Yamoto 200cc chinese bike from day-one

[pullin-gs]

Day-one of ownership.

This thread will be an ongoing record account of my experience with a Yamoto (re-badged under Terminator name) 200GY enduro motorcycle.

Contributions are welcome, but please try to keep at a minimum your comments (good or bad) unless they are from 1st-hand experience.

Thanks.

This is my 5th bike. I've had 2 honda 4-stroke enduro bikes, a Kawasaki 2-stroke dirt bike, and a Honda shadow.

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At this point I have about $800 in bike delivered to my door. Not alot....at the worst it will be an $800 lesson as to why to buy Japanese.

The bike took 10 days to get here. The bike came delivered in a metal frame/pallet that was enclosed in a box.

Small-parts box with battery and screws taped to inside.

It was well packaged IMO.

Documentation included assembly instructions, parts book w/exploded diagrams, and a users manual.

Instructions pretty much sucked, so I tossed them asside and relied mostly on my experience.

Bike was delivered with a 3 inch crack in the plastic, and 2 wires pulled out of the clutch-release switch.

I went over every nut and bolt. I noticed that externally attached smaller items were often bolted up loosely and needed to be locked-tited. The big items (such as forks, frame, and other bults-nuts 13mm and larger were fine. I also noted that the motor was tightly assembled except for the header pipe.

The handlebars came fully assemble with all switches, levers, knobs installed. The bars were taped sideways to the front fork.

Unfortunately when you invert a hydrolic brake lever/cylinder air gets into the system. Brakes had to be bled. I just went ahead changed it all in favor of some fresh quality DOT3. I also drained the oil and put in my favorite 10w40 no-MOLY Valvoline.

The battery and electolite came seperate.

The chain was WAY too tight...I had to back it down several full turns.

Bike cranked right-over, and all lights/assessories worked.

No MSO shipped with the bike. This gets sent later and must not accompany bike in shippment.

I cant imagine a newby being able to safely/successfully assemble it without experienced help.

http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze3sdb7/m1.jpg

http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze3sdb7/m3.jpg

http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze3sdb7/m4.jpg

http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze3sdb7/m5.jpg

http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze3sdb7/m7.jpg

http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze3sdb7/m8.jpg

http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze3sdb7/m10.jpg

http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze3sdb7/m12.jpg

http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze3sdb7/m13.jpg

1st-trip post to follow next week. Hopefully it will be a 2-way trip.

Pullin'

[slip]

I'm interested to see how this goes, as I am thinking of getting one myself.

[cherokee]

Please keep us updated on this, I to am intrested in outcome. What kind of riding are you doing? A VERY worthwile project.

[Carlcrom]

I think just about every one has toyed with the idea of getting one of these "China" bikes..... and learn the truth, first hand, of their quality/ durability

Good work, keep all of us informed!

Carl

[Aaron8]

Good job Pullin'

Thanks for taking the extra time and effort to document this for the entire world!

Are you an engineer

[Pro_Marinero]

What bike is that a copy of? The Chinese imitate everything, innovate nothing. I'm guessing an XR200 motor?

[kiethco]

I never thought of getting one. My friend bought a truckload of them, I've seen them upclose. Buying one of these would be like buying a $29.00 VCR.

I'm sure it'd be fun to drive around a campground. It might be a good commuter bike with gas at $3.00 a gallon. I too am anticipating future posts. Do they have a pipeline for parts? Warranty items? Is there a warranty?

[pullin-gs]

It's a re-hash of 1980's honda technology. I would say that most of the chinese 200cc knockoff's use this very motor (not just other versions of it, but this exact motor made by the same company). The side emblems change depending on which chinese exporter brand it is.

Currently Yamoto is the only established (and growing) "American" Chinese brand that is being offered through a network of US dealers (marketed by Patriot Motorcycles...a publicly traided US corporation). You can only purchase the Yamoto brand through their dealers. Yamoto just signed a 30year exclusivity deal with Patriot. The Patriot 200cc bike lists for about $2000, and goes at about $1600 street from Patriat Motorcycles.

It carries a 6 month warrantee, and a 5 year motor/drive-train/frame warrantee contegent on the owner maintaining the bike through the dealer using their special "snake-oil" motor oil (about $9.95 1/2-pint!). That is a strong warrantee by anybodies standards. Time will tell if it is smoke-and mirrors.

http://www.yamoto-motor.com/

http://www.yamoto-motorcycles.com/

http://www.patriotatv.com/

http://www.patriotmotorcycles.com

My bike is a re-badged version of the Yamoto 200GY (not just the motor...the whole bike) that is currently selling for about 600-1300 on EBAY (not including shipping). Since the 2006 "inverted fork" version has made it to market, my 2005 version no longer get the $900-$1500 that they used to get. No warrantee, no dealer. Once it arrives on your door you own it and all problems for better or for worse.

There are other knockoffs besides the Yamoto-ish ones, but my research suggests to avoid these.

Pullin'

[pjl]

Is it a mid-80s xr200 motor clone?

[rsamson830]

I bought the Kazuma 200 which I believe is very similiar to yours. Mine was $1300.00, and delivered by crate to my front door.

I agree that assembly isn't for a novice, mine had a manual that didn't match the bike and wasn't clear whatsoever. I found no breakage of anything at delivery, and ended up with more nuts and bolts then I could place on the bike (which made me nervous at first, but finally figured out they were just extras and belonged nowhere).

I have a number of other bikes, and my wife rides this one. No problems other than a battery that failed, most likely to overcharging.

I'm not sure I'd buy another or not, but don't have any regrets whatsoever on the one I bought....for my intended purposes...

[pullin-gs]

Update #2: First ride

All my riding today was around my home in suburban VA. Paved roads and some good hills.

I gassed up this morning, put on my gear. The bike started right up. It took about a minute to warm up. I put it in 1st and road off as if I had done it a thousand times before.

I rode for about an hour (25 miles) or so and came back home. I'll change the oil before I ride again.

The bike is geared really low. I was prepared for this in that I had read 200GYs work well with a 40 or 46T (vs th 54/56 it has?). I will do this for sure, and post details on which Honda sprockets will work. Anyway, I just kept it below 40 (it wont go much faster) on this ride.

It has a very comfortable ride. Off road should not be a problem, but I'll keep it off the jumps. I like the road feel of the bike and was pleasantly surprised.

It is a big bike....not heavy though....I'm 6'2" and when I stradle the seat and plant my feet flat I dont bend at the knees until I put most of my weight in the seat. This was a welcome surprise as well. I was expecting something smaller.

"fit-and-feel" of the switches, controls, knobs is not very good. I have to jiggle the key to get the ignition to turn, and I have to jiggle the key to get the gas cap off. The mirrors that came with the bike are adaquate.

Turn signals worked great for the 1st 2 or three times I used them, then they cut out...would not work anymore. I expect it is something simple. Will update later.

The odometer is not accurate at all. For every 2 miles I travel, the bike odemeter reads 2.5.

The speedo is off as well. It reads 30 when I'm going about 40MPH.

Brakes were firm and had good feel. No problems to report here.

The engine seems tight right now. Lots of engine-brake. Torque curve of engine is flat throughout most of the RPM range. No knock-your-socks off powerband. It is what you'd expect from a 4-stroke 200cc bike.

The gears shift well. It is a little tight when I double-shift up from 2nd to 4th or 3rd to 5th. I expect as the bike breaks in that shifting will be smoother. Down shifts no problems. No gear pop-outs at all while riding.

The bike seems to be running a little on the lean side under load on the upper-RPMs. I did add an in-line fuel filter when I put the bike together. I'm going to take it off and see how it works.

If this were a dealer-purchased bike, I would have taken it back to the dealer for service:

1) Fix the key-jiggle problem

2) Adjust the carb (although this problem may be self-inflicted)

3) Fix the turn signals

4) Fix the speedo and odometer

Summary:

So far so good. No major gatchas or disapointments. Runs well, looks great, and is a nice ride overall.

Looking forward to putting on a few more hours locally, and then taking it for some light trail riding.

Pullin'

[Campisi]

Sounds like this thing is street legal in VA?

[lvdukerider]

The bike looks like a upgraded version of a 1979 Honda XL125S that I had in High school. With the front disk brake and newer looking plastic it sounds like a good bike for the money, for its intended use.

[kiethco]

That's twice I've seen "intended use" used in this thread. It sounds like the intended use better be to take it out for 20 miles, then come home and work on it for 2 hours. Kinda like a KTM, but cheaper!

[roadcam]

excuse my sarcasm, but it sounds like a lot of people are trying to justify throwing good money after a piece of cheap crap ... IMHO, of course ..

[Flynall]

Road,

Ya gotta have a hobby.... I spend more that on tires in a year.....

It's great that pullin gs is running this experiment for us. We get the benefit and don't have to spend the time or money.

Thanks

RH

[cutaccross2]

The speedo and odo. might be metric,just a thought.

[circletree]

beware the cheap chinese steel. i worked at a steel mill for awhile and learned of the off-quality chinese steel. most of their low cost producers of electric melt steel (scrap steel melted down and recast into billets) don't utilize a secondary method of processing where alloys are added and carbon content is adjusted. they usually go straight from the furnace to the caster and pick up all sorts of oxidizing components along the way. the end result is comparable to the grade of steel produced by my former employer before they added the LMS (ladle metallurgical station) between the furnace and the caster....you could take four pieces of 3/8" diameter round stock and snap them in half across your knee like you would a yardstick! i'm sure the mild steel frame tubes are made of some similar "high quality" carbon steel grade. for the price, i guess you get what you pay for. i don't believe i'd take one of them on any trail that you wouldn't take a honda CT-90 on. now, if they would do like royal enfield and make some bikes that look like the old sl series i would perhaps have to spend a little moolah!

[BFE71730]

I posted this in another thread, should have been here to start with...........

I bought a Kazuma Cheetah 200cc last year and have put 1200 miles (mostly street) on it with no problems other than a few nuts and bolts that needed retightening. As with all chinese enduros, it was geared way too low so I matched the rear sprocket to an older honda design( sl.xl,cm 125 to 175cc,420 chain size,45 tooth). It will cruise easily at 55 with out pushing the RPM's too high. Everything on the Kazuma seems to be identical to all the other chinese imports except the motor design, my motor has fins on the bottom end that act as an oil cooler. The motor is manufactured by Zongshen which I found out later that they make the motors for the chinese cafe racers. I have pics on Yahoo, go to the groups section and search for China bikes, look through all the posts and it should answer a few questions about reliability and owner satisfaction. I've owned 5 street bikes and 3 ATV's in the past 20 years and in my opinion, the motor is built just as good as any honda or yamaha and better than a kawasaki!! The other parts are questionable (frame, plastics, ect). I wish china would import these with bigger engines maybe a 4 valve xr500 copy?

[BFE71730]

Here's a link to some pics of my Kazuma, hope this works.........

http://photos.groups.yahoo.com/group/china-made/lst?.dir=/KAZUMA&.src=gr&.order=&.view=t&.done=http%3a//briefcase.yahoo.com/