Hellcat Advice

davidt777 · 08-17-2022, 10:54 PM

I recently picked up a beat up Hellcat. On the first ride it vibrated and felt like the front end was about to fall off. The rear end is scraped up from wheelies. It has a rear fender eliminator, but the front and lower rear fender is missing. But it doesn't look too bad and it runs decent.

I found the front axle nut, triple tree nut, and handlebar mounts loose. The rear axle was adjusted crooked. One motor mount bolt was replaced, but not tight. I corrected all that and it improved it a lot. I replaced the fork oil with 15w fork oil, but forks are leaking. Probably blown seals from wheelies.

It's not worth putting a lot of money into it, but I think it will be a good pit bike.

Has anybody replaced fork seals on these? Do you know what size or what part will fit?

It has the original PZ25 carb with no head bowl screws and original air box. There is a street radar near me that shows it topping out around 47 MPH. It actually runs pretty decent with some noticeable lean spots. I assume that's about right for this setup. I like the handlebar choke setup. But more than that I like the water proof air box because I tend to get rained on at Mid Ohio Vintage Motorcycle Days every year. Is there a good carb setup that will allow me to keep the airbox? Any that keep the handlebar choke?

Last, Is there much to be done about the instrument cluster? It lights up when it's dark. The high beam indicator works. Nothing else. Wiring looks okay, but I haven't tested anything to see if I'm getting power for things like neutral light, tach, etc.

Big Bird · 08-18-2022, 03:22 AM

I think you would need a aftermarket non epa pz25 carb from amazon or ebay to retain the choke cable set up or just slot the screws with a dremel on the factory carb to change out jets. And pry out the air/fuel mix plug to adjust idle mixture.I like the aftermarket carbs though cause they usually come with adjustable position needle.

There is guy on YouTube that put on a vm22 clone carb kit and used a carb spinner to get the manifold oriented right, and then matched up a coolant hose at the auto store to connect the carb to the airbox. You loose the cable choke with the vm22 though.

The dash on these are notoriously junky.

davidt777 · 08-18-2022, 08:27 PM

Thanks. I saw the PZ25 on Amazon, but didn't think about it being non-EPA. I also didn't think about the original not having adjustable needle position. I'll look for that youtube as well.

As for the forks, I'm tempted to pull them, dump some power steering fluid with "leak sealer" in them to swell the seals for a day, then replace with fork oil and hope they don't leak. I've used that technique on some other seals with success.

Big Bird · 08-19-2022, 03:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidt777

Thanks. I saw the PZ25 on Amazon, but didn't think about it being non-EPA. I also didn't think about the original not having adjustable needle position. I'll look for that youtube as well.

As for the forks, I'm tempted to pull them, dump some power steering fluid with "leak sealer" in them to swell the seals for a day, then replace with fork oil and hope they don't leak. I've used that technique on some other seals with success.

The youtuber is minibikeaction. You can contact Kronikracing to see if he can get you fork seals. He deals with Boom mini bikes but they are likely the same as the tao hellcat forks.

davidt777 · 08-20-2022, 10:42 PM

I took the forks apart and removed the seals. They are marked RFX 31x43x10.3. There are several Japanese and Chinese bikes that use the same size. Groms use 31x43x10, so those would probably be okay too.

But I noticed another problem. There is a groove on top of the fork tubes for a split bushing. Mine are missing. That might explain some of the clunky-ness when the forks are compressed. The tubes are 31mm and that groove is 30mm. I haven't seen any bushings sold that size. Maybe Grom ones would work, but they are about $50 for a pair and maybe a gamble. By the time I got seals and bushings I'd probably be better off buying a set of forks.

08-17-2022, 10:54 PM	#1
davidt777 Join Date: Aug 2022 Posts: 3	Hellcat Advice I recently picked up a beat up Hellcat. On the first ride it vibrated and felt like the front end was about to fall off. The rear end is scraped up from wheelies. It has a rear fender eliminator, but the front and lower rear fender is missing. But it doesn't look too bad and it runs decent. I found the front axle nut, triple tree nut, and handlebar mounts loose. The rear axle was adjusted crooked. One motor mount bolt was replaced, but not tight. I corrected all that and it improved it a lot. I replaced the fork oil with 15w fork oil, but forks are leaking. Probably blown seals from wheelies. It's not worth putting a lot of money into it, but I think it will be a good pit bike. Has anybody replaced fork seals on these? Do you know what size or what part will fit? It has the original PZ25 carb with no head bowl screws and original air box. There is a street radar near me that shows it topping out around 47 MPH. It actually runs pretty decent with some noticeable lean spots. I assume that's about right for this setup. I like the handlebar choke setup. But more than that I like the water proof air box because I tend to get rained on at Mid Ohio Vintage Motorcycle Days every year. Is there a good carb setup that will allow me to keep the airbox? Any that keep the handlebar choke? Last, Is there much to be done about the instrument cluster? It lights up when it's dark. The high beam indicator works. Nothing else. Wiring looks okay, but I haven't tested anything to see if I'm getting power for things like neutral light, tach, etc.
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08-18-2022, 03:22 AM	#2
Big Bird Join Date: May 2020 Location: California Posts: 169	I think you would need a aftermarket non epa pz25 carb from amazon or ebay to retain the choke cable set up or just slot the screws with a dremel on the factory carb to change out jets. And pry out the air/fuel mix plug to adjust idle mixture.I like the aftermarket carbs though cause they usually come with adjustable position needle. There is guy on YouTube that put on a vm22 clone carb kit and used a carb spinner to get the manifold oriented right, and then matched up a coolant hose at the auto store to connect the carb to the airbox. You loose the cable choke with the vm22 though. The dash on these are notoriously junky. __________________ 2020 Boom Vader Gen 2 2019 CSC TT250 2021 Kayo Fox 70
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08-18-2022, 08:27 PM	#3
davidt777 Join Date: Aug 2022 Posts: 3	Thanks. I saw the PZ25 on Amazon, but didn't think about it being non-EPA. I also didn't think about the original not having adjustable needle position. I'll look for that youtube as well. As for the forks, I'm tempted to pull them, dump some power steering fluid with "leak sealer" in them to swell the seals for a day, then replace with fork oil and hope they don't leak. I've used that technique on some other seals with success.
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08-20-2022, 10:42 PM	#5
davidt777 Join Date: Aug 2022 Posts: 3	I took the forks apart and removed the seals. They are marked RFX 31x43x10.3. There are several Japanese and Chinese bikes that use the same size. Groms use 31x43x10, so those would probably be okay too. But I noticed another problem. There is a groove on top of the fork tubes for a split bushing. Mine are missing. That might explain some of the clunky-ness when the forks are compressed. The tubes are 31mm and that groove is 30mm. I haven't seen any bushings sold that size. Maybe Grom ones would work, but they are about $50 for a pair and maybe a gamble. By the time I got seals and bushings I'd probably be better off buying a set of forks.
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