New to 250 GS

[xanthmo]

Hello from Yorkville,

I just received a Zongshen 250 GS "Winner".  Assembly was pretty easy, with the exception of no instructions included.  Took it out for a short ride, and was relatively impressed.  Seemed to have decent power, kept up with traffic easily at 65mph.  

The bike does have a few shortcomings:
1. The side mirrors are pretty useless.
2. The seats are not on hinges, the passenger seat comes off completely, and the larger seat is bolted on.
3. I broke a bracket to the plastic cover trying to get to the battery.

The good though is that it is a pretty cool looking bike, has a decent sound, decent power, and it is unique.

[skadamo]

Welcome to the site Xanthmo!  Congrats on the new bike.   I have heard some of the details on these bikes are not engineered very well.  Such as the plastic cover of the battery.  For the money sounds like a great deal.  I am looking forward to hearing more about your experiences with it.  Where did you order it?

[xanthmo]

Thanks!  

I ordered the bike from Scooter Dynasty.  They were great to deal with, the bike arrived about 4 days after I placed the order, and Vince at Scooter Dynasty sent me emails to keep me informed throughout the whole process, he has even followed up on the MSO order.

[skadamo]

Good to know.  I have heard some horror stories about certain online dealers.  

This bike looks pretty cool...
http://www.scooterdynasty.com/index.asp ... ProdID=800

Wonder who makes that one.

[xanthmo]

I have a suspicion that they are almost all made at the same place, and branded here.  The 150cc SUNL Adventure scooter I had looked suspiciously like the Sunflower 150, and most Roketas, and every other import scooter.  

I think that dirtbike was marked AGB which I haven't heard of.  I kind of like the dual sport look on some of the others, but  I don't know of very many places in North Eastern Illinois that a Dirt or Dual sport would be useful.

[xanthmo]

A few pics of the new Zongshen

[attachment=0:wyir766s]dscf2734.jpg[/attachment:wyir766s]

[xanthmo]

Another
[attachment=0:3j92iav0]dscf2730.jpg[/attachment:3j92iav0]

[drummerben]

hey xanthmo--

saw that you recently purchased the gs 250 from scooter dynasty. I did as well a couple of days ago. What sort of assembly did you have to go through and how mechanically inclined do you need to be?

BTW--bike still running smooth?

[xanthmo]

Hi DrummerBen!

Assembling the Zongshen gs250 Sportbike was pretty simple, the front wheel needed to be bolted on, and I think the rear rack/passenger grab bars need to be bolted on.  

The hardest part of the assembly was holding the front off the ground to get the wheel set in between the brake pads.  I ended up having my brother lift the front end while I slipped a Home Depot bucket under the muffler/engine cover.  There is no center stand on this bike, unfortunately.

I have put on about 200 miles, and the bike runs very well.  I have managed an actual top speed of about 70mph according to the speedometer.  It gets to 65mph very easily, but past that it accelerates very slowly, and at wide open throttle.

I have tuned the bike a little to my comfort specs, out of the box, the clutch did not engage until the lever was almost all the way out, making it hard to feather the clutch in tight turns, so I adjusted that on the lower adjusting screws by the engine.  

I also forgot, be careful taking the side cover off to access the battery, I believe that there are 3 screws that need to be taken off for the entire side cover to release, I only took off 2 and tried to bend the plastic, and ended up breaking the back plastic bracket.

Are you new to riding, and/or is this your first bike?  I think that for the price it is a pretty decent bike.  

Good luck, and have fun with the new bike!  

[drummerben]

hey xanthmo-
 
do you remember if you had to provide for any fluids, or is the bike just gas and go?

I am expecting the shipment within the next day or so and want to be fully prepare for what I need to do.

Thanks for all your input

[xanthmo]

The bike arrived with oil, and it is air cooled, so there is no need for coolant.  

I am certainly not an expert, but I read that you should lube the wheels and bearings before bolting it all together, although I did not do this.
The bike seemed to have a considerable amount of grease at pivot points including the gear shifter, and passenger footpegs.  I actually ended up wiping off alot of grease because in places it was almost 1/2" thick.

It can also be argued that the oil should be changed before riding, which I also did not do.  Many other people do not like to depend on the oil that comes in the bike, and opt to change it for piece of mind.

I think you will find the hardest part of the process being taking the crate apart.  It has very sharp edges, and mine had some bent screws that were almost impossible to remove.  On the other hand, this bike arrived in much better condition due to the crating than the SUNL scooter I received last year.

I hope it is ok to post a link?  I have a very extensive photo show of my bike at http://xanthmo.com - I should have taken pictures on arrival, but I didn't.

[drummerben]

I had checked out your pics earlier, which led me to this blog. Very detailed pics I might add. You provided a  lot of great info for me in making my decision for this bike. I will let you know how my experience goes as soon as I get my bike.  I'll try and post some pics, too!  

Just to clarify, you basiclly were able to "gas and go"...aside from a few minor assemblies?

[xanthmo]

That's right, pretty much gas and go, after you get the assembly done.  

Be Safe,

Xanthmo

[drummerben]

Hey--

Did you have any trouble starting your bike after you assembled it. I can't seem to get it started. It has gas, it's in neutral, etc.  What am I doing wrong?

HELP!

[xanthmo]

Hi DB,

The right handle bar has the engine kill switch, is that in the down position?  I can't remember the graphics on the switch but I think it is an "X" (In the up position) for off and "O" for on.

Also, check the fuel petcock on the left side of the bike by the engine (mine is blue), mine was off, and the fuel line was disconnected.  Check to make sure the fuel line is connected on both sides, and turn the petcock lever (It is turned to the front of the bike on arrival, and should be turned UP to allow gas to flow), and try to start it again.

Xanthmo