xf200 By zugzug (Read 5,134 times)

[zugzug]

Well I got some riding in this weekend but sorry no pics. I got up early saturday and pulled the carb and raised the needle a notch. She was running lean in the middle and too much decel popping. Moving the needle did the trick. Runs like a champ. Definately a good buy. Heres my odo. Almost time for another fluid change and valve adjust.

[kz1000st]

545 miles and only a minor carb adjustment? Not bad. I was wondering how a run of the mill Chinese bike would stack up against that Cleveland Cycle Werks Heist? Obviously your experience so far is providing food for thought about the need to spend over $3000. Heck, the neat part is being able to use a $1200 bike for reliable transportation that gets good mileage.

[zugzug]

My last fill up I averaged 73.4 mpg. Thats regular riding, not going easy on it. This is a solid bike. I love the simplicity of the design and expect to get plenty of miles and smiles out of it.
I think this bike, and probably many of the chinese bikes/scoots will last as long as you dont abuse them (such as over reving)

[kz1000st]

Yeah, but think in the big picture. You bought the bike from a reputable dealer who'll stand behind it. You can get parts if you need them and you got it for a song. If it was Japanese or European you'd have paid three or four times as much. Would it have lasted three or four times as long?

[zugzug]

I went by the Kawi dealer today after work to see if they could do a quick oil change for me since I cant do it here at the apts. (I miss having a garage) The mechs just left but they said I could leave it or bring it by tomarrow. While I was there I seen a 05 ninja 250 for sale. $2200 and it only had 613 miles. Darn near new. My son has been talking about getting a bike again to commute with since the truck only gets 16mpg and looks like shizzle since he wrecked it. So I called him to come down and check it out. He fell in love with it. So we pooled our greenbacks and got him the bike. So for $2500 we got a almost new ninja with tax and tags and a new helmet. I left my bike there so they can do the oil change in the morning and rode the ninja home for him.

[kz1000st]

rode the ninja home for him.

What a considerate Dad. Great bike, built to last and goes darn fast. Cycle World clocked the new one at a top speed of 94 mph. That used to be 650cc country.

[zugzug]

Yeah the 250 ninja is a awesome bike. The older style (pre 09) is actually faster but the newer has a bit more torque on the low end. At least thats what I read about them when the newer style first came out. Its rated at 45hp and most of that actually makes it to the rear wheel once you get over 10k rpm. The only reason I never considered buying one for myself is the riding position. After taking it for a ride its not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. The pre-change ninja isnt a fetal/superman position like most sportbikes but the newer model of it is.

[runningslow]

Mar 24, 2011 19:49:43 GMT -6 @zugzug said:

Yeah the 250 ninja is a awesome bike. The older style (pre 09) is actually faster but the newer has a bit more torque on the low end. At least thats what I read about them when the newer style first came out. Its rated at 45hp and most of that actually makes it to the rear wheel once you get over 10k rpm. The only reason I never considered buying one for myself is the riding position. After taking it for a ride its not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. The pre-change ninja isnt a fetal/superman position like most sportbikes but the newer model of it is.

I'm glad to hear you say that. I've been considering a Ninja 250 as a second bike.... question though, how tall are you?

[cookees]

Thought about bring these in.Unfortunately they won't pass Penn Dot.

www.sunnymotor.com/product_info.php?cPath=29&products_id=89

[zugzug]

I've been considering a Ninja 250 as a second bike.... question though, how tall are you?

I'm 5'8" and my son is 6ft.

[zugzug]

Apr 9, 2011 20:46:15 GMT -6 cookees said:

Thought about bring these in.Unfortunately they won't pass Penn Dot.

www.sunnymotor.com/product_info.php?cPath=29&products_id=89

I woudn't waste your money on trying to sell one of those anyway unless your getting them for almost nothing. A chinese chopper is like a square wheel...

If your thinking of selling some more bikes you should look into the bobber (targeting new/short riders) or stay with the duelsport bikes. At least theres a market for them. I watch the auction sites all the time and I can't recall ever seeing one of those choppers sell. Most of the sellers don't even list them any more. The ones that seem to sell in order are the 50/150 scooters, the 250 scooters, then the pit/dirt bikes.

Actually with spring here and the increase in fuel cost everyone has jacked thier prices so I'm not seeing much being sold.(talking about the 2 wheel market as a whole) I think most of them don't get it. The market is flooded with new and used motorcyles/scooters but yet they still go up with the prices. I bet we see more of the big name dealerships go out of business this year. I think those that keep thier prices reasonable and don't jump on the greed wagon will do better and stay in business.

[ccprof]

Cookees - what's the problem with PennDolts?

[kz1000st]

Actually with spring here and the increase in fuel cost everyone has jacked thier prices so I'm not seeing much being sold.(talking about the 2 wheel market as a whole) I think most of them don't get it

I still say the problem is that the manufacturers don't get it. Kawasaki discontinued the 125 Eliminator, Honda stopped the Rebel and both have mini crotch rockets as the only street bikes in the small bike arena. Kawasaki has nothing under 900cc that isn't a Road Racer and Honda doesn't start until the 750 Shadow. Only Suzuki and Yamaha now have sensible 250s but nothing livable under 650cc for either of those. Where are the 450s and 500 standards or cruisers?

Kymco, SYM and CF Moto should rush in and fill in the void.

Hey Cookees weren't you going to sell the CCW Heist? What happened with that? I see on their dealer locator they have dealers in PA so the bikes must pass muster with Penn DOT. Heck, according to the article in Cycle World they're even CARB approved.

[zugzug]

Its been a couple weeks since I been out for a bit of riding (other than the daily 4 mile commute). I took a lil jaunt along the river yesterday. It was a bit colder than expected so it was a short one. I went out today to ride with a local group for one of the last Polar Bear rides of the season. It was maybe 100 miles for the day. I'm just too tired after the work week to take any big/long rides on a small bike. Its fun but it wears ya out. Anyway I was mainly posting this so you can see the bike is holding together The more miles I put on it the better it runs.



I managed to find a service manual for this bike that I downloaded. I always get a manual for whatever I have. I noticed that the cam chain tensioner in the manual has an adjustment but the one on my bike doesn't. Now I can see why the only bikes that had cam chain issues were the american bikes. It shouldn't be an issue any time soon but as I stack the miles on it eventually will be. Hopefully they put a good cam chain on this bike and I can get at least 10k out of it before I have to figure a fix for it. Heres a pic.

[kz1000st]

1057 miles according to my calculator. You won't have to worry about the cam chain. With it running in an oil bath all the time and being a, forget the name right now-not a roller chain, plate link something, it will last easily as long as any other component in the motor as long as the oil is changed regularly.