|
Post by jim63 on Apr 28, 2009 23:45:03 GMT -5
At $30 a gallon and a 5 gallon minimum, could the dealer in Port Angelos sell you some from his shop in a smaller quantity. That is alot of oil for scooter shocks. I can say making sure you get right oil or type is important, wrong type can destroy rubber seals. Like your pic from Stevens Pass, wanted to go last weekend, mama put kabash on it. We had grandkids over visiting. Good luck with the scooter, sounds like you got it whipped into shape for the riding season.
|
|
|
Post by harrywr2 on Apr 29, 2009 10:19:42 GMT -5
I found the Fork Oil....WooHoo...from the makers of Liquid Wrench no less. Liquid Wrench Hydraulic Jack Oil....ISO Grade #22...MSRP $6 a quart. www.gunk.com/prodinfo/M3312.pdfJim63, Going up Stevens pass was pretty good. Going down with crosswinds, curves, a 60 MPH speed limit and a long drop off the side if you miss a turn was a bit much. I just slowed down to 50 MPH and pulled over if someone behind me was in a hurry.
|
|
|
Post by harrywr2 on Apr 29, 2009 13:49:33 GMT -5
Shocks showed up...along with a 2 foot x 3 foot 'Gift' calender from S&T Motors.
|
|
|
Post by harrywr2 on Apr 29, 2009 19:44:44 GMT -5
Installed the new shocks installed.
Had to buy a set of metric allen wrench sockets. Everything but the axle and the shock cap bolts was a metric allen head nut.
Turns out the new shocks shipped with fork oil in them.
Took about an hour to get the old shocks off and new shocks on. Then is took another 45 minutes to check the torque on the shock cap bolts as the only way to get a torque wrench on them is to take off the front cowling.
Took the bike out for a bit of a test ride...seemed smoother but headed to the park for a bit of 'emergency stop' practice. Managed to momentarily lock the front wheel without the 'clunk' I had been hearing previously on a hard stop.
|
|
|
Post by Gary on Apr 29, 2009 21:16:06 GMT -5
Very cool Harry. Congratulations.
|
|
|
Post by harrywr2 on Apr 30, 2009 17:55:29 GMT -5
Managed to do my Snoqualmie pass run today. Cross winds were as expected...breezy. The road is also torn up from all the trucks running chains in the winter, full of frost heaves etc... Except for one small section I managed to hold 60+ MPH on the way down. Way up was all 60 - 75 MPH depending on how tight the turns were and how much wind was blowing. It's cold up there...
|
|
|
Post by smokerider on May 1, 2009 0:36:47 GMT -5
;D hi guys! harry, i've been following your exploits for quite a while. i had been wanting to get a scooter for my wife all winter. last year we purchased a yamaha virago 250 for her (she wanted a scooter). she got her license and rode it all last summer, but the more i watched her, she was too wrapped up in what she was doing mechanically, and not what was going on around her (got flustered easily at corner situations.) i want her alive, and all winter i plotted a new course for her spring ride time.
you may disagree (again, i've read most of your comments, and know you own others), but all of the research i did led me to the conclusion that Hyosung ms3-250 (same as your UM) was the best buy for the money (especially if you can find a deal - we paid $3,400 out the door). i understand not everyone can afford that much, but i often wonder how much folks have spent on the chinese scoots to fix things that shouldn't have gone wrong, and upgrades to gain a few hp here or there.
please, i'm not against chinese scooters. i was almost ready to buy her a qlink legacy 250. but, i am just relating my thought process......that it may cost a little more up front, but korean machining, and fuel injected 25hp were the main tipping points for me. an indicated 90mph (i know it's only about 82) right out of the box is just what it seems everyone here is aspiring to. that and 60mpg at highway speeds. a lot of suzuki parts fit (the known hyosung connection) and............i know daelim is the connection to hyundai, but it seems like i remember reading somewhere hyosung was affiliated also. i found out this week (may be useful to you) that hyundai key blanks work if you need extras cut.
i've also compared hp ratings to the kymco xciting 250i, and the aprillia, piaggio - all the fuelies i could find - and the hyosung/UM beats them all. heck, it's about 9hp less than the yamaha and suzuki 400's.....both fuel injected! are they worth $3000 to $4000 more?
anyway, i'm glad to see a few other owners here on this forum. like you, harry, i had to have the starter solenoid replaced (my dealer is only 50 miles away) under warranty. again a suzuki part. but at 1,000 miles it has been, otherwise, trouble free. i'm not going to worry about the valves unless they start getting noisy or exhibit other problems. hopefully we'll get a few more thousand on it before i adjust them.
the only mod i've made is that (again, since she is a newby) i installed the visi-path headlight and tail light modulators to it. since the harnesses are exposed away from the lights themselves, i was able to do it without accessing the back of the headlights. which FINALLY brings me to a question.................have any of you had to access your headlights yet? like to replace a bulb or anything? it looks like you have to tear the whole front end apart, starting with taking off the windshield, and a lot of the front panels to get to the back of the lamps. there is an angle bracket up through the wheel housing, that if removed, would allow a hand up in there to replace bulbs........and i could probably get to the bolts that hold it on with a swivel, but putting those screws back in would be almost impossible. anybody done it? got a shortcut? maybe i should start a new thread and ask it too, but i thought i'd start here.
i hope i didn't offend anyone. it's just that, to me, it seemed during my research that this bike is most of what everyone seems to be looking for.
if i have any criticism, it would be the brake setup. i know some scoots have abs - this doesn't. but it does have disc all around and doubled up in front. BUT, the left lever applies both front and rear, and the right applies the other front disc. in theory, i hate that. in practice, it actually works better than one would think. i still think i would have preferred left-rear, right-all front. being a motorcycle rider for 45 years, i'd never ridden a scooter before. i laughed as i told the dealer that i'd probably lock up the rear wheel at the first stop sign grabbing for the clutch. he didn't correct me (he may not have known himself), and instead of locking and dragging the rear wheel, i almost launched over the bars.........but it was such a good even dampening that i recovered my composure fairly easily and sat there at the corner thinking about what i'd just experienced. i didn't really find out what it was till i got home and read the dang book!
i've probably said too much for a first post, but i'm glad to see a few other owners of what i consider to be a best kept secret. i'll never understand why hyosung/UM doesn't advertise. they have a fuel injected 650 motorcycle with 79hp that will wax my sportster.
nice to meet y'all. i am in iowa, and by the way, harry, i was noticing gas prices in your pic. gas here, was $1.68 a couple days ago. today it was up to $1.72. my brother-in-law in portland is always complaining about the disparity........but then we don't have any beautiful mountains and volcanoes or coastline here. we were just out there a couple years ago and got to see mt st helens up close and personal. i'm glad to read of your rides into the mountains, because of the fuel injection. in the back of my mind i'm planning a future colorado rocky mountain ride with my wife.
|
|
|
Post by CCProf on May 1, 2009 8:00:54 GMT -5
Hey smokerider - welcome! I love my Xpeed but only have about 500 miles on it. Note on the brakes - at the safety class we were warned about the integrated system and my dealer warned me. My Matrix 150 has ABS and I was used to them. Coming up on stops with the Xpeed, I give them a couple squeezes so I don't lock up. I actually prefer the Xpeed brakes over the Matrix brakes. I love the fuel injection!
|
|
|
Post by Gary on May 1, 2009 9:48:59 GMT -5
Smokerider - Great post. You got a terrific deal. From everything I've read and heard, the MS3 is a great scoot, and at $3,400 out the door, wow, what a steal. Out here, the dealer wants $4,400, plus tax, fees, etc. Although my china scoot is serving me very well, if I could find a Hyosung or Xspeed for $3,400, I'd jump at it in a heartbeat.
Welcome to the forum. Gary
|
|
|
Post by harrywr2 on May 1, 2009 9:49:32 GMT -5
Welcome to scootdawg smokerider.
Hopefully we can all share our experiences...I'm pretty much dealer-less. It's going to have to be a really serious maintenance problem before I end up trailering the bike 4 hours one way.
Astroprof...nobody told me about the linked brakes. I found out they were linked on a gravel road when I locked up both wheels with the left brake handle.
|
|
|
Post by Gary on May 1, 2009 10:50:16 GMT -5
Why do they link the brakes anyway? And ... is there a way to un-link them??
|
|
|
Post by harrywr2 on May 1, 2009 12:03:49 GMT -5
Why do they link the brakes anyway? And ... is there a way to un-link them?? Supposedly linked brakes are safer since it is impossible to brake rear brake only. I would probably agree with this concept on dry pavement. On gravel...locking up a wheel is mega easy. If I lock up the rear wheel it will just slide a bit...if lock up the front wheel it wants to kick out from under the bike. IIRC you have first hand experience with locking up the front wheel as well. The xpeed has dual front disks..and a single rear disk.so you have to hook up two sets of calipers to one brake handle no matter what. So they hooked up one front caliper and the rear caliper via a pressure control valve. I'm not sure what the pressure control valve does beside providing a 'T'. Maybe chinese ABS, maybe give 60% of the brake lever pressure to the rear wheel. I suppose one could just get some brake hoses at whatever length and just connect both front calipers to the pressure control valve...or maybe just put in a 'T'. That would be a lot of stopping power on the front wheel though. In actual practice one either gets in the bad habit of using left brake handle only...or in the good habit of gently squeezing both brakes handles at the same time.
|
|
|
Post by harrywr2 on May 1, 2009 12:33:37 GMT -5
Now that you have extra scooter time, since it runs so good it maybe time to "pimp your ride". Saddlebags, new seat, lotsa good add-ons out there. You know what they say "Idle hands do the devils work". hehe Its time to work on wearing out the tires!!!!
|
|
|
Post by CCProf on May 1, 2009 15:32:58 GMT -5
Harry - gravel + locked brakes! I hope you & the scoot came out ok. Gentle squeezes seem to work for me. My dealer warned me because he was riding the last 2008 he had in stock. He loves em and he's a Triumph dealer.
The township has finally cleaned up all the anti-skid gravel from the winter so riding's going to be a whole lot safer.
|
|
|
Post by Gary on May 1, 2009 15:52:35 GMT -5
Yes Harry, I did have the unpleasnt experience of locking up the front wheel and going down. Not something I'd like to do again.
Have fun wearing out those tires.... Gary
|
|
|
Post by harrywr2 on May 1, 2009 16:41:26 GMT -5
Harry - gravel + locked brakes! I hope you & the scoot came out ok. I was on an old forestry service fire road. Going down a fairly steep hill, trying to keep my speed...very slow. I expected the back tire to skid a bit...as the back tire spun a bit when I went up the hill .In any case I managed to stay upright by putting my feet down. Lesson Learned - Linked Brakes + Performance Street tires make for a very poor dirtbike. My cheap chinese scooter with cheap chinese tires actually does reasonably well on dirt/gravel roads.
|
|
|
Post by smokerider on May 1, 2009 22:25:41 GMT -5
thanks for the welcome fellas! nobody took me to task on the gas prices, though. i was kind of punkin' on ya a bit. today when i went to fill my wife's car up, it had jumped to $1.89! we use a 10 percent blend of cornohol, so it's not a fair comparison.
nobody has had to replace a H/L bulb yet on one of these?
gary, if you have been watching the hyosung website, they had a $350 coupon up there for months. it was only valid on 2008 models. i called the dealer in knoxville and he only had one and it was a 2008. he'd only sold one other. he had had this one for a while, and they had used it a couple times to run errands around town. it had a couple of miles over 100 on it. i was up front about the coupon, and told him he only had one shot.....if he scared me away over the phone, i wouldn't be making a 100 mile round trip to twist his arm. he about floored me with his number.
by the way, all you guys that have bought bikes since november know about the stimulus tax break on motorcycles don't you?
yeah, astroprof, you hit on the one thing i forgot to mention.......the fun factor. i gotta admit, lately, i've been leaving the sportster in the garage and firing up the scoot for my errands. it's a ball to ride.
harry, you're right on the tires. they seem a bit hard, too. don't know about you guys with the xspeeds, but the rear end seems to slide out if you goose it just a hair too much around a corner. that's not something i expected to experience on a scooter.......horsepower, baby!
|
|
|
Post by harrywr2 on May 1, 2009 22:38:22 GMT -5
smokerider,
Got no state income tax here. So since they don't tax it when you make it...they tax it when you spend it.
I replaced mu headlight bulbs...lotsa screws to get that front cowling off. I though the left was burnt out...dumba$$ that I was. Just got a new bulb at the autparts store...then figured out the right bulb is low beams and the left is highbeams. There was some sort of promotion at the autoparts store...some young 20 something in hot pants and halter top selling bulbs.
|
|
|
Post by CCProf on May 2, 2009 5:37:45 GMT -5
smokerider - $1.89? Don't I wish. Now that I'm retired I don't use it like I did but the last time I tanked up the SUV (last week?) it was $2.09 here (87 octane) and climbing.
Harry - since you kinda mentioned it, I have an issue. Did you ever take the windshield off? The original owner put an extension on the windshield. Now those 2 little triangular pieces of fairing just below it keep popping out of alignment. If you have, how did you do it?
|
|
|
Post by harrywr2 on May 2, 2009 8:33:17 GMT -5
Taking off the windshield.
1st thing to come off is the trim piece that covers the bottom of the windscreen in front. That is held on by 3 small screws. One in the top center of the grill and 1 on each side of the grill.
Then there are the side trim pieces...these are held on by two normal sized screws each. One on the riders side of the 'leg shield' and one in the front.
To get off the cowling(changing a headlight bulb) I think you have to remove the windshield first. I did. Then just unscrew every screw in sight along either side. There is one screw on each side hidden under the floor mat and another one on each side hidden in the wheel well. You also need to remove the two screws just above the instrument panel.
Floot mat just pops up if you tug on it a bit.
The screws are different lengths and sizes...some are sheet metal style screws and some are machine screws. They all need to find there original homes.
|
|
|
Post by CCProf on May 2, 2009 11:38:25 GMT -5
Thanks Harry! I need to check it out. It's annoying so now I can try and fix it. You already sat up and spoke so have a bone!
|
|
|
Post by smokerider on May 2, 2009 23:55:24 GMT -5
thanks, harry. i think i'll wait till i HAVE to. it just doesn't make sense.....they engineer that side panel to have easy access to the battery and fuses and relays......they engineer the whole rear seat and body assemble to lift up and back with a prop rod for access to the engine compartment.......oil filter and drain plugs in about the best places they can be.........and they make you tear the whole dang front end apart just to replace a headlight bulb? it just doesn't make sense.
which brings me to one other thing i find annoying about this bike (minor, but annoying). maybe all scooters are set up this way, i don't know. they put a straight blade of plastic diagonally across the gas filler hole. it wouldn't be so bad if they'd just recessed it about an eight of an inch or so. the way they have it set up is that you have to finesse a trickle into it so that it doesn't splash back all over you and run down the side of the cowl. some of those pump nozzles have a hair trigger on them, and no matter how hard you try to take it easy, it either gushes or shuts off. a few people (including the dealer) suggested that it's to prevent anything from falling down in there. but, if that were true, why wouldn't they put something like that in motorcycle tank fillers? and depending on what you drop, there are a lot of things that thing wouldn't stop!
does anybody else dislike this thing? did you cut it out?
|
|
|
Post by CCProf on May 3, 2009 6:28:33 GMT -5
I don't especially like the gas cap. Mine just doesn't want to let go of the key. I hope that eases up over time. I've only put gas in once since I bought it and really didn't pay attention to the bar.
|
|
|
Post by harrywr2 on May 3, 2009 9:39:46 GMT -5
As far as the headlight bulbs...yep...it's the hardest thing to get to. Pretty much the same on all scooters. I know guys with motorcycles and they complain of what a PITA it is to change a headlight bulb...and how much a dealer will charge. Fortunately the Xpeed is a 100% DC system, so the headlight bulbs should have good life.
As far as obstruction in the gas filler neck...I suspect that somewhere there is an SAE or DOT or CARB standard for gasoline filler necks to allow those gas nozzles with the black plastic sleeves to work correctly and if you don't meet the standard you're probably supposed to put an obstruction in the neck to keep someone from trying. I doubt any 2 wheeler meets the standard.
|
|
|
Post by smokerider on May 4, 2009 0:05:38 GMT -5
ya know, i hadn't thought of that, harry!!! i think you hit on it, there. the filler neck is plastic, and it tapers down (length approx 3" - taper from cap size to a hole the diameter of the nozzle, which would fit in if it weren't for the obstruction) like a small funnel. however, the funnel will spit gas back at you like an accidentally strategically placed spoon in the sink. anyway, harry, you're probably right, they put that thing in there because it is plastic.......they don't want some gorilla slammin' the nozzle down in there and then proceeding to lean on it. still don' like it.
|
|
|
Post by harrywr2 on May 4, 2009 8:24:27 GMT -5
anyway, harry, you're probably right, they put that thing in there because it is plastic.......they don't want some gorilla slammin' the nozzle down in there and then proceeding to lean on it. I was referring to this fuel nozzle www.excel-equipment.com/catalog/11vf0427-long-spout-ballance-vapor-recovery-nozzle-pi-1488I.htmlIt won't turn on unless the plastic sleeve is compressed and you can't stick it far enough into the Xpeed fuel neck to compress it so it will work in 'mindless' mode.
|
|
|
Post by CCProf on May 4, 2009 12:46:09 GMT -5
Harry - that must be some kind of state-of-the-art west coast thing. I've never seen one around here. I can see that it would pose problems.
|
|
|
Post by Gary on May 4, 2009 12:56:09 GMT -5
We have those special fuel nozzles here in CA too. The rubber sleeves capture fuel vapors that would otherwise go into the air while filling up the gas tank. Those vapors are a major pollution source. The nozzles work fine in cars, but are a kind of PITA with our scoot. You have to manually hold the sleeve back with one hand and squeeze the nozzle trigger with the other, not squeezing too hard so fuel doesn't splash everywhere.
I've found some stations' nozzles dispense better (are more controllable) than others. gary
|
|
|
Post by jim63 on May 4, 2009 13:04:24 GMT -5
I agree these types of fuel pump nozzles with sleeves on them are a pain in the rear. They are not to prevelent in my area up north of Seattle, but have seen them in Everett and other areas. I am able to put the entire nozzle in my tank there is no obstructions, but dont because it will contact the inner "curved" area of the pipe leading down to tank with some nozzles. My gas cap is permanently attatched and is opened using the ignition switch, and those pumps with the sleeving I have to hold back with my hands because it will hit the cap mechanism due to the flaring of the sleeving. They definitely didnt design them with scooters/motorcycles in mind.
|
|
|
Post by harrywr2 on May 4, 2009 17:40:19 GMT -5
I had an itch to visit Mt Rainer...was 68 miles to the front gate...which was closed:( I road from Enumclaw on 410. There is only 1 'town', Greenwater for the 35 or so miles from Enumclaw to the Mt Rainer Front Gate. The 'town' consists of a 2 pump gas station, a general store, a gift shop and a restaurant. Not so much as a stop sign or blinking yellow light. Gassing up in Enumclaw is a good idea. Managed to get 83 MPG on the trip. Speed limit varies from 45-55, most of the road is two lane, gently winding. A couple of sections could use some repair.
|
|