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Hm. I was riding the china bike around with a friend. We got a good two hours in. The throttle cable broke on it. The crimp end that pulls the carb slide slid off and is in the engine somewhere. It is maybe 1.5mm^2 in size. How bad is it for the engine? Ugh. It's been running and I can't do anything about it anyway. Has anyone ever had that happen? Got home by raising the idle super high. SSH IT ZOMBIE fucked around with this message at 17:48 on Jul 19, 2021 |
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Jul 19, 2021 17:21
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Yah, it's gone gone. Not in the carb. That was the first thing I checked. I have a scope camera. I guess I could check the cyl. Just wondering if it is worth looking for, if I should even stress about it or if it is kinda normal. I can't find where anyone is even asking the question - just seeing similar things happen to others and people asking where to buy a new cable but not worried about engine health. I don't need it. Was just worried about engine health. Sagebrush posted:Slavvy is gonna show up soon to berate you for getting a Chinese motorcycle where these things happen within hours of purchase. Oh there was much worse than that on that bike. I posted a thread with everything that was whack. It didn't run for more than a few minutes at a time out of the literal box. It's my second bike haha. I am finding myself on the Chinese bike sometimes more than the Kawasaki if I am just riding around town, it is fun to ride because it handles really extremely. SSH IT ZOMBIE fucked around with this message at 19:30 on Jul 19, 2021 |
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Jul 19, 2021 19:21
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Martytoof posted:I am still pretty set on getting a lovely small bike to bang around in a parking lot and it looks like right now a CBR125 is still cheaper than most lovely Chinese import bikes shipped to Canada so I think I'm going to dodge that bullet. If you can actually get a CBR125 there and actually cheap I am kind of jealous. I don't even think they are here in the states. Did the border ever re-open? Hell I kinda wanna import one now. I remember seeing a blurb about Canadian inspections being ok to import a vehicle.
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Jul 19, 2021 20:34
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Do standard bike chains get dirty quickly compared to X ring or O ring? I have one bike with an O ring. It will stay clean for several hundred miles. The bike is kinda high up. The chain sparkles and is quiet. I have a smaller bike with standard 428. I literally put 60 miles on it and the chain is like black, sticky, kinda noisy again. I am wondering if I need to soak the standard chain. Is it reasonable to like swap chains and always have a clean one handy? Or should I just ride and not worry about it - do standard chains just run messy? I don't want to jack the bike up and like run cleaner, penetrant, wax every ride. How should I be maintaining a standard chain? I think the chain wax is just degrading and it's not sealed so it's just mixing with whatever is in between the rollers. SSH IT ZOMBIE fucked around with this message at 04:43 on Jul 25, 2021 |
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Jul 25, 2021 04:05
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I just got some nice sealed D.I.D. chain for the bike, thanks. Yeah I am not doing that 3 can maxima chain care thing twice a week on the standard chain any more. It doesn't even feel like the wax is good for it. I'm just gonna start spraying it with wd40, wiping it with a rag, and throwing some gear oil or spray chain lube on as quick as possible until the new chain comes in. The 3 can thing works great on sealed chain. Edit: Yeah the maxima wax is not working at all on the standard chain. The chain was so tight this am, and like frozen. I was like what the gently caress I _just_ adjusted it. Cleaned it with WD40 and lubed it with gear oil. Slack came back. I'm pretty sure the chain is like freezing. No more wax or cleaners for this chain. Just wd40, rags, and gear oil. Can't wait till the new chain comes in. SSH IT ZOMBIE fucked around with this message at 16:41 on Jul 25, 2021 |
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Jul 25, 2021 15:56
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My carbureted bike got rained on hard. I let it dry a little. Rode it, was riding really bad. Didn't seem to improve. Took off the air filter and saw some water in the carb. Sprayed it down with some fogging oil while running. Dumped the bowl. Fixed. Can that be avoided? People are saying that shouldn't happen with k&n style exposed filters...but...maybe the bike is super sensitive to it because it is 125cc
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Aug 2, 2021 01:01
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Eh I couldn't help it. Was actually out with it. But maybe it's not a bad idea to get a air filter sock or something I can keep under the seat. It's normally kept in a garage.
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Aug 2, 2021 02:19
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Facts. And on that note, does an airbox have to be designed specifically so it does not pull vacuum on the carb's atmospheric breather? Or is the air intake and carb breather typically routed to the same plenum? I have been kicking around modifying the bike's original airbox to not be poo poo, or mounting an aftermarket one on. In my mind it should be routed to a separate plenum. Maybe the crankcase breather can be shared. SSH IT ZOMBIE fucked around with this message at 03:50 on Aug 2, 2021 |
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Aug 2, 2021 03:38
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My 2c Airbox should be fine if you have one. If not, they make one way check breather valves, normally for dirt bikes but whatever. Leaving it open might let some more fuel evaporate.
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Aug 2, 2021 07:21
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I put like 2000 miles on my Versys x 300 since I got it like 3-4 months ago. The chain was a lil out of spec, loose. The rear axle calls for something like 70 ftlbs of torque. I was nervous about doing it myself. It's different from my china bike? One side of the axle is 17mm and the hex nut is like really shallow. The other nut has a cotter pin and is gigantic. It was tightened way more than 70 ftlbs. I had to use a breaker bar and sledge. I like didn't keep a wrench on the 17mm side at all. It came off and back on ok. Why doesn't the axle spin in place? Why was it on so hard?
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Aug 29, 2021 02:27
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On the china bike\grom clone that would literally crush the axle and gently caress up the rear wheel bearing seal. I hope they didn't gently caress up my Kawasaki doing that. I hate working on anything actually nice because I assume professionals at dealerships are actually doing the right thing SSH IT ZOMBIE fucked around with this message at 02:45 on Aug 29, 2021 |
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Aug 29, 2021 02:42
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  Uhh, long story short does anyone know of any aftermarket slipons, 51mm\2in diameter at least like 15cm\6in of length? Preferably stainless steel. I only mention length so I can try out aftermarket baffles. If it's got something built in disregard. This aftermarket muffler isn't really a muffler. It's a megaphone. There's no sound deadening material at all. Completely open. It also expands out to maybe like a diameter of over 4 inches so it really is just a megaphone. I think an exhaust that is narrower and downturns towards the road, or something real would work better. It looks neat but my chinabike is almost unrideable, very loud. I wanted something with better airflow, the stock pipes are junk. I have some aftermarket baffles coming in but not sure how much faith I am going to place in it. SOME back pressure is also probably ok. I noticed the bike tuckers out maybe 800rpm higher in 4th, but lost midrange power. Low rpm power seems a bit whispy. I am holding off retuning the carb until I can figure out the noise issue. SSH IT ZOMBIE fucked around with this message at 22:48 on Sep 3, 2021 |
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Sep 3, 2021 22:46
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Yeah. I mean I was sorta wondering if anyone had suggestions? Anything would work. The muffler seems to have a huge impact on riding characteristics of the bike. With the open exhaust it seemed to gain low end power, but lost all mid. Took forever to get up to 50mph. Throttle response was weird. Didn't feel like just a carb tuning issue. It felt like air was uncontrollably moving through the engine, was bucking around weird and throttle response was not linear at all across the band. Was also smelling gas but I knew it was running leaner. I threw some baffles on which quieted it and restored power. No more gas smell. I started tuning the carb after baffles and was able to go up to 120 on the main jet and it runs great. MAYBE can even go one higher. 112-115 was ideal before, 120 was spitting flames and riding bad. 125 was drowning. Like quieter and good flow aren't really opposites. Didn't really realize exhaust was even a major touch point in regards to tuning a bike. I assume it's majorly impacting what's going on when both valves are open, and also reducing internal losses on the rest of the exhaust cycle. SSH IT ZOMBIE fucked around with this message at 00:19 on Sep 6, 2021 |
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Sep 6, 2021 00:05
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Slavvy posted:Factory pipe + factory jetting and I promise it'll go better than whatever it's doing now.   Stock pipes for comedic value. Most certainly specimens of fine, intentional engineering. Most certainly not impeded at the exhaust manifold by welding slag, and the crooked pipe coming off the cat is fine, just have to force it a little to get it back on. I am basically running a strip of road over and over next to my house, making one change at a time. The exhaust made it lean. I changed the main jet after testing the exhaust. I'm basically getting a feel for 0-50mph time on the same road over and over with the throttle wide open Throttle response - how controllable it feels across the entire throttle riding around town I haven't been writing stuff down. I could I guess use my phone as a stop watch and really start doing that. I guess I was trying to save time - if someone can suggest decent slipons from their experience - sounds good and not super restrictive. Otherwise I'm just gonna be buying random poo poo and testing it. Not that I don't like doing that, haha. SSH IT ZOMBIE fucked around with this message at 01:33 on Sep 6, 2021 |
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Sep 6, 2021 01:15
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Thanks for the feedback. I might then fabricate a small airbox or run some radiator hose. Yeah it's just a cone filter. The header was swapped. No real option not to, the new pipe has a manifold pipe and mid pipe. I think it is 1-2mm wider than the old pipe. Adding aftermarket baffles restored mid range power even before touching the carb. I don't really understand why. They also added to some quality on the throttle I can't even name. It's smoother now. THAT I have no idea. My friend who rides Harleys does custom exhausts for his bikes. He actually wraps aftermarket baffles in fiberglass. He says his bike rides weird if he doesn't. Loss of mid range power. Yeah I know what the needle does. It's been touched. It's all guess and check work though. If throttle at partial open riding feels bad, like racey or boggy, can adjust needle to make it leaner or richer. When I say loss of mid range power I mean accelerating from like 3k rpm to 7k rpm when the bike runs at like 1-8.5. Baffles literally increased the rate the bike speeds up. I am surprised at how much the exhaust had an impact. I knew it does impact. It's my first time swapping one. It threw the whole tune off, and feel even beyond that. I retuned the carb and it still feels different, fortunately for the better. I was trying to get feedback on a good exhaust but basically I am hearing is that is impossible. It's an unknown bike model. I'm throwing Chinese exhausts not engineered for a specific purpose or bike on, and the effect is kinda random. I can just put the time in and test a few. There's no real point to any of this, I'm just enjoying messing around with it. SSH IT ZOMBIE fucked around with this message at 02:46 on Sep 6, 2021 |
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Sep 6, 2021 02:36
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I pretty much have done it like it's a car. Apply even pressure on the brakes and close the bleeder before the brake lever is fully squeezed. Do it a few times. Make sure the reservoir has enough fluid to support it. Make sure the brake isn't released at all during the process or you will suck air in. I just use the little bottle so fluid doesn't go everywhere. Well on a car I never have a hand so I just open the bleeder and walk away. Gravity eventually does it. If I have a hand I have the person do the same thing with the foot brake. I usually use a closed wrench or offset wrench to lightly open and close the bleeder during the process, takes less dexterity when you are managing a lovely bleeder bottle and using your other hand on the brakes. Takes a few minutes. SSH IT ZOMBIE fucked around with this message at 07:27 on Sep 15, 2021 |
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Sep 15, 2021 07:09
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Slavvy posted:I'll add to the above: people often put on a weaksauce smear of grease and wonder why the bearings last a month. You want the rollers and cages to be absolutely packed with grease, no metal visible basically, and a good 5mm thick layer on all the races. Most of it will get pushed out of the way under normal operation and can't find it's way back in so you want to get full coverage. Have you thought about writing like a picture book for generic motorcycle teardown and assembly, like a generic Haynes manual for a motorcycles, and selling it? It would probably sell.
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Sep 15, 2021 07:17
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Renaissance Robot posted:Can I get a sanity check on this: if I tighten up my exhaust header nuts by feel, and go for a ride, and then after that ride I put the same amount of force into them with the same spanner and they turn some more, then is it reasonable to conclude that they a) weren't on tight enough, or at least b) definitely weren't on tight enough to do any damage to the head? Does your bike have a crush washer\gasket between the head and header? It would be hard to overtighten. The crush washer deforming under your wrench would feel sus as hell for a while.
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Sep 19, 2021 21:24
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 Hmm is this kinda normal? I got a catalytic baffle from China. The exhaust isn't glowing entirely, just the honeycomb. Normally can't see a cat. I decided to go down a jet size and it glowed a bit less. Any lower and the bike will start getting a performance hit from prior testing. Honeycomb substrate probably also intentionally can't heatsink well, maybe it's not just unburnt fuel. Guessing it's normal and it's kinda neat. Can't reallllly tell without an O2 sensor probably at this point. Not really a help me tune my bike question. If it's not normal I think at this point I would need to futz with the air intake volume before trying to go down in jet size. The bike feels a bit better than a stock Grom, having been on one. SSH IT ZOMBIE fucked around with this message at 18:35 on Sep 21, 2021 |
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Sep 21, 2021 18:11
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I think what you are describing is decel popping. Some people like it. A little might be normal. A lot it's worth tuning your carbs and normal maintenance like air filter cleaning if your bike is carbed which I think yours is.
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Sep 21, 2021 18:57
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Hmm, anyone familiar with that weird linkage on the shift lever on a Grom? It attaches to the footpegs to limit lateral movement. I see people replace them with a direct attach shift lever. I have a Chinese Grom clone I use as a friend bike and to get around locally. Friend maybe was too rough on the shifter and it snapped. Do the Grom shifters work to take that load off the spindle gearshift? Or is it unnecessary and direct connect shifters are fine? I wonder what the engineers were thinking.
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Apr 26, 2022 22:10
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Slavvy posted:The purpose of that is too integrate an adjustable length pushrod so you can move the shifter up or down for ergonomics, if you go to a direct shifter you're at the mercy of the splines. Thanks. I feel better about a direct attached shifter if needed. I have an official Grom one coming in, no idea if it will fit. Hard to source the Chinese part. I have a direct attach shifter coming in too to try. I'll just go with whatever fits and is ergonomically acceptable. I'm glad I don't let people learn on my Kawasaki. 😂 I hear that poor cush drive also taking a beating, friend is downshifting at bad rpms and locking the tire sometimes.
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Apr 27, 2022 19:45
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I don't really know where to talk about this. I did a track day yesterday on my Versys 300x. Amazing experience. Great coaches. Lots of training and track time, several hundred participants, all kinda of bikes and cool people camping out at the mountain track. I was riding with their rookie group. Literally every session there was an accident, some major. My friend got bumped up to novice and also had the same thing happen. I was focused on learning good lines, leaning, hanging off the bike and body language, telegraphing, passing, taking corners faster than I do on the road - to lean more. Speed..comes from doing all that with precision. Or like lean is a consequence of speed, I was juat going fast enough around corners to push my comfort on leaning. And starting to realize choosing some lines makes riding easier, less lean, you can naturally go faster... I was not the slowest, despite speed not being my priority. At no point did I feel like I was going to crash. I learned a lot. Are the accidents normal? Like is crashing the bike the way to learn? Everyone's bike was hosed up, plastidiped, everyone's suit was torn up. Like I snowboard, falling on occasion is part of it. Theres way less risk. Bike fairings and repairs aren't cheap. Medical care is expensive. I would be so upset if I dropped my bike. Might not quit, but I would consider it a pretty bad gently caress up vs falling in snow who cares. Am I in the wrong hobby? 😭 SSH IT ZOMBIE fucked around with this message at 14:43 on Jul 24, 2022 |
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Jul 24, 2022 14:28
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KidDynamite posted:Are there any fitness things I can do to combat hand numbness while riding? Only seems to happen on long highway stints. Doc says I may have slight carpal tunnel and recommended a cock up splint which I am using but wondering if y’all have any moto specific insight. I hate to say it, but I think it is partially a function of engine rpms. On longer rides my 300 kawasaki gets my hands fatigued and numb due to vibration. It doesn't happen on other bikes and I'm not really death gripping. There's throttle locks and throttle palm rest things...not sure how safe they are. SSH IT ZOMBIE fucked around with this message at 00:51 on Jul 25, 2022 |
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Jul 25, 2022 00:48
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Idk if it's good or not but I usually tin the ends of stranded wire before crimping too. Seems to hold better. Edit: I guess it's bad 🤣 SSH IT ZOMBIE fucked around with this message at 18:40 on Jul 30, 2022 |
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Jul 30, 2022 18:38
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moxieman posted:Question: why does my SV650 (carb’d) start harder when hot than when cold? What about starting with no choke after sitting? Might just be a tad rich. The only possible disaster here would be if your float seal is leaking and your engine is flooded. If it has a fuel petcock\shutoff, you could start shutting off the fuel when it is going to sit. If the problem goes away, and really tested, only then would I really be concerned. This is juat generic advice for generic carbs. The SV650 might have fancy vacuum triggered petcocks in which case doing this doesn't do anything unless the petcock is also broke. SSH IT ZOMBIE fucked around with this message at 02:27 on Aug 2, 2022 |
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Aug 2, 2022 02:23
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Pretty much have to maintain standard chains constantly. Standard chains you can kinda just wipe them and throw some gear oil on. The oil gets sucked up between the rollers. Pretty much should do that very often. Imo adjust tension when they are warmed up and freshly lubricated, it'll have the most slack. Sealed chains are nicer. Maxima makes a good cleaning set of chemicals. Way less maintenance. The chain may or may not be messed up. Try cleaning, oiling, riding a bit, then tension. See if it lasts longer than a ride or two. Has anyone actually ever had good luck with a chain breaker, that supposudly pops rivited link pins out? I had a way better time with a bench grinder on the rivets to cut a chain down. It's probably the chain but inspect your engine mount bolts too. Don't over torque them but make sure the engine isn't wiggling. SSH IT ZOMBIE fucked around with this message at 17:10 on Aug 6, 2022 |
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Aug 6, 2022 17:06
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Supradog posted:Chain breakers are not really needed anymore with the advent of cordless angle grinders. A riveting tool like dids are still needed though. I've been using master links and clips am I gonna die
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Aug 6, 2022 19:23
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I put crash guards on my versys 300. They are in front of the bike where foglights would be mounted. My bike has always had a lot of weird harmonic annoyances. 8000rpm the entire bike sings. 5000rpm my seat vibrates uncomfortably. 10k rpm my handlebars. It is super weird, harmonically as rpms increase the vibration migrates from the back of the bike to the front. So crash guards can do that even if not engine mounted? I was not as sensitive to bike stuff when I first put them on. All of the resonation issues are very short at specific rpms, except for the handlebars which seems permanent at 60mph+. The handlebars are the worst issue, my wrists and arms go numb after an hour and some change. Figured it was because it's an entry level bike not because of addons like that. Almost want to try removing them. SSH IT ZOMBIE fucked around with this message at 17:55 on Aug 23, 2022 |
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Aug 23, 2022 17:49
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I am gonna keep my Versys X 300 probably long term. Touching the suspension, local shop is going to put in stiffer springs up front. They recommended against a gold valve\cartridge emu, saying it can make the ride worse unless dialed in. Said spend the money on better tires, but stiffer springs totally worth it. Anyone have any thoughts on cartridge emulators? They said they'd do it but it's like high cost low roi as far as getting it right.
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Feb 24, 2023 18:32
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Slavvy posted:That sounds backwards to me Yeah? My understanding is the gold valve just goes in and it has a low speed and high speed oriface. The low speed makes it so like gradual front end pressure won't use as much suspension travel. High speed bumps it becomes quick to respond. Is there even adjustment?
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Feb 24, 2023 18:48
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Thanks. No, I don't want to half rear end it. It's just I don't have a good setup to lift my bike to remove the forks and send them in, so I contacted a shop. Maybe I can ask them to send the forks off to racetech instead of doing it locally. They can charge me for storage and removing\installing the forks.
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Feb 24, 2023 18:56
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I am ok with exhaust, brake, or engine work. Suspension scares me. I've dropped and reinstalled the engine on the china bike. I don't have a center stand or a ton of space. I could hang the versys from the garage rafters but it's just sus and I'd rather just have someone else do it. Thanks everyone. I spoke to the shop. They do them on the regular on more expensive bikes, they can install locally. It's gonna add some cost but I am totally OK with it. The guy was trying to save me money. Edit: Maybe I'll buy a center stand this spring so I can do my own fork oil and stuff. Suspension has stuff with like shims, the install will take drilling of the rods it looks. I prefer to give it to a professional who's done it before. SSH IT ZOMBIE fucked around with this message at 19:13 on Feb 24, 2023 |
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Feb 24, 2023 19:11
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I am going to do tires anyway. Probably some road 5 or road 6es. The shop has I guess a reputation for being cheap for all the local GSXR kids. They have been in business for like 30 years for Harleys so it's a good sign. Other shops around here are open for like 2-3 years before closing.
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Feb 24, 2023 19:29
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Cuz us Americans are gonna redline in 1st down the freeway because gently caress gears 🦅
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Feb 27, 2023 02:46
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Hm, anyone ever paint motorcycle fairings? Like, you can buy professional lacquer or urethane. The shelf life is short. I've used spraypaint on cheap toys, it's very soft but looks actually good if you take your time and do many light coats. Like is there something in between for like a track bike that probably is going to go down at some point? I have a compressor and am not opposed to learning how to use a spray gun. Is there a hard clearcoat that is accessible and decently strong? Is rattle can spraypaint inherently bad?
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Feb 28, 2023 18:32
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Hm. My cbr1000rr friend is doing a lot of weird mods. He's replacing the sprockets with all aluminum. Like I am not a metallurgist but even hard alloys of alu are soft compared to steel. Like you really want metal rubbing off on the steel chain? Galvanic corrosion issues? Little sprocket life... One would think an alu sprocket would be more prone to race ending issues. Unless you have a team of people maintaining your bike. Is that a common mod? He swears it is. It's his bike at the end of the day.
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Mar 2, 2023 07:27
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How do I get all my friends who don't have a bike to get a bike for the next season?
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Mar 3, 2023 03:25
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right arm posted:let them ride yours Totally have let people ride the Versys X 300 around parking lots. One dude we did a few dozen miles, he was on my Chinese 125cc bike. It's like a money thing, they want to start on R7s and MT07 but don't want to drop the coin so didn't ride last season. Great bikes yeah. But used Ninja 250s, 300s, CB300rs etc are sorta plentiful and cheapish around here. Like a third or quarter of the price. The literbike friend who got me into this is converting it to a track only bike and getting a Grom. It's too expensive for him to maintain the way he rides it in the street. Once you consider the cost of gas, if you regularly use the bike for commuting, cheaper bikes literally will pay for themselves after like 5 years. It's basically free so everyone should ride. 🤣 SSH IT ZOMBIE fucked around with this message at 08:09 on Mar 3, 2023 |
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Mar 3, 2023 07:57
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Has anyone ever upgraded rear suspension on their bike? Possibly this spring or summer I may go on a 14 hour road trip with it. The furthest I've gone on it is 2 hours. There are days where I am riding all day on and off without issue. Those long stretches of highway get to my spine though after an hour. The stock rear suspension is stiff-ish, even with the preload at minimum settings. It's also sorta quick to rebound. The bike absorbs bumps fine but man it beats me up. Would nicer rear racetech suspension with damping and compression adjustment be nice for trips, without messing with spring strength? Cost aside, which I don't care about since I am just going to keep the bike long term. I had the bike looked at once trackside. The front was soft the guy said and the rear stiff. Sag was acceptable with my gear on. Front nothing could be done, unadjustable. SSH IT ZOMBIE fucked around with this message at 19:07 on Mar 9, 2023 |
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Mar 9, 2023 18:53
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