Motorcycles

[DreadPirate]

Has anyone heard of a ZongShen LZX200GY-2???????
I found this online and was wandering if it rang a bell with anyone.

http://www.lewpackinternational.com/images/LZX200GY-2.jpg

Doesnt look bad for the price. 1395.00 plus shipping.
http://www.lewpackinternational.com/zongshen.html

[DreadPirate]

BTW yes it is a chinese bike. but at 100 mpg+..........

[Southwind]

DP, how do the specs translate, ie, would this be analogous to a 500cc bike?
Looks like they are in the Atlanta GA area. I am going to look into them more. I have been looking for an affordable bike to commute to work.

[DreadPirate]

Na only a 200cc. But would do for city/commute/bugout to a close off road location.

[1911user]

It's a 196cc thumper (single cylinder).

I would pass on it simply due to the lack of support structure in the US. You'd be kind of on your own for parts and service especially if you needed anything quickly.

I would also not take any brand motorcycle with an engine that small into normal traffic. The motorcycle advantage is to be able to accelerate away from trouble; not this one though. The max speed listed is 90 Km/hr and that's probably optimistic. If real, the 100MPG figure means it is geared for on-road use (and would not do well off-road with the high gearing).

The biggest things going for it are the low (initial) price and it looks like a dual-sport. If you ride it like a real dual-sport, my hunch is you'd learn about the parts situation very quickly. Honestly, I'd look for a used jap bike instead.

[Ren]

ditto to everything 1911 said....

[Southwind]

What a shame.

[1911user]

For any new riders thinking about motorcycles, I suggest that you look into taking the basic motorcycle class based on material from the MSF (Motorcycle Safety Foundation). http://www.msf-usa.org/

You'll spend 2 days riding bikes in a parking lot (and some class time indoors). The bikes will be very similar to the one listed; 125 and 250cc small motorcycles. It'd be a good chance to see what they really are (and are not) plus learning how to ride. You don't have to provide anything except a weekend and the cost of the class. I would take the class before buying anything motorcycle related.

Another consideration for motorcycle commuting is you may not save as much money as hoped. Motorcycle tires are more expensive and wear out much faster than car tires. Commute/touring type tires might last 15K miles (maybe as little as 10K) before needing to be replaced. On average, they cost about 2 times as much as a typical car tire. Plus there are the tag, inspections, taxes, insurance, and other costs from adding and keeping another vehicle.

It generally works out that people who like to ride motorcycles think it is worth it (even if they don't save much/any money overall). Those looking only to save gas money soon have a motorcycle for sale or sitting in the garage covered with dust.

IMHO the best "cheap" commuter vehicle is a basic, cheap econo-box car getting over 35 MPG. It has weather protection, a heater, cheap tires, cheap insurance, and more stability/protection in hazardous driving situations.

[Xenophon]

1911 is correct.

Two years ago two of my friends got married, and my gift was a 50cc scooter. It ran me about $400 and gets about 90MPG by report.

Friday my office next door neighbor asked me to go with her to get a scooter, because the 15MPG she is getting from her dinosaur is killing her, and she needs something to get her around in about a 5 mile diameter.

We went to look for scooters, and the cheapest we found was $1600, and that was for a clone of what I bought for $400 two years ago.

I looked on the net and found a pocket bike that is a 50cc two stroke that gets 80MPG for $369 and does 50+MPH. 50cc means no insurance or registration or motorcycle license required. I am thinking about getting one. It stands 28 inches tall, which is small for me, but just right for a woman or a young teen.

[DreadPirate]

Oh i hear what your saying. I rode one back in my teenage years. The safety course is an excellent idea. Keeps ya from having to take the driver skill test for the DMV. Also teaches the skills useful to riding. I have to tactfully disagree however with the money saving side however as long as you live in a state where on inspections occur. As far as weather is concerned one has to expect to get wet on occasion. Thanks for reinforcing my suspicions about the bike. It does look nice but there are very few dealers in which to get parts.

[1911user]

A 400cc dual sport would be almost ideal for commute vs. off-road so long as neither were extreme. Tough single-track trails might be too much for all but a dedicated dirt bike. Long stretches of interstate/freeway could use a bigger engine (probably 650cc). It's a tough balancing act between on vs. off road capability.

You might find one where it's easy to change the front sprocket with with just a wrench; the old KLR650s were that way. People had 2 sprockets and swapped them when going from street to serious dirt or vice versa.

The MSF has another class that might be of interest to you. I think they still call it the experienced rider course. It's a half-day refresher course and uses your bike and gear. It's good for a 3-year insurance discount (just like the basic course). These are fun because everybody already knows how to ride and usually some interesting bikes show up.

Post pics of whatever you find.

[DreadPirate]

Can do 1911. Stay safe!

[Southwind]

A 400cc dual sport would be almost ideal for commute vs. off-road so long as neither were extreme. Tough single-track trails might be too much for all but a dedicated dirt bike. Long stretches of interstate/freeway could use a bigger engine (probably 650cc). It's a tough balancing act between on vs. off road capability.

You might find one where it's easy to change the front sprocket with with just a wrench; the old KLR650s were that way. People had 2 sprockets and swapped them when going from street to serious dirt or vice versa.

The MSF has another class that might be of interest to you. I think they still call it the experienced rider course. It's a half-day refresher course and uses your bike and gear. It's good for a 3-year insurance discount (just like the basic course). These are fun because everybody already knows how to ride and usually some interesting bikes show up.

Post pics of whatever you find.

I had a 650 klr 20 years ago, and used it only for off road, but found it too big for me to handle. (I'm a woman) It was too rough as a street bike. I never thought about the sprocket changing though. That might work for me. With a wind shield and street tires it might work ok.

[KuernoDeChivo]

As far as commute, that bike might be good if you stay off the freeways. I'm sure you have enough pick-up to deal with surface streets. I believe the limit in my state is a minimum is 250cc if you want to take it on a freeway.

My neighbor has bought about 3 or 4 of the little chi-co bikes. They love them but they have had some issues. The first thing was lack of guard on the pipe. This kid has some crazy burns. My pipes on my Intruder 1400 are bad and don't have guards so I know that can be a hassle since you can't wear rain gear or anything polyester.

He also does allot of bolt and spoke tightening with lock-tite. He had something come undone I think it might have been the whole chain that ripped off the stator but he still loves them.

I was thinking getting something like that as well even though I have a big bike. Maybe even a Honda Ruckus with knobbies so my wife could ride it in an emergency.

The good thing about a bike like that is they are pretty aggressive if you have to go off road up into the hills. I would really like to find some old Honda Trail 70s-110s for my family and children. I don't anticipating bugging out form where we live but if we had to it would be nice to have a good trail bike and some fence cutters.

I would kind of like one of the Chi-co type buggies. With the full roll-bar and 12V system you could put light on top as well as a 102" whip for HF radio comms as well as a VHF or UHF. It would work well on the dirt roads in the hills above my house.

Also the Chi-co el cheap-o 4 wheelers with the rack would be good for water transport if you didn't have any fresh water very close by. If there is anything very prolonged my closest water is about a mile away. You could probably put a small barrel on the back rack if you went slow. A few Gallons of gas could keep you and you garden in business a long time.

Since everything is made in China anyway ya might as well... Start with a Chinese SKS.

http://www.bajamotorsports.net/images/products/br150.jpg

http://www.bajamotorsports.net/images/products/wd400u.jpg

[Southwind]

Start with a Chinese SKS.



Already got one.

[Navajo]

Been noticing alot of chinese copies of Japanese bikes later.

Odd names and a such. Friend of mine is a bike mechanic, he says they are exact copies of Jap bikes and sometimes is able to swap parts when he needs to fix something.

He says they are a good vaule and is seeing more and more of them come thru the shops.


I was looking at them also, really can't afford a BMW duel pupose bike or even a KLR650 so I'll settle for something less, probally a chinese copy bike.

[DreadPirate]

I fell ya Navajo. Things are so tight I reuse the coffee grounds from the day befor! :lol:

[Sarg Preston]

Got a pair of NightHawk 650-cc ,,,One I ran 3 years back ,,,the other was a parts bike ,,, They both had similar milage on em ,,, around 25,000 ,,, both of em were dropped by former owners and suffered broken lights bent handel bars ,,and scratches ,,, But for 150.00 each I figured I could square one from the two ,,,
With gasoline in the stratisphere I decided to bring the one back on line agin ,,, took a five gallon can for fuel ,,, and hit the High Test button ,,,, Pumped in 20.00 ,,, and I thought I,d pulled the handel at the cassino ,,one armed bandit ,,was slower than the dollar ticker !!! paid the clerk and went to haul it in the pickup bed ,,, that,s when I noticed less than 1/2 can full ,,,,But the new ones taper to the top ,,,so lets say 2-1/2 gallons ,,,I didn,t look at the pump figure ,,,, 8.00 for High Test ------Anyone ???

[blackknight]

Has anyone heard of a ZongShen LZX200GY-2???????
I found this online and was wandering if it rang a bell with anyone.

http://www.lewpackinternational.com/images/LZX200GY-2.jpg

Doesnt look bad for the price. 1395.00 plus shipping.
http://www.lewpackinternational.com/zongshen.html


I would pass on this one. It looks like it's a very very bad KTM ripoff, and there's no guarantee bike will run as advertised.

[RENMAN358]

Being a thumper fan, looks like a copy of a HONDA XR 200 series.

I am sold on the duel sport concept. Attention to specific details
are a absolute must. (ie tires for street and dirt not just knobbees)

The problem ive found is that parts start getting scarse after about
10 yrs. I use hanger queens for this but ea to thier own. i dont mind
cuttin my own gaskets,,, but its time consuming. Each brand will have
thier own quirks.

[Caplock50]

Hey, ya'll wanna nice big bike? My SIL's brother has one for sale. I think it is something like a 1100cc Kawasaki. I'd have to check to be sure, though. The brother bought it and laid it over,...and broke his leg. That convienced him to get rid of it. Seems the bike wasn't hurt much at all. As I remember, I couldn't see any damage on it at all. 'Course, it was still under warranty so the company had to repair it. If any of ya are interested, I'll get the proper info for ya'll. Just let me know. It *is* a beauty,...all shiney chrome and black leather.