alexbrouwer1

Saw a yellow Ecoboost with red plates on Tuesday , coming from the sukhumvit, going to a hospital in pattaya.

Looked like it was a test car from the factory.

Nice looking car, unfortunately couldn't make a picture from it.

Einstein, 5% is not a problem, please let me know where and when you need the money.

Did you receive my PM ?

1set beige for me please.

Can pay in advance and can come to pick it up.

Pm send already with my details.

Thanks for arranging this.

Alex,

I had no idea of the problems you encountered.

Once I too purchased a bike that came, new, with many problems. Some were little, some were serious. Like you, I posted about these and like you, I was accused of making a big noise about little things that could be easily (and quickly, they suggested, which was far from the case) fixed. It was said that I didn't even know how to fix little ones, a personal insult that was cross eyed.

None of my trickier problems went to issues of safety, though. In your case, any 'reasonable' person would have said no to the machine, in spite of the financial loss, unless they were determined upon it for some reason and perhaps had a second bike in reserve.

There was a long time in the United States where nobody believed in purchasing a brand new model of a car, for we would end up field testing the thing until, a few years down the road, it might become reliable. The Japanese have led in disabusing us of these notions - and most others regarding engineering, manufacture, and QC when it applies to motor vehicles. The industry as a whole is shifting in that direction.

More reports like yours, if honest and objective, will fill out the picture with this model.

G'luck with your new choice!

Hi CMX,

Did you also bought a X-Road?

Sorry, NO. My experiences were not with the new X-Road. Sorry if I gave that impression.

Anyway, it will take quite a few reports to form a worthwhile conclusion over some time, I would suppose. My concern is not so much with the facts but how those who do their best to honestly report their experiences risk being insulted or trashed. But that's the nature of ThVi, too often, as we know.

Hi CMX,

I first didn't want to put here what happened with the X-road that i had, i wanted to wait till other X-road owners came up with their experiences, but after some people suggesting that i suddenly didn't like the type and style of bike anymore after 78 km and that would be the reason to have it returned to the factory, i decided to tell here my experience with the X-road and what the real reason for me was to say goodbye to the X-road and Tiger.

It is not about the style and kind of bike, it is about the bike itself and what i found with it. I got pictures of the things what was wrong with X-road, and if i would have bought a D-tracker for example and had a simular experience, i would have told the same and done the same. Some people pm-ed me here and i told them my experiences with the bike.

There have been 5 persons at my house to look at the X-road, all interested in buying one, but after they saw the bike and the quality, they decided not to buy one (2 had a testride through the moobaan on it,only a couple of hundred meters and directly decided that this bike was not for them).

I honestly thought this would be a good bike for going in town, around the lake, take me from home to the track up and down instead of using the car, but if you got a brand new bike with issues like this and answers from the factory like i received, i simply lost faith in them and then it is better to cut your loss, say goodbye and try to find something else (9000 baht for 78 km is a good lesson learned).

Also because of the attitude and answers from the factory, i probably will never buy any product from them again.

But like i said earlier, there are already some X-roads delivered to their owners and i would like to hear their opinions about the bike, i think Tiger has picked up on this and has sorted some issues out.

I still like the looks of the bike but i simply had to many issues with the one i received, maybe because it was the first one ?

Regards,

Alex

Be careful what you buy these days!!!!!

I think if you know what you want to buy and give it a test (either a car or bike) then you can make said purchase.

If you then get problems after your test and receiving the vehicle you would use the manufacturers warranty to sort any problems out. That's what they are there for ..after all.

BUT if of course you just change your mind and decide that you had made a mistake and did not actually want said vehicle after driving/ riding it for say 78km's.

Then what would you do?

I don't know maybe cause a LOT of hassle until said company took the bike back.

Or maybe like most reasonable people you would get any minor issues fixed after said company agreed to go out to you the very next day and fix it and going on your way.. I really do not know.

Different strokes as they say.

Thaicbr,

If you receive a bike with a few things so wrong that it is simply not safe to drive it, then for me it is simple and take the thing back.

Before i even did 3 km on the bike, the handle bar ends were falling off the bike, found a crack in the right side front fork leg directly after delivery, and about 6 other things that were not right which were communicated directly the same day back to Tiger.

After a few more kms i found more and more issues (burning marks from cylinder head cover nuts in underside of plastic fuel tank which could have created a very dangerous situation, plastic was already melted in some places).

If i get an email back from the company i bought it from, that this model bike is not able to run in a straight line (if you take at 60-70 km/h your hands of the bars, the bike should roll in a straight line, the X-road was falling directly to the left side) because of the position of the rear shock is not in the center of the frame (why are kawasaki and suzuki able to get it right ?) and more answers like this to my questions, then i loose my faith in a company who is building bikes like this and start to wonder if they know what they are doing. Spacer from front wheel on left side was installed not correctly, and so tight up that the marks were all in the left leg, just torqued in there with a wrench.

When i had a 4 km testride at the factory, the bike was running so poor that the GMAX 150cc scooter was as quick or quicker up to 80-85km/h, they said they would sort it out. At that time there were hardly any vibrations, only some coming from the muffler (which i later found to be mounted in hard plastic spacers and washers), but when they delivered the bike it was vibrating a lot more.

Fair enough, they sorted it out for 50%, lower and mid rpms the power was good, high rpms there was no power, the bike was running way to rich, which was said was caused by the airfilter box which they copied from the 125cc model and installed this on the 250 model (that was again the answer from Tiger when i asked about this).

Vibrations all over the bike because nothing was mounted in rubbers but in plastic spacers or just with washers so lots of bolts and screws were getting loose, paint was coming of in many places on the frame. Made me wonder what kind of QA/QC was done before the bike was delivered and during assembly.

These might be minor issues for you, but not for me.

It has nothing to do with making the right or wrong choice of the bike, i still like the X-road looks much more then a D-tracker or other available motards, but if i buy a new bike i expect at least a bike which is running straight and the engine is running okay, and doesn't have a chance of fuel starting to leak on a hot engine (which could have easily happened with the X-road i had).

If Tiger would have a good running X-road available, i would have taken another one, but this was not an option.

So we agreed on Tiger taking the bike back, i got 90% of the money back and i am now thinking of getting a D-tracker.

Maybe all this happened with my X-road because it was the first one, but i heard that there are X-road owners with some simular problems.

Makes you wonder why there are no other posts from other X-road owners about their experiences, but only from Mbox and me so far ? Mbox his bike seems to be good, maybe Tiger did sort out the issues now they build a couple more bikes.

I learned a good lesson, i should have waited with accepting the bike after that first testride at the factory, this lesson has cost me 9000 baht.

Regards,

Alex

Just an update on the X-road, it is back at the factory and Tiger is the owner of the bike again.

To many issues with the bike and decided that it was the best if Tiger would take the bike back.

Learned a good lesson, never buy a new model bike without a good testride again.

Sedans/ Htachbacks:

Ford Focus 2 liter diesel current model, new model is coming in 2012, 1.1-1.2 million baht. There seems to be deals now from 1 million baht up for the Focus diesel.

Chevrolet Cruze 2 liter diesel, same price range as Ford Focus.

SUV:

Ssangyong Koranda 2 liter diesel, 1.6 million baht

Chevrolet Captiva 2 liter diesel, will get new 2.2 liter diesel later this year, around 1.5 million baht.

Somewhere in 2012 the follow up from the Ford Escape and Ford Kuga will come with hopefully a 2 liter diesel.

Honda is developing a new small diesel engine (somewhere between 1.6-2.0 liter) for the Indian market for the City and probably other models, this will be available there around 2012/2013.

No word about it if it will come to Thailand, but it would be great if they would bring it here.

Come on Alex, give us all a heads up on your opinion/rating so far. Waiting with interest.

Sorry Garry, to busy with work at the moment and not have a lot of time, have only done about 100 km so far.

So far the bike is okay, it's a nice ride for the money.

Will post more here with pictures when i have more time (probably in 2,5-3 weeks).

I looked around for some modification parts for the X-road, will most likely change mirrors with build in blinkers, put some red rim striping on it, maybe install some hand guards.

For sure i will change the fuel tank cap, the standard one doesn't have a lock, but found one from Acerbis with a lock which should fit.

Okay, i will try to answer some questions.

Since i got the bike yesterday afternoon and just started work again today, i didn't have a chance to go for long rides.

So far i have done only 65 km around town and around the lake here.

Still running the bike in, but i tried a bit more speed and rpm's today when the engine was hot, i got her up to around 120 km/h.

Fuel consumption i don't know now, i filled her up yesterday with 10 liters petrol 91 (no gasohol, i don't like gasohol) and there is plenty left in the tank.

It is only a 236 cc, so the power is around 20 hp, and i got the feeling that there is at least 20 hp coming out of the little engine.

Compared to the D-tracker i think that the X-road is a bit lighter, it feels for sure much lighter then a D-tracker.

Standard the X-road is on IRC tyres, a 140 on the rear and a 110 on the front, both on 17 inch rims (all specs you can find on tigersachsclub.com)

I didn't make any more photo's today, i forgot to charge my camera.

The seat on the bike is wider then a D-tracker seat and i think is much more comfortable.

Brakes are very good for a bike like this, it has a lot of stopping power. Suspension is a bit harder then the D-tracker i think, but it handles all potholes and other bad road conditions very well.

I looked around on the internet for some small modifications, like handguards (with or without blinkers build in), mirrors with blinkers build in, red rim stripes, a different headlight, and other small bits and pieces.

Don't know yet what i will do, but for sure i will modify the X-road a bit in the next months. Pictures will come later this week if i find some time.

After 65 km still very happy with the bike

Looks great any info or specs?

Is it "standard" same height as other brands? The perspective oft he photo makes it look smaller / shorter.

Canu give aprice guideline?

It is a bike developed by Sachs, build here in Thailand by Tiger Motorcycles.

It is a 236 cc one cylinder engine which gives around 20 hp.

The size is simular as a D-tracker, only height is lower (seat height as well), 17 inch wheels.

I am 1.89 tall and can get both legs very easy on the ground when i sit on it. Mbox is around 1.75 and can easily sit on the bike with both legs on the ground.

Forgive me for the bad pictures, i am not into making pictures.

Price is 99.000 baht, ordering can be done online through Tigersachsclub.

It is a real nice bike for going around town, and making small trips.

Just had the Tiger X-Road 250 delivered to my house and made the first little testride to the petrol station to fill her up.

The engine was much better responding and giving a fair bit more power then on last Wednesday testride at the factory.

Will go for a bit longer ride now.....

There's a few options the OP might want to explore - all are SUV wagons, all have their own pros and cons:

• Mitsu Pajero Sport: base-spec 4WD - 1.15M, top-spec 4WD (ticks all the boxes) - 1.31M
• Toyota Fortuner: base-spec 4WD - 1.34M, top-spec 1.45M
• Ford Everest: top-spec 4WD - 1.24M, sport version - 1.25M
• Ford Escape: (only 1 spec level in 4WD) - 1.28M
• Honda CR-V: base-spec 4WD - 1.24M, top-spec 1.51M
• Chev Captiva: base-spec 4WD - 1.58M, top-spec 1.64M
• Hyudai Tuscon: (only 1 spec level in 4WD) - 1.9M

There's a very broad range of value-for-money represented here..

Note that others in this segment are available in 2WD only, e.g. Suzuki Vitara and Nissan X-Trail.

Budget is the big thing though - if you're willing to quadruple these types of prices there's a lot more cars that come into focus.. As Kata notes, Cayenne Hybrid is a great buy in TH (due to 10% excise tax), Audi Q7 V8 twin-turbo TDi is a nice motor (though aging a litle), and the new Range Rover Evoque an interesting option coming soon as well..

Ssangyong Korando would be an option too....

I think I will postpone the motorbike buying, I was reading about a new Lifan 250 cc motorbike coming available and have the idea that more models will soon become available. http://www.motorcycl...k-250_Scrambler

Mr. Poko, if you believe that website, then we should have had several models motorbikes in Thailand already for a long time, originally supplied by the manufacturers, but the truth is that most of us never saw one of the models on the road (except for the grey import ones from the big motorcycle manufacturers). Still waiting for final testing results, and other reasons. That website is giving information while some bikes haven't been tested yet and it is still a big question mark if they ever would make it legally on thai roads.

I still remember the example of that website saying that Honda would bring the cbr600rr officially to thailand for a price around 480.000 baht or something (this was early last year), untill this moment i never saw an cbr600rr brought in by Honda, only through grey import (by the well known bigger motorcycle shops in thailand).

As others say too, i have read a lot on the internet about all the chinese brand bikes coming to Thailand, but totally i have seen only 2-3 for sale, never saw one on the road.

The X-road finally arrived here on the road, and i ordered one after i received answers to my questions and got more detailed information then i was asking for. Communication with Tiger is excellent (through Tiger Sachs Club), ordering is easy and simple. Another plus is that the bike is made in Thailand, so parts are easily available if you need them. How will that be with Lifan or other brands ? What will happen if you need something and it will not be available, or wait 2 weeks or longer to get it ?

The Tiger website certainly needs some updating.

Just a guess but that madass.in.th web address is/was probably owned/set-up by Richard who is also behind the motorcy***.in.th website you pulled the info on the Lifan Cossack from. I could be wrong though.

Alex will get his X-Road 250 in a week or 2, so the future will soon be a reality!

Taichiplanet, 9 more days, i am counting.......

It looks like i get mine on the 18th of May...............

Tony, when are we going to hit Bira ??

I have a few more questions, my assistant spoke to somebody from Tiger Motor, and they claim that they don't sell or make the X-road 250 (confusing – not completely – yet), but the Tiger Sachs Club is importing them and selling them so I need to contact them.

Now the questions, on the tigersachsclub and on this forum I read that Tiger Motor is doing the warranty, is this true? Who is the importer and who is making the dam_n things? Also the Tiger motor person said that I would have no problem registering the bike, because they are identical to the Sachs X-Road 250 who is already approved for Thailand. But is it not so that even if a product is the same but from other manufacturers and other model numbers it needs to be tested again?

It seems to me that your assistant has been talking with someone from Tiger Motors who doesn't have all information or the language barrier has created confusion.

As far as i know is that Tiger is making (manufacturing) and selling the X-road, so it is not an imported bike but locally made in Thailand.

Tiger has sold the X-road to me (online with help from the Tiger Sachs Club, thanks to Mbox) , would there be any issues then it is under warranty from Tiger Motors (they sold the bike to me, not Tiger Sachs Club).

About the registration, mine is in process of being registered at this moment in my missus her name (easiest way for me).

I am currently in Europe, will be back in 1,5 week and my X-road should then be ready waiting for me (as soon as i get it i will put some pictures here).

The best person who can answer your questions would be Mbox from Tiger Sach Club or Khun Pariya from Tiger Motors.

PM me if you want their email addresses.

to hit 16km/l you guys HAVE to be driving at maximum 40km/h in the city. Is that 4km/l you are saving really worth all the traffic and extra polution you are creating?

im saying this by having tested and the only way to keep the consomation around that is 40km/h maximum, 50km/h goes down to 12-13

same with me, i tried several things to get the fuel consumption down but nothing helped. I was very disappointed with the fuel consumption of the Vios, also with the power.

Even the old model Honda City we had before (2007/2008 model) was way better on fuel then the 2011 Vios that i had to use for 1 month (which was an automatic by the way)

Honda New City, Ford Fiesta, Mazda 2, Nissan Tiida are all better cars in my opinion. It is really time that Toyota comes with something new.

It could be me, but where are the figures that this GPX250 has more horsepower then a D-tracker ? Where can you find the official manufacturer information about this bike ? Is there a thai website with all information and sales places ?

Sorry, not D-tracker but KLX.....:jap:

Used a 2011 Vios for 1 month for work, and average fuel consumption was 12 km/liter, fuel consumption with benzin 91 was around 13.5 km/liter, with gasohol 95 it was 12.5 km/liter, with gasohol 91 it was 10-10.5 km/ liter. Did totally more then 4000 km in 4 weeks.

Terrible compared to the New City that we have with an average of 14 km/liter in the city and 18 km/liter on highways. Even our Tiida is much better on fuel then the Vios.

Submaniac, i have send a PM to you.

Regards, alex

If you like black then why not go for the Aprilia RSV4 Factory they also have, doubt that's restricted and beat the BMW 1000rr in the test below so can't be bad!

http://www.youtube.c...u/2/l4SFCokwH2M

Skybluestu, do you know what the price is for the Aprilia RSV4 that Red Barron has ?

There is one on Mocyc.com, but it looks like the bike is not in BKK but around Hat Yai.

Also no information about green book.

http://www.mocyc.com/store/view.php?idclassified=369099

Speculations and comments on the relations between Sachs, SYM and Tiger have been removed, as I assume none of us know the actual facts, and if any of these companies want to do a court case in Thailand, we will be presented with facts in due time.

back to the bike, dying for a test ride. wont buy before I v tried it

any specs, is power on par with D-tracker 250?

Agree with you, i am not interested at all in the (business) relationships between the 3 involved parties at this moment and all the specualtions about it.

Up to them how they want to solve the issues between them and sort out their businesses, that is none of my business, i made a deal with Tiger about the X-road.

Only interested in the bike, and hope to get it soon. Power should be around 20 hp (information given to me by Mbox), it is a 235 cc engine.

It's a different engine then the testbike which was available last year with the factory visit and ridden by some people.

For me it will be a bike for going around town and some short trips, for longer trips i have the ZX9R.

Just read that Tiger is doing business with Yoshimura, maybe they come with some performance parts for the X-road ? :-)

The Tiger eX-Sachs eX-Road 250.

Yeah, doesn't matter what it is called. It looks like a nice alternative to other choices out there, and as Tony said backed by Tiger's great service team and a 3 year warranty. You probably won't get that in Thailand from a Sachs named bike that is no longer backed by the Tiger factory.

What about the Tiger X-Moto 250 as a name?

Alex and Tony, let me know when you go and play at Bira; i'd like to come and watch the fun!

Taichiplanet, when i get the bike, i will let you and Tony know and will probably try to put some pictures here. As Tony said, it could be a real fun bike for going around the little cart racing track.

Same as you said, i don't really mind how the bike is called, i like the bike (only seen it on the pictures) and i want to give it a try. At least it is something else then all the D-trackers.

And i think it is a great deal, a bike like this for this price.

Saw this bike at the 2010 Bangkok Motorbike Shot and I thought the X-road 250 looks pretty sharp. I don't care if it's a Tiger or a Sachs, but if it's got Tiger service then that's a plus.

The red trellis frame and swing arm, matte black tank, offset shock, underseat exhaust- all quite nice.

Headlight is boring but easily replaced. About the only thing I really dislike- the instrument cluster is really tiny and cheap looking; I'd replace it with a Koso gauge first thing.

I suspect it will have underwhelming torque and Hp figures similar to that of the Kawasaki D-Tracker, but at a much lower cost. It "looks" like a motard, but you'd never want to take this bike on any serious off road adventures with the exhaust where it is now - directly under the engine, just waiting to be smashed.

I'm tempted to get one but a bit loathe to buy a bike that I've never ridden and that, as far as I can tell, has never been reviewed on the road...

Not sure where I'd use a bike like this. Urban assault, stunting and small tracks perhaps?

Somebody hurry up and buy one so I can take it for a spin!

Ride On!

Tony

Tony,

I just ordered one today, so when i get it, you are more then welcome to try it out.

Just let me know when you are planning to go to Bira again, i will come see you there.

I think it will look good next to the good old ZX9R and the R1.

Cheers,

Alex