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Post by falconbrother on May 30, 2012 13:42:12 GMT -5
That's interesting. I've been surfing around reading ad's for the road warrior and the snow leopard. Most of them say these trikes will do 65 or 70 and "cruise comfortably" at 55. I called a dealer in my state and he told me it would do 70mph but, wasn't recommended for interstate driving. Either they haven't even tried it or they are fluffing the truth. My guess is it's a little bit of both. When my wife's gets here, which is a story all it's own, I'll rejet and do the Cobra mufflers once I know everything else is good to go. BTW, the Cobra mufflers were from a SV1400 Suzuki Intruder so they wont offer any back pressure. I'm gonna have to do some cutting and welding of the pipes that come into the muffers because one has a 90 degree turn right before they enter the muffler. In an effort no to lose any power with that CV carb I think ill weld two "lollipops" so I can adjust back pressure up stream of the actual mufflers. Here's an article from Nightrider: www.nightrider.com/biketech/exhaust.htmBasically its a washer welded to a bolt. But you can turn it to get more or less resistance in the exhaust. CV carbs seem to do better with a little back pressure in the exhaust. Of course, the stock mufflers offer too much resistance and don't allow the engine to make all the potential power that it can. If you make them then index the end of the bolt in line with the washer so you'll know the angle of the washer without actually seeing it. I just cut a notch on the end of the bolt. Harley's are so much easier to work on because there's is a wealth of information and parts available. With this thing it will be a challenge. As far as performance ignition it may be possible that there is an ignition from say, an off road rated bike, that will work on the Lifan engine. I'm still looking for that. Most of the emails I sent out were reply's that they don't sell performance products for the Lifan V-2. But, there are hot rodded Lifans out there so, the parts are someplace.
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Post by sailormonkey333 on May 30, 2012 15:53:47 GMT -5
Keep me posted, I have also been looking into off road vehicle performance parts which might fit the lifan v-2 if I find anything solid, I'll let you know. I will tell you that you need to cut further up the exhaust than you might be planning as the welded part isn't a pipe collar, it's a stinking honeycomb! So, I spent most of today finding pipe that had the same ID/OD, measuring angles and welding on extensions to both pipes just so I could fit my EMGOs on and now it sounds great, I re-tuned the carb and can get over 55 in 4th but still nothing but maintaining speed in 5th....it has to be geared like an over drive. Any ideas about the 5th gear issue would be greatly appreciated!
I have seen adjustable baffles in a lot of performance pipes but never tried to make or even used them personally...sounds like it's fairly easy though so if you have good results, I may just copy you!
I think most of the "dealers" are full of crap, probably haven't even put gas in the tank of anything they sell....the way this came it had zero acceleration, no top end, and no midrange.... I'm still very happy with this bike overall and it's fun figuring out ways to upgrade it especially since there is very limited information and resources out there for these!
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Post by sailormonkey333 on May 30, 2012 19:00:47 GMT -5
Jim- if you are still following this thread, maybe you know or can point me in the right direction for the road warriors transmission gear ratios (especially 5th) and any place to get new sprockets or a new 5th gear that's geared lower so I have more pull? Thanks!
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Post by falconbrother on May 31, 2012 22:58:24 GMT -5
So, the pipe is honeycomb? Wonder why they did that? Emissions? I'll bet they are going for a CARB certification. How for up from the muffler do I need to cut? What's the pipe diameter? I'm gonna have to do some jury rigging to fit the Cobra mufflers anyway. I fully expect the exhaust mods to be an all day job. Which is OK. I love to weld.
It shouldn't be hard to find a rear sprocket with a couple of extra teeth. It will make first gear a little shorter but, might make the most of the horse power in high gear. I guess it depends on how the RPMs at say, 65 play out and if they are too high to make it really useful.
Very few small motorcycle engines can pull near red line in high gear, especially a V-twin. It's tuned to give it's torque in the low to mid range. However, I would love to switch that rear sprocket out and see what happens. The real trick would be to do the stage one and find an aggressive ignition. I did a couple of stage one's on sportsters. I converted a 2001 883 to a 1200, did the carb and pipes also. It really came alive with a Screaming Eagle ignition. It revved up a lot faster and pulled up through the gears real nice. In fact, it was a custom with the stock gunfighter seat. It pulled so hard I could literally barely stay on it. It almost came out from under me a few times.
I knew a guy in the Air Force who could make any motorcycle scream. I wish I knew where he was now. He was a nerd before nerds were cool but, he was an incredible mechanic on jets or motorcycles.
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Post by sailormonkey333 on Jun 1, 2012 5:40:49 GMT -5
Not the whole pipe, just right before the actual muffler and it looks like they used a pipe collar to attach the muffler but it's actually a cat...I didn't measure the pipe just mated up some scrap pipe in my garage LOL but I can measure it for you if you need.....but it's not an all day job if you aren't a cripple. all I did was bandsaw just above the pipe collar/cat thing, p-grind the edges, I found pipe that lined up with the inside diameter but had a 1/4" thicker outside diameter and used a reducing collar to ensure a good exhaust seal with my slip-ons....and a professional welder I am not! Really would've only taken about 2 hours from pipe removal to re-install.
I'm pretty happy with how it's pulling through the gears right now...well, until I get to 5th anyway. I think I have the carb just right now, plugs are a nice grayish, exhaust isn't stinking, there is mild deceleration popping but no lean popping just off of idle and she will hit the rev limiter as soon as I crack the throttle! If you find a sprocket that fit's please let me know, I was actually looking at the local junk yard the other day for a wrecked tav rear end with a larger sprocket that I could adapt but no luck so far...I did however find that the recycling yard not too far from me has a mechanic who specializes in finding chinese part or things that work so I'm going to look him up when I get a chance.
I was the guy who could fix anything when I was in, old call sign was JOAT (Jack Of All Trades) and I worked in a shop that built custom bikes (mainly Moto-Guzzis) for spare cash when I was a young buck but I can barely use my dominant hand anymore so anything requiring manual dexterity is difficult for me anymore and I'm limited to either taking a VERY long time to complete a project, becoming very frustrated as I explain to my wife how to do things, or con buddies into coming out and bribing them with beer and steaks!
I did something similar to an 883 for my cousins wife and she had to sell it cause she was scared of it, I felt bad about that but I was simply shocked at how much power could be milked out of this engines!
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Post by rapidjim on Jun 1, 2012 8:12:28 GMT -5
Jim- if you are still following this thread, maybe you know or can point me in the right direction for the road warriors transmission gear ratios (especially 5th) and any place to get new sprockets or a new 5th gear that's geared lower so I have more pull? Thanks! Sorry I checked with Ice Bear and they don't know. So I guess the onlt way to find out is to open it and count teeth. Jim
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Post by sailormonkey333 on Jun 1, 2012 18:02:03 GMT -5
Thanks for checking Jim, I'll crack it open sometime LOL
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Post by falconbrother on Jun 1, 2012 18:15:16 GMT -5
Yea, tempted to get off topic about the sportsters. I have an FLSTC now but, if you wanna build a fun bike the 883 is a great place to start. I want an 883R as a place to start.
What main jet did you settle with?
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Post by sailormonkey333 on Jun 1, 2012 21:48:47 GMT -5
I settled on a 125, had the best throttle response and seems to be running right
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Post by sailormonkey333 on Jun 2, 2012 20:58:56 GMT -5
Jim- just to be sure, does this have separate trans oil or does it all run off of the engines sump? I looked and looked and it only seems to have one fill, one drain, and the oil screen fitting on the very bottom.
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Post by rapidjim on Jun 3, 2012 10:12:05 GMT -5
There were 2 different ones. Double check but I think yours feeds off the engine.
Jim
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Post by falconbrother on Jun 3, 2012 16:40:38 GMT -5
10-4, 125 sounds reasonable.
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Post by falconbrother on Jun 3, 2012 17:41:34 GMT -5
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Post by sailormonkey333 on Jun 3, 2012 18:44:07 GMT -5
Yeah, these people have no idea what they are selling....it also lists the front tire as 3.25-16 when the actual tire is 3.00-18, they haven't even looked at on in person LOL
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Post by ve14326 on Jun 3, 2012 19:07:26 GMT -5
Ok...so how fast does it really go? Also, I always heard that it really wasn't interstate worthy because of the small rear tires...
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Post by sailormonkey333 on Jun 3, 2012 19:51:57 GMT -5
With exhaust, intake, and carb work I can get up to 55 in 4th gear and I'm 295lbs, once I shift into 5th gear the rpms drop but it is geared to high and just maintains speed. I will let you know how fast it goes once I swap tires to the 255/50-12's on the rear. I wouldn't take it on the interstate due to handling abilities over 50mph, lack of acceleration, and the tires not being rather for interstate speeds....but mainly this isn't designed to swim in the concrete ocean with the big fish, it's a local and backroad runabout.
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Post by ve14326 on Jun 3, 2012 21:17:36 GMT -5
Just a shame to waste that Lifan engine on something that can't really do over 55...dang...
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Post by sailormonkey333 on Jun 4, 2012 5:53:12 GMT -5
Not really, you need the 250cc engine to offset the extra mechanical losses and increased weight from the rear end. It honestly needs a 500cc to be anything close to highway worthy but as it is currently designed my wife and I are happy with it. I wouldn't take a honda rebel or a virago on to the highway and they can do 80mph with a 250cc engine
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Post by ve14326 on Jun 4, 2012 6:35:19 GMT -5
Just that my morning commute requires a 6 mile interstate run or I can do the back roads and it adds 45 minutes to the commute. Considering I have to be there at 6:15 each morning, I would rather not add the 45.
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Post by rapidjim on Jun 4, 2012 8:07:28 GMT -5
I see that Scooter Depot has changed their name once again!!! Ice Bear Specs shows a maximum speed of 55.9 MPH. Yeah, these people have no idea what they are selling....it also lists the front tire as 3.25-16 when the actual tire is 3.00-18, they haven't even looked at on in person LOL Ice Bear has changed the tire size, I just checked my site and I am still showing the old size where Ice Bear is showing the new size. I need to update my site, thanks for pointing this out. Jim/Owner Rapid Repair
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Post by ve14326 on Jun 4, 2012 10:48:07 GMT -5
Rapidjim,
Does IceBear make a reverse trike like the Sunny 300TKB or anything that can cruise 65-70mph?
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Post by rapidjim on Jun 4, 2012 15:13:01 GMT -5
Rapidjim, Does IceBear make a reverse trike like the Sunny 300TKB or anything that can cruise 65-70mph? Ice Bear has not and will not make a Reverse trike. They were selling them at one time, from sunny and Kandi, but had issues and discontinued selling them at all. Now they 300cc Ice Bear trikes are capable of Crusing 60- 65. Carb work, CVT mods and exhaust work will increase this speed. I have dealt more with mods on the old style straight axel 300s and I know the newly modded 300 are not available yet so the vote is still out on them. As more info becomes available on the new 300s I will post it. Jim/Owner Rapid Repair
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Post by sailormonkey333 on Jun 4, 2012 15:49:28 GMT -5
Jim- My mom is about 6 hours away from you and is really interested in the 300cc trike scooter so please keep us updated as to how the vote goes on the new ones! If they seem like they are good to go, I'm going to have her come see one in person so you can help her with pros/cons and showing her how it operates.
Thanks for the info on the top speed, IceBear had it right on the nose apparently but I'll let you know if the 255/50-12's make any significant increase to the top end.
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Post by falconbrother on Jun 4, 2012 20:41:15 GMT -5
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Post by falconbrother on Jun 4, 2012 20:50:41 GMT -5
Oh, one other idea. If the 250 engine is never going to cut it I always have the option of getting something like a Kawasaki Ninja/Vulcan 500 motor and mounting that in there. It would mean adding a radiator but, I can weld so, anything's possible. My brother had a 500 Ninja and it would run 120mph. That should give the Road Warrior better road speeds, especially with slightly taller rear wheels.
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Post by sailormonkey333 on Jun 5, 2012 5:37:50 GMT -5
Thats not a bad idea there are plenty of wrecked 500 ninjas....and be careful with the knock-off reverse trikes, especially a sunny. I have no first hand experience with these but man this board is full of issues with those things!
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Post by sailormonkey333 on Jun 5, 2012 17:01:22 GMT -5
UPDATE: so just got a call from my friends shop where they were putting on the 255/50-12's on the rear and the MT66 on the front....the larger tires rubbed until they stiffened up the shock pre-load and now it's close so I may have to raise the fenders or just ditch the uni-fender and just mount all new ones. The most irritating thing is the mechanic can't state inspect it because one of the bushings on the A-arm is goofed up (wrong size bushing, ragged out, etc..) it would cost too much to tear it apart and inspect it and he knows I can do that at home so back on the lift it's going and I get to spend all day tomorrow figuring out whats wrong LOL
Hopefully with it being an ATV rear end, parts should be easy to come by and I doubt it's more than a bushing (hopefully), if it is something that needs to be a warranty part I hope my "dealer" can help...if not, a bushing is a bushing is a bushing....
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Post by falconbrother on Jun 6, 2012 6:35:57 GMT -5
Wow, in my state you don't have to get a vehicle inspected in the first year when you register from an out of state title. But, next year I'll have to get it done. I hope this trike turns out better than I'm thinking at this point.
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Post by sailormonkey333 on Jun 6, 2012 13:46:05 GMT -5
All is well, bent up the fender brackets and turned the mounting bolts around to fix the rubbing issues and found a guy with atv aarm sleeves to fix the hub wobble....now to road test!
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Post by sailormonkey333 on Jun 6, 2012 16:50:21 GMT -5
LOL ok so at speed the fender rubbed regardless of how I adjusted it so I took them off, problem solved! Also the A-arm issue is now fixed, all it was missing was the bushing sleeves (top and bottom) on the right side, found a local dirt toy store and they had some that worked and the shop owner was so interested in my "mad max ride" that he let me throw it on a lift and helped install them right then! So if anyone needs help with chinese parts or service in the VA area call Mack at Carts Unlimited in Suffolk because he is a great guy and super cool....he dropped what he was working on, helped me fix my wife's ride for two hours + parts and when I asked what I owed him he told me 45$!!!! and he had a full shop full of jobs already...I was beside myself with gratitude, still am. Anyway, back to the trike! The ride quality with the pirelli mt66 on the front and the 255/5-12's on the rear is night and day. It rides smooth as silk, has great traction, the stiffer suspension settings are great with the bigger tires and oh yeah....I can go 55 in 3rd gear, 4th goes to ? and 5th didn't even get tested because I don't have it licensed yet and was running out of road in my "safe" riding area. 4th gear cruised comfortably without getting close to winding out the engine at 55 and was still accelerating when I ran out of road. Acceleration is also much faster and the wife, who was following me in the cobalt, had a hard time keeping up with me when I took off so it's getting to 50 pretty quick. All in all I am very happy with this trike and though it's take 2 weeks of TLC and some money to get right, I think this will be exactly what we wanted when we ordered it!
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