Hsun type 200gy; ZongShen200 Sierra; Lifan 200gy comparo

SeerAtlas · 06-12-2009, 08:15 PM

Ok, one of the things I really hate is the type of motorcycle review you read where at the end they conclude...well, nothing. Primarily, me thinks, because magazines exist to make money, money comes from ad dollars, and ad dollars come from manufacturers who *might* be a bit more stingy if their product gets panned...I've seen this over the years and a lot of mcycle mags have gone down because of a lack of editorial intestinal fortitude. Good Riddance...soooo, here we go.

MY first and foremost piece of advice to anyone contemplating buying a chinabike would be to ask how tall they are. The Zong and Lifan are much shorter than the Hsun type bike. You WILL notice, especially off road.

If you're a leggy 6'1" or better, you should be able to make do with the Hsun variant. Next question, where are you going to ride? If you are a road type rider who wants the off road *look* then a motard is the way for you to go and despite claims to the contrary, the Zong IS a Motard bike as it comes out of the crate. It's road manners are substantially superior to the Lifans and Hsun's, period, end of story, no argument. The tires are clearly road oriented, the small wheels scream road bike etc. etc.

This is NOT to say that the Zong can't be a good trail bike, it can, but its going to cost you some money to get there. First its geared much higher than the Lifan and Hsun. Second, the tires are road road road. A good rider *can* use them on fire road type surfaces BUT, u better concentrate

Otherwise you're going to find out just how heavy a Zong is to pick up. I didn't get a chance to put it on the scales, but it is CLEARLY the heaviest of the three. If I had to guess, I'd say by about 40-50 lbs. This is mitigated a bit by the design which seems to put the weight down lower. The bike actually feels nimbler than the other two, primarily due to the wheel size.

Now, the Hsun is geared seriously low. If you're tall, you want to ride trails, it has the motor, the gearing, the tires, and the ground clearance to go riding right out of the crate. If you're going to *true* dual purpose, you'll find the gearing too low, so its either a smaller rear sprocket or a larger countershaft one. If you want to *trail* trail, then it rocks as is. The tires it comes with are a good compromise for hard packed dirt and *some * looser stuff, as well as the highway. HOWEVER, if you're going to loose dirt/sand etc., you'll want some good knobbies. I'm happy with the stock tires on the dirt, trails, logging roads, I've ridden so far.

The Lifan is very similar to the Hsun, better visual welds, but some of the steel is smaller diameter. Perhaps its harder steel. It is perceptibly smaller when you sit on it, comparable in weight to the Hsun. Here's a biggie tho, I can't speak to the new motor with the counter balancing shaft, but on the 200gy type model I rode, vibration was PRONOUNCED.
The Hsun is very smooth for a single up to about 5500 rpm, there is a patch of vibration just above that which vanishes between 6500 and 7000.

The motor on the Lifan I rode looked nearly identical to my Hsun type's motor, but was night and day difference. At 4500 it would rattle your teeth. I looked for loose bolts, but didn't find any. The whole bike was not confidence inspiring at anything over about 40mph. Some naysayers might claim the motor and/or bike was run out etc. but we're talking about a bike with less than 300 miles on it and seemingly correctly prepared.

Now about the vibration on the Zong. Comparatively speaking, there isn't any. Period, end of story. LOL.Smoooooooooth describes that Yamahoppy knock off motor. And it is quiet, "shhhhhhh" quiet. I thought Waldo (my Hamna/Hsun) was a stealth bike, but the Zong takes quiet to a whole new level. One look at the mufflers tells the story. The Zong's is twice the size of Waldo's. Now the Lifan is the loudest of the three, and I don't think by accident as it seems someone in marketing decided it should sound *neat*. Not abusive, but definitely louder, especially when you jump on the power a bit.

The forks on the Lifan and Waldo looked identical. Both had more travel than the Zong's inverted style, however the Zong's action in the front was smoother in the rough. The action at the back end was a bit different. The Zong was the only one without any adjustment in the rear. Fortunately, the ride isn't bad. Clearly good enough for street and light trail work. If you want to get serious about off road trailing, you'll want an aftermarket shock.

Now, Spud and Mad have both modified their rear ends, er their Zongs' rear ends <hehehe< (actually maybe the Zong's modification of their respective rear ends, might have prompted the turnabout in kind..I'll have to ask LOL. In any event, I think the 225 mod Spud has done would be a good way to go. The rim and tire on the Zong from the factory are heavy, very heavy. This is not a bike you want to have the rear dancing around side to side trying to claw up a steep rocky trail. Too much mass back there. At first glance, other than diameter, the rear looks like something off a Harley, especially compared to the the other two bikes which sport the same tire'/rim combination which is far less massive. Spud's mod to a n alloy rim will help, tho the hub brake is still heavier than the disc on the Hsun.

Another thing, the LIfan and Hsun are well, skinny. They are more easily handled on a tricky trail section than the Zong. If you get caught in a rut, you can muscle you're way thru. The one time my brother went down on the Zong, was at low speed, when a rut I had just ridden thru, grabbed that 15" rear and simply threw him on his side. He's an excellent rider and was surprised that he couldn't recover before he went down. His skill was displayed over and over and he managed to follow me cross country, off trail, in loose desert sand/chalk/rock without a single other mishap (tho his track looked like a drunken sailor's lol). I tried it but the combination of my 240 and the bike's near 300 were just way too heavy for the terrain, especially on those tires. The rear actually did pretty well for a road tire, lots and lots of surface area LOL. The front longitudinal rib did exactly what one would expect...jump all over the place LOL.

Good knobbs would work wonders for the Zong. Don't leave the road without em

Ok, some other observations. The Zong is well made. The welds are for the most part very well done tho there are some hidden ones that don't measure up. Fortunately they are not on any critical location. The Hsun welds on the other hand, suck. Until you get to the steering/triple clamp area where the frame is massive AND the welds appear nearly perfect. I felt a lot better after inspecting this area. The same can be said about the swing arm where the welds also were clean and of good quality. It's like one pro did the critical bits, and someone who never welded before in his life put on the afterthought looking bracing LOL> The Lifan welds were spotty and fewer of them. One thing that surprised me was the small diameter of the Lifan frame tubing. Frankly the bike looked like a built up 125 or 150. There was not as much bracing welded to the frame as on the Hsun, tho the bracing on the Hsun looked like miscellaneous scrap metal they just beat into a shape that would fit then welded it on. Looks like hell but seems strong enough LOL. Again, all of this in contrast with the Zong which is high quality stuff. May not be any stronger, but it sure looks better

The Zong's equipment is generally superior to the other two also. Metal instead of plastic tank for instance.

Ok, I remarked before about the forks. The Zong's are massive, looks almost twice the diameter of the other two, and showed no evidence of twist. The Lifan and Hsun again had longer travel, but not the stability against twist. I would consider a fork brace if you get serious. As supplied tho, they do the job for trail riding. These are NOT motocross bikes , any of them. One thing about the Zong's, the other two have dust boots. The Zong's are open, but inverted. I'd worry about the seals, but I havn't heard anything from Spud or Desert or Mad so maybe my concerns are not well founded.

Ok, Headlights. I've read here several times about people wanting to replace bulbs. I found the Zong and Hsun's bulbs just fine for night desert riding. Granted I wasn't on a wet unmarked blacktop road in a downpour..but for normal stuff, just fine. The Hsun pattern seemed better to me.

One other thing. The Hsun switch will turn the lights completely off. On the Zong, you turn on the key, your lights are on, whether you want them or not. There a\re arguments in favor of this kind of save the stupid bike rider from himself philosophy. Well, I'm tired of people trying to save me from myself. Perhaps I'm just a western mountain man dinosaur, but if a man wants to be a fool and take himself out of the gene pool, that's fine with me as long as he doesn't take me or anyone else with him. I got pulledeover in Arizona once at a little better than 140mph on a Ducati 900SS. The Ariz Highway patrolman rightfully observed that it was my ass on the line, and simply asked me how fast I was really going as his radar had maxxed out.

Watch your battery. Fortunately, it comes with a quality brand. Speaking of which, Spud and others have remarked about the supplied power cable being too short. I'm not sure what the difference is, but on this model which was built in 2006, assuming you put the battery in facing the front, the cables match right up. Very secure, padded foam in the box, etc. Nice installation and like a lot of the *detail* type things, much better than on the Hsun or Lifan. A note on the Hsun, the battery box is metal, hangs off to the left side under the plastic cover. However, the cover abrades the edge of the battery. Over time and lots of miles on a trailer or on its own two tires, I could see where the cover could grind thru the battery wall. tape or foam that corner. I did.

On instruments, the Lifan and Hsun have the same tach/speedo. The Hsun reads only kmh, the Lifan mph, the Zong, both. LOL. However, the Lifan and Hsun have gear indicators, and a tach. The Zong has a neutral indicator, that's it. (well the bright/ turn signals etc.).

OK, time for some pictures, which will prompt me to comment some more on specific items, but here's the bottom line.

If you're tall, want to trail ride mostly, ride road some...then given the lower cost etc., I'm VERY happy with Waldo. btw, the Zong is a bit cramped for my 6'3 and something 240.

If you're shorter,, want to trail ride mostly, ride road some, then I'd go with the gy-5 variant of the Lifan with the counterbalance shaft motor. I don't think I'd get the earlier version. The GY -5 gets you the inverted forks, and the balanced motor.

If you want to reverse that, ride MOSTLY street with some trail/fire road, aren't overly tall, I'd get the Zong. It rocks from the get go for 90 percent of what most people are going to do, and as Spud has shown, can be modded to be easier to handle on the trails, tho this is going to cost you some money.

Now for the pics.

TheRealWorld · 06-12-2009, 10:55 PM

You have done a great service for the members of this forum. This is not only helpful it is very interesting and educational. Thanks.

davidsonsgccc · 06-13-2009, 08:38 AM

I totally enjoyed the review. makes me think i made a good decision buying the zong. im 6ft 1in 235lbs but my riding is 90percent on road. it works well for me. 3400miles and going.
shawn

BUG · 06-13-2009, 09:33 AM

Great unbiased review :!:

SeerAtlas · 06-13-2009, 10:23 AM

OK, sorry on the pics but I'm back on the road again this morning heading for Idaho. Heading from Vegas all the way up to the Nez Perce reservation near Kooksia/highway 12. Pics going to have to wait but then again there will be more of them. For you airgun afficianados, I have a new recommendation which I'll also post about when I get up there. Name of the rifle is the Benjamin Super Streak in 22. cal. 250.00 something from North Adams on the web. Incredible deal for an amazing rifle/scope, but that's another story.

In any event, Anyone up there in that area throw a post up or priv message to me and I'll try and give you a shout out

seer

TheRealWorld · 06-13-2009, 11:50 PM

If you were going to buy a new Zong, where would you get it?

About what should it cost?

I would like anyone's input on this also.

Stu · 06-17-2009, 12:19 PM

Great review! My point of reference is only from the HSUN view. I found your review to be very fair and accurate based on my limited time with it. Inspite of my troubles I believe the HSUN to be a good value. If I was going to ride on the road everyday I wouldn't have bought it, I would go with a Zong, Kaw or BMW, etc.

Thanks again.

smithyUK · 06-17-2009, 12:43 PM

good topic seer
pics?
cos im not sure if mines is lifan of hsun :oops:

Jim · 06-17-2009, 05:01 PM

Excellent post. As you mentioned, on the Lifan get the counter balanced motor... It is way smoother. Also it sounds like your Lifan had conventional forks, the newer ones likely have the inverted forks, which may be the same as the Zong?

I would probably still advise looking at the Qingqi/Qlink bikes over any.

phil · 06-17-2009, 10:12 PM

i have to say i would agree with jim from what i have seen i would guess that the q link is better, better bike better distributor service all around and the down side the q link costs A LOT more, no online sales, and i cant sell them (area is already taken) i dont see the extra money in the bike for the little diffrence but its better, and it dont seem that we will see the cpi here, so i still pick the zong

TheRealWorld · 06-17-2009, 10:19 PM

Hey Jim, How do you know if you are getting the counterbalanced engine? Where would you buy a Qingqi/Qlink

Jim · 06-17-2009, 10:32 PM

The counter balanced Lifan motor looks like this, notice the part circled in red.

I'm not sure where the best place is to buy a Qingqi, in BC, we have Konker importing them, they have them listed for $2995 or something, which seems high, but consider that a GY5 around here had an MSRP right around that, and a Saga (looks kind of like the gy6 I had) is $3200 or so, as well as the Loncin at $3299.

You can get a decent price around here from Xrage (on Chinese bikes in general, they sell Lifan's, or "Lifan Style" whatever that means, not Qingqi), though I'm not too sure about the customer service, or getting them registered on the street.

I agree the Zongs look like a great bike too, I don't think they're available in my area though.

All said and done, I was perfectly happy with my second Lifan. If the first had been counter balanced I would have liked it more. I still liked it though.

TheRealWorld · 06-17-2009, 10:36 PM

Wow, I have never seen one like that. Thanks for the great picture and info.

SpudRider · 06-21-2009, 04:37 AM

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