Five Chinese motorcycles

ChopperCharles · 10-06-2023, 01:12 PM

I started my foray into Chinese motorcycle ownership when I came across the SSR Buccaneer 250i. I was looking at the CSC SG250, but then saw an adult man sitting on one, and realized it was a 3/4-sized motorcycle. The SSR just popped up one day on my google search and I knew I wanted one. I snagged it from a local-ish dealership for $3200 out the door - a steep discount as MSRP was $3699.

It had issues, mostly speedo and turn signals, but then the frame broke. SSR fixed me up and repaired it OUTSIDE of my warranty. They even went out of their way to modify an existing frame so that it would never break again, and then had it powder coated back to the original red color. (basically they copied the mods made to the 2018-up frame). With that kind of service for an out-of-warranty bike I was impressed, and decided I would try one of their more expensive Chinese-made bikes, the Benelli Leoncino.

The Leoncino was brilliant, I love it and it's everything I hoped it would be. Never had a single problem with it that wasn't the result of crashing on a rutted and rocky jeep trail.

Then I spent $5500 cash on a CSC SG400. (preorder). I wanted to ride california, and I figured I'd buy the bike and ride it 2500 miles over a week and some change, and then sell it if I didn't like it. Turns out I liked it

It's not been trouble-free, but the troubles seemed to have fixed themselves so

While I was waiting for my SG400 to arrive from overseas I found a super deal on a lightly used RX3 - only $1200 with 1500 miles on it. This bike was nothing BUT problems, and it was absolutely abysmally bad off tarmac. All the stuff I could do on the Leoncino, the RX3 failed at miserably - even when stripped of the luggage. Washboard, baby-head rocks, single-track, hill climbs, high-speed graded gravel, etc. I ended up hating the thing. In the context of a commuter it makes sense, but it's no adv bike, and that's what I bought it for. Constant problems too. I've never been so glad to see the backside of one of my motorcycles before. Made money on it tho.

And then a few months ago, I snagged a Benelli TRK502. I had sat on the X model at the dealership and couldn't handle the excessive height or heft so I ignored it. But then they got the base model in and I sat on it and it just felt... right. I wanted a touring bike and this fit the bill... and then they offered it to me for $6500 out the door. And long story short, it came home with me. Even though it shares an engine with the Leoncino, it's a completely different machine. Even the character of the engine is different - my leo strains on the highway, but with the aerodynamics from the fairing the TRK seems at ease, even up steep grades with a headwind (which really sucks on the Leoncino). A 15T countershaft sprocket brought the revs down at speed, and didn't seem to affect acceleration or holding speed any. It just made 75mph a lot more comfortable.

I'm starting to feel like I've got two many motorcycles that cover the same purposes. (Commuting, scrambling, local riding, touring, jeep trails, etc) BUT... if I came across a good deal on a G400C or a KPM200 or even a grom or monkey clone I would snag one. Maybe even a CG230-based bike (TT-250 or even one of the Amazon bikes).

I definitely have a sickness. I went from all Honda to all Chinese in just a couple of years.... and I don't feel like I'm missing anything by not owning a Japanese bike. In fact, I'm having a great time with these bikes, and doing FAR less maintenance on them than I was doing on my 1980s and 1990s Hondas.

No real point to this post, I just wanted to share.

Charles.

10-06-2023, 01:12 PM	#1
ChopperCharles Join Date: Feb 2018 Location: RDU, NC Posts: 677	Five Chinese motorcycles I started my foray into Chinese motorcycle ownership when I came across the SSR Buccaneer 250i. I was looking at the CSC SG250, but then saw an adult man sitting on one, and realized it was a 3/4-sized motorcycle. The SSR just popped up one day on my google search and I knew I wanted one. I snagged it from a local-ish dealership for $3200 out the door - a steep discount as MSRP was $3699. It had issues, mostly speedo and turn signals, but then the frame broke. SSR fixed me up and repaired it OUTSIDE of my warranty. They even went out of their way to modify an existing frame so that it would never break again, and then had it powder coated back to the original red color. (basically they copied the mods made to the 2018-up frame). With that kind of service for an out-of-warranty bike I was impressed, and decided I would try one of their more expensive Chinese-made bikes, the Benelli Leoncino. The Leoncino was brilliant, I love it and it's everything I hoped it would be. Never had a single problem with it that wasn't the result of crashing on a rutted and rocky jeep trail. Then I spent $5500 cash on a CSC SG400. (preorder). I wanted to ride california, and I figured I'd buy the bike and ride it 2500 miles over a week and some change, and then sell it if I didn't like it. Turns out I liked it It's not been trouble-free, but the troubles seemed to have fixed themselves so While I was waiting for my SG400 to arrive from overseas I found a super deal on a lightly used RX3 - only $1200 with 1500 miles on it. This bike was nothing BUT problems, and it was absolutely abysmally bad off tarmac. All the stuff I could do on the Leoncino, the RX3 failed at miserably - even when stripped of the luggage. Washboard, baby-head rocks, single-track, hill climbs, high-speed graded gravel, etc. I ended up hating the thing. In the context of a commuter it makes sense, but it's no adv bike, and that's what I bought it for. Constant problems too. I've never been so glad to see the backside of one of my motorcycles before. Made money on it tho. And then a few months ago, I snagged a Benelli TRK502. I had sat on the X model at the dealership and couldn't handle the excessive height or heft so I ignored it. But then they got the base model in and I sat on it and it just felt... right. I wanted a touring bike and this fit the bill... and then they offered it to me for $6500 out the door. And long story short, it came home with me. Even though it shares an engine with the Leoncino, it's a completely different machine. Even the character of the engine is different - my leo strains on the highway, but with the aerodynamics from the fairing the TRK seems at ease, even up steep grades with a headwind (which really sucks on the Leoncino). A 15T countershaft sprocket brought the revs down at speed, and didn't seem to affect acceleration or holding speed any. It just made 75mph a lot more comfortable. I'm starting to feel like I've got two many motorcycles that cover the same purposes. (Commuting, scrambling, local riding, touring, jeep trails, etc) BUT... if I came across a good deal on a G400C or a KPM200 or even a grom or monkey clone I would snag one. Maybe even a CG230-based bike (TT-250 or even one of the Amazon bikes). I definitely have a sickness. I went from all Honda to all Chinese in just a couple of years.... and I don't feel like I'm missing anything by not owning a Japanese bike. In fact, I'm having a great time with these bikes, and doing FAR less maintenance on them than I was doing on my 1980s and 1990s Hondas. No real point to this post, I just wanted to share. Charles.
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