Riding around on my Vader 125 (Grom Clone) w/ Honda Grom
 

Hey everyone,

I just posted a video of me riding around on my new Vader 125. I rode alongside my sister, who was on her Grom. While this isn't really a comparison video, it can give you an idea on how close the two bikes are. It'll also show you some of the quirks I've encountered with the Vader so far (mind you this was my first day actually riding the bike).



Anyways here it is.. Enjoy!

(P.S. If you enjoyed the video, feel free to subscribe. I'll be posting more videos similar to this one on a weekly basis and my videos should mostly revolve around me riding my chinese bikes (Vader 125 & Hawk 250).


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9oXi4I_C7Y

Nice vid! That is a true clone, I must say. Interesting how well they seemed to pull it off.

Thanks! Yeah, I was taken by surprise just how close this bike looks and feels like the Honda Grom (and at a fraction of the price). Grant it the Honda still has its edge on quality and performance, but to me it doesn't warrant the extra +/-$2,000 that they're selling for.

As soon as I get the little quirks figured out on this bike (charging issue, squeaky rear brake, etc.) I think it's going to be a solid bike!

LOL that was funny when your sister smoked you in the race and gave you some crap about it. Great video. Think you can squeeze anymore power out of it with some fine tuning?


/

Should go a little faster with some fine tuning and a few aftermarket performance parts (mainly a better exhaust and correct carb jetting)

Ha, I'm a sore loser!

Oh yeah, I'm sure I'll be able to get more power out of it. This was just "out of the box" performance. I haven't tinkered with anything on the bike yet (not even the idle adjustment screw).

Like Azhule said, a free-flowing exhaust and rejetting the carb should give me a noticeable improvement in performance.

I'm also thinking a sprocket change will make a great change, especially with topend speed. The bike feels more geared towards offroading, so if I can find a ratio that'd be more street-oriented I think that'd be more ideal for my use.

With that said, even though I got smoked by the Grom, the Vader actually does feel peppy and has all the performance I really need for scooting around my small town (although it may need just a little bit more juice for 45mph city roads).

Thanks for the great video. I am grateful that you posted your ride on a bone-stock bike. In theory, things should only get better with parts and tuning. I am all for your plan to look for sprockets first, and then deal with exhaust and carb.

Thanks for watching culcune! Yes, I think sprockets will be my main focus for now. The bike seems to rev out very quick. First gear is practically useless (basically have to shift as soon as you dump the clutch) and I can comfortably cruise @ ~15-20mph in 4th gear where I would expect the bike to become upset at such low speed in the highest gear.

If I can ride out each gear a little longer I think it'd definitely help.

The key would be to see what hub is used. My guess, the countersprocket will be relatively easy to find a Honda sprocket for. Perhaps these use the same wheels as the CT70 clones (Skyteam, Icebear), which many owners found sprockets for quite easily?!

I bet you're right.. I still need to take the sprocket cover off and see what type of sprocket is being ran under there. I don't even know how many teeth are on the stock countersprocket yet..

Brake it in
 

It will get faster once it brakes in.

Yeah, it's already improving its top speed naturally. This week I hit 47mph going uphill compared to 41-42mph on the same hill 2 weeks ago. It especially helps when the bike is warmed up.

I still think a good carb tune, pod filter, and exhaust will help dramatically.

You should do a few side by side comparison shots of the sprockets, carb area and other bits between both bikes to see if you the parts are identical for the clone to use the actual Honda Grom parts. A few video comparison's of those things, like being able to order the Grom brake pads if they match and chain and sprockets would help a lot of people out.

Other then the good carb tune I would wait for the brake in to be done before doing those mod's.

Good idea.. I will make sure to do that!