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The Jinlun JL125-11
This is the Chinese 'Cixi Kingring Jinlun JL 125-11' to give it its full title. The bike is a 125cc twin cylinder low-down cruiser style bike and resembles a Harley Davidson at a distance although it's Hardley A Davidson. The Jinlun JL125-11 is quite an attractive machine to ride, it is fitted with stylish aluminum alloy wheels, twin exhaust, panniers, crash-bars, windshield, spot lights, immobilizer and alarm, two-tone paint, wide profile tires (for a 125), wide forks and heavy yolk, deep and heavy chroming, remote start, sissy bar, and laser engraved VIN number for added security. All of these features are standard with this bike except I think for the windshield and crash bars. The motorcycle is great value for money and it stands apart from all others in the 125cc range. Cixi Kingring Jinlun make this bike in a wide range of colors too. Solid red, red and silver, solid black, black and silver, orange and silver, blue-ginko, amethyst, solid yellow, yellow and silver, solid blue, blue and silver, solid white, solid silver and the list goes on although you will have to check with the dealers for availability. Below are some of the colors available for the Jinlun JL125-11
The bike is great fun to ride, a cool " head turner " with people always asking me questions about it, more notably from non bike riders..." Is it a Harley? " and they are often surprised when I tell them its a Chinese bike. The Jinlun JL 125-11 is a full sized bike and is ideal for a novice to get practice and training on before venturing onto a bigger engine machine. I have been riding this motorcycle over a 2 years now and have clocked up nearly 15000 Km's and a whole load of biking experience. Riding a motorcycle is a serious business and if you ride sensibly you will generally be safe.
Some experienced bikers who have been riding for
years tell me that the day of coming off my bike will come, as it
eventually & inevitably happens to all who take to the saddle, oil or
grease on the road a turn or island bend, wet manhole covers, wet leaves
and other road debris, tiredness, a sudden lack of concentration or a
distraction and of course careless motorists to name the major causes.
In the image below, the engine is ticking over at
just under 1500 rpm at 14 volts charge. The visible key fob below has the alarm,
immobilizer and remote start on it.
The bike rides, handles and feels like a much
bigger machine, it takes corners well although you cannot bank it over
too far as the footplate will graze the ground. Actually, I must
admit to shaving off a few millimeters of Chinese foot plate steel and
raising a few sparks once or twice. U-Turns are reasonably easy with this
bike just as long as the road that you choose is quite wide, as the
turning circle is equally quite wide. The Jinlun JL125-11 is a heavy bike
with a small engine, so its not the best power to weight ratio combination
for doing tricky manoeuvres. A good U-Turn though does illustrate
that you have complete control over the motorcycle.
Here is the Full
Specification of the Jinlun JL125-11 Dimensions: Length:
2210mm -- Width: 810mm -- Height: 1090mm -- Wheelbase: 1410mm. Ground Clearance: 140mm. Dry weight: 135Kg. Max Load: 150Kg. Max Speed: 72mph. Tires: Front 110/90-16in
& Rear 130/90-15in Final Drive: Chain. Brakes: Front Disc &
Rear Drum. Engine: 124.08cc
JL2444FMI series. Engine Configuration: 4
Stroke Twin Cylinder.
Max Power @ 10500 rpm: 11
bhp. Compression Ration: 9.4
to 1 Max Torque: 8.5 Nm @ 9000
rpm. Max Output: 8.4Kw @10500
rpm. Engine And Box
Lubrication: Combined Compress and Splash. Ignition System: C.D.I
electronic. Kick Start: N/A. Cooling: Forced Air. Transmission: 5 Speed. 1
down < 1st - 4 up (through neutral) 2nd > 3rd > 4th > < 5th Clutch: Manually operated
perpetually wet multi disc. Battery: 12V @ 7 Amp
Hours.
Fuel Tank Capacity: 10 Litres including reserve.
Engine Oil Capacity: 2.2
Litres.
Reserve Tank Design: Split Seam
Average fuel consumption 60 to70 mpg Urban - 70 to 85 mpg
cruise.
Note: Fuel consumption figures vary quite
a lot and are dependant on how a bike is ridden. viz: getting
into top gear as soon as possible can increase fuel consumption quite
dramatically, with the extortionately hyped up price of fuel these days
this is an important factor !
Motorcycles leave a very small "carbon footprint" and are
economical, they don't create traffic congestion, they don't need a
whole lot of parking space, they don't (statistically and logistically)
kill other road users or pedestrians in accidents, they don't wear the
roads out and are generally no hassle what-so-ever but the Government
still won't do anything to encourage more riders ?
The bike is chain driven and uses the
traditional cruiser system of a rocker pedal to change gear. The gear
range is 1 down toe and 4 up heel, giving 5 gears altogether.
The Jinlun JL125-11 has no kick
starter but relies solely on the electric start, I had a break in the
ignition circuit not so long ago but it was so easy to bump start, place
into 1st gear, hold the clutch in and push forward whilst letting the
clutch snatch out fast and up it starts. Get that clutch lever back in
sharp-ish though or you will be off up the road when your not ready.
Bump-starting a car is not as easy as this, another thumbs up for bikes
! The Jinlun JL125-11 is a pleasure to
ride, its engine is quite responsive for its small capacity of 125cc and
as its a twin cylinder it produces a bit more torque and bhp than a
single pot. I weigh 240 lbs -or -17 stone and the bike will reach
72 mph flat out down hill with the wind and a prayer behind me.
Most times though the bike will cruise along happily at 55 mph. In the image below is a photo of the
right hand side of the engine and as you can see there is a lot of
chrome.
Speed is not the essential element
when riding a custom or I would have chosen a sports bike and joined the
budding Mr. Valentino Rossi's amongst us. As it is, I am quite at
ease just riding around taking in some of the countryside and fresh air. The sense of freedom that I have
always heard that bikers enjoy can be fully exonerated. Its hard
to explain or express the freedom and satisfaction unless you have sat
in the saddle, revved up the throttle and set off down that long and
winding road with the bugs splattin in ya face and the wind a rippin
under ya lid !
The only incidents, glitches and
problems I have had with this bike are relatively minor and here they
are: The inner speedometer cable snapped
due to ill fitting of the final speedometer drive on the front wheel.
The inner clutch cable snapped due to being initially fit too tight. The
15amp ignition fuse blew...twice. The gear selector didn't select 2nd
gear as the selector rod had come undone and I had to dismantle it all
and re-assemble it, I find that this selector has to be checked at
regular intervals...I have now modified it. The cheap Chinese light bulbs for the
spot lights and main beam blew in quick succession. Many bolts and
screws around the engine were loose and needed to be torqued up
properly. The fuel gauge is vastly inaccurate
and the bike may cut out if you do not release the vapour lock in the
fuel tank by taking the petrol cap off before you ride. There are
two small holes on the under side of the fuel cap, you can blow some air
through to keep them clear. The Jinlun's fuel gauge is encased in
a high quality chromed plastic surround that is ideal for customizing
with an avatar of your choice, just cut n fit. I found a nice
confederate skull image on the internet that I covered in beta blocker
suntan lotion to stop it from fading in the light. Some Jinlun
JL125-11 owners actually put their road tax disc in here as its an exact
fit !
With this bike there is nothing really serious that cannot
be fixed with a pair of pliers, screwdriver, spanner and some patience.
You have to be a little mechanically minded with a motorcycle but you
don't have to be a rocket scientist. There are no major
problems inherent with this bike, the Jinlun's Engine is actually based
on the tried and tested Honda design and its quite bulletproof. I
will say here that I have found this bike to be very reliable, with a
bit of choke it starts every time, even from cold. Remember too,
if you do get flat battery with a bike like this 125 they
are very easy to bump-start, so no worries. Overall its a lovely
out of the box custom cruiser with no real issues and a bike
that will give the trainee rider a lot of fun whilst learning the
fundamentals of controlling a relatively large and heavy
motorcycle. If maintained properly and looked after the bike will give
many years of reliable use. I regularly service it with an oil change at
around every 2500Kms and she just keeps rolling along !
I upgraded the bike by replacing
the front 15 toothed sprocket with a 17 tooth one. This gives the
engine output more torque and also gives about another 15mph per gear,
the bike can now reach over 70 mph downhill. Also the bike has more
control in lower gear, with lower engine revs.
I have also put on a new heavy duty triple 'S' chain, the
same type that is fitted to Yamaha sports bikes, the chain is very
resilient to stretching and consequently needs less maintenance and
adjustments. All in all, it a good and recommended mod
with marked improvement and extra performance.
Below is nice pic and the last ever pic of me on
JinnyBabes, please no more hundreds of e-mails asking questions, as I
have not got the bike anymore. I reluctantly sold her due to ill health.
You have to be 100% mentally fit when riding a bike, driving a car is a
serious business, but riding a bike is a very serious business. Thank
you JinnyBabes for 14,560kms ( over 9000 miles ) of great pleasurable
riding, and a hell of a lot of fun along the way...I will surely miss
her
Due to how the government in the UK have made the bike tests so hard, long winded and expensive I doubt that I will continue with bikes now. If I do then I will have to retake a CBT ( Compulsive Basic Training) test, retake the hazard and perception theory exam, retake the Direct Access Course and retake modules one and two of the practical test before I can get a bike bigger than a 125... despite the fact that I have been driving a car for the past 30 years !! All this will cost a lot of money too, whereas the CBT itself is enough for a test, that alone should be enough to prove competence. All this is dastardly, deliberate and conniving and designed to be off-putting, for example, the first module of the practical test has to be completed at a special government test center and many people have broken or dislocated shoulders, wrists, arms and legs whilst attempting to complete the newly introduced stupid and moronic swerve manoeuvre where the total novice has to swerve sharply around cones at a constant 30mph...even in the wet! What asinine departmental government moron of a transport minister thought that one up whilst pathetically trying to justify their vainglorious career? These great machines with their miniscule carbon footprint, (carbon footprint, being a big issue with the government environmentalists...yeah right, I think NOT ) non road congestion forming, easy unobtrusive parking, great mileage on fuel, that don't wear the roads out, safer in accidents as generally only the rider gets injured...sounds cruel I know but at least cars with Moms and kids in don't get wiped out, and bikes are basically all round conservative...yet are shunned by the government. Maybe as they don't cream enough revenue out of them on criteria like road tax ( £16.00 ) and MOT's ( £29.50) Hopefully one day, the people will overrun the government in this country and then those who desire a bike can go out and buy one. With the huge conscious shift taking place in the world at the moment, maybe this will be sooner rather then never. Anyway here are some links to Jinlun articles and another owner rider this time the JL13-125
Introducing the all new Dunelt from Tyrone of Jinlun.co.uk
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