Help with my Zongshen X-Ranger?

[SamM]

For the past few days, I have been riding my 2005 Yamaha TT-R250 to work and back. That's about to stop due to pending surgery on Monday! My commute is about 50 miles round trip. The Yamaha has a much bigger fuel tank than my X-Ranger and it's a bit faster than the 200cc chinabike. I hit 67.9mph lastnight on the TT-R verified by Garmin GPS unit. Basically, the commute is a lot easier and more fun on the Yamaha. The Yamaha has a huge rack that will carry 200# if I need to. The X-Ranger's rack is limited to 10#.

So, the question is, what do I do with the QLink X-Ranger? I think I have come up with a plan. Here we go again! :roll: I think I want to use it for hunting and checking my property. I live on 110 acres. Since the bike is already plated I will be able to use it on the local paved and gravel roads as well as on my property. That's a big plus. I couldn't do that with my Polaris ATV. The X-Ranger is smaller than my Yamaha and a much lower. This makes it easier to manuver in the woods and on tight trails. I should be able to find a bigger rear sprocket to make it crawl up hills better. The bike will need a bigger and stronger rack. I'm going to try to adapt a cycleracks.com rear rack from a TW200 to fit on it. I may also order a new 18" rear wheel, disc brake hub and wheel from Jetmoto. The bike already has an 18" front wheel. My Jialing front forks should level the bike nicely.

If I'm going to use the X-Ranger for hunting it's also going to need a trick paint job. I'm thinking about doing it in camo. Camo sticker kits for ATVs are available from a few different internet sites. Something like the New Mossy Oak Breakup would be great and make the bike very different looking. Black powdercoated wheels and hubs will finish off the camo woods look. I sold my Polaris ATV recently, so I need a way to climb the hills here. It's tough getting old. Hunting season is only a few weeks away and I'm not going to be able to shoot a rifle this year. A different weapon will need to be found for that too!

This is the way to go for the X-ranger. I really like it and have so little money in it that I hate to even think about selling it or parting it out. The Yamaha just does everything better on the pavement.

SamM

[red2003]

OK, here's my input. Keep the KTM for the road. Sell the Yammi, part out the X-Ranger, and put the proceeds towards a F-350 Super Duty Turbo Diesel with 45" Super Swampers for hunting. Oh, and camo the paint on the Ford. What do you think???

[SamM]

Well, that sounds like a great plan red2003 but... I really don't need a Super Duty Ford F-350 to get up on the hill behind my house. That would be overkill for what I'm looking to do. The $30,000 plus pricetag for one of those keeps me buying bikes instead of fancy pickup trucks. I'm actually looking at a Japanese Mini Truck to use as an ATV. They go for only $4500. The X-Ranger 200 is just a toy! I have very little money in this bike. I can't justify selling it since I only have around $200 in it.

The KTM must go down the road. The bike has almost 15k miles on it and it's been a great bike but a recent trip brought out some shortcomings in the KTM. I need something more comfortable for long trips. Later, after my house is finished I'd like to get a new Kawasaki Concours 14. The maintenance on the KTM is getting ready to get very expensive. Remember this bike is Austrian. Read: German (same thing).

The Yamaha 250 stays. What a great bike! I'm undecided as to whether or not to go ahead and buy a new 2008 Kawasaki KLR650 this winter after the KTM sells. The KLR would be used as my in-sate commuter/trip bike. I may wait one year to buy a new bike and buy my mini truck this winter. Something else may come out, that I like more than the KLR.

My way is much cheaper! And more fun! More bikes!

[fatboy250]

Originally Posted by SamM

I'd like to get a new Kawasaki Concours 14.

Yeah they are sweet...I'm still holding out a bit..the one I have is still very potent as a sport tourer. But if you want a super sport tourer then this is the one!!

Good luck with that.

Jason

[culcune]

It's too bad the Vento Mountrack didn't stick around longer. It was your bike/Zongshen Sierra in camo as stock. If you go to Vento's site and look around some of the other countries' Vento sites, they still offer the Mountrack.

I think that you will be fine using your Qlink for your stated purpose, and keeping the Yamaha for street duty, although I find it a little ironic that the Yamaha is the better road bike 8O .

BTW, I might be parting out my Jetmoto. I refuse to put a third engine in that thing, and one guy who was considering buying it might not want it after all, if there's any parts you needed.

http://www.vento.com/

Chile's site still offers the Mountrack (Qlink X-Ranger/Zongshen Sierra), in camo

[SamM]

The Yamaha is a much better road bike. No comparison there at all. It has a longer wheel base and is much more stable at higher speeds. The engine is bigger and the bike has a 6-speed transmission.

The X-Ranger is going to be a play/work bike for me. I may commute some on it. I'm still waiting on parts from QLink.

SamM

[katoranger]

Sam, I don't know if it fits, but I have the stock 56t rear sprocket from my bike you can have.

Allen

[SamM]

Thanks katoranger! I'll check to see what sprocket it uses and get back with you.

SamM

[katoranger]

No problem. Not many people wanting one of those. It is the standard lifan style.

I put some postage on it and send it up.

Allen

[SamM]

katoranger,
Duh, I want to use a Jetmoto 18" rear wheel. That sprocket will work just fine. Sorry, I'm still drugged up! I'm glad you were paying attention! What do you need for the sprocket and shipping? Let me know and thanks!

SamM

[culcune]

Sam, I think I will have an 18" rear wheel from my Jetmoto if the guy who was supposed to buy the bike does not want it. It has a 44 sprocket, but I have the stock 56 tooth somewhere, too.

[katoranger]

Sam, just send me your address. No need for reimbursement.

Allen

[SamM]

culcune,
How much are you asking for it? Does it include the sprocket carrier? Is it in good condition? Any pictures? Is the hub black or silver? I'm thinking about buying a 19" Jetmoto wheel for the front now too! All of that will work with my stock leftover Jialing Viva forks and brake parts.

Thanks!

katoranger,
Awesome! Thank you very much!

SamM

[fatboy250]

Originally Posted by culcune

Sam, I think I will have an 18" rear wheel from my Jetmoto if the guy who was supposed to buy the bike does not want it. It has a 44 sprocket, but I have the stock 56 tooth somewhere, too.

Culcune,
Are you wanting to get rid of the 44 tooth too? I'm not sure about the fitment, but I'd give it a try on the DB-07B. It still has the stock 56 tooth.

PM me,

Jason

[SamM]

EDIT: This was taken from another post and moved here! I didn't want to hijack the other thread!

We have some nice hills to climb in WV, so the 56 tooth sprocket that katoranger sent me may work very well for me. My land is very hilly with a couple of deep gulleys and lots of steep climbs. We timbered the land in 1990 and again in 2002. The result was that the timber companies cut some nice roads through the property for me. It won't be hard to access the property on the X-Ranger. My biggest problem on the property is keeping trespassers and illegal hunters off now. They destroy signs and any type of gates I put up. I just signed papers with DNR to have it patrolled this year. I hate to be that way but nobody has even asked my permission to be on it. They just use it as if they owned it. I found my signs ripped down last week and a Hunting Club's signs up where mine were. What do people like this think? I don't understand it! Rant off!

With my new Zongshen what I want to end up with, is something that looks like the Vento Mountrack. Since the Mountrack is built on a Zongshen Sierra 200 just like my QLink, we should be able to get very close. The rear drum brake works ok but I'd rather have a disc out back. It's also very hard to find 15" knobby tires. My bike has a set already but replacements will be hard to find.



Recently, I purchased a set of 21/18" Lifan GY-5 wheels and a rear Jetmoto 18" wheel. When I was returning from the DNR yesterday morning, I swung past my friend Curt's house on the way home. He has the QLink in his garage. I told him I needed to at the least sit on the bike, as I was going through serious withdrawal from not seeing it for so long. My plan was to compare the new front hub and rims from a Lifan to the Zongshen front hub. They are exactly the same. Another thing I noticed is that the data plate on the steering head is marked Zongshen Industrial Group. Wow, it really is a Zongshen! A Zongshen X-Ranger 200. :wink: The hubs and rims are easily swapable. After the bike is fixed (frame straightened) we are going to swap the forks and remove the wheels and hubs for powdercoating. I want to do a set of black wheels and hubs. I may do the fork clamps in black too! The rims all have 36 spokes, so everything should be easy to set up. We are going to fit up the rear wheel soon to see how it fits and check the chain/sprocket spacing. I may go with an 18/18" combo or a 19/18" Jetmoto combo. Spacers will need to be cut and the Jialing/Lifan disc brakes will work on the bike. I still have all the Jialing brake parts. The 21" front wheel would probably be better for off-road use but I'd like to use smaller wheels on the bike. Smaller wheels will make it lower and more stable for me. Being able to keep my feet flat on hilly terrain may keep me from hurting myself again. The X-Ranger front wheel is 2.15" wide. I'll mount it on the rear Jetmoto hub using the stock spokes. This will allow me to run a bigger rear wheel.

SamM