Hack-tastic

[tricky]

He he, £600 quids worth of finest Chinese engineering off of eBay :lol:

It arrives like this

http://upload4.postimage.org/1961252/hondou002.jpg (http://upload4.postimage.org/1961252/photo_hosting.html)
http://upload4.postimage.org/1961259/hondou008.jpg (http://upload4.postimage.org/1961259/photo_hosting.html)

Some assembly required

http://upload4.postimage.org/1961266/hondou009.jpg (http://upload4.postimage.org/1961266/photo_hosting.html)

Had to get a mate of mine who is an upholsterer to re profile the seat so I can touch the floor !

http://upload4.postimage.org/1961273/100_1362.jpg (http://upload4.postimage.org/1961273/photo_hosting.html)
http://upload4.postimage.org/1961278/100_1359a.jpg (http://upload4.postimage.org/1961278/photo_hosting.html)

I'm just waiting for the nice people at the DVLA to send me the registration and mark details so I can get out and do some "hacking"
:wink:

[The Basket]

That looks well proper. What engine its got? 4stroke 2 stroke?

Is the side stand short or is the block of wood come with it? :D

[instigator]

Is that the one with the 30 day warranty? :lol:

Looks nice but it's gonna fall to pieces. :cry:

[tricky]

Is that the one with the 30 day warranty? :lol:

30 minutes actually :lol:

Looks nice but it's gonna fall to pieces. :cry:

Probably, well it'll keep me quiet mending it. Most of the welding looks like its been done by a blind chimp with a twitch ! :wink:

That looks well proper. What engine its got? 4stroke 2 stroke?

4 stroke 200cc, looks like a copy of a Honda one

Is the side stand short or is the block of wood come with it?

Cost option :wink:

[Razor]

Wicked :wink:

[Skip]

Nice! I always wonder how Chinese people touch the floor on these things as generally they arent as tall as Europeans?! :?

Be interesting to see what it looks like after the winter! :wink:

[Treacle]

**** me £600 quid! Ill'ave two.

Nice one Tricky an absolute bargain. :thumbsup:

[Stig]

Certainly looks better than my winter hack. And a LOT more fun. :thumbsup:

[kwak zzr]

all that bike for less than a OE sv exhaust system :shock:

[netsurfer]

all that bike for less than a OE sv exhaust system :shock:

Probably will last as long as well :twisted:

Pete

[amarko5]

well mines on its second winter now and nothing major to report at all

1 spoke snapped, the rubbers holding the headlight assembly on perrished (now cabletied) and the shocker on the back is developing a slight knocking noise.

but for £700 :evil: two years ago its well worth the money for a winter hack, 1 off on your SV will cost you a hell of a lot more than that.

it's also quite capable offroad as its so low geared.


have fun tricky (but you will be painting that exhaust in about 100 miles) (as i warned you) :lol:

[MikeC]

Where do u get these bad boys from then? I'm interested! :D

And what do you do for spares? Obviously you service it yourself etc, and at £600 it doesnt really matter, just wondering what you do when it does go pop or whatever!

[amarko5]

Where do u get these bad boys from then? I'm interested! :D

And what do you do for spares? Obviously you service it yourself etc, and at £600 it doesnt really matter, just wondering what you do when it does go pop or whatever!


search on ebay for gy 200 or hongdou the guy i got mine off uses the name cyprus_pounds or another one he has is american_roubles i think based at portsmouth and is great to deal with.

he carries some spares should you need them but my philosophy was 700 quid should last 3 years as winter hack so what the FxxK go for it les than 250 a year.

ohh and as im with ebike insurance it cost only an admin fee to add it to the insurance.

[tricky]

Took it for its first road test today.

Refinement - HA! although the vibration is getting less with every mile. I have not yet decided whether the bike is pinking or just rattling. It is a touch on the noisy side.

Performance - Cant really tell yet as still running in, seems to pull ok.

High speed handling - Probably best avoided.

Brakes - Although I have bled the lemonade out of the rear brake it is still completely ineffectual, hopefully the pads should bed in after a while. The front brake is actually quite good.

Riding position - Very nice, very high, I can only just touch the floor even with my "low seat" version good visibility though.

Controls - Old style indicator switch will take some getting used. Audible indicators :shock: at least people will see me whilst looking for a reversing bin lorry.

All in all £600 well spent, I'm still chuckling to myself now

[Demonz]

That looks great - is it underpowered at all? Would love a 400+ version (if available).

[amarko5]

Took it for its first road test today.

Refinement - HA! although the vibration is getting less with every mile. I have not yet decided whether the bike is pinking or just rattling. It is a touch on the noisy side. the vibes get a bit less as the miles wear on although don't expect miracles

Performance - Cant really tell yet as still running in, seems to pull ok. MMMHhhh low geared and about 55 flat out (true speed via gps) speedo says 60

High speed handling - Probably best avoided. Ohh i dunno it can be interesting with the leg out :lol:

Brakes - Although I have bled the lemonade out of the rear brake it is still completely ineffectual, hopefully the pads should bed in after a while. The front brake is actually quite good. Rear does get a bit better but has no real feel at all

Riding position - Very nice, very high, I can only just touch the floor even with my "low seat" version good visibility though. told you they were tall bikes :P

Controls - Old style indicator switch will take some getting used. Audible indicators :shock: at least people will see me whilst looking for a reversing bin lorry. yeah that makes me chuckle as well. BTW keep all the buttons well sprayed with WD40 and when starting full choke for a few seconds then back it off halfway for a mile or so, before pushing the choke fully home :wink:

All in all £600 well spent, I'm still chuckling to myself now

yup good value for money, as long as you know your getting a rough and ready bike with not many frills and don't expect jap build quality

Glad your enjoying it tricky :thumbsup:

[bbqnm56]

I got one of these Hongdou GY200 enduro's on the 19th of December also!!. Have you got a reg plate for it yet? I had to take mine down to Wimbledon DVLA so that they could measure the seat height to make sure in was an "enduro". I tried to take pictures with a tape measure but they were having none of it- The inspector has got to justify his job I suppose!! The back brake binded up but was solved by turning the free play adjuster screw right in. I am going to get a smaller sprocket at the back to improve the top speed and possibly play around with the needle height i the carb. Drilling holes in the exhaust restrictor plate also helps There are a load of good stuff written about these bikes and its variants at:

http://www.chinariders.net
http://www.thechinesebikeforum.com
http://www.thumpertalk.com
http://forums.atvconnection.com

Good luck with it

[tricky]

I got one of these Hongdou GY200 enduro's on the 19th of December also!!. Have you got a reg plate for it yet? I had to take mine down to Wimbledon DVLA so that they could measure the seat height to make sure in was an "enduro". I tried to take pictures with a tape measure but they were having none of it- The inspector has got to justify his job I suppose!! The back brake binded up but was solved by turning the free play adjuster screw right in. I am going to get a smaller sprocket at the back to improve the top speed and possibly play around with the needle height i the carb. Drilling holes in the exhaust restrictor plate also helps There are a load of good stuff written about these bikes and its variants at:

http://www.chinariders.net
http://www.thechinesebikeforum.com
http://www.thumpertalk.com
http://forums.atvconnection.com

Good luck with it

Had mine registered for a few weeks now, no problem, just went up to the DVLA with all the docs the bike came with, no problem at all.
I have the opposite problem with my back brake, its crap ! :lol:
I've bled it and adjusted it but its still rubbish !

Deffo going to change the rear sprocket

I'm really pleased with it, its given me something to play with and kept me quiet tinkering with it.
In fact I'm grinning now at the prospect of the ride home in 5 mins time :D

[Peter Henry]

I can assure anyone that is interested that the general build quality of the Chinese machines has improved markedly over recent years. Not all factories there use the absolute base materials for production. Many have components built to specifications outlined by Japanese companies.

Give it 10 years and you will be considered odd if you do not have the latest Chinese machine parked in your garage. They will do to the Japs what the Japs did to European motorcycle makers. FACT! :D

[wheelnut]

I can assure anyone that is interested that the general build quality of the Chinese machines has improved markedly over recent years. Not all factories there use the absolute base materials for production. Many have components built to specifications outlined by Japanese companies.

Give it 10 years and you will be considered odd if you do not have the latest Chinese machine parked in your garage. They will do to the Japs what the Japs did to European motorcycle makers. FACT! :D

I agree, dont knock the Chinese bikes, even the Japs started with nought

http://www.motorbike-search-engine.co.uk/classic_bikes/suzuki%20gp125.jpg

[stevecb]

Looks like a sweet bike, how's it doing?
There's also a forum for Chinese bike owners, the original CBF shut down.
http://thechinesebikeforum.org (http://thechinesebikeforum.org/)

[cbay]

I'm liking it!

For £600 and the fun of building it and maintaining it appeals to me! If only I had a garage. :-(

[stevecb]

Aye, I know what you mean :( I only have the unforgiving outdoors to work on my bike lol which isn't very practical in England!
And I couldn't agree with you more. For £600 I've had a lot of fun building it, riding it and upgrading it!

[fr499y]

funny enough, i got a chinese 125 from the same guy in portsmouth! except i had the cbr 125 copy and it was about £800.

[ophic]

I'd have a 200cc one but they don't seem to be available anymore. I reckon the 125s would be rather lacking in poke.