lot of work for a liquor cycle

9/4/2009 11:02:33 PM

^
+1

9/5/2009 1:25:13 AM

^^ & ^ most liquor cycles are 110cc and top out at 100mph?

9/7/2009 4:23:21 PM

Lot of work for a 110cc scooter that tops out at 100 mph.

9/7/2009 4:44:41 PM

Hey man, at least it's not a 1000cc bike.

9/7/2009 5:31:34 PM

it's been x-rayed and shipped out of new york...should be down here within the next few business days, but then there's another day of wait for it to be moved off the train, documented, and stored in a bonded warehouse

earliest i can pick it up will probably be monday, but i'm planning on doing it next wednesday since i have some meetings i can't miss on tuesday (and assuming, of course, that it isn't seized and destroyed )

9/23/2009 9:52:43 AM

haha, thats funny

9/23/2009 10:03:03 AM

you must upload pics and videos!!!

9/25/2009 8:19:50 AM

yes@!

9/25/2009 10:06:29 AM

great success!

9/28/2009 1:50:42 AM

Quote :

"most liquor cycles are 110cc and top out at 100mph?"

no, but this one is

9/28/2009 7:14:48 AM

^ BE THAT AS IT MAY...

i will hopefully be picking it up on wednesday...we need to have another TWW scooter meet-up

9/28/2009 11:09:46 AM

it's wednesday

9/30/2009 7:53:57 AM

yes, sir, it is...and i got back from wilmington a few hours ago with a honda click-i

i wanted to ride it tonight, but there were a couple of things...there was some reddish fluid all over the back of the scoot when i unpacked it...it appears to be motor oil...the source seemed to be a slobber tube on the airbox, so i unscrewed it and a bunch of oil poured out...i assume it was shipped on its side or upside down, but i'm still not sure how the oil got there

the air filter was soaked, so i sprayed it down with some brake parts cleaner and i'm letting it dry overnight...i will need to replace the filter soon, but i SHOULD be able to use it as it is for a little while, right? it'll just blow smoke if oil is pulled in, yes?

the coolant was low (i think), so i topped it off (i think...there's no line that i can find)...the gas tank was empty and there's a big 91 on the tank (with some thai), so i'm thinking i'll probably try 93 for a while and see what happens...if it seems to run file, i'll try 87 (my honda met will use anything from 85 up)

now the bigger issue of the oil...it's practically empty, so i'll need to fill it before i ride, but i'm not sure what weight to use...i think the 10W-30 denotation is american only, so i'm not sure what to use (i'm waiting on an email from the guy i got it from, to get the thai version so that i can try to determine the american equivalent...if i can't determine the exact weight, i'll just guess with some 10W-30, since that's what my metropolitan and rebel use, so probably a safe bet)

i'll get some pics up tomorrow once i actually get to spend some daylight with it

[Edited on September 30, 2009 at 9:57 PM. Reason : .]

9/30/2009 9:56:40 PM

Awesome. I want to see this thing.


Some air filters are meant to be soaked in oil. I know K&N makes some that can be run dry or wet. If you cleaned most of it out you should be fine.

What's the exact model of this thing? Is it air cooled or what? I run 15W-40 to 20W50 diesel oil in mine, but I know nothing about scooters.


Are you planning on putting plates on it? 100mph is one hell of a liquor cycle.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I also want a ride...but I won't massage your shoulders:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsImKicmeQo

[Edited on September 30, 2009 at 10:27 PM. Reason : .]

9/30/2009 10:19:38 PM

it was a bit slow to start this morning...i couldn't get it to turn over at all (it wasn't even trying) and then all of a sudden it finally caught...it cut out a couple of times while in idle, but i assume this is because the tank was bone dry and the oil was exceptionally low...i had put about half a tank of 87 in there, but after hearing my from my guy in thailand, i decided 93 would be a better bet, so i topped off at a gas station on my way to work...it's been fine at idle ever since i gave it a short run

i found online that it takes a full liter of oil, so since i wasn't getting a reading on the dipstick, i started adding 5W-30 (what i had lying around) arbitrarily and checking periodically...i think i overfilled it a bit (i put in about 0.6L), but since it was as low as it was and hadn't been run in months, i assumed that the minor excess might be utilized (plus i was too lazy to drain it...i don't think it's overfilled by THAT much)

as i assumed, the maintenance details are a bit hard to come by, since i don't speak thai...i found a few forums in english, so i'll post today and try to get some information...i'm assuming the the air filter's supposed to be dry, but i don't know for sure...my guy in thailand said that since labor and parts so cheap, everyone just drops off their bikes for full service and don't do it themselves...he told me to make a list of any parts i might want and he'd send them to me

my ability to read thai is non-existent and the translator was probably not very accurate, so i made a mistake when i said it'd go 100mph...the NEW CZi (yet to be released, http://www.gizmag.com/hondas-100-mph-110cc-pgm-fi-prototype/9762/) gets about 135mpg and tops out at about 100mph...it's chain-driven rather than belt-driven with a variator and roller weights (i'm 90% sure mine's belt-driven, but i could be wrong since i haven't opened it up...the fact that there's a drive cover makes me think it must be a belt but i don't know enough to say for sure)

the speedo goes to 140kph (about 87mph), so i'm betting it tops out between 75-80 (faster than i need to go on something that small, anyway)...i'm going to refrain from doing that or anything close to that until i have a better feel for the bike and make sure all of my maintenance is done correctly...after that, i'm willing to see how well she does

i haven't decided about the plates...the bike itself is definitely larger than my met, but i've seen plenty of 50cc scoots around town with bodies just as big, so i don't think it's going to be obvious that it's bigger than that (though you're only supposed to go 30mph max on an unlicensed, uninsured bike, so going faster might make it pretty obvious)...the guy at customs was very very nice and filled out the form that i would need to register it for a plate and for insurance, so i have the option

i didn't get it to be a motorcycle or anything...i got it because it performs 300% better than a 50cc and gets better mileage (it also uses E20, but i don't know where i can get that around here)...i won't really have any cause to do much more than scoot around town, but at least now i can keep up with traffic

i love it, so far...y'all just be on the lookout for the inevitable "something's wrong with my bike and i don't know what and you might not know, either" thread

[Edited on October 1, 2009 at 8:04 AM. Reason : .]

10/1/2009 8:02:44 AM

dude that is so awesome. remember when you said "if it all works out, i'll come back and document the whole thing for future reference" im gonna be waiting on that and get me something too.

10/1/2009 8:21:55 AM

useless without [rolling burnout] pics

10/1/2009 8:22:02 AM

^^ i'll work on it...i have copies of every bit of paper i needed to get it through and i'll make an outline documenting the whole thing...i'll likely forget something, so feel free to ask questions on here or in PM or phone or whatever

^ i think i'll find out how easy/cheap it is to get replacement tires, first

actually, the tires and lights are already DOT approved (which was kind of surprising, i thought)...the speedo's in KPH instead of MPH, but it's really easy to make the conversion in your head for the common speeds:

- 60kph is about 37, so hover around or below that for 35mph limit
- 70kph is about 43mph, so hover just above that for 45mph limit
- 80kph is almost exactly 50mph
- 90kph is about 56mph, so hover around or below that for 55mph limit

so there's no good reason (at least, no legal one) for speeding

10/1/2009 8:51:43 AM

eh, my 70cc skoot would give this thing a run for it's money

10/1/2009 1:15:01 PM

^ if it's a 2-stroke, i agree...the problem with 2-strokes is that they're crap

that said, i ran into my first issue already today...ride to work was fine, but on my way home for lunch, about a mile away, it hiccuped a bit and the engine light flicked on...it went off almost immediately and it continued to ride fine...half a mile later, it hiccuped again, the engine light came on, and then it went back to normal...when i came to a stop in my driveway, it cut off completely

i let it sit for a bit and checked the oil (since i was concerned about overfilling it) and it was directly in the middle of the hash marks, so it should be fine there...the temp light is separate from the engine light (my met only has a temp light), but i checked the coolant anyway, and that was fine

i'm thinking (hoping) that it simply doesn't like the fact that there's more than half a tank of old(er) 87 in there, instead of 93

thoughts?

10/1/2009 1:28:01 PM

Check spark...Pull the plug and look at the tip. Might have been fouled if oil got to it while the bike was on its side/upside down during shipping.

Could be that air filter too...Oil on a filter that is meant to be dry is going to restrict air flow.

I'd replace both assuming you can easily find the parts here. They're both cheap and both maintenance items IMO.

10/1/2009 1:40:37 PM

i imagine the plug will be cheap and easy...i'll check that tonight or tomorrow

the filter is an interesting thing...i keep trying to think of a way to explain it, but i really just need to take a picture and post it...in any case, it's not just a wafer filter (fiber with a rubber frame that fits in a hole in the air box), it's actually a whole plastic piece with the filter permanently mounted in the middle...it LOOKS exactly like the filter i use in my met (or the briggs and stratton that i replaced it with), but there's no way to remove it

i think i'll go ahead and order a new one, depending on the cost, and in the meantime see if i can jury-rig a way to mount a standard filter in the plastic frame...it's a strange and incredibly wasteful design

10/1/2009 2:44:56 PM

Quote :

"eh, my 70cc skoot would give this thing a run for it's money"

I wanna see

10/1/2009 7:38:38 PM

damnation...so i decided to take the filter out and as soon as i opened up the air box, oil poured out...wtf? i obviously don't know much, but how would oil make its way into the air box unless there's something seriously off? any suggestions about THAT?



^ i'm down for it

10/1/2009 11:00:18 PM

It doesn't have an oil bath air filter like they used to use on tractors does it? The air on my old ford is sucked through oil to remove dust.

More than likely they just shipped it upside down.

10/1/2009 11:17:21 PM

^ i don't think so...the back of the air box is bolted to the bike itself and has a large tube...the filter is in the middle of a large piece of plastic that then covers the entire air box cavity...the air box cover then covers the filter and box (duh) and has vent holes to allow air in

i assume air is pulled in through the vents, through the filter, and then through the hose behind the filter...pretty simple as far as i can tell

it's a pretty "modern" bike...i can't see honda designing something like this that, by its very design, dumps oil whenever you remove the air box cover...it probably was just shipped upside down, but why, after cleaning it up and riding it, did the air box get a lot more oil in it? something leftover in the lines?

10/1/2009 11:39:14 PM

that sucks man. it would be a waste if after all that $ and time this doesn't work out.

10/2/2009 7:41:37 AM

my honda four-stroke lawnmover does the same thing when tipped.

10/2/2009 8:13:04 AM

well, i heard back from the guy in thailand...his mechanic said that he think the gas and oil are mixing, which means there's a leak...since he's the guy who checked out the bike before they sent it, and said that he knows it was fine, he think something might come come dislodged during packing or shipping...they send the bike off to a company to have the fluids drained (as per the law), so he wants me to check all the hoses to make sure everything's connected tightly

hah, we'll see

10/2/2009 8:14:41 AM

well gas and air mix in the cylinder and since you clearly have oil where your air goes, it stands to reason he's right and you don't necessarily have anything disconnected. clean out the airbox and filter, report back

10/2/2009 8:21:32 AM

^ so you think that what's there might just be leftovers? you said that he might be right and i DON'T have anything disconnected...how did the oil get there, then? i guess i'm trying to figure out what i should be looking for...i don't have work or class today, so i'm planning on working on it today

thanks for all the suggestions, i appreciate it

10/2/2009 8:33:46 AM

usually on four stroke there is a crank case ventilation line that connects to the airbox. If there is too much oil in the crankcase the first place it will go to is up the breather line. even if the oil is NOT overfilled, having a dirty (in your case, oily) filter does not allow enough air from outside, creating a strong enough vacuum inside the aibox where it will suck air/oil fumes from the crankcase through the breather system. I would first replace the filter and see if the leaking stops (or take it for a test ride without the filter and see if oil appears in the airbox). I'd start there

[Edited on October 2, 2009 at 8:51 AM. Reason : cant type]

10/2/2009 8:50:08 AM

dude, u overfilled ur oil. it spit all that extra oil into the air box. probably fouling ur spark plug and causing the clogged up oily air filter (hiccups and shutting off)

2 strokes rock. dont hate

10/2/2009 9:17:21 AM

^^

10/2/2009 10:08:23 AM

okay, look...i do dumb things and i admit when i do them...i was specifically told that the bike would be shipped with both the gas and oil drained (anything flammable is supposed to removed before shipment, according to US law)...i checked the oil when i got it, and it wasn't even registering on the dipstick, so my assumption (okay, assuming is stupid) was that there was no oil (ignoring that which was already in the air box...i assumed that came from what they weren't able to drain)

so, apparently the oil was just LOW...i THINK y'all are all right - i overfilled the crap out of it (but that still doesn't explain why it was showing the middle of the hash marks yesterday and then overfilled as all hell today)

i emptied about 20 ounces of oil before i got a consistent middle-of-the-marks reading from the dipstick...i cleaned the air box and emptied the slobber tube...took it on a 4 mile round trip without the air filter and got no hiccups and nothing in the slobber tube

okay, so i'm a dumbass...i can successfully import a scooter from thailand, but i can't check my oil worth a damn

i'm hoping this takes care of it...i think i'm going to try to fashion my own air filter for the moment using the frame that it comes with (it's really a stupid design, IMO) while i wait for a real one to get here (it takes about 10 days from thailand) and check the plugs (and probably replace them if i can find something local)...hopefully i won't run into any more trouble

thanks for all of y'all's help and for putting up with a dumbass n00b with minimal mockery

[Edited on October 2, 2009 at 1:27 PM. Reason : .]

10/2/2009 1:27:12 PM

You need to find the p/n for that filter and replace it. Is there a p/n on that filter anywhere? Does Bike Bandit have that bike listed on their website? If so, find the p/n for the air filter and call some Honda dealers to see if they have it/can order it. Maybe even carry it in to the parts counter and just ask if they can match it. Sometimes those guys know exactly what it is just by seeing it or they might be able to reference part numbers that are on it which are not the p/n you would order as a customer.

You might be able to fit a generic cone filter onto that inlet tube in the airbox just to get it running today. Just measure the diameter of the tube and head to the zone; AUTOZONE.

[Edited on October 2, 2009 at 1:49 PM. Reason : l]

10/2/2009 1:38:50 PM

Is that tube molded into the airbox?

10/2/2009 11:50:05 PM

Does it really top out at 100MPH or 100kph?

10/3/2009 12:45:49 AM

If it were mine, I would rip everything out from the airbox to the engine and degrease it. That way when you see oil again, you know exactly where it's coming from. Break it all down from the engine back and get things good and clean. If it were tipped on it's back end or upside down, oil probably drained back through the crankcase breather tube into the airbox, as already mentioned. From there it's probably seeped into all sorts of places in your intake system, so it would be wise to clean the whole thing out.

If gasoline got into the oil, that's also bad news. I would change all the oil, drain the entire fuel system, and start from a known correct quantity of 10w-30 oil and a 50-50 mix of 87/93 octane fuel. Makse sure you're checking the oil from a cold standstill. It'll show up low if you've been running it and it's still in the passages. I would source a new filter or do the suggested pod filter until you try to run it again. If it's over oiled, it will create a super rich condition, and it will not likely be able to compensate for it. Check your plugs - if it's black and sooty, it's running rich and/or burning oil. It should be a light brown overall.

10/3/2009 9:10:43 AM

^^^^ there's nothing but thai on the filter itself, so i can't tell if there's a part number or it's just a warning or something...my guy in thailand is sending me one and it should be here sometime within the next 10-12 days...bike bandit doesn't have it (at least, i can't find it)

^^^ yeah

^^ 140kph, so about 87mph (the new one tops out at 100mph, but it hasn't been released yet)

^ the back end of the box is pretty well in there, so i didn't pull it out...i did, however, spray it down with carb cleaner (something a bit safer for plastic) to the point that there wasn't any oil in it anymore...there was never any oil in the large tube you see in the picture...it's been bone dry and completely without dirt or oil, so i think i'm okay on that front

i'll be draining the oil today and refilling...i figured i'd go with 5w-30 since i'm planning on riding it during the winter (or would 10w-30 be sufficient?)

the internal diameter of the tube is 1", so i'll stop by and pick up cone filter today...in theory, couldn't you replace the stock air filter with any aftermarket filter that allows for the same amount of filtration and air throughput?

10/3/2009 11:05:57 AM

Quote :

"i'll be draining the oil today and refilling...i figured i'd go with 5w-30 since i'm planning on riding it during the winter (or would 10w-30 be sufficient?)"

I don't know about small 4 cycle's needing anything special, but either should work sufficiently well unless it's super-cold when you're starting it.

Quote :

"the internal diameter of the tube is 1", so i'll stop by and pick up cone filter today...in theory, couldn't you replace the stock air filter with any aftermarket filter that allows for the same amount of filtration and air throughput?"

In theory, yes, but drastically changing the airflow in any engine means that you've upset the balance of pressure and vacuum that the engine depends on to run. Without knowing that a particular filter is designed as a replacement for yours, there's no way to tell if it will do this. Just be prepared for it not to run properly if it doesn't flow the same.

10/4/2009 2:53:31 PM

Quote :

"I don't know about small 4 cycle's needing anything special, but either should work sufficiently well unless it's super-cold when you're starting it."

yeah, i used 5w-30 and there doesn't seem to be any problem

Quote :

"In theory, yes, but drastically changing the airflow in any engine means that you've upset the balance of pressure and vacuum that the engine depends on to run. Without knowing that a particular filter is designed as a replacement for yours, there's no way to tell if it will do this. Just be prepared for it not to run properly if it doesn't flow the same."

well, i couldn't find a suitable cone filter, so i came home and made my own...i cut the oil-soaked paper filter out of the plastic frame and then cut a piece of home air filter fiber from a new filter i had in the closet...what i haven't shown in a picture is that there's a metal screen behind the filter that fits on some pegs...i placed the filter between the screen and the opening and then secured it, put it in, and closed up the air box

road it about 12 miles yesterday and it rode fine the entire way, with plenty of pep and no stalls

i ordered 3 filters from my guy in thailand and they should be here in 10-12 days, at which point i'll obviously replace the home-made one with a real one...i can't imagine the fashioned filter will do any damage over such a short time...right?

i haven't been able to find the spark plug yet

10/4/2009 3:06:20 PM

Nah, it's fine. Lots of old bikes didn't even run filters. Your bigger concern would be running lean from too much airflow, but if it's fuel injected who cares. Just make sure your homemade one doesn't get sucked in.

10/4/2009 7:01:18 PM

Post a picture of the bike, G.

10/5/2009 4:05:36 PM

^

10/7/2009 10:16:05 AM

it's been pretty rainy these past few days...i actually rode it in the rain on monday night

i'll be heading home for lunch and to take care of the dogs...i'll take a pic then and post 'em

10/7/2009 10:35:53 AM

it's a bit dirty...i need to wash it

10/7/2009 12:02:07 PM

that is smoking hot

10/7/2009 12:20:40 PM

i think we should have another TWW scootscoot meetup

10/7/2009 12:47:56 PM