Roketa Bali 250cc has arrived: Views & Reviews

[ringo]

Thanks. I have been reading for some time. I dont know why I didnt join sooner. You might know me from the Tank group.

My Tank 250 is deep burgandy. I love the color... but they put these stupid stickers on the rear sides and then clear coated over them. Oh well. Wy 150 didnt have anything on it, it was great.

I had a problem with the intake manifold not having a very good seal. A little form-a-gasket took care of that. The hard part was figuring it out. Dave at scooters georgia helped.
Does your charging system work well? I dont trust mine enough to add heating gear. I replaced the battery, but the battery never seems to hold the charge long. (and the alarm doesnt pull THAT much juice) I guess I will replace it again... maybe I got a dud.

I added a nice cd/am/fm/mp3 stereo head unit. I kept the stock speakers. I'll replace them when i find a solution that really works. There are no flat surfaces on these scoots... so installing the speakers is a problem. i dont want box speakers because that would invits unwanted interest from the evil-doers.

Anyway, I have about the same mileage as you. I replced the front tire with a higher profile tire and it made a HUGE difference! MUCH smoother, handles much better, and not the speedo reads correctly. The low profile tire mine came with was terrible.

Id love to see pics of yours, but whenever I click a link, I get a msg that the server is out of room. Oh well.
I look forward to reading more if you post more info on your scooter.

Thanks,

Ringo (Richard)

[scooterollie]

Ringo;
Burgundy is my first choice in color! Next time you replace a battery, get an "AGM" type battery - they maintain their charge much longer on standing than the liquid acid batteries. I also went up one size/type to get more amp hours/cold cranking amps. I put a switch in the glove box to kill power to the alarm, that way I don't run the risk of draining the battery if the alarm is not shut down properly. Besides the seat/bar heaters, I also have fog/driving lights on the 250. I am concerned about the charge output but so far no problems. Bar/seat heaters don't use more than about 3 amps on low setting. I only ride occasionally at night and then only for short distances. The difference is remarkable - lights up much more of the road, especially to the sides. When using those 55W bulbs (2), I usually don't have the heaters on. When I tear down the scoot for painting, I plan to replace many of the stock bulbs with LED bulbs that use much less current. I know my 150 would not have handled the extra drain but the CFMoto engines seem to have a better charging system. Sounds like you are having fun with your scoots!

[ringo]

I was thinking of replacing the battery with a 100 amp tractor battery. I think it will fit under the seat. Do you think this would hurt anything?
I seem to remember Stan warning that the 55 watt bulbs will melt the lens. The LED lights sound interesting. Let us know how it goes.
I'm having fun so far. I plan on taking it camping soon. I have all my gear ready.

[scooterollie]

roingo;
The 55W bulbs are in their own driving light housing bolted under the front nose so no problem. I still have the stock 34W bulbs in the headlights. After re-aligning the headlights, I get much better down the road lighting on high beam. The driving/gog lights fill in the area to the sides of the road as well as in front of the scoot, shy of where the high beams project.

The reason the links don't work now is that ScootDawg used to pay for posting pics right on the forum. That became cost prohibitive and we must now use a host, such as Photobucket.com. I have not posted anything that way as of yet.

While you could go the route of using a much larger battery, that might be overkill. If it got low, it would be quite a challenge to toe charging system. Why go that large? Just for that extra security?

[scooterchief]

Hello fellow Bali 250 owners. I bought mine last summer from BNscooters and after about 6 months of working out most of the problems that everyone else seems to have, mine is running great. I have about 500 miles under my belt now. I was wondering if anyone has ever tried to put a 12 inch rim with a lower profile tire on the rear to replace the 10 inch rim. I was thinking about ordering a 12 inch rim from a different rocketa or tank model that comes with that but I do not know if it will fit. Any ideas?

[scooterollie]

scooterchief;
Welcome to the Dawg Pound. Glad to hear about your experience with the Bali 250.

Can't do it! The CVT drive train copied from the Honda 250 does not allow enough clearance up to the engine to install anything larger than a 10" wheel/tire. If you look carefully in front of the tire, it is almost up against the crankcase. If your Bali is like mine, it has a 120/90X10" "oversize" touring tire - the max size which will fit. Rumor has it that the drive train is being re-engineered to accommodate a 12" rear tire and scoots with it will appear later this year.

Out of curiosity, what is the name of the Chinese manufacturer on the large Federal I.D. plate?

[ringo]

These small batteries seem to die so quickly. I have an extra and am thinking of wiring it with the current P.O.S.
I am also thinking of taking this one back. Its a 14 amp and is basically new. I have an inline voltmeter and I can see it is getting a charge. But it loses the charge pretty quickly. I charged it last night and its didnt seem to take much of a charge at all.

[scooterollie]

Ringo;
Don't know if you have seen my previous posts about "AGM" type batteries but here is a site that discusses and sells them. They are more than the cheap stuff but worth it! It is a good idea to go up one notch in capacity to get more amp hours and cold cranking amps - like from a 9 to a 12 aHr for our 250s. Be certain to check the dimensions for what fits. I went to a battery with the same L & W but 1" taller.

www.ebatteriestogo.com/Motorcycle-Batteries.htm

[scooterchief]

scooterollie,
My manufacturer plate says Unique Industrial and Trading Co LTD for Rocketa Inc. with a date of manufacture of June 2006. It is a 2007 model. Thanks for the info on the rear wheel. Clearance is pretty tight.

[scooterollie]

scooterchief;
Yours is the first 250 I have heard of from Unique Industrial & Trading. My local dealer friend received a number of 50 cc & 150 cc scoots made by them in the second half of 2006. My 250 Bali, an '06 model, was made by Chongqing Astronautical Bashan Motorcycle Manufacturing Co. - a real mouth full. I guess they make scoots and cycles when they are not producing space craft! Roketa (Goldenvale, Inc.) claims to actually own some manufacturing plants in China. Don't know if that is really true. Seems you can't trust what they say or put in print. Roketa seems to seek out different sources for their bikes - probably where they can get them the fastest for the lowest price. I have been very pleased with how the scoot was made underneath the skin but find the fit-n-finish of the panels to be of lower quality than on my other two Roketa scoots, both made by Taizhou Chuanl Motorcycle Manufacturing.

[earlwb]

My Roketa Fiji 150 was manufactured in October 2006 by the Shanghai JMSTAR Motorcycle Company Ltd. They seem to have done a really good job quality-wise. So I suppose this batch had extra attention put into them.
If that even means anything.

[tankgunner]

About your battery: Go to 'Wallyworld' (WalMart) or other such store and pick up a float charger for your battery ($18). I leave mine plugged in whenever my scoot is parked in my garage. Starts first time every time.

[scooterollie]

The Black-n-Decker float charger Tankgunner refers to is an excellent addition to your scooter but it won't cure the problem of a weak, poor quality battery. Since I stated using the the AGM batteries, I can let my scoot stand for weeks at a time and still have a strong battery when I want to use it. I have a pigtail attached to the battery for the B&D charger but never have to use it unless I have done something dumb, like leave the key on. I have always been rather anal about battery quality and capacity in my vehicles. Don't like getting surprised by a dead battery - even on a cheap scooter. Since the 250s don't have kick start, I want to know I will be able to rely on the battery.

[scooterchief]

My battery used to die fairly quickly when I first got my bike, but since I fully charged it for 12 hours many months ago I have had no further issues. I even left home for 3 months on business and came back and my scoot started right up. I think fully charging at the beginning is the key.

[Scootindan]

Hi Folks, Dan Jones here. I've been enjoying this forum. Nice folks and good info.

I invite those of you with scooters with CF Moto 250 engines to drop in at our Baron 250-PM forum on Yahoo. We are just starting out but do have some files that might interest you... step-by-step with pictures.

- changing the coolant
- changing gear case oil
- replacing the muffler and muffler gasket
- how to change the headlight bulb without removing the cowling
- valve adjustment

More files to come but it's too cold in the garage for scooter projects right now.

autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/baron_pm250/

And you will need to register to gain access to the FILES section.

Now to get registered here.

[scooterollie]

Scootindan;
That is great info to share. I have been a member there for a little while. See you around.
ScooterOllie

[ringo]

Hi Dan. I'm already a member of that group.

Back to the battery. I picked up a new Everstart from wallyworld. I saw a float charger... not B+D though. I held off. I put the battery together and I think I have a few problems. I put the battery together and actually followed the instructions. With the first replacement battery I just charged it for a little while and started riding. I see that i should have charged it for 12 hours first. So with the new one I tried to do this... but my chrger topped it off and showed no more charging after about 2 hours. I have a full sized/trickle charge combo charger. I had it set to the 2 amp trickle. I left it on for a few more hours, but again, it was already topped off. I put it in the scoot and it seems significantly better than the old one. It hold 12.3 volts when sitting for a few days with the alarm/voltmeter/clock connected. (The temp here is fairly cold too) Should I have used the float charger from wmart to do the 12 charge? Was 2 amps too much?
It seems I should still get more out of this battery than I am. I also did a little research and the OEM battery (I keep it under the seat as a spare since its so small- its actually the 7 amp from my old 150)
, the first replcement from Lowes. and the new Everlast from wmart are ALL made by the same guys! Not very encouraging since the OEM has a reputation as a P.O.S.
It hasnt left me stranded yet. I am probably worrying too much. I just hate the thought of being stuck over a battery problem while out in the mountains. (I like touring)
I'll get the float charger too.

[90GTVert]

I've been meaning to link those files on my site, but I haven't gotten to it, so thatks for the reminder! Stan

Scootindan said:

Hi Folks, Dan Jones here. I've been enjoying this forum. Nice folks and good info.

I invite those of you with scooters with CF Moto 250 engines to drop in at our Baron 250-PM forum on Yahoo. We are just starting out but do have some files that might interest you... step-by-step with pictures.

- changing the coolant
- changing gear case oil
- replacing the muffler and muffler gasket
- how to change the headlight bulb without removing the cowling
- valve adjustment

More files to come but it's too cold in the garage for scooter projects right now.

autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/baron_pm250/

And you will need to register to gain access to the FILES section.

Now to get registered here.

[paulsb2006]

It is good to see mostly positive comments regarding the Roketa Bali 250cc. I am a dealer for Roketa in Florida and I personally drive a Bali 250. A few words of advice, some from experience and some from Roketa. Replace the coolant immediately with a quality 50-50 mix, the Chinese stuff is junk, and a Chinese girl told me this ! Also, check the oil, and probably a good idea to replace that too. Not a synthetic for the first 500 miles, just a regular motor oil, 10-40 or 10-30, then change again with Amzoil Syn, or Mobil 1. Also, the NGK Iridium plug is great, change it once and forget it.. Easier starting and a little more power. Be careful around the plastic water filler (not the white overflow jug) the actual filler, it breaks very easily.

I tried a Pirelli oversize rear tire, it rubs, not recommended, but Pirelli tires are a great replacement.

I am about to install a 300cc upgrade with a high performance camshaft, I will let you know how it goes.

Paul

[Aaron]

Paul welcome to the group! Dealers are always welcome especially ones that personally use their product and experiment with them. Glad you decided to join. The tips you mentioned have been discovered by others on here and several have broken the filler neck as well. Can't wait to here how the 300cc mod goes, do you plan an exhaust mod and carb upgrade as well? How about the variator have you played with the weights any on the 250? Go to www.oregonvintage.com Stan Jessup has been playing around with a 250 as well.

Aaron

[scooterphil]

Hello,

Hello Scotterollie and any one else with info. I'm new to the forum. I just joined because I'm seriously considering purchasing a Bali 250. I was able to get a lot of information from this thread to help me get to this point. I noticed it's been almost a year since your new 250 was shipped. I'm wondering what your overall impression of the bike is at this point. I also have a few specifics. One is I'm 6'4" tall. Will I fit into the bike? Also wondering if you or anyone has ever taken the bike to speeds of 60-70 mph, and what that experience was like. It sounds like I'll have to spend a fair amount of time piddling with the bike to get it properly adjusted. Once I get beyond this initial period, is it reliable and sturdy, or constant problems. Thanks again for all the great info!

Phil in Virginia

[buckeyescoot]

Hello everyone -

I been searching the forum for problems and resolutions to what I thing is a battery not being charged by my Roketa Bali 250. I start out in the morning with 12.5 volts. Run to work 22 miles away. Starts at work and run home 22 miles. Stop, turn off and try to start again. Not enough power to turn over engine. Volt meter shows 10 + volts. Charging every evening. Is that normal?

Replaced the battery at the recommendation of the dealer (not under warranty) Now I get two days then I need to charge the battery. Any thoughts? Any posted processes to test the charging system with a volt meter or other processes?

Had the scooter apart hunting down another problem with head and tail lights always being on. I ran across this part below:

Those with Roketa Bali 250s, do you have this part mounted on the right side frame near the CDI and the rectifier? When I un-plug this part, the lights always on issue goes away? I can not find a reference on the wiring diagram or the Roketa electrical assemble web page. If I need it, how should it be wired, or could my lights always on yet be another issue in the wiring elsewhere. I pulled the harness wrap apart to help with the troubleshooting. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

[scooterphil]

Hello,

I'm considering purchasing a Bandit 150, 260, or Roketa Bali 250. Basically, from what I've read, I'm a lot more comfortable with the Bandits in terms of quality. Even so, the Bandit 260 is a bit more than what is in my budget. I might make the stretch, but it will be a difficult sell to my wife. I could go with a Bandit 150 with a performance upgrade. Will go with the US150 with the performance upgrade if I choose this option. I really want a 250cc, which is why I'm also considering the Roketa Bali 250, The Roketa is nearly $1000 less when shipping is taken into account. Does anyone have any suggestions about who to go to should I choose to by the Roketa? Does anyone know how fast the Bandit 150s can really go, both with and without the performance upgrade? Basically, I'm trying to find a decent scooter that will easily hit 60 MPH for under $2000 (after shipping). Any feedback, suggestions, or recommendations will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks. Phil

[Gary]

Phil,
I have the Viva 250 tourer. Pretty much the same I think as the Bali, NST, and Tank, just with different decals. Have about 1,000 miles on the scooter and absolutely love it.

I'm sure the scoot would fit you great. It has plenty of power to hit 60 - 65 mph easily and rides at that speed comfortably. OK for short freeway hops. The max I've gone so far is 70mph (measured by a bike speedometer). This is a bit more of a white-knuckle ride; OK but not really secure. The only issue I'm having right now is that the charging system in not working; this seems to be a pretty common occurance with many of the china-scoots.

I bought the scoot from allnewsports.com for $1780 delivered. Some people have reported bad expereineces with Allnew, but they have done right with me. The scooter arrived quickly and in good condition. They are standing by their warranty and have sent replacement parts for several minor items that have failed (battery, radiator fill nozzle, start switch, plastic dash panels).

I have a 150 also. With your size, I suspect you'd be riding a 150 pretty much wide open or nealy so much of the time and you'd slow down up hills. The 250 has plenty of power to ride part-throttle and not slow down.

[scooterphil]

Thanks for the info Gary. I've bookmarked their website. Looks like they are a brick and mortar dealer, which is good. Appreciate all the information. Everyone seems very courtious and helpful on this forum. Thanks again! Phil

[mattcorby]

******** BUCKEYESCOOT *******

i'm battling a charging problem myself. i think yours is a little easier to fix than mine. that thing is a diode, it makes voltage only travel one way.

here's how it's supposed to work. the stator has a cuircut that powers your running lights, any voltage that's left over from that goes to the battery. that diode is in-between your running light's cuircut and your battery to make it so the left-over voltage from the lights will re-power your battery when the bike is on, but when the bike is off it doesn't allow the battery to power the lights.

if your diode is wired BACKWARDS, then the battery would charge the lights, but the lights would not charge the battery - this explains BOTH your problems.

so, hopefully, if you disconnect the wires from the diode, and switch them around, you will have a good working bike!

[texasscooter]

I have ordered a blue 2007 Roketa Bali 260cc from Allnewsports, so far the am/fm radio with cd ($99) to replace the one free without the cd and the alarm cable has come in. I added the life time warranty ($179) on top of the free 1 year warranty (only time will tell if I lost the money.

I have been reading a lot of posts and have been making a lot of notes.

If anyone has installed on of the tach/hour meters from Enco please let me know where you installed on your scoot and how you like it and if the weather proofing is holding up

Craig

[monjeri]

[Here is a update on my Roketa Bali 250................... this Scoot is superb so far!!!
I bought this three weeks ago, changed oil after 30 miles, put in synthetic, also changed the gear lube, according to what you guys posted, and just returned from a 90 mile trip averaging 55-60 mph. I now have put on 600 miles in the three week period. Only thing I did notice is that it is very hot in Wis, 90 plus degrees, and it runs a tad hotter than normal, but I would too. I also, did change the antifreeze immediately. I would recommend this Scoot to anyone. I bought from Scooter Warehouse in Chippewa Falls, WI, and he did a great check up on this before I departed. I am expecting to ride1200-1500 miles a month.

[ucrdj]

I am new to this forum and the site. but ever since i got my scooter this past halloween. i haven't charged the battery nor did i feel the need to. I have a problem with the head lights turning on when i put the key in and turn it to on and on top of that i would only rid the scoot every other day if that and it still starts up right away. am i suppose to be charging it or does it have it's own recharging mechanism.

[scooterollie]

ucrdj;
Welcome to the Dawg Pound!

Since you have a new question, it is best to start a new thread with a title that fits your question, not tack it on to an unrelated, existing one. Also, be sure to include information about your scoot: brand, model, etc. Please post your question in only one location.

If I understand you, the headlights turn on when you turn the key to the run position, before you start the engine. If that is the case, it is probably normal. Depends on how the scoot is wired. My Linhai 300 does that but the headlights on my other Chinese scoots didn't come on until the engine started.

As far as charging your scoot battery, if you ride it every few days for a reasonable distance, the charging system on the engine will keep the battery charged. The batteries in these scoots are small and loose charge quickly if they stand, unused, for some time. Some may loose charge in as little as a week, others not for a few weeks. That is why some folks buy a small "Float" type battery maintainer and hook it up to their scoot's battery.