Zongshen 200GY-2 Gets A Yamaha XT225 Swingarm Conversion

[SpudRider]

About a week ago my good friend Andy helped me to complete a Yamaha XT225 swingarm conversion on my 2006 Zongshen Sierra 200GY-2 motorcycle. This conversion allows me to use 18-inch rear tires on my Zong. The alloy rear rim and smaller hub lighten the bike considerably. Also, my Zong now handles much better, and the adjustable Yamaha XT225 shock absorber has greatly improved the bike’s suspension! This conversion did not cost much, and I am very pleased with the results.





Here is a closeup of the adjustable Yamaha XT225 shock absorber, chain slider, and swingarm grease zerks.



Here is a view of the rear wheel from the left side, showing the 45-tooth, Yamaha XT225 sprocket.



Here is a view of the rear wheel from the right side, showing the Yamaha XT225 drum brake.



Here is a closeup of the brake linkage on the right side of the motorcycle. Inside the yellow circle you can see the shock mounting bracket fabricated, and welded to the Zong’s frame by my good friend Andy.



Finally, here is a photograph of the left underside of the shock mounting bracket, showing the Yamaha lower shock linkage, and grease zerks.



Spud

[madbare]

Very Nice Spud!

I knew you couldn't resist doing more mods...haha
How did you fab up that shock mount? Were you able to get one from a XT or was that from scratch?

I am still waiting for the exhaust, otherwise has been too much rain for any riding.

[Staticworth]

with all the talk of the bikes having "poor" suspension, this is definitely the best way of fixing it! great job and nice pictures

[katoranger]

The biggest problem solved with this is tire replacement.

Plenty of tire options now.

Spud. Do you feel that you need to change anything on the front now or do it feel right with the stock front wheel?

Allen

[DesertRider]

look's great Spud, now you don't have to worry bout that slow boat from china carrying the Kingston's, that has obviously sunk .

[FastDoc]

AWESOME!

Good friend you have there, Spud!

How's it handle now that the front well is proportionatly smaller? Did it quicken the steering with a lower nose attitude? Hurt 'high' speed stability?

[AZ200cc]

Now that is cool, Looks like a whole new animal now.

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by madbare

Very Nice Spud!

I knew you couldn't resist doing more mods...haha
How did you fab up that shock mount? Were you able to get one from a XT or was that from scratch?

I am still waiting for the exhaust, otherwise has been too much rain for any riding.

Thank you, Steve. My good friend Andy designed, and fabricated the shock mount from 1/4-inch angle iron.



We also had a Yamaha TT-R225 motorcycle nearby to examine for the proper location and angle at which to weld the shock mount to the Zong’s frame.



We lifted the Zong with my Home Depot jack, and removed the rear wheel and swingarm. You can see the Zong's 15-inch rear wheel leaning against the shop door.



Then we mounted the Yamaha XT225 shock absorber and swingarm to the Zong’s frame.



After comparing the shock absorber action of the Yamaha TT-R225 motorcycle at various degrees of weight load, Andy welded the shock mount to the Zong’s frame. He then ground down the angled lower edge of the shock mount before welding on a ¼-inch by 1-inch steel plate to reinforce the mount's attachment to the bike's frame.





Here is the shock mount in it’s final position, before it was painted black.



Spud

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by katoranger

The biggest problem solved with this is tire replacement.

Plenty of tire options now.

Spud. Do you feel that you need to change anything on the front now or do it feel right with the stock front wheel?

Allen

I had several motives to perform this swingarm conversion. I wanted to have greater availability and choice regarding dual sport tires for the rear wheel. I wanted to reduce the Zong's weight by replacing the rear steel rim with an alloy rim. I wanted to improve the bike's suspension, and I wanted Yamaha parts compatibility for the rear end of the motorcycle. The XT225 swingarm conversion achieved all of these desires.

I really don't need to change the front wheel. The bike handles very well after this swingarm conversion. However, I would like to reduce the weight of the Zong even more. Therefore, I would really like to get an alloy rim for the front wheel. Since the Zong uses the same front brake caliper as the Lifan bikes, I think it is a good possibility that a Lifan front wheel would fit the Zong's front forks. A cheaper option is to use an alloy rim designed for the Yamaha XT225 rear wheel, and lace it to the Zong's front hub and spokes. The XT225 rear rim is the exact same size and the Zong's front rim, and the spoke holes on both rims seem to be in identical locations.

Spud

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by DesertRider

look's great Spud, now you don't have to worry bout that slow boat from china carrying the Kingston's, that has obviously sunk .

Amen.

Spud

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by FastDoc

AWESOME!

Good friend you have there, Spud!

How's it handle now that the front well is proportionatly smaller? Did it quicken the steering with a lower nose attitude? Hurt 'high' speed stability?

Thank you, Doc! Indeed, Andy and his entire family are a wonderful blessing to me.

In answer to your questions, the bike handles great, much better than before! Indeed, the steering did quicken, and it feels wonderful! This conversion did not hurt the motorcycle's stability at any speed. The Zong is now much lighter, and it both feels and handles as a much lighter motorcycle! Also, the bike's suspension has improved dramatically! I could not be happier with the results obtained from this conversion.

Essentially, I now own a Yamaha motorcycle. The Zong's airbox, carburetor and engine are faithful copies of the same parts in a Yamaha TW200 motorcycle. Therefore, the Zong's exhaust header and muffler can also be replaced with Yamaha OEM or replacement parts. After this conversion, the Zong's swingarm, shock absorber, rear hub, rear spokes, rear rim, rear axle, drum brake and brake rod are all Yamaha parts! It is a wonderful feeling to never need fear the "slow boat from China!"

Spud

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by AZ200cc

Now that is cool, Looks like a whole new animal now.

Thank you, AZ. Indeed, my motorcycle is now a "different animal." It is a cross breeding of a Zongshen and a Yamaha. Therefore, I now affectionately refer to my bike as the YamaZong XT200GY-2.

Spud

[AZ200cc]

Your bike has the exact same exhaust as my ZUKI....Wonder if a dr swingarm would be a direct fit......Maybe I should not say that now

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by AZ200cc

Your bike has the exact same exhaust as my ZUKI....Wonder if a dr swingarm would be a direct fit......Maybe I should not say that now

Are you sure the two mufflers are the same, AZ? I thought the Suzuki DR200SE muffler was smaller and lighter than the Zong muffler. :?:

Spud

[AZ200cc]

Could not be any other muffler

http://www.kientech.com/DR200SEExhaustMod.htm

Dang thing robs the bike of a lotta ponies.