from sitting on one in the showroom, but I don't want to buy a Rebel just to get lower back pain in 10 miles...
Oooo rebel 500. I didn't even know they made those.
Basically Honda has done what we're saying Suzuki should/
I'd say Honda copied Suzuki, but kawi had the Vulcan and ex500 from before the GS and Honda used to make interceptors, sabre's and magna's with the same motor.
Cool.
Buddha.
I tell you what someone needs to make:
a parallel twin that looks/feels like a Triumph Bonneville but weighs in at under 400 lb. A more upright/British style version of a Rebel 500 would do the trick. Call it a "Redcoat 500". I'd prefer an air-cooled twin and for Suzuki to revive the GS500 motor to make it happen but it looks like Honda or Yamaha has a better chance of pulling it off.
Again, like I said before, a "TU500x" would be a pretty good idea.
I got to sit on an SR400 and I actually quite liked the style and seating position. I could see myself on one of those.
It's essentially a TU500X...
Kick start only is either a cool little niche idea or a total PITA, I don't know how I'd feel about that in the long run. It is EFI though.
Quote from: Watcher on May 22, 2017, 11:23:52 AM
I got to sit on an SR400 and I actually quite liked the style and seating position. I could see myself on one of those.
It's essentially a TU500X...
Except it's a single. An SR650 twin with electric start (!) would be much better.
Quote
Kick start only is either a cool little niche idea or a total PITA, I don't know how I'd feel about that in the long run. It is EFI though.
I vote "total PITA".