Bashan Bandit DB-07-250

[bogieboy]

oh and just an fyi I just shot my side oanels with matte black krylon fusion spray paint... has held up ok so far...

[HailingFromCork]

Originally Posted by SpudRider

Does you odometer read in kilometers, or miles?

It definitely reads Kilometers. I just kind of didn't think too hard about it right at first since the speedo reads mph. There is no way I have put 130 miles on it yet! Soon though...

Originally Posted by bogieboy

here's what your bike would look like with the panels black (and usd forks and rear disk brakes...LOL)

Thanks for the pictures man! Looks pretty slick.

What bike is that? It looks like we have the same plastics, just a few different parts!

[HailingFromCork]

Originally Posted by 2LZ

Nice! Congrats! I have an X-moto version of the same bike. Have yet to have any regrets, especially for the price! :-) I love how spry the motor is with that non-vac carb. Instant response....and that blue is beautiful! There's an extra bump in the front of the motor.... Could it be a balance shaft motor like the original Lifan?????????

I seem to be hearing relative words of encouragement from anyone who has owned some variation of this bike or another, which makes me happy! I like the blue too. Should looks slick once i get done plasti dipping the side plastics black too.

It is a counter balance you see up there

How many miles do you have on your faithful x-moto steed?

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by HailingFromCork

It definitely reads Kilometers. I just kind of didn't think too hard about it right at first since the speedo reads mph. There is no way I have put 130 miles on it yet! Soon though...

Frequently changing the motor oil is the best practice you can perform to extend the life of your engine. Therefore, I suggest you change the engine oil at 500 kms, and again at 1,000 kms. Did you receive an owner's manual? If so, it will probably suggest you change the engine oil every 1,000 kms, or every 2,000 kms. If you change the engine oil every time the odometer turns 1,000 kms, your engine will provide you with many happy, reliable miles of performance. My Zongshen 200GY-2 just passed 100,000 kms (62,137.1 miles) on the odometer.

http://www.chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=13658

My Zong's odometer records miles. Therefore, I change the engine oil every time the odometer reaches another 1,000 miles (620 kms). I use Mobil, Delvac, 15W/40 motor oil in all my motorcycles.

[culcune]

I was just speaking with the owner of Excalibur Motorsports who just sold me a new TMEC (it has arrived and is patiently waiting for me to take a day of leave tomorrow to assemble it). He suggested I use 'wet clutch' oil, which I assume would be good for all Chinese bikes? I know I had been using 1 liter of 15w40 every month (approx. 600 miles or 1000kms of commuting@150 miles/week as Spud suggested) since the TMEC specifies 1 liter. However, this is the first time I had heard someone suggest wet clutch vs. standard 4 stroke?

[HailingFromCork]

Your thread about turning past 60k was part of why I decided to go for a china bike! Very inspiring.

15w40 seems to be pretty popular here and a few other places, so that is what I was planning on picking up and putting in on wednesday. If you're running it, and you have a bike that has run that long I will trust your word on it!

I did indeed get a manual, and it recommends the first change at 500km, but I will likely be doing it on wednesday, when I will only be around 250 ish, to get that 15w40 in there. The level is also BARELY above the low mark right now, and looks pretty dirty already.

So... Riddle me this.

You can see in the second closer picture here that that hose has a kink in it. It is the hose that comes over from the airbox on the left, I am presuming to be mixed with fuel and sent to the top end?

It seemed to me that it should not be kinked, so I managed to get it to unkink and take it for a test drive. It would not sit and idle without dying, and it almost felt like I was out of gas when I was trying to drive, really jerky, delayed throttle responses.

I notice that it runs better with it kinked how it is in that picture, and that when I pinch it completely rather than cutting out like when it has a clear passage it actually idles higher.

Am I missing something here, should this be kinked like that? Or is something adjusted improperly?

Also out of curiousity, how much top end noise, and what kind of noise, is normal from these brand new pushrods? I hear a ticking particularly on acceleration that seems to go away, when I am not throttling and am up to speed. At first I kind of thought it was rattley plastics, but that does not appear to be the case. It does not sound horrible, just more sewing machiney than I am used to with a definite tick type of sound, so just curious what your guys' thoughts are on that.

[SpudRider]

I'm interested to know where the unkinked hose is connected. If that hose goes to your gas tank, I'm guessing the entire assembly is designed to vent gas fumes into the air box. If so, I would seal both ends, and eliminate the hoses completely.

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by culcune

I was just speaking with the owner of Excalibur Motorsports who just sold me a new TMEC (it has arrived and is patiently waiting for me to take a day of leave tomorrow to assemble it). He suggested I use 'wet clutch' oil, which I assume would be good for all Chinese bikes? I know I had been using 1 liter of 15w40 every month (approx. 600 miles or 1000kms of commuting@150 miles/week as Spud suggested) since the TMEC specifies 1 liter. However, this is the first time I had heard someone suggest wet clutch vs. standard 4 stroke?

You can use any motor oil which is not specified as 'energy conserving.' Your 15W/40 motor oil works great with wet clutches.

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by HailingFromCork

Your thread about turning past 60k was part of why I decided to go for a china bike! Very inspiring.

15w40 seems to be pretty popular here and a few other places, so that is what I was planning on picking up and putting in on wednesday. If you're running it, and you have a bike that has run that long I will trust your word on it!

I did indeed get a manual, and it recommends the first change at 500km, but I will likely be doing it on wednesday, when I will only be around 250 ish, to get that 15w40 in there. The level is also BARELY above the low mark right now, and looks pretty dirty already...

I'm glad to hear my report has encouraged you to purchase your Chinese bike.

Whenever the oil level drops, add more oil, even if you recently changed the oil. If you change the oil at 250 kms, you can probably wait until 1,000 kms for the next oil change. After that, change the motor oil every time the odometer reaches a multiple of 1,000 kms.

[HailingFromCork]

Originally Posted by SpudRider

I'm interested to know where the unkinked hose is connected. If that hose goes to your gas tank, I'm guessing the entire assembly is designed to vent gas fumes into the air box. If so, I would seal both ends, and eliminate the hoses completely.

The Un-kinked hose first goes to that little silver box with an inlet/outlet. The hose with the kink is the one that is connected to the front of the air box. The other side of the little silver box leads up to the right side of the top end, just in front of the spark plug.

I can get pictures when it is light out again on the morrow if necessary.

I am thinking that you are right that this is a uncombusted fuel recycling system, which makes me feel less silly about having no idea what the hell was going on, as I have heard about, but never seen a system like this.

I will clamp it shut with a binder clip or something on my way home and see how she runs. If it is recycling fuel back into the air filter in the case of incomplete combustion I presume that this is to help out with emissions?

[HailingFromCork]

Oh and any comment about how much and what type of top end noise is normal on these little guys when they are new spud?

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by HailingFromCork

The Un-kinked hose first goes to that little silver box with an inlet/outlet. The hose with the kink is the one that is connected to the front of the air box. The other side of the little silver box leads up to the right side of the top end, just in front of the spark plug.

I can get pictures when it is light out again on the morrow if necessary.

I am thinking that you are right that this is a uncombusted fuel recycling system, which makes me feel less silly about having no idea what the hell was going on, as I have heard about, but never seen a system like this.

I will clamp it shut with a binder clip or something on my way home and see how she runs. If it is recycling fuel back into the air filter in the case of incomplete combustion I presume that this is to help out with emissions?

Yes, this is undoubtedly an emissions system. I would seal both hoses at the air box, and the cylinder head, then remove the hoses. If possible, I would remove the silver box completely.

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by HailingFromCork

Oh and any comment about how much and what type of top end noise is normal on these little guys when they are new spud?

When you have time, I suggest you check the valve lash. Other than changing the engine oil regularly, the most important thing you can do to prolong engine life is to adjust the valve lash periodically. You can learn how to perform this procedure by reading the following threads.

http://www.chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=977
http://www.chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=4539

If the valves are loose, they will make a little more noise. Tight valves are quiet, but they remain open too long, and will get damaged by excess heat. Properly adjusted valves make a ticking noise, which is a good sign. Always remember the old aphorism, "slappy valves are happy valves."

[Weldangrind]

Originally Posted by SpudRider

Yes, this is undoubtedly an emissions system. I would seal both hoses at the air box, and the cylinder head, then remove the hoses. If possible, I would remove the silver box completely.

X2. The system delivers a blast of oxygen into the exhaust stream to benefit the catalytic converter. The cat is the bulge you see in the head pipe. If you want a little more power, you can replace the head pipe with a non-cat version, or cut it out and weld in a new section of tube.

If you do that, you'll need to increase the slow and main jets to compensate.

[2LZ]

Originally Posted by HailingFromCork

How many miles do you have on your faithful x-moto steed?

Miles....hard to tell. Probably not a ton. Since they are not street legal here in CA., I stripped it, put on a number plate up front where the Darth Vader headlight and gauges used to live. There's an old thread here somewhere. I had some time off for surgery a few years ago and took all the lights off then as the Norco would allow. ;-)

I can say this though.....with that particular Hondanoid motor, there's the 'standard fare' of mods everyone here can agree on:

1- Uni (or K&N) filter. Dump the useless massive air box
2- Move the slide needle to the highest position out of the main jet.
3- Re-jet. I forget the exact ones at the moment. They're recorded here somewhere.
4- Adjust the valves, ice cold. I've had three of these motors over time and all three had valves that were too tight right out of the box.
5- FMF Turbine Core 2. It's a bit of work to mount one on these but some have had a better time than others. Mine took a pipe bender and a torch for the mid-pipe. That old thread is buried here somewhere also.
These mods REALLY wake up that motor.

Also, as mentioned, change oil frequently. It's only a quart. Cheap insurance.

EDIT: Found my old thread.
http://www.chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=9091