Jiuzhai Park Motorcycle Tour – Fan Report
Aug 26th
Report and photos By Franki Yang
An opportunity arose when the Chinese bike manufacturer, Jialing, organized a ride for the new owners of the JH600 & JH600B (sidecar) taking deliveries at the end of April. I was invited to ride with them, and I never refuse an offer like that!
The five-day tour started from the Jialing factory in Chongqing, passing through Mianyang and heading for the famous attraction of Jiuzhai and Huang Long. Afterward, the tour returned through Mianyang and ended back at the Jialing factory. New owners had the choice of riding their new bikes home or having the factory crate them and ship them home.
Day 1
Due to a work commitment I arrived in Chongqing late in the afternoon. The new owners had went on a familiarization ride with their new steed, so I settled down in Jialing’s own hotel and waited for the dinner bell. It was nice to meet old friends and be introduced to new ones at the dinner party.
The Deputy General Manager, Mr. Wu, gave a welcome speech to the bikers and hosted the dinner. Note: there was no alcohol on the table as we planned to leave early the next morning. A briefing session was given right after dinner about the route of the tour and general maintenance of the JH600. Road captain, Wang Hao, gave tips on riding techniques, as most Chinese bikers have little experience in riding anything bigger than 250cc. The JH600 mechanic, Mr. Zhou, also gave maintenance tips to new owners.
A briefing session was given right after the dinner about the route of the tour and general maintenance of the JH600.
Day 2
Morning call was arranged at 6 a.m. and breakfast at 6:30 a.m. By 7 a.m. all riders and support vehicles were gathered at the parking lot of Jialing Hotel. We arrived in Mianyang late in the afternoon with only 330km being covered due to new owners getting adjusted to their bikes and traffic conditions in Sichuan. We took an early rest again as we needed to depart for Huang Long at five in the morning.
After parking our bikes at Huang Long, we took a cable car up to the top of the mountain (+4000m). We ascended from 345m to 4000m in one day. Some of the team members showed signs of high altitude sickness. The youngest lad in our group (a GP125 racer) couldn’t handle the rapid change in altitude and as a result had a bloody nose. We all agreed it must have been the beautiful Tibetian girls at the cable car station.
As we departed Huang Long late afternoon the sky darkened and it started to rain. We carried on over the mountain pass heading towards Jiuzhai, but the rain then turned into snow/rain at 4016m. With bad road conditions and steep curvy roads,
After we parked our bikes at Huang Long, we took a cable car to the top of the mountain (+4000m).
we had to ride at 40-50km speed. Our ETA was around midnight, and since a few members were already developing high altitude sickness, we decided to cut the journey short and stay in a hotel 80km down the road.
Day 3
The next morning the rain was less and it was safer to ride in daylight, so we carried on to Jiuzhai. Jiuzhai National Park is off limits to all vehicles. We could only take their bus inside the park or walk, and once inside there were two tour routes serviced by park buses. I took one bus to the very end and started to backtrack, some on foot and some by bus. The entrance ticket covered the bus fare so you could take your choice.
The park reminded me of Yellow Stone Park in Montana, only a bit more closely packed. There were no buffalos, instead there were Tibetan Yaks. The Tibetan tribal people were given the opportunity to be tour guides, shopkeepers, etc. when the government made it a national park. Their villages are still inside the park, and some still choose to be farmers.
Day 4
Jiuzhai National Park is off limits to all vehicles. We had the choice of taking their official bus tour inside or walking in.
We returned back to Mianyang to celebrate the ending of the factory-organized tour, and a dinner party was held by the riverside restaurant.
Day 5
I said goodbye to new and old friends then headed south towards Zigong where it’s famous for ancient salt mining, a technology mastered by the Chinese more than 300 years ago. The well I visited was amazingly still in production.
There were a lot of temples in Zigong city, with many being places for social gatherings. Sichuan people love to drink tea and play Mahjong or Poker, and as a result these temples turned into a tea garden.
Day 6
My local biker-friend arranged a media interview for me to speak about bike touring. I agreed because it allowed the public to get a glimpse of this activity. After the media interview I rode to an ancient village about 10km outside of Zigong city called Xianshi.
A terrific group shot near the end of our journey.
Day 7
I left Zigong the next day and headed for Yibin with my riding buddy on a blue JH600. It was important to get help from local bikers for information, so we stopped by the club house of a local bike club for a bit of chit-chat. The club house was right by the Jinsha River.
Sea of Bamboo didn’t get its name for nothing. 10km before we got there we were already in the ocean. We found a hotel to stay in and after bargaining for a few minutes, we got a nice room for $10 US dollars. There were lots of hotels inside the park, and prices varied depending on the season.
Day 8
The next morning we got up at 5:30 a.m. to watch the sunrise over the Sea of Bamboo. The weather made it difficult and we returned back to Yibin in the afternoon, as I was invited to give a video presentation to Yibin’s bikers about touring outside China. We had a great time exchanging stories on our tours.
Story from, http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/554/7689/Motorcycle-Article/Jiuzhai-Park-Motorcycle-Tour—Fan-Report.aspx
Importers of Chinese Motorcycles, ATVs Arrested!
Aug 25th
Pair Charged With 70 Felonies; Certification Violations
Two top executives at Goldenvale Inc., a diversified California importer of powersports products, have been arrested and charged with illegally importing motorcycles, ATVs and other vehicles from China and selling the units in California without proper state certification.
Goldenvale president and owner Kening N. Ma and vice president Shirley Hyunae Ji were charged in a 70-count criminal complaint that includes conspiracy to commit theft, grand theft, and money laundering.
The pair were arrested last week, according to a published report in the San Bernardinto Sun newspaper.
The powersports products sold under the Roketa brand also include scooters, go-karts and other gas and electric-powered vehicles. The company, which operates facilities in Ontario, Calif., and Dallas, Texas, also imports items ranging from artwork and blankets to toys and cooking utensils. The company imported fewer than 2,000 powersports units last year, according to industry estimates.
The powersports units were sold on-line and through a national dealer network.
Prosecutors said dozens of victims purchased vehicles from Goldenvale that were not certified by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), the newspaper reported. The amount paid by victims ranged from several hundred dollars up to $4,000 for each vehicle, prosecutors said.
The vehicles are illegal to operate in California if they do not have CARB certification.
Ma and Ji are named in a complaint filed in San Bernardino Superior Court. Ma faces one count of conspiracy, 33 counts of grand theft, 30 counts of possessing a false or blank vehicle registration and six counts of money laundering, according to court records.
Ji is named in the counts alleging conspiracy, grand theft and money laundering.
The certificates of origin allow consumers to register their vehicles with the California Department of Motor Vehicles.
In this case, the certificates of origin show a manufacturer name that did not manufacture the vehicles, according to the newspaper. The vehicles also were never certified by CAB, according to the newspaper report.
These arrests culminated a multi-year investigation of illegal activities, according to one CARB official.
Story from, http://dealernewsblog.com/2010/03/14/importers-of-chinese-motorcycles-atvs-arrested/
Asiawing 450 in a little Chinese MX Action
Aug 23rd
Asiawing will soon be offering, through Roketa (bulk order only) for the US, a 450cc bike that is making 42hp out of the box. This puts it in direct competition with a lot of Japanese dirt bikes in it’s class. Judging from the videos it may be better suited for enduro racing rather than pure motor cross so we will have to wait until we can get out hands on one of these to report further.
However, it looks like a very capable dirt bike. I wonder what the price will be like?
“Backfire” is the brand name from Argentina below in the videos.
http://www.asiawing.com/english/info_detail.asp?id=15&c_id=4
KTM 125 Teaser Videos
Aug 20th
KTM is hard at work on its new 125cc streetbike (which still needs a name) geared to young riders. Debuted at the EICMA show in Milan last year, KTM hopes to bring young riders into the “Ready to Race” brand at an early age. Accordingly, KTM released two concepts last year which centered around a 125cc four-stroke motor.
With a concept for track riding and a concept for stunting, KTM hopes this new bike will strike a nerve with what young riders think is cool about motorcycling. The bikes looked pretty good to us when we saw them first-hand in Milan, and from the looks of this teaser video, the R&D behind the concepts is coming along quite nicely.
Story from, http://www.asphaltandrubber.com/news/ktm-125-teaser-video/
Chinese Motorcycle Powerhouse Zongshen Eyes Mission Motors for Strategic Partnership
Aug 19th
Chongqing Zongshen Power Machinery Co. announced today that it has signed a memo of cooperation with Mission Motors, which could see the Chinese company link up with the San Francisco firm to develop electric drive systems for the emerging market and in other markets throughout the world.
In the memo, Zongshen outlines its intent to become a major shareholder in Mission Motors, and to also inject capital into the small startup after it presents a three year plan to the Chinese company. For Mission Motors the move would be valuable strategic partnership to gain a foothold in China, which already has a booming two-wheeled market and need for reduced CO2 emissions.
“Mission Motors has identified Zongshen Power as a potential partner in the Chinese electric motorcycle market,” says Mission Motors’ Jit Bhattacharya. ”China is an enormous market for electric two-wheelers with a number of Chinese cities having banned gasoline-powered motorcycles and scooters. We are exploring how we can leverage Mission Motors’ technology with Zongshen’s strengths in high volume, low-cost manufacturing to create a lower cost electric powertrain for the Chinese market. As part of this ongoing discussion, Zongshen Power is also considering a strategic investment in Mission Motors, but nothing has been finalized.”
It is our understanding that this is a custom in Chinese business culture where companies sign a document which explains that they are considering a business transaction. While nothing is final yet, and we should be point out that other reports appear to over-state the current situation, suggesting that Zongshen has already acquired a majority interest in Mission Motors, while in fact Zongshen merely hopes to complete an investment in the San Franciscan company by the end of June this year.
Chongqing Zongshen is one of China’s largest motorcycle engine manufacturers, and marks yet another series of moves by American electric motorcycle companies looking not only for funding, but also looking abroad for business opportunities. Just last month we reported that Zero Motorcycles closed a $5.5 million round of investment, and Brammo also recently announced a partnership with Jackie Chan’s JCAM to distribute bikes in Asia.
Source: Scottrade
