Zongshen 200 forks

[wa_medic]

Hello all,

I don't own a Zong, but do own a TW200 (1996) and I have found a lot of useful information at this site. Our bike share a lot and I think that those TW owners who like to modify their bikes would benefit from this site. Thank you to all who contribute.

I have a question about the Zongs forks and am a novice in this area, so bear with me. The TW's forks leave much to be desired and I am considering a front end swap. Given that the Zong and TW share a similar frame, would this be possible? Do you like your forks? I am not stuck on having a wider front tire (or rear for that matter). In fact, with help from some on this forum, I'm in the process of changing wheel size for my TW (taller and narrower).

Thanks for the help!

wa_medic

[Weldangrind]

Welcome!

The tires on my fat little TW are what attracted me; I'd never change it. :D

I'm about to begin the Zongification of my TeeDub, thanks to all of the good reports from Spud, and his 55000 miles of faithful service. I intend to install new Zong rockers, valves, seals, gaskets, piston, rings and speedometer. I've received all of the parts from Taobao, and the seem like the very same quality I'd get from Yamaha, but at a fraction of the price. I also picked up a China TW rear rack, and it's much larger than the Yamaha version.

I don't think you can easily swap the Zong forks onto your TW, because I believe the head tube is a different diameter. It could certainly be done, but not likely without machining. When you're ready to dive in, I could take some comparative measurements of my China bikes if you like.

[wa_medic]

Thanks Weld!

It's not been easy to find the steering head/tube/post/stem sizing online for either the TW or Zong. None of the tech manuals list them either and I believe this would be the crux of the procedure.

Any measurements that others have are welcome.

Surely I'm not the first try and make their TW bike more like a Zong ;)!

wa_medic

[SpudRider]

Welcome to these forums, WM! We are very glad you joined us! :hi:

Indeed, I like my Zong's 37mm USD forks a lot. :tup: My Zong has typical, Chinese forks with about 6-1/2 inches of travel. For comparison, the TW200's conventional forks are 33mm in diameter, and have about 6.3-inches of travel. ;)

I agree with Weldangrind. The steering heads on the two frames are probably quite different, so swapping forks would undoubtedly require a lot of machine work. ;)

In case you haven't discovered the Zong Sticky, it is located at the top of the Dual Sport Forum. I think you might enjoy reading some of the threads. ;)

http://www.chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=6051

[wa_medic]

Thanks for the welcome and previous info Spud!

I should clear up what I was thinking. I thought a complete front end swap might be possible. Triples, forks, brakes, and complete wheel set up.

Any thoughts? Thanks!

wa_medic

[SpudRider]

I figured those were your intentions, WM. :) However, I think the differences in frame tubes, triple tree stems, et cetera, will present a significant amount of work. ;)

However, I do believe the Zong's larger, more rigid, USD forks are superior to the smaller, conventional forks of the TW200. Also, you can certainly acquire all of the Chinese parts for a very good price from either Zongshen America, or Taobao. :tup: If you think you might want to pursue this modification, the first step is to ask for some good measurements from Weldangrind. ;)

[wa_medic]

Thanks Spud. I'll check out Zongshen America.

Weld, if it's not too much trouble, I'd appreciate any frame tube measurements you can obtain or already have.

Time to start compiling data. Thanks again guys!

wa_medic

[SpudRider]

If I were going to attempt a switch to Chinese, USD forks, I would strongly consider the Qingqi USD forks. ;)

http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.14.39.4YxAEq&id=15779218686

http://gd1.alicdn.com/bao/uploaded/i1/T1qsvHXgBhXXXhRh3W_024011.jpg_310x310.jpg_.webp

The complete front suspension, including triple tree, bearings, et cetera, costs 1,060 Chinese Yuan ($172.42 USD), plus shipping. The Qingqi/QLink/Konker forks are larger (41mm), and have greater travel than the Zong's forks. I think the Qingqi USD forks are probably the best Chinese forks manufactured, and they are readily available at good prices from Taobao. :tup:

http://www.telecable.es/personales/amvelectronica/qingqi/usdfork.jpg

[SpudRider]

I found a better price. :) Here's a link to the Qingqi front suspension which is selling for 1,000 Yuan ($162.66 USD), plus shipping.

http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.14.244.6iaMAX&id=24327124303

http://img01.taobaocdn.com/bao/uploaded/i1/12643022030545473/T104qhXqpfXXXXXXXX_!!0-item_pic.jpg_310x310.jpg

[bogieboy]

Not sure on the head tube stuff but if the tw has a larger diameter head, couldnt you just use a larger ball bearing in place of the factory size if the steer tube is the same length and all?

[bogieboy]

Oh also the Q forks appear to be whats on my shinray... They look identical (other than the gold annodizing has faded completely off...lol)

[moresnow]

Spud do you read Chinese! Can't recall how to view that site in english? Even possible? Thanks

[bogieboy]

Google chrome browser will translate most of it for you, but you need to know the conversion rate for the pricing...

[Weldangrind]

1 yuan is about $0.16USD.

I've inspected four different China front ends now, and only my Roketa has a non-tapered stem that allows identical bearings, upper and lower. The other three versions had tapered stems that use a smaller bearing size on the top. The Roketa is identical to the early 80's XR200 (not the R version).

Also, of the four front ends, I found three different styles of wheel offset, which impacts the speedometer. IOW, the Roketa forks will accept a different front wheel if the correct speedo adapter is mated with it.

All of the forks had the same outer tube diameter, but the triples were different widths (motocross Gio forks being the narrowest). The complete fork leg assembly was identical on three of the forks, but the Gio forks were longer. I had one outer fork tube that was missing a bushing from the factory :wtf:, but I was able to swap the outer tube on from another leg that had badly rusted chrome. The OD on all of the outers is identical.

I'm installing the Gio motocross forks in Roketa triples, and installing the whole mess in an '81 XR200 frame. The Gio forks are considerably longer than the XR200 conventional forks, so the height difference will be offset with the installation of the Roketa monoshock swingarm. It's a major project, but it'll be worth it.

wa_medic, if you install USD forks on your Zong, you might need to raise the tubes in the triples to lowerr the front end properly. That's easy. In the near future, I'm going to have the Roketa front end apart again, along with my Zong, so I'll be able to take measurements for you. Feel free to bump this thread as a reminder.

[bogieboy]

1 yuan is about $0.16USD.

I've inspected four different China front ends now, and only my Roketa has a non-tapered stem that allows identical bearings, upper and lower. The other three versions had tapered stems that use a smaller bearing size on the top. The Roketa is identical to the early 80's XR200 (not the R version).

Also, of the four front ends, I found three different styles of wheel offset, which impacts the speedometer. IOW, the Roketa forks will accept a different front wheel if the correct speedo adapter is mated with it.

All of the forks had the same outer tube diameter, but the triples were different widths (motocross Gio forks being the narrowest). The complete fork leg assembly was identical on three of the forks, but the Gio forks were longer. I had one outer fork tube that was missing a bushing from the factory :wtf:, but I was able to swap the outer tube on from another leg that had badly rusted chrome. The OD on all of the outers is identical.

I'm installing the Gio motocross forks in Roketa triples, and installing the whole mess in an '81 XR200 frame. The Gio forks are considerably longer than the XR200 conventional forks, so the height difference will be offset with the installation of the Roketa monoshock swingarm. It's a major project, but it'll be worth it.

wa_medic, if you install USD forks on your Zong, you might need to raise the tubes in the triples to lowerr the front end properly. That's easy. In the near future, I'm going to have the Roketa front end apart again, along with my Zong, so I'll be able to take measurements for you. Feel free to bump this thread as a reminder.

adding to this a bit, i noticed from pics of the roketa db07a and db07, it appears as though shineray used a different front hub than roketa, since the roketa disc is held on by 4 bolts, in a rather small bolt pattern as opposed to my shineray using 6 bolts in a much larger pattern. just food for thought on the front hub situation...

[Weldangrind]

adding to this a bit, i noticed from pics of the roketa db07a and db07, it appears as though shineray used a different front hub than roketa, since the roketa disc is held on by 4 bolts, in a rather small bolt pattern as opposed to my shineray using 6 bolts in a much larger pattern. just food for thought on the front hub situation...

The by-product could be a different front caliper mounting point.

[bogieboy]

The by-product could be a different front caliper mounting point.

it appears the mounting point isthe same on the forks, and the rotor size appears the same, just how it mounts to the hub...the roketa one has like a spider web hub on the rotor, and then it attaches to the wheel, where as mine is the braking surface, a short (maybe an inch or so)of metal, then the bolts... dont think i have any pics to illustrate this yet...will try and get some soon....

[SpudRider]

Oh also the Q forks appear to be whats on my shinray... They look identical (other than the gold annodizing has faded completely off...lol)
You have the standard, Chinese USD forks, Bogie, not the Qingqi/QLink/Konker forks. ;) You might enjoy reading from post #46 onward, in the following thread. :)

http://www.chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=10266&page=4

Most of the hondoid bikes have CM-1 forks, which I call "Chinese Model 1" forks.

http://i442.photobucket.com/albums/qq146/spudrider/MiscellaneousPhotos/Lifanforktubeidentification.jpg

My Zong, the Roketa DB-07A, the Viva 200GY, and a few other Chinese bikes have the CM-2 forks, which I call "Chinese Model 2" forks.

http://i442.photobucket.com/albums/qq146/spudrider/Zong%2021-inch%20Front%20Wheel/Zong21-inchWheel019.jpg

http://i442.photobucket.com/albums/qq146/spudrider/Brake%20Caliper/FinishedJob.jpg

CM-1 and CM-2 forks have the same, 6.5-inch travel, and the same performance. ;) However, the CM-2 forks on my Zong employ a different mounting point for the brake caliper, and a different locking tab for the speedometer sending unit. CM-1 and CM-2 forks are 37mm forks which also have the same external length, and the same diameters at the mounting points in the triple tree. The upper mounting point is 48mm in diameter, and the lower mounting point is 51mm in diameter.

http://www.chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=11019

The Qinggi forks on the QLink bikes are larger, 41mm forks with at least 9-inches of travel. :D I can't find the exact fork travel listed anywhere, but Motorcycle.com decided the QLink fork travel is at least as great as the Showa forks on the Honda CRF230M when they compared the two motorcycles. :tup:

http://www.motorcycle.com/shoot-outs/2009-honda-crf230m-vs-2009-qlink-xf200-88733.html

The QLink forks are also larger at the mounting points on the triple tree. The upper mounting point is 51mm, and the lower mounting point is 53mm.

http://i442.photobucket.com/albums/qq146/spudrider/QLink%20Forks/4forks_57_zps8929bad2.jpg (http://s442.photobucket.com/user/spudrider/media/QLink%20Forks/4forks_57_zps8929bad2.jpg.html)

http://i442.photobucket.com/albums/qq146/spudrider/QLink%20Forks/3forks_57_zpsdb54e990.jpg (http://s442.photobucket.com/user/spudrider/media/QLink%20Forks/3forks_57_zpsdb54e990.jpg.html)

I don't want to mess with my Zong's triple tree, instruments, ignition, et cetera, so I don't want to convert to the Qingqi/QLink triple tree. :ohno: However, if the QLink's front wheel was the same width as my Zong's front wheel, et cetera, I would gladly enlarge the mounting holes in the Zong's triple tree, and convert to the QLink forks and front wheel. :)

[SpudRider]

The CM-1 forks, and the Zong's CM-2 forks are both superior to the conventional forks employed by the Yamaha TW200. Both Chinese, USD forks have the same travel as the TW200 forks. However, the Chinese USD forks are beefier (37mm versus 33mm), and stiffer because of the USD design. :) However, the Qingqi/QLink/Konker forks are obviously best, since they are the beefiest (41mm), and have at least 50 percent more travel than the standard, Chinese USD forks. :tup:

[SpudRider]

...wa_medic, if you install USD forks on your Zong, you might need to raise the tubes in the triples to lowerr the front end properly. That's easy. In the near future, I'm going to have the Roketa front end apart again, along with my Zong, so I'll be able to take measurements for you. Feel free to bump this thread as a reminder.
You probably made a typographical error, Weld, but WA_Medic has a TW200. ;)

I don't think WA_Medic would need to tamper much with the position of the Zong's CM-2 forks, since the stock Zong has a saddle height and ground clearance nearly identical to the TW200. :)

[wa_medic]

Wow, lots of good information! Thanks everyone.

Spud, I agree that the USD forks are superior and placing them on the Zong was a nice addition to an otherwise reliable platform. :)

I'm having a hard time finding Zong parts, but have not given Taobao a full look yet. When I get home, I'll do a more extensive search.

Thanks again

wa_medic

[SpudRider]

Wow, lots of good information! Thanks everyone.

Spud, I agree that the USD forks are superior and placing them on the Zong was a nice addition to an otherwise reliable platform. :)

I'm having a hard time finding Zong parts, but have not given Taobao a full look yet. When I get home, I'll do a more extensive search.

Thanks again

wa_medic
You're welcome. :) I didn't have any problems finding the Zong's forks on Taobao, but I could not find either the triple tree, or the complete, Zongshen front suspension. However, the Zong does employ a common, Chinese triple tree, which shouldn't be too difficult to obtain. ;) Conversely, the complete, QLink front suspension is in abundant supply on Taobao. :)

[Weldangrind]

You probably made a typographical error, Weld, but WA_Medic has a TW200. ;)

I don't think WA_Medic would need to tamper much with the position of the Zong's CM-2 forks, since the stock Zong has a saddle height and ground clearance nearly identical to the TW200. :)

You're right on both counts.

[steveccanyon]

I found a better price. :) Here's a link to the Qingqi front suspension which is selling for 1,000 Yuan ($162.66 USD), plus shipping.

http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.14.244.6iaMAX&id=24327124303

http://img01.taobaocdn.com/bao/uploaded/i1/12643022030545473/T104qhXqpfXXXXXXXX_!!0-item_pic.jpg_310x310.jpg

Hi fellas

I'm looking for some forks for my Lifan, these look great!

Anybody know how long there are?

Anybody purchased them from the above seller?

Anybody read Chinese..

Thanks in Advance....very helpful thread..

[wa_medic]

Thanks for all the replies. I'm still researching options, but thought it was quite rude to introduce myself without a picture of the bike.

Here is my ride. Mostly stock:
http://i1291.photobucket.com/albums/b544/wa_medic/TW200/image_zpsf945d5c8.jpg (http://s1291.photobucket.com/user/wa_medic/media/TW200/image_zpsf945d5c8.jpg.html)

http://i1291.photobucket.com/albums/b544/wa_medic/TW200/image_zps863104b1.jpg (http://s1291.photobucket.com/user/wa_medic/media/TW200/image_zps863104b1.jpg.html)

[wa_medic]

And with a little help from Spud, a new wheel change.

http://i1291.photobucket.com/albums/b544/wa_medic/TW200/image_zps3f68936c.jpg (http://s1291.photobucket.com/user/wa_medic/media/TW200/image_zps3f68936c.jpg.html)

http://i1291.photobucket.com/albums/b544/wa_medic/TW200/image_zps7832cd62.jpg (http://s1291.photobucket.com/user/wa_medic/media/TW200/image_zps7832cd62.jpg.html)
http://i1291.photobucket.com/albums/b544/wa_medic/TW200/image_zps3cdd6c4b.jpg (http://s1291.photobucket.com/user/wa_medic/media/TW200/image_zps3cdd6c4b.jpg.html)

[SpudRider]

I like your TW200, and your 18-inch, rear wheel! :tup: You will easily be able to acquire a 21-inch, front wheel, no matter which Chinese forks you select. :)

[Pliskin]

Nice work Spud. :clap:
@ wa_medic (http://www.chinariders.net/member.php?u=28160) Your bike looks transformed now, what a difference. Show it to guys on tw200forum they'll be jealous. :hehe: