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Post by argirhs on Sept 20, 2009 7:25:21 GMT -5
hi friend,yes its fun,and i "open it"more now but i dont kill it yet,the alluminoum can be caught by the magnet?i think no,and i think the cylinder is alluminoum,so you probably stop the iron parts from the rings or the shaft,but why this taking place to your bike,probably because its working cold at mornings?maybe you must go for a thiker synthetik(more thik film when you stop at night and start at the morning?),or from what i see you can go for diesel oils,i put the motul 5000 10-40 semisyn,after that i think i go for the motul 5100 10-40synthetik,or a 10-40 diesel synthetik(like rotela)and "what will be will be",how much(kms) you keep your synthetik before you change it?now i have 600kms,i didnt change the gear oil yet its hard to find 85-140 for summer,allthow i think i must go for 85-90 if iam right
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Post by Kiwiscoot on Sept 21, 2009 4:10:38 GMT -5
I change my synthetic oil every 2000kms. I probably can go to 3000kms, but I feel good doing it every 2000kms, which will be the end of the week @ 10 000kms. Now you raise an interesting point regarding the oil and cold mornings. A 5W30 and a 10W30 both are the same weight (thickness) at working temperature (apparently about 15W ). That means when the hot engine is switched off the same amount of oil will stick to the engine parts. On a cold morning the 5W30 oil will circulate quicker than the 10W30. This means less revolutions of the engine at startup with to little oil flow, this is less wear. Tho I don't think there is that much difference in the 5W vs the 10W weight. Even the cold pour temperatures is -52degC vs -49degC, so at a -4degC morning both should not have any problems flowing, it's just that the oil pump will pump the 5W better. I can get 0W50 full synthetic Castrol oil here, which will be the best, but at $80 for 4 liters it is very expensive. 5W30 is $45 for 4 liters. If you want to read up some interesting look at this www.ferrarichat.com/forum/faq.php?faq=haas_articles and this www.bobistheoilguy.com/I think the bits that the magnet picked up was from the manufacturing process, bits that were lying in the bottom of the engine. My guess is when I change the oil at the end of the week the magnet will be clean. I put the scoot on it's side stand when I change oil to get the engine on a lean. Hopefully this helps to flush the bottom of the engine out. I then lean the scoot from side to side to drain as much oil out as possible. You'll be surprised how much still comes out. Go with 75W90 gear oil, it does make a difference. About 18 months ago I had a Toyota MR2 GT, mid-engined 2000cc 160hp little sports-car. They have a tendency to have a sticky gearbox, difficult to switch from ist to 2nd fast, which causes 2nd gear synchros to wear. I thought mine had worn synchros, until somebody told me to use full synthetic 75W90. After that I could even change down to second gear @ 90kph (8500rpm) with no problems. That is what I use. I'm going to change my scoots gear oil at the end of the week too. Just my thoughts on things for what they are worth. Have fun. PS - I think I may have my first real "issue". On the way home the speedo seems to be intermittent. I gave the scoot a wash last Saturday and I did not take it for a run to dry everything out as I normally do. Water may have gone into some connections. |
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Post by argirhs on Sept 21, 2009 14:28:37 GMT -5
yes friend i know what you mean about the oil weights and how thin is good for the engine at cold mornings,what i mean is that a thin oil can not stay on the parts like a thick one(its draining more easy),and what about the "strike force"in start up(the thick one resist more because its thick and in some time new oil is coming "even if it is thick"),this is something i allways tought of when i put synthetic thin oils in my machines,it is like more sound( like no isolation from the engine),maybe thats why(except the heat countries)i see 20-50 synthetik oils on good brand names,finally i believe that the thin synthetik oils are the best when you run for hours but not the best for the morning dew to the "strike forces"in an engine(except if they make a serious film that is there at morning).About your speedo first i would see for the "easy problem",probably i would take out the part that is on front weal near the disk plate(to much water there).In a "ask-get answer link" a mechanic said,no synthetik oil on citycom,can this be real?also i scratched the cover of the excaust in mine(the time i was thinking nice i didnt scratched it yet)
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Post by Kiwiscoot on Sept 21, 2009 16:16:26 GMT -5
yes friend i know what you mean about the oil weights and how thin is good for the engine at cold mornings,what i mean is that a thin oil can not stay on the parts like a thick one(its draining more easy) As I understand it a 0W30 oil and a 10W30 are the same weight (15W) at working temperature when the engine is switched off, therefor the same amount of oil will drain off the engine parts, leaving the same layer of oil on the engine parts. The layer will be the same thickness at start-up to keep the metal surfaces apart. That's interesting. The thicker oil must have a more cushioning effect at start-up. I just wonder tho even if the thicker oil has a more cushioning effect if not more wear is done in those revolutions where there is no flow with the thicker oil. I can see that 0W50 should be the best. Thicker at working temperature for a thicker layer to stay on engine parts, better flow at start-up. Probably why it is so expensive. The speedo must be a connector that came undone as when I weave from side to side when I ride it come on and go off. A job for this week-end. Perhaps the mechanic thinks it is to soon to put synthetic oil in at 600kms. I only put in at around 2000-3000kms if I remember correctly. It gives the engine good time to wear in. I know what you mean about the exhaust cover - a bad design in my book. I first scratched it and the cracked it when going thro barrier poles at the supermarket when I was parking. It should not stick out wider than the width of the scoot. I took it off and had a flat aluminium shield made, much better, but mine does not look nice. It is rectangular and looks a bit like a baking dish I think. Works well, but I want to change the front of it to look better. You take care and have fun. ;D ;D |
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Post by argirhs on Sept 22, 2009 9:00:35 GMT -5
thats why i think out there excist a castrol oil (magnet i think)that stays on the metal parts,but remember like action and reaction in any good staff excist something bad too,thin is better only because its circulating more and gets in tide parts in an engine,but it has to be thick too just like the old oils(but its not), syntheticks like ow-xx,in xx "mode" are not thick but only can save the engine because of strong "character".you take care too and dont worry much about iron things,like myself
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Post by argirhs on Sept 22, 2009 10:32:50 GMT -5
you mean the mechanik from the question-answer link?i did'nt ask for something,it was anothers guy question,i only saw what he answered to him,and he said about no synthetik on citycom 300i,but i dont know why,other people are against synthetiks too
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Post by argirhs on Sept 25, 2009 13:37:09 GMT -5
as a matter of fact,i read that chinese scooters must not work on synthetiks because some parts in the engine come from recycled metal(of cource i dont know how chinese is our scooter)
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Post by Kiwiscoot on Sept 27, 2009 4:16:47 GMT -5
"No synthetic oil in Chinese scooters because of recycled metal" is a new one to me. Perhaps some people think the metal will desolve in the oil. 8?) ha ha! I think metal stays metal even when recycled. The problem is that there is a lot of rubbish info published on the internet which one need to sift thru and cross reference. The Chinese scooters may not be the best metal alloy perhaps. Our scoots are Taiwanese and not Chinese (main land China). They are very good.
Chinese scoots can be good too. I started with a Xingyue XY150T, which my wife rides now. I have had no problems with it. Even in freezing conditions it would start up and run fine. it has 4000kms on now. I run it on 15W40 diesel oil and change the oil every 2000kms. It is well made for the price I paid. A lot of people rubbish the Chinese scoots, but if one do one's homework well before choosing one you can get a good scoot. Just today we explored a back country route of about 100kms of mountainous country with only the odd farm here and there with the car with the view to do a scooter trip on it. My wife on her Xingyue and I on the Citycom. Now I would not plan to do the trip if I did not have confidence in the china-scoot.
To get back to the synthetic oil - I think sometimes some people are against new things and against change, because it is something they don't understand. I would be interested in looking at negative info regarding synthetic oil, but it looks as if there are a lot of benefits running synthetic in these scoots as they have no oil filter. They can do with all the lubrication they can get as it is a hard working hi-revving engine.
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Post by argirhs on Sept 27, 2009 9:29:30 GMT -5
i like synthetiks too,what i saw about chinese scoots was again in a link that provides answers,i didnt ask i only was reading the answers,the guy didnt say something bad about chinese scooters,he just answer to someone about why most of the chinese scooters manuals are forbeting the synthetik oils and he gave that as a reason,friend have you any idea why in mobils site for motorcykle oils they only have 2 grades(15-50,20-50synthetik),allthow they sujest to people that ask to use the diesel synthetik to more thin grades too,yesterday i change the gear oil with a coastal 75-90synthetik,but as i saw later its synthetik blend,so i think i will order oils from the amsoil site just to be sure its synthetik,the consuption is going down a piece last time it was something like 3,95l/100kms,most in the city,everything ok with your speed indicator?
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Post by argirhs on Sept 27, 2009 12:13:28 GMT -5
also today i had my first "issue",i stop the scooter and i saw that it wont stay on the central parking foothold(if i said it right),and what is the problem?i discover that it went wrong(bended) from the presure that i put to get the scooter up causing the weight of the bike to stay rear and not back from the center of the foothold,i see that the problem its not from the welding but comes from the bend of the metal part,iam not an "easy"person with material things but i didnt expect for something like this to happen(because that is simble mechanics for a combany like this,nothing to discover,),i think its bad metal part,or it looses hardnes because of the welding just under the main iron part, tomorow i will ask for replase that thing with a new one,of cource the guy for sure will try to fix it,but i know that it is allready soft enough,and if the bike goes down next time they will pay more
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Post by Kiwiscoot on Sept 27, 2009 15:31:31 GMT -5
I did not get to fix the speedo this weekend. I was away exploring the country side in a car with my wife. Saw some awesome country side to explore with the scooter. The reason some people advise no synthetic oil for chinese scooter is because the rubber gaskets can shrink from the synthetic oil. This causes oil leaks. Older cars have the same problems. I have not come across any other reason. That gear oil of yours should be OK. I think my Castrol gear oil if fully synthetic, but I can't check now. That is strange about your center-stand bending. I put my scoot on the centre-stand everyday. I think that must be a factory defect. How do you put your scoot on the stand? Mine is so easy that I could do it with two fingers of my right hand. Not that I question the way you do it, but I saw this easy way on the internet and that is what I use. I went now and tested to see how easy and could do it with 2 fingers of my right hand. This is how I do it. I get off the scoot holding it up with my left hand on the left hand handlebar grip. Standing next to the left side of the scoot ,grab the left side back hand grip with you right hand from underneath. Step with your right foot onto the center-stand until both it's feet touch the ground, then putting your weight on it and at the same time pulling up with your right hand and lean back on the scoot. The scoot pops as easy as onto the side stand. My Citycom is very easy to do. My wife's Xingyue is more difficult because the center-stand is not in the optimum place, I would not be able to do it with two fingers. Here's a video to show. A tip for you (not my own - I'm good at copying others  ): Cut a piece of motorcycle or bicycle inner tube into a band. If you want to use your scoot's side-stand on an incline, but you are afraid it could run off the stand, you then put the band around you left handle-grip and over the back brake lever tight to give you a "hand-brake" like a car. Anything just to hold the brake in would do. Works great. Sometimes putting the scoot on it's center-stand on a very steep hill can make it very difficult to get it off the stand. Using the rubber band works great. Hope you get the stand sorted. have fun! |
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Post by argirhs on Sept 28, 2009 12:18:23 GMT -5
i think that posible i put more presure,because i was lifting the scoot only with my foot and my weight,the guy in the video says that you help the "situation"with your right hand lifting the back a little,still there is no excuse for this to happen,i thnk they will give a new one,also i saw that the welding on the foothold is not stoping before the last curve but it goes for half an inche more on the metal,about the brake tip nice but i think there is a better way,have you ever seen some plastik handcuffs that the usa army use to take prisoners the afgans and the others?these things are in a lot of sizes,and the thick ones(the good staff)are opening too,i think its safer and if you open it a little it goes to the right,i will try it tomorow and inform you,i think i have one or two,see you
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frost
Junior Dawg
Posts: 6
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Post by frost on Oct 1, 2009 20:02:08 GMT -5
Hi All,
New member and pretty much just started riding a near new per-loved CITYCOM (1800km).
First scooter was a Daelim S1 however was written off due to being rear ended.
Very happy with the CITYCOM and hope to share my findings here also .
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Post by Kiwiscoot on Oct 4, 2009 3:47:26 GMT -5
frost - Welcome aboard a Citycom. I'm sure you will have a lot of fun with it. You're welcome to share your experiences here. The good and the not so good.
SYM - Smile your miles. ;D
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Post by Kiwiscoot on Oct 4, 2009 4:29:14 GMT -5
Well the speedo stopped working about 10 days ago. First it started to be intermittent and the second day it would only go when I weaved the scoot from side to side. On inspection I found this would be the first assembly issue that I've had on the scoot. It may be good if others check their scoots too to stop this happening. The harness from the front-wheel speed-sensor is encased in a rubber sheath, which makes it inflexible. Just above the front wheel it terminates in a red connector. This connector is attached to the main front harness by a short little harness. This little harness takes all the flexing when the steering is turned.  On my scoot the assembly of this short harness was very tight, which caused it to pull very hard on the connector when the steering was on full left-hand lock. After 10 000 kms one of the wires to the connector broke off right at the connector. A real pain to fix as the screen and nose-cone needs to be removed. I had to cut all 3 wires off and splice another length of harness into it to fix the problem. If it is a problem on your scoot , you should be able to buy the male and female connectors and make an extension harness to plug in line with your current set-up.  This is what the front of the scoot looks like with the nose-cone off. The arrow indicates the speedo harness connector. I did a service, changed oil and checked the valve clearances too and at 10 000kms they were still spot on. Quite a job tho to take all the "tupperware" off, especially the floor-board. A liberal coat of silicon spray helps things to slide and clip in place with the re-assembly. Should be good for another 10 000kms now. Well all for now - Miles of smiles to you. ;D ;D ;D |
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Post by Kiwiscoot on Oct 4, 2009 4:34:47 GMT -5
tomorow i will ask for replase that thing with a new one,of cource the guy for sure will try to fix it,but i know that it is allready soft enough,and if the bike goes down next time they will pay more how did you go with your center-stand. Did they replace it?? Where are the pictures??  I would love to see where you ride? ;D ;D ;D |
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Post by argirhs on Oct 4, 2009 7:04:21 GMT -5
hi my friend,quite a job all this "tupperware" aaa?i hope in mine this wire to be an inch longer,or i will never lock the steering again,about the center-stand they are sending a new one so everything is ok,allthow i believe that souldnt have happened,even if i dont use the right hand(to help it come up) some times,i think it sould go up only by the presure of the foot,and to be able to "take" that force,iam all ready in bed after some rides on the mountains drinking tea with honey and lemon for my throat,so the scoot is in the garage waiting for good days,and me waiting to be 20 years old again,it is something i never saw when i disided to buy a bike,yes i will try allthow it will be the first time for me to send some pictures,just because i believe its gorgeous the scenery that my small city is in,the time i will finish a job that takes a lot of my day time i'll do so
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Post by argirhs on Oct 4, 2009 7:14:57 GMT -5
welcome frost good road's allways above and upright
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Post by Kiwiscoot on Oct 4, 2009 14:46:55 GMT -5
drinking tea with honey and lemon for my throat,so the scoot is in the garage waiting for good days,and me waiting to be 20 years old again my friend you should not smile so wide ;D with your mouth open when you ride that Citycom of yours ;D, the mountain air dries your throat out to much then. ;D ;D I never need to wait to be 20 years old again, I just get on the Citycom and the years just roll off. Must say I felt the years this morning as the muscles are a bit sore from working on the scoot bent over the whole time. You take care and hope the throat improves quick. A good remedy for sore throat it to gargle with 100% pineapple juice. Once or twice and you'll see the sore throat is gone, first time I heard this I was skeptical, but was amazed at the result. Now at the first signs of a sore throat I do it. I took the magnet out when I changed the oil this time as it was still clean. I don't think it does anything now. The top of the engine was still perfectly clean with no deposits after 10 000kms, which is good. Maybe the synthetic oil and the 2000km oil changes do work. I was surprised that the valves needed no adjustment. They were still at the lower end (smaller) of the setting. Shows that there is very little wear on the cam and rockers, which is a very good sign to me. Maybe again the combination of frequent oil changes and synthetic oil. Well until next time - Smile Your Miles! |
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Post by argirhs on Oct 5, 2009 7:04:59 GMT -5
pineapple(greenapple)?we have a farm full of these apples,see what someone can learn,another good thing for the throat is lemonjuice with a spoon of honey inside instand of sugar,today i saw a beverly piaggio 400i,that bike is lighter than the citycom,and the central stand was 3 times wider than the citycoms,maybe its tube type(empty inside),but it works and the guy gets it up only by his foot and weight,from what i know the synthetiks are free of wax and hard to create deposits,its true that these oils are the best for any machine,what i see is that only for summer time in greece its good to use a thiker synthetik,enjoy your rides allways safe
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Post by Kiwiscoot on Oct 5, 2009 14:29:04 GMT -5
No my friend not those type of apples. Hope you did not try it ;D as it my burn your throat. It is with pineapples, Internet translation into Greek ανανάς , the tropical sort that you should use. I hope the internet does not let me down with this Greek translation. " Πρέπει να χρησιμοποιήσετε το χυμό ανανά."(you should use the juice of pineapples.
Today I have a 350-400km trip with the scoot. My wife studies in a city 380kms from here and has to go down. I am going to ride down some of the way with her. It is a perfect day for riding after the snow storms we had on Sunday.
hope you get better to get that Citycom singing along!! ;D ;D Life is good.
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Post by argirhs on Oct 5, 2009 15:59:09 GMT -5
you have what?snow storms?and your wife follows?,mine has a radiator in "her pocket "all the time even at summer the heat is not enough for her,she would kill me if i told her to ride with me on a bike with these conditions,anyway i go alone at that kind of "missions",400 kms?thats to much my friend,its an "odyssey",about the translation its ok(did you know that ok is greek?from ola kala,greek letters ολα καλα,all good,was writen on the cargo ships),so its the exotic fruit,we dont use it much here,but try if its a need warm water with some squised lemon and a spoon of honey thats drastic(thats a greek word)too.As for me iam geting better thanks,yesterday it was the election day for the new goverment so i took a small ride in the city,have a nice trip and becarefull on 32f
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Post by Kiwiscoot on Oct 6, 2009 2:56:17 GMT -5
back from ride - life is good. No my wife did not go on scoot, she followed in her car and continued on further on in her own car. We were together for 175 kms which took 3 hours as wives like to stop,etc. Journey back took me 2 hours with the scoot singing along at 110kph on the speedo. Wonderfull even tho the temperature was only 9 degc (48 deg F) at the start of the return journey and 6 degC (42 deg F) by the time I got back. No wind - this is life at it's best. I even got a couple of waves from a biky and another scooterist on a 650 Burgman. I love this scoot. It is no ordeal as with the tall Givi screen all the wind is deflected and the seat is very comfortable. ;D ;D ;D
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Post by argirhs on Oct 6, 2009 7:27:26 GMT -5
yes this scoot have something that makes everybody like it,but so long trips in greece sound to me like russian rulet,its dengerous for us here and if you have kids you can use a second thought,the drivers here when they see a biker are not able to apart him from lets say a dog or worst a mosquito,so the best for me are the rides in the city or the mountains in which only you can be shot(can happen when someone hits a bank) or someone can hit you not that hard and hospital is near,have you "done"the 140kms that they say citycom can do?i think its to much for a scoot,today i put gass and for 150kms it was 6,17litters most in the city,and driving up to hills
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Post by Kiwiscoot on Oct 6, 2009 14:33:50 GMT -5
I guess you refer to the top speed of the Citycom? I have seen 145 kph on the speedo, but on the GPS it was 130 kph. The speedo is optimistic by 10%. In Australia they changed the roller weights on a Citycom for touring 9000 kms to the center of Australia. They saw 160 kph on the speedo, which was about 144 kph on the GPS I guess.
Too bad the motorists treat you like that. Perhaps if you put a pink jacket on they may think you are a girl and treat you better. ;D ;D ;D Here in NZ they treat us with respect, especially on a scooter. I have had no problems.
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Post by argirhs on Oct 7, 2009 6:39:10 GMT -5
here they say that citycoms speedo is only 2% optimist,but i think you check the issues very good so i believe you,about the motorists in greece they think like /you pay less to use the road by having a bike ?die worm,and thats because police is sleeping and someone can hardly go to jail for such" things",its democracy at its worst formation,to a country ruled by thiefs
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Post by Kiwiscoot on Oct 7, 2009 14:43:29 GMT -5
Well I guess that's the world in general. Best to go scooting, makes one forget all the troubles of the world. I call it "scoterapy" - good to de-stress.
The 2% is only sales-talk IMHO. A 120/70 - 16 front tire instead of the standard 110/70 - 16 would "fix" the optimistic speedo as it's circumference if 7% bigger. I just wonder how a wider tire would affect it's handling. I have heard that car/motorcycle manufacturers don't always put the best handling tire size/quality on their vehicles as they have to compete price-wise with their competitors. They go for the best compromise leaning more towards the cheaper side.
On Tuesday coming back from my trip, the scoot was nice and warm, the tires warm from the 175 km run and nice and grippy, coming around a traffic round-about (kiwi English for traffic circle) wher I had to go 3/4 of the way around I leaned the scoot over so far that the little heat shield and the big heat shield on the exhaust scraped! I heard it and the scoot did a little jiggle, no biggy as it was all well balanced. I just lifted her a bit and continued my merry way. Was a bit of a wake-up call to take things a bit slower. I leaned her over stationary this morning to see how far over she was and yikes!! that's quite far. It did not feel that far when I was riding. This scoot sure gives me confidence.
Only thing I would like is to lower the 6500rpm @ 110 kph/ 70 mph to about 6000 - 6250 rpm. I think it would improve the MPG and currently she will keep 110 kph up all the hills. I think 6250rpm @ 110 kph will be her sweet-spot. Dr Pulley sliders or J Costa variator one day I think.
I changed the gearbox oil, still as clean as when I put it in about 4000 kms ago. I think I will do that every 5000kms as per the service manual now. I use full synthetic Castrol Syntrax 75W90 manual gearbox oil.
Until next time - have fun.
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Post by argirhs on Oct 7, 2009 17:02:16 GMT -5
you leaned that much with these tires?bravo,they were to warm and the road must be ok i think,also i think that in this category our bike is on the upper limit if we speak for wide tires,of cource you mean the front tire,i think you will have to forget about your mpg,its good to get the rpms down and for sure your mpg will go down too,but if you drive that much like me on hills you will become slow and it will be harder for the shaft easier for gear box(i think),i think its no good for the engine allthow these engines are high rpm and you cound say its no so important 200 rpms,iam ordering from the amsoil oils and for the gear in which i put that coastal 75-90 thing(synthetik blend it says),see you
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frost
Junior Dawg
Posts: 6
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Post by frost on Oct 8, 2009 21:21:04 GMT -5
Thanks for the advice on the speedo. Will keep it in mind ,however probably good to be a liitle optimistic. Ridden 1000 Km on the Citycom thus far for a total 2900 km on the speedo. Very nice ride. My wife has a SYM VS125 and I rekon this is the best scoot in its class, very underrated . Citycom is giving me ave 27 km per litre and mainly used for city/work/home commuting (unfortunately).. Hope to get "out there" more as our weather warms up here in OZ.
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Post by Kiwiscoot on Oct 9, 2009 18:55:15 GMT -5
That's about the same fuel consumption I get. Where are you in the big land of OZ? Was your's second hand or was it a demo? Hope you enjoy yours.
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): Cut a piece of motorcycle or bicycle inner tube into a band. If you want to use your scoot's side-stand on an incline, but you are afraid it could run off the stand, you then put the band around you left handle-grip and over the back brake lever tight to give you a "hand-brake" like a car. Anything just to hold the brake in would do. Works great. Sometimes putting the scoot on it's center-stand on a very steep hill can make it very difficult to get it off the stand. Using the rubber band works great.
I would love to see where you ride? ;D ;D ;D