oldcargeek
07-02-2013, 08:40 PM
My name is Jason Stone. I'm stoked that this Chinariders website has been created! I am a thrift-meister, and all about the best fuel-economy possible, and cheap living... every one of my personal vehicles exemplify this lifestyle in some way... particularly my 2007 Chinese motorcycle purchased slightly used in 2011 for just $450.00; with only 950 miles on it at the time! In June/July of 2012, I was priviliged to be invited to join the No U-Turns Show for a trek across the United States on the T.A.T. (Trans America Trail)! ...That is Coast to Coast almost exclusively on dirt roads, trails, dried up riverbeds, off road, etc! What's more... a couple of us had cheap Chinese bikes & motors to provide our propulsion! The whole name of the game was to do this thing as cheaply as possible. These guys had taken other entertaining shoestring-budget road trips in the past before I came along (you can check those out at www.nouturns.tv), but this time they added another character to the show (me). Now you'll see that these guys are skinny (one of them, Wheatie, is from England, Jarron is from New Zealand, Noah is from Hawaii, and I'm the rather "big-boned" corn-fed guy from Iowa at around 290 pounds), so I went along as "Token Fat Guy"... made all the more hillarious by the fact that I was riding a 200cc Lifan Rakitak GY-200. You can see a few pics of the trip, and my bike as it was at the time by pasting the following URL into your web-browser: https://picasaweb.google.com/115833998602437761889/TransAmericaTrailTrip2012?authuser=0&feat=directlink ...I also have a YouTube Channel under OLDCARGEEK with numbered videos in chronological order from the time I purchased my Lifan, through its various modifications, and eventually some videos of the trip as it was unfolding. ...it gets better though. We decided to film this whole adventure primarily on 3-D cameras for eventual editing & release on the Internet, and even possibly Network 3-D TV Channels! Here's our preview, or "trailer" for the future show:
http://youtu.be/tjI-ODOZB_w I'm interested to hear what people think! Unfortunately, I only made it about half-way across the U.S. before having a nasty crash which broke my ribs and totalled my bike. A couple of the other guys made it all the way Coast to Coast, but I had to turn "right" and go home from Arkansas. ...650 miles with freshly broken ribs, mind you! I did that on smooth freeway though and with a lot of Ibuprofen on board. Not to be un-done... I got some parts from other junked bikes, straightened out the things that were bent up, and resurrected the Lifan to perhaps greater than her former glory! (It's a girl... I call her Lifanda). I'll add some more current photos and description of my rebuilding of the Chinese bike to my Picasa web-album soon. I ride it daily, and have since taken it out to California, so it's now officially been Coast-to-Coast! I may be the only person to have ever done this with a Chinese Bike! I even contacted the Guiness Book of World Records, but they weren't interested in the feat. I am hoping that there will be others to follow my lead, and get the word out that you don't have to spend tens of thousands of dollars on a BMW Dual-Sport touring bike to go where your heart desires! I brought extra brake pads, bolts, tools, clutches, sprockets, chains, tires, tubes, food and gear with me. The Lifan never left me stranded (despite being crashed a number of times and beaten on the rough terrain), and still to this day has proven to be a reliable form of daily transportation! It suffered a lot of damage, but I've fixed it up even cooler than it was before. I get constant looks and compliments everywhere I go with it. Thanks for taking the time to read my post! People may laugh at us for riding inexpensive Chinese bikes, but we're the REAL enthusiests! Anyone can grow their hair out, wear the expensive jacket with the matching (insert name brand logo here) sunglasses and ride a late model high-end bike around town, but it takes authentic moxy to do what we do! I have become really attached to my bike, and honestly don't even WANT a nicer, more expensive one. I have made it just the way I want it, and it serves my needs for reliable, utilitarian, economical transportation just perfectly. Ride on my friends!
http://youtu.be/tjI-ODOZB_w I'm interested to hear what people think! Unfortunately, I only made it about half-way across the U.S. before having a nasty crash which broke my ribs and totalled my bike. A couple of the other guys made it all the way Coast to Coast, but I had to turn "right" and go home from Arkansas. ...650 miles with freshly broken ribs, mind you! I did that on smooth freeway though and with a lot of Ibuprofen on board. Not to be un-done... I got some parts from other junked bikes, straightened out the things that were bent up, and resurrected the Lifan to perhaps greater than her former glory! (It's a girl... I call her Lifanda). I'll add some more current photos and description of my rebuilding of the Chinese bike to my Picasa web-album soon. I ride it daily, and have since taken it out to California, so it's now officially been Coast-to-Coast! I may be the only person to have ever done this with a Chinese Bike! I even contacted the Guiness Book of World Records, but they weren't interested in the feat. I am hoping that there will be others to follow my lead, and get the word out that you don't have to spend tens of thousands of dollars on a BMW Dual-Sport touring bike to go where your heart desires! I brought extra brake pads, bolts, tools, clutches, sprockets, chains, tires, tubes, food and gear with me. The Lifan never left me stranded (despite being crashed a number of times and beaten on the rough terrain), and still to this day has proven to be a reliable form of daily transportation! It suffered a lot of damage, but I've fixed it up even cooler than it was before. I get constant looks and compliments everywhere I go with it. Thanks for taking the time to read my post! People may laugh at us for riding inexpensive Chinese bikes, but we're the REAL enthusiests! Anyone can grow their hair out, wear the expensive jacket with the matching (insert name brand logo here) sunglasses and ride a late model high-end bike around town, but it takes authentic moxy to do what we do! I have become really attached to my bike, and honestly don't even WANT a nicer, more expensive one. I have made it just the way I want it, and it serves my needs for reliable, utilitarian, economical transportation just perfectly. Ride on my friends!