I'm convinced Zongshen had a manufacturing agreement with Yamaha, and Yamaha killed the production of my ZS200GY-2. You raise several interesting, valid points. The Chinese are selling many motorcycles in Latin America, and elsewhere, because consumers face the same situation you do in Hawaii. The Chinese bikes have proven to be reliable and will meet the needs of the consumers, while the Japanese bikes are 2-3 times as expensive. In 2008 the Chinese had a large surplus inventory of motorcycles they had exported to the United States, and could not sell. I bought my new, in-the-crate, Zongshen 200GY-2 for $950. At that price it was an exceptional value. The bike had 0.1 mile on the odometer. However, the surplus inventory is now long gone, the Chinese are exporting fewer bikes to the United States, and the prices have risen. Purchasing a Chinese motorcycle makes excellent sense for you in Hawaii. However, the situation in the contiguous United States is quite different. One can find many good deals for slightly used, low-priced, Japanese motorcycles in the conterminous United States. Now that the surplus Chinese inventory is gone, these used, Japanese bikes represent a better value than the new, overpriced bikes being imported from China. Spud
I was in Haiti just after the earthquake. They have small bikes running around like bees. They were 4stroke and all were under 200cc. Did see one big Vtwin, but that was rare. The thing about them was that they had really nice racks on them. Seems that they were oem as they all had them. Would pack two, and as many kids as the woman could hold onto plus groceries.
Since you Zongchen is going strong, keep going. However, I believe your bike is the exception, more then the rule. I wrench in a motorcycle shop. The only shop in the area that is willing to work on the Chinese bikes. The build quality on the Chinese stuff is horrible. Plastic that cracks and brakes. Aluminium that is so poor, bolts strip out. Missing parts like axles spacers for the wheels. After 2 years, any rubber parts have become hard, brittle, and started to crack, including the fuel lines. I hate taking them on test drives as they are death traps. The build quality in the motors is nasty. I have yet to see a scooter come in the shop with over 5,000 miles on it. The motors seem to develop major problems before that mileage. Oil pump failures, rod knock is popular. We had a Chinese street bike in last month. It had a clone of the TW200 motor, punched out to 250cc with a different looking head. It was not gong to make it past 8,000 miles with that rod knock it had. If someone gave me a Chinese bike, I would sell it as soon as I could. My beat to death 1989 TW200 will outlast all of them.
I'm not promoting my particular motorcycle, or Chinese motorcycles in general. In fact, Zongshen no longer manufactures my ZS200GY-2. However, it's important to note, not all Chinese motorcycles are created equal. In regards to the problems you mentioned, I will state my experience with my particular bike. The plastic used on most Chinese dirt bikes is ABS, and it is definitely fragile. However, the stock fender and lower side covers on my Zongshen 200GY-2 are manufactured from a very durable plastic. The upper side covers on my bike are ABS, but I trimmed them back, and they are not vulnerable. My Zong doesn't have aluminum parts. My bike didn't come with any missing parts. I have never had a single bolt strip on my motorcycle. I lost one bolt from my luggage rack. After about 40,000 miles, I lost one of the ignition switch bolts. I haven't lost another bolt in 56,000 miles. I have never had any of the rubber parts on my bike become hard, brittle, or crack, including the inner tubes and the fuel lines. Far from being a death trap, I have ridden my bike to most of the local mountaintops. I have also toured with my Zong throughout Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, and Montana. My Zongshen engine is manufactured as well as the engine in any TW200, and this engine has proven to be just as reliable for me. When it was convenient, I have used Yamaha engine parts in my Zong. I haven't noticed any difference between the Zongshen and Yamaha engine parts. I definitely enjoy the 37mm UDS forks on my Zong. I also appreciate having the backup kick starter as standard equipment. I also enjoy the strong subframe and heavy-duty luggage rack which came with my ZS200GY-2. I am also familiar with Japanese motorcycles; I own a 2005 Honda XR650L, a 2004 Honda CRF250X, and a 1998 Kawasaki KDX220. I am well aware the Yamaha TW200 is a great motorcycle. I'm very happy my Zongshen 200GY-2 has such a well manufactured, faithful copy of the TW200 engine. I hope everyone on this thread has as much fun riding his TW200 as I have had riding my Zong. Spud
It has two wheels, gets you there and back, what is the zong problem? Seems like a reliable bike for you.
My wife learned how to ride on this bike, and I'd like to get her an XT225 that has just popped up down here on my local Craigslist. The bike is in Pocahontas County at the family's cabin, so it'd be much easier to sell out there rather than bring the bike home and sell it here. It's a 2001 Yamaha TW200 with about 11k miles. About as pretty as a mule, but a much better ride than one. Fresh battery installed this past weekend. Willing to sell for the same deal I got on it this past fall before I spent some money on the battery and rear brake pads that were replaced, $900. This bike is a blast, you realistically can not get it stuck, and if by some chance you do, you just pick it up by the rack and reset it somewhere else. Great around the camp/farm bike, or take it out on the road, but I'd avoid the superslab. Registered here in VA. Pics*: Edit: I also just ordered a set of used blue/orange plastics from a 1995 TW200 so those will come with it as well. *Disclaimer:Wife not included.
Sorry. I know you just came in here looking to sell someone a nice bike and I'm certainly not intending to beat up on you, but it's sort of a minor mission of mine to dispell this thinking. Most of the dualsports in this displacement class are prettty much neck-and-neck out on the slab and the overall difference amoung them is generally only going to amount to a acoupleothree mph, tops. Having ridden the snot out of both I would just like to suggest that if you're "upgrading" her with the intent of better highway suitability you're making what essentially amounts to a lateral move, with only the very slightest nod in favor of the XT. Just saying that if a TW doesn't meet your criteria for speed or margin of safety then neither will an XT. Iron Butt Saddlesore 1,000, TW200. Around 800 of these miles on superslab, the last 200 or so on state highways. and all of them mixing it up with "everyone doing 80" . I understand that this sort of thing isn't gunna be everyone's cup of tea, but if on an XT225 I could have shaved a whopping 10 minutes or so from this time: Vacation. Combination of superslab, dirt and Route 66 and covering several mountain passes over 8,000 feet. Zero difference between the two when in "vacation" mode.
Ditto. Different strokes. If I thought for a milisecond that my wife would be safer on one than another that is certainly the way I'd go, as well. Know-it-all Soapbox closed for the rest of today.
That said, kudos for that accomplishment on the TW. Pretty gnarly if you ask me. We're probably at opposite ends of comfort spectrum on the super slab. I don't even like long stretches of superslab on my DRZ.
What gear combo are you running? I run a 14-49 and was thinking about going to 14-47 to gain a bit more on top.
Stock 14/50 with the stock tire. Lots of guys claim success with taller gearing but in my experience you lose so much in headwinds and uphill that I never found it worthwhile and your AVERAGE speed will be lower. I'm guessing those in the great, flat places and coastal areas without a lot of changes in elevation would see some benefit. I run 14/55 with the taller, heavier ATV tire. It restores rpm to roughly eqivalent to the 14/50, stock tire combo, plus a couple hundred extra rpm to compensate for power loss due to the added rotating mass.
I live in an area of river hills; flat spots are noteworthy. I've been running 14/47 since about Christmas 2011, with no issues. But I spend relatively little time on the highway, and headwinds aren't usually an issue. Raising the gearing improved my mileage and made 1st gear more useful to me.
As I said, it seems to work for some, and I'll even allow that it will be of benefit over certain quite vast sections of the U.S. if you never leave them. I think Paebr was asking about distance work and since so few of us seem to be using the bike for that I thought it might be useful to report my experiences. It seems counterintuitive, but gearing that works well or enhances your commute or even gearing that works really well in all conditions within a 200 mile radius of home can quickly become a liability on a cross-country ride. Another factor that some forget to consider is that on a long trip you'll typically also be toting considerably more weight around in the form of clothing, gear, food, tools, extra fuel and such than you will when closer to home. This is an elevation track from a roadtrip on Interstate 40 from my home in southern Cal to somewhere near Abuquerque, a distance of roughly 600 miles. The GPS doesn't track the descents. Elevation changes range from a bit above sea level to 8,000 feet or higher, depending on route. You can't possibly jet for this, so you're going to have long periods of greatly diminished horsepower on the ascents, so you gotta gear with goal of not doing 40mph on a 25 mile ascent at the expense of the ability to maintain 65 on the flats. A more realistic goal to shoot for is probably somewhere near a 55mph average over all conditions. It's "Tortoise vs. Hare" thinking. Slower overall, but as steady as possible :
made a small adjustment on my seat. I did a remodel and put a 1500 kawasaki seat on my tw. It sat a bit down towards the front. I had taken the rubber pads off when I put it on at the time. I took it back off and put two of them back on in front lifting it an inch. Rides much better. If you ride single I recommend trying this setup. Vibration is waaaaaaaay down and with a saddle that wide it sure makes for a much more comfortable ride for distances.