Storm 250 first "real" ride

[Spinistry]

I had probably put about 30-40 miles getting familiar with the bike since picking it up last Thursday just tooling around near the neighborhood. No surprises there and had been pleased so far. I did an oil change and checked all bolts (I thought) Sunday planning to take it for a real spin Monday.

Our local weather was less than ideal yesterday morning. Deluge rain creating flooding issues around Dallas. By early afternoon the rains had stopped Northwest towards Muenster so I headed that direction. I didn't want to wind the bike up for extended periods on the interstate before being properly broken in so the plan was to primarily utilize back roads.

Winds were fierce coming from due north (I'm going to guess 40 mph almost steady with probably stronger gust from time to time) and temps were a little cooler than I would have preferred but all was tolerable. About 30 miles out I started hearing a very tinny vibration at higher speed with any occasional ringing sound. I was thinking it might be the heat shield over the catalytic converter but opted to not touch it to check while riding. I pulled over at the next gas station to look things over and discovered that both bolts had been lost at the transmission/chain cover and that plate was floating around on the frame of the bike. It looked like a hazard for my laced boots so I tucked the laces into the boot and wrapped my jeans tightly over the boot with some duct tape I had in the tool box,

Cranked the bike back up and proceeded to Muenster stair stepping the back roads north then west trying to not spend extended periods going due north into the teeth of the winds. I think winds cranked up over 50 mph at one point because the bike throttle was pegged but could barely get up to 60 mph (indicated).

Arrived in Muenster, topped off the gas (not too much), restroom, snack,etc. The plan was to navigate a network of dirt roads to retrieve directional arrows from a bicycle event we put on a couple of weeks ago. I know the area and roads very well so I figured I wouldn't get in conditions over my head because of the weather from the morning. I knew which roads were likely to be slop and what areas might have flooding/runoff issues. I went to the first intersection to retrieve that arrow, stopped the bike, turned on the hazards lights and retrieved the arrow. Went to the next intersection, stopped, turned on the hazards...no hazards. Turn signals still worked but no hazards...okay, moved on to the next.

This went on for several hours as I probably had over 100 miles of dirt roads to cover to grab all of the remaining arrows. It was a great way to learn the bike and its idiosyncrasies. Neutral is very touchy on mine. Stock tires definitely are NOT intended for mud but can handle it fine if ridden carefully/gently. Mechanically, the bike seems very dependable so far. The bolt ons are extremely questionable which isn't a surprise based on my pre-purchase research.

I had a tail wind most of the way home so that ride was much more comfortable than the ride up. It was pretty uneventful except for with about 10 miles left before I got home the speedometer stopped working. I was doubting the accuracy of the speed indicated throughout the day but the high winds made it difficult to gauge speed by feel. I plan to take it to the dealer in the next couple of days to get the speedo fixed for certain as well as replacement bolts for the transmission cover.

The hazard lights I'm not too concerned with but it is also the ignition switch assembly and does seem to be the flimsiest item on the bike. I am concerned about losing the ignition switch. The bike does have a kick starter but I wasn't able to kick start it with about three half hearted tries out of curiosity. I will try the kick start out again today and hopefully get some peace of mind by learning the proper technique for that.

[Adjuster]

Great looking bike. Get the little bugs worked out and you will have a very dependable ride.



/

[ripcuda]

Thank you for the report! Definitely helps prospective buyers get a sense for the bike... and things to keep an eye on.

How smooth is the engine at upper revs? Yours has the counter-balanced engine and I'm curious if it really makes for a smoother, less-vibey, running.

Are you seeing the reported fuel seepage gas cap venting issue on your bike?

Speedo failures seem too common on many of these bikes... and I'm curious why. Is it the cable? Stripped gear in the speedo wheel gear or in the actual speedo itself? I'd be curious to hear what fixes yours when you get it working again.

Cheers!

[SpudRider]

Thanks for posting the detailed impressions of your first ride.

[Weldangrind]

Thanks for the report. It looks like you put an Action Packer on the rear rack; I did something similar with a Plano box. Being a Texan, I thought you might appreciate that.

[lobolives]

HEllo spinistry......is that a stock bike rear rack or did you add it. if you did add it may I ask where you got it from. It looks like it would fit on a 2014 Bashan (roketa) WILL 250 that i have and need/want a rack for. thats if it clamps to the round bar right under the seat and the rear turn signals hold the end up. just the way it looks to me. thanks bro

[ripcuda]

Hi lobo... that's the stock Storm 250 rear rack. Can see more pictures in this thread:
http://www.chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=13870

I've looked hard at the Will 250... but lack of rear rack was hard to ignore. Good luck finding one to work!

Cheers!

[Spinistry]

Originally Posted by ripcuda

...How smooth is the engine at upper revs? Yours has the counter-balanced engine and I'm curious if it really makes for a smoother, less-vibey, running.

Are you seeing the reported fuel seepage gas cap venting issue on your bike?!

It seems smooth so far but I really don't have anything to compare it to. I haven't been on a motorcycle in 25 years before this. The only other bike I've been on was a TW200 at the safety class but that never got above 20 mph. I also have made a point to not do sustained high speed stuff yet hoping to break in the engine gently.

I did run into the fuel seepage the first time I filled it up. I tried to not overfill but I still had overflow. I might have been from not properly closing the cap. I didn't have any other seepage after taking the cap off and reinstalling. No issues the next time I filled it up but I also didn't fill it quite as much. That is something I will be keeping an eye on.

[Spinistry]

FWIW, kickstarted fine this afternoon.

[alex_in_az]

does it really have a catalytic convertor?

[ripcuda]

Originally Posted by alex_in_az

does it really have a catalytic convertor?

Yes. The Storm 250 has an "egg" shaped cat in the exhaust pipe covered by the leg guard. You can see it in this post:
http://www.chinariders.net/showpost....2&postcount=13

Cheers!

[Mag00]

I picked one of these up this past week. To answer one question, very smooth engine and driving. I rode my 650 Husky today and that thing is not as impressive as this little ole Bashan.

Yes, my gas cap leaks too, won't know the fix until I find a good gas cap.




It came with luggage rack and hand guards, which I didn't install.

[ripcuda]

Looks really sharp in black and white. And looks really good w/o the rear rack too.

Thanks for sharing your riding impressions.

Cheers!

[SpudRider]

Welcome; we are glad you joined us.

[Weldangrind]

Welcome Mag00!