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Post by greg on Oct 10, 2008 20:15:24 GMT -5
my roketa 150cc catalina from powersportsmax believe it or not i really was impressed with its build. i did find some stripped screws on the seat and replaced them with the wrong bolt but it works. couldnt find anything else wrong! i agree i hope they keep building these cheap scoots without them id never own one! 1,340 that i pd for it was high for me.beautifull scooter to be honest but i wish i was more patient and found the expressway first! that is a better scoot for sure! i love the touring models. is it difficult to grease those bearings? do i have to dissassemble the front end to do it? or can i just jam some in from the top and bottom? it should work its way in?
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Post by kink on Oct 11, 2008 13:26:12 GMT -5
what you need to do is find whatever screws are necessary to take your front nose fairing off and expose the actual front end frame. then there will be a two-nut combo at the top of the steering stem, under where the handlebars attach on. you loosen the top nut first (the jam nut) then you loosen the nut which encloses the top bearing. now if you loosen those up as much as possible you should be able to slide the steering stem down to expose the bottom bearing (might be a two person job). then you can check for grease and if necessary apply more. the beauty part is you aren't actually removing any structural parts, just loosening them enough to expose the bearings. here's a pic of the top of my steering stem: the brass nuts are the ones i was talking about.
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Post by greg on Oct 11, 2008 21:16:52 GMT -5
ok sounds easy enough to do. thanks for the response and the pics!
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jakeiv
Big Dawg
50cc guy 'til 2008
Posts: 21
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Post by jakeiv on Nov 9, 2008 13:53:47 GMT -5
;D Whoa Folks!
First - all bearings are manufactured to international standards - the number stamped into the cage and the race will identify the bearing to any bearing supply house. Second , a great many of the two piece bearings can be replaced with permanently lubricated sealed bearings. One US supplier is Berry Bearings - their Chicago warehouse has a huge stock and offers overnight shipping. Third, bearings such as the one pictured, have to be "packed" with grease, not just coated. Especially in a load-bearing application such as the forks or axles. SKF Bearings has a very good "FREE" book on bearing maintenance and life expectancy.
Next - I have been unable to id even ONE north american scooter manufacturer - over 50% of all 2 wheel vehicles sold in the world today come from China. Over 400 China "builders" have been identified but there are probably less than 50 "manufacturers". Geely, Quingi, Linhei and Znen are 4 big ones. I think Znen (www.zhongneng.com/english1/index.asp or http://www.zn-motor.com)is the smallest of these and they produce 53 gas scooter models, 4 elec, 9 SUVs and 3 Pickup to go along with 15 motorcycles under 250cc, plus a line of ATVs. Not all are available in the US. Last year they acquired a motorcycle manufacturing facility in another province. Their primary manufacturing facility is about 3 sq miles in size.
I have identified several scooter brands sold in the US that are built by Znen and at least 2 italian brands that include Znen products (Italica and Piaggio). Lance is one of the Znen brands and there is a 40 min. video tour of the Lance production lines floating around the web. The BMS line seems to be the highest priced Znen line and also appears to be the most trouble free and quality controlled.
Lance, BMS, Roketa, Eagle, SunL and Linhei brands all have distinct importer/distributor corporate centers that can all refer you to a local authorized dealer. Check with the factory importer. BMS is a "protected territory" that has even referred me to an authorized dealer in Nevada who will sell onlline and whose prices included shipping, (www.bikesrhot.com); BMS warranty is maintained if you buy from them online.
If you buy from a non-authorized dealer, on-line or local, you have a 50-50 chance of getting a quality control reject or outright counterfit bike. (I learned - I have 3 that I purchased from a "dealer" in Kansas that turned out to not even have a business license let alone a dealer license.) Re-sellers may or may not honor the factory warranty but the factory will seldom provide warranty coverage for a product that was not bought from an authorized outlet.
If you must buy on-line, check out AllPro POWERSPORTS, BikesRHot, cbxmanmotorcyles and ScooterTronics for starters. If you will settle for a 2006 or 2007 model that has been re-certified, inspected and prepped before shipping, check out Neo Scooters.
Above all, remember, just like Chevy, Pontiac, Buick and Caddy may have outwardly similar models, there are reasons why one may be less costly than the other.
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Post by rtslater on Nov 13, 2008 23:28:34 GMT -5
Garyr, The thought of dropping a $22,000 motorcycle makes me a little nervous. Now if I dropped my $1500.00 XingYue ITA-150: not so much. 'Course I'd naturally just drop neither one. RTSlater
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Post by rtslater on Nov 13, 2008 23:42:07 GMT -5
Oops, I meant to say,"'Course I'd naturally rather not drop either one!" RTS
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Post by brian8474 on Mar 13, 2009 13:56:58 GMT -5
I inspected my bearings today since it is cold and nasty rain today Luckily there was grease but it was all sticky like it tried to dry up.I crammed a bunch of good grease into the top and bottom bearings and tightened it back up.Here are a couple of pictures of it before i greased them.Also check out my Dual horn setup! Highway blaster high and low tone horns from autozone. 132db each.Nice and loud.You can hear them at www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfoHqqraxiY
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Post by kink on Mar 13, 2009 14:03:18 GMT -5
yeah that looks like it might have been a little lean on the grease. good thing you packed them up when you did, they should last for a while now.
i ended up replacing mine with a really good quality bearing which will easily outlast the bike.
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Post by brian8474 on Mar 13, 2009 14:22:51 GMT -5
Yeah i will probably replace both of them within 6 months or so.I do not want to have any High speed steering problems!Bad for the Health.
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Post by kink on Mar 19, 2009 13:27:53 GMT -5
luckily i my steering locked up while i was in a parking lot and moving very slowly. i didn't fall but i shudder to think of what would have happened if i was riding flat out when it happened.
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Post by fireburster on Apr 24, 2009 9:34:51 GMT -5
OK so im having an issue where the lower bearing like that pic up there is banging around a lot when i hit a bump or front break. I looked at mine and see no greese there. I was thinking i was missing a rubber piece as i can freely move the wheel shaft around 360 degrees and hit any side of the houseing shaft. cant really explain it well. So i need to re greese and maybe order new bearings?
How do you tightnen the lower bearing?
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Post by brian8474 on Apr 24, 2009 16:20:56 GMT -5
Look at the picture at the very top of this thread.Its the brass nuts that pull everything tight.Tighten them and you wont see the lower bearing anymore.
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Post by fireburster on Apr 24, 2009 17:20:26 GMT -5
ok did that but now the steering is really tight. So do i need to loosen the nut some? It was movable by hand when i tore it all apart.
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Post by harrywr2 on Apr 24, 2009 19:07:21 GMT -5
The nut is a 'lock nut'. The jumbo threaded washer looking thing with the notches in it is what you use to tighten the bearings up.(Not too tight). Then you are supposed to hold the jumbo washer thing in position with some sort of tool. I forget what it is called. Then you tighten down the lock nut.
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Post by fireburster on Apr 24, 2009 19:53:53 GMT -5
yeah i got it all good now i think. That bottom nut was a pain to move without the special tool but i managed. I tightened that down so i could turn but didnt hear it clunking anymore then tightened the lock nut. Drove around, then put the front back on.
Also tried to straighten my handlebars but they are still a little off. Oh well thats for another day.
Thanks for the help.
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Post by brian8474 on Apr 24, 2009 20:10:31 GMT -5
Let us know what you find out.
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Post by jspringator on Apr 30, 2009 19:07:25 GMT -5
What do you call the special tool?
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Post by kink on May 1, 2009 11:26:02 GMT -5
What do you call the special tool? ...insert inappropriate reference here... actually, i didn't use any special tool or technique to tighten mine. I just used two pairs of large pliers. i wrapped duct tape around the clamping part of the pliers so that it wouldn't be metal on metal and carve up the brass castle nut.
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Post by harrywr2 on May 1, 2009 17:32:33 GMT -5
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Post by tennesseefossil on Nov 13, 2009 14:42:55 GMT -5
Interesting thread. My Q Link Pegasus 153cc Scooter now has 3300 miles trouble free more or less. My very excellent dealer (Knoxville Yahama-Honda) apparently greased the head bearing at the 1000 mile checkup and oil change. When I rode it home I thought he had replaced the bearing!! It steered so easily after the lub I was a bit concerned about it being too quick until I got used to it. All of this above dialog has me concerned about driving my Pegasus to Florida. I am motivated to have a heart to heart with my dealer first. I have found two small issues with it. I had to put Loc Tite on the muffler heat shield and mirror threads to keep them in their place. 74 year old Fossil with his first motorcycle license two years ago.
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Post by jjjoseph on Mar 6, 2010 20:00:51 GMT -5
I think the next step is to start looking at a used motorcycle. Motorcycles have exactly the same problems.
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Post by nikolai on May 15, 2010 11:47:03 GMT -5
Isn't this bearing supposed to come with an 'outer' race when you purchase a replacement ? Or is it just the bearing alone as we see in the picture ?
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Post by motomech on Aug 1, 2010 20:20:50 GMT -5
Steering head bearings are ADJUSTED, not tightened. The special tool to adjust the compression is called a spanner wrench. I usually use a brass drift and hammer. Proper adjustment will have no free play if the lower legs are grasped(w/ scooter on center stand)and tried to move back and forth(along axis of scooter)., at the same time, the fork asm. should be free enough to fall to one side or the other when released(again, scooter on center stand).
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Post by thespyder215 on Aug 30, 2010 21:46:37 GMT -5
What do you call that shaft that the shocks and handlebars bolt on to?
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xj538
Junior Dawg
Posts: 13
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Post by xj538 on Mar 21, 2011 15:15:23 GMT -5
i got that same issue with the wobble in the steering. i have never taken apart the forks on anything. does anyone have a good step by step instruction on how to do so. i need to replace the bearnigs in mine as well, real soon. thanks
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Post by stephyanders on May 21, 2011 21:13:29 GMT -5
I read this post yesterday and had planned on doing some things on my Roketa Sicily 150cc today and so I added this to the list. When I exposed the bearing, it had very. very little grease left, so I greased it right up. Thanks for the heads up, and also for the good instructions with photos! This is definitely something that everyone should double check.
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Post by crsjrr on Jul 7, 2011 17:24:10 GMT -5
Is white Lithium Grease ok to use on front fork bearings?
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Post by sprocket on Jul 7, 2011 19:10:13 GMT -5
I use it...
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Post by Blueboy5000 on Aug 3, 2011 7:44:56 GMT -5
I noticed my 2008 Sunl Adventure 150 began to vibrate, slightly at first, and the increasingly violently when I applied the front brakes.
Baffled, I removed the front wheel and checked out the wheel bearings, turns out they were dry as could be. So I greased em up and put the wheel back on. The vibration while breaking got much worse.
Still baffled, I put the bike on my custom scooter workstand (a chair with the back cut off w a nylon strap) and grabbed the handle bar and the fork and checked for fork bearing play. There was over 1/2" play!
After removing the fork, I found the lower bearing in shattered pieces! The culprit: no grease at all!
Where is the best place to order a new set of bearings? the top bearing looks okay, but my 15+ years as an automotive mechanic tells me to replace them both (and pack 'em up w high temp brake/wheel bearing grease.
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Post by ericrockstar on Aug 3, 2011 8:21:15 GMT -5
As a mechanic you know them stupid bearings can get $$. I had an accident and needed a new triple tree that came with bearing, well the bottom one. Got it on eBay for $40 shipped. Check some local bearing or auto part stores if they can anyway get a size on your old bearing can probably match it up.
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