Andy Hird
Registered user
Hi Folks,
I’ve just imported a Chinese Enduro Bike direct from the manufacturer, and thought I’d share my experience with you.
I wanted a cheap Endurio bike to do some light trail riding over the winter months, and started to look about for a second hand DRZ or something, but was quite surprised at how much they were going for. So I did a quick search on ebay for Enduro bikes, and found a half decent looking Chinese Mikilon 250 Enduro bike. The Mikilon has a 250 Loncin water cooled engine, the same company incidentally who manufacture the BMW 800 GS engines.
I went to have a look at the bike, and was pretty disappointed with it. It certainly looks the part, but the quality of the fit and finish was very poor. The engine however was surprisingly very good quality, and generally the bikes running gear let the engine down.
So I broadened my search to see if there were any other Chinese manufacturers making a better quality Enduro bike, and happened upon the Galaxy XTR 250F, which is an air cooled 250 four stroke Enduro bike with a very similar engine to the Honda CRF250. I read some reviews on the XTR from some expats living in China who had bought the bike. They gave the bike glowing reports, and I also found out that the XTR won its class in the Takliman Rally in China which is a rallye type event similar to the Dakar. It also placed very highly against the Japanese bikes.
I contacted Galaxy direct and was quoted a very reasonable price and manufacturing time, so decided to investigate importing an XTR myself. I got in touch with a shipping agent to handle the shipping and customs clearance, which again was very reasonable, and then decided to bite the bullet and place an order with Galaxy !
Now I was taking a huge gamble here, as I had to hand over the full purchase price of the bike before they would begin manufacture, and was paying a large sum of money to an unknown manufacturer in China without any comeback or guarantee that I would receive the bike !
But fiarplay to Galaxy, they didn’t let me down. Communication with the factory was generally good, but the manufacture time was 3 months instead of the 18 days they quoted me ! My shipping agent was very good and they took care of everything needed to get the bike here and to clear customs.
The bike was delivered last week crated up in a steel crate. I was very nervous when I opened the box, and wondered would the bike be damaged, or would it be just a cheap piece of Chinese crap ?? I needn’t have worried, it was packed very well. Everything that could have been scratched in transit was well covered with foam wrapping and bubble wrap, and as soon as this was removed, I was instantly impressed with the quality of the bike !
I had to assemble the forks, rear shock, front wheel, handlebars, front headlight, side stand, front mudguard, charge the battery and connect it. I put some fuel in the tank, and attempted to start it.......it started second push of the starter button !! Well impressed.
First impressions of the bike were very good, it has a lot of CNC parts including wheel hubs fork yokes and gear lever. Engine seems pretty bulletproof, and the fit and finish of the tank seat and plastics is very good. The bike rides really nicely, a little underpowered....but then I’m used to the power of my 1200 Adventure.
The power will be on a par with the Honda CRF250....fast enough for me off-road ! The brakes are excellent and the suspension seems good, although how it performs off-road has yet to be seen. Electrics are very good, and the level of equipment is surprising......a hazard warning switch for the indicators, a high beam pass switch, and electric starter.
The only thing that lets the bike down is the quality of the fasteners, however these can easily be changed to Stainless.
The bike is a real looker in the metal, it has received some really positive comments from mates, and my Brother was amazed at the looks and quality of the bike, and stated that it’s a lot of bike for the money.
Registering the bike was a doddle. I had to insure the bike on the frame number, and when I received my insurance certificate, I filled out a V55/4 and V267 form sent it off to the local DVlA office along with my driving licence, customs clearing form C&E 386, tax disc fee (£33) and registration fee (£55). Within a week I got my V5 doc and tax disc through the post !! Because the bike has a European Certificate of Conformity, it didn’t need any inspection.
All in all I’m really chuffed with the bike....I’ve seen Chinese bikes before, and this one is certainly to a much much higher standard, quality is very nearly on a par with Japanese bikes. The most impressive thing about the bike was cost.
Cheers
Andy
I’ve just imported a Chinese Enduro Bike direct from the manufacturer, and thought I’d share my experience with you.
I wanted a cheap Endurio bike to do some light trail riding over the winter months, and started to look about for a second hand DRZ or something, but was quite surprised at how much they were going for. So I did a quick search on ebay for Enduro bikes, and found a half decent looking Chinese Mikilon 250 Enduro bike. The Mikilon has a 250 Loncin water cooled engine, the same company incidentally who manufacture the BMW 800 GS engines.
I went to have a look at the bike, and was pretty disappointed with it. It certainly looks the part, but the quality of the fit and finish was very poor. The engine however was surprisingly very good quality, and generally the bikes running gear let the engine down.
So I broadened my search to see if there were any other Chinese manufacturers making a better quality Enduro bike, and happened upon the Galaxy XTR 250F, which is an air cooled 250 four stroke Enduro bike with a very similar engine to the Honda CRF250. I read some reviews on the XTR from some expats living in China who had bought the bike. They gave the bike glowing reports, and I also found out that the XTR won its class in the Takliman Rally in China which is a rallye type event similar to the Dakar. It also placed very highly against the Japanese bikes.
I contacted Galaxy direct and was quoted a very reasonable price and manufacturing time, so decided to investigate importing an XTR myself. I got in touch with a shipping agent to handle the shipping and customs clearance, which again was very reasonable, and then decided to bite the bullet and place an order with Galaxy !
Now I was taking a huge gamble here, as I had to hand over the full purchase price of the bike before they would begin manufacture, and was paying a large sum of money to an unknown manufacturer in China without any comeback or guarantee that I would receive the bike !
But fiarplay to Galaxy, they didn’t let me down. Communication with the factory was generally good, but the manufacture time was 3 months instead of the 18 days they quoted me ! My shipping agent was very good and they took care of everything needed to get the bike here and to clear customs.
The bike was delivered last week crated up in a steel crate. I was very nervous when I opened the box, and wondered would the bike be damaged, or would it be just a cheap piece of Chinese crap ?? I needn’t have worried, it was packed very well. Everything that could have been scratched in transit was well covered with foam wrapping and bubble wrap, and as soon as this was removed, I was instantly impressed with the quality of the bike !
I had to assemble the forks, rear shock, front wheel, handlebars, front headlight, side stand, front mudguard, charge the battery and connect it. I put some fuel in the tank, and attempted to start it.......it started second push of the starter button !! Well impressed.
First impressions of the bike were very good, it has a lot of CNC parts including wheel hubs fork yokes and gear lever. Engine seems pretty bulletproof, and the fit and finish of the tank seat and plastics is very good. The bike rides really nicely, a little underpowered....but then I’m used to the power of my 1200 Adventure.
The power will be on a par with the Honda CRF250....fast enough for me off-road ! The brakes are excellent and the suspension seems good, although how it performs off-road has yet to be seen. Electrics are very good, and the level of equipment is surprising......a hazard warning switch for the indicators, a high beam pass switch, and electric starter.
The only thing that lets the bike down is the quality of the fasteners, however these can easily be changed to Stainless.
The bike is a real looker in the metal, it has received some really positive comments from mates, and my Brother was amazed at the looks and quality of the bike, and stated that it’s a lot of bike for the money.
Registering the bike was a doddle. I had to insure the bike on the frame number, and when I received my insurance certificate, I filled out a V55/4 and V267 form sent it off to the local DVlA office along with my driving licence, customs clearing form C&E 386, tax disc fee (£33) and registration fee (£55). Within a week I got my V5 doc and tax disc through the post !! Because the bike has a European Certificate of Conformity, it didn’t need any inspection.
All in all I’m really chuffed with the bike....I’ve seen Chinese bikes before, and this one is certainly to a much much higher standard, quality is very nearly on a par with Japanese bikes. The most impressive thing about the bike was cost.
Cheers
Andy
It weighs 112Kg
