Rhino 250???

[2LZ]

Once I got it unboxed, I pulled all the parts out that were roped to the quad. I found only one damaged part, the plastic front rack cover. I've already contacted Superior this morning with pic, in hopes of getting it resolved. I'll trim this one up with a Dremel, just in case.

Overall, I was impressed....even though they have perfectly square tires in China. I was able to coerce them into "round" by increasing the atmosphere between the tire and rim.

The welds have seemed to improve over the last decade and mechanically, it seemed very sound. Of course, the venerable 167FMM pushrod Hondoid motor I'm sure will prove itself to be bullet proof, as always. The frame was much beefier than I was expecting as well. Of course, the shocks are garbage....but at least they're adjustable garbage. I was expecting the little 428 chain on it but it seems they've upgraded it...or the 250D always had this size, I'm not sure which. Also, the fact the rear brake line is braided was an unexpected bonus.

Fret not, once I got past the basic mechanical stuff, some of the old China Bike plagues showed up as I assembled. First, the upper ball joints were mounted in a rocked position so I straightened those. No big deal. I'm used to their overall lack of attention to detail. As usual, some of the predrilled holes in ends of things didn't thread in straight, forcing one to either cross thread your bolt or hog a hole with a drill. I chose the latter. The rear front rack mounts were a B%$CH! That took multiple hogs to get the bolt angles correct to thread easily....and you want everything to thread easily as we all know, China bolts are made of an easily strippable metal substitute. (kind of like Velveeta to real cheese)

On to the body plastics. Same old stuff, though the green camo was nicer than I expected. Bottom line, keep the drill handy. I promise you, especially in 28' weather, the foot bucket holes will not even come close to lining up. What's one of the things that makes the Rhino different from the 250D? The cool plastic hips on the fenders. Those cool hips also make one more layer of holes that don't line up.

Last but not least, the DVD they send wouldn't play on anything I own....but i only had a question or two anyway.

I'm not done assembling yet. Night fell and I ran out of propane for my little bottle mount heater that kept me from breathing steam.

Two things:
One- Does anyone know what rear wheel spacers work on these? 4X110?? I'll need to measure. The quad looks like a crab standing there. Must fix that.
Two- Does anyone know what lower shock mount the front shocks go on? I have it on the bottom holes right now. I'd refer to my DVD but you know that story.

[2LZ]

Here's three more.
The front bumper mounting brackets were tossed on from across the room and didn't line up correctly. In order to get the front bumper to mount inline with the quad and grill, I gently adjusted the left mount with a large hammer and mounted the bumper bracket on the inside, and also added a nut/spacer with longer bolt to the right mount. It was too far out to delicately adjust with the ball peen. The bumper now mounts perfectly centered and that's all that matters, right?
Also, you wouldn't believe how long it took to mount that foot bucket.....but it eventually turned out fine....regardless of the holes they pre-drilled. See how the one on the left side lines up that I have yet to mount.

[FLASHLIGHTBOY]

It is nice to see that use a good large hole saw to make a access hole... look good. as far as the bumper mount brackets ,... yes you have to use a hammer sometimes to make it fit... I do not think they even know what it fits.. some one makes them not see ing the machine... that part they do not put on the factory when they assemble them before they take them apart for shipping out..
tires look funny shipped square.. I was told the use a vacuum to get all the air out... I think you have the shocks right.. WELDGRIND might know what are better shocks as he has played around with shocks before.. your screws on the carbs are the EPA screws.. the bolt end is broke off so you have to drill them out to take the carb apart.. have fun .. best to do that when you have time.. enjoy your new ride,...

[Weldangrind]

At least they're consistent with manufacturing tolerances.

Good idea about adding atmosphere between the rim and tire. I might've clunked along on square tires for awhile until I thought of that.

X2 on replacing the carb screws now, before it's full of fuel.

The front shock placement will depend on bumpsteer. The upper mount will push the wheel down and provide more ground clearance, but it might be into bumpsteer territory. Remove one front shock, place the front of the frame on a jack stand and cycle the control arms up and down (with the wheel on and the bars pointing straight ahead). Does the wheel remain parallel to the quad throughout the entire range?

[2LZ]

Originally Posted by Weldangrind

At least they're consistent with manufacturing tolerances.

Good idea about adding atmosphere between the rim and tire. I might've clunked along on square tires for awhile until I thought of that.

X2 on replacing the carb screws now, before it's full of fuel.

The front shock placement will depend on bumpsteer. The upper mount will push the wheel down and provide more ground clearance, but it might be into bumpsteer territory. Remove one front shock, place the front of the frame on a jack stand and cycle the control arms up and down (with the wheel on and the bars pointing straight ahead). Does the wheel remain parallel to the quad throughout the entire range?

Hey Weld! I'll do that with the front end and see what happens. I was amazed at how the tie rods followed the control arms...then I saw they started mounting the inner tie rod ends on the top side like the bumpsteer fix! I'm not in a huge hurry to assemble so I think I'll do the carb screws now, plus the valves. Every Hondoid I've had, the valves came WAY too tight. I may need your 'heads up' on the Mikuni you like to run. Have a link? I'm also going to check out the air box setup and maybe go with a pod filter. I have a new FMF Turbine Core II arrestor on the shelf also....and it's tempting. I want to hear how this one sounds first. If I do the carb, breather and TC II, I'll need to rejet.

[Weldangrind]

Here's a 30mm Mikuni in CA; you can save a couple of dollars if you order one from China: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mikuni-VM26-...dVza7j&vxp=mtr

This is my favourite pod: http://www.ebay.com/itm/BLACK-42mm-B...FUi8Cu&vxp=mtr

If your airbox has a quality filter setup, you could cut some bulk Uni foam and use that. I've yet to see a decent setup in a Hondoid, so I just use a pod.

Good call on the valves.

[Weldangrind]

BTW, if you have a pumper carb, try to use it. If it is a typical Keihin clone that most of us are familiar with, the Mikuni will be a good fit.

[2LZ]

Originally Posted by Weldangrind

BTW, if you have a pumper carb, try to use it. If it is a typical Keihin clone that most of us are familiar with, the Mikuni will be a good fit.

It's a PZ27 that's actually made in Japan! I was kind of surprised.

All done!...(for now). I did adjust the valves. The intake was fine but the exhaust was way too tight, as expected. I argued with myself relentlessly over this but I opted not to take the carb off at this point and see how it ran first. These are jetted lean but I am at 3000 feet. I can fire it with just a touch of choke and it idles really well, so I may be ok. It ended up running pretty good! Plus, 2" rear wheel spacers are on the way already.

I was shocked to see an actual pet cock and also, an inline fuel filter, stock. Of course, the rear axle/chain needed to be aligned as also, the front end. I measured the camber and the left was off a bit but close. Easily adjustable. Also, I aligned the bars when I set the toe. I trimmed off the rim of the damaged front rack plastic cover. It turned out ok. I may end up just taking the covers off as the buzz at certain RPM's, especially the rear.

Speaking of rear, the rear rack was all butimpossibble to mount straight. I'm getting closer but I'll mess with it more later.

I can say this Tao Tao Rhino is "perfectly Chinese". Mechanically, it's well-built. It's all the add-ons and bolt-ons where the trouble happens....all the way down to getting the seat to click into place. After a little "reformatting", I got it to go.

[Weldangrind]

Despite the fit and finish issues, I like your quad better than my '08 Gio.

What do you want wheel spacers on the rear?

[2LZ]

Originally Posted by Weldangrind

Despite the fit and finish issues, I like your quad better than my '08 Gio.

What do you want wheel spacers on the rear?

I knew the rear wheels had a more narrow stance than the front wheels but wow.....it's a substantial difference, as you can see in the pic with the headlights on. Other than appearance, getting a wider stance on the rear end will also help stability sidehilling across our back slope. Straight up and down the hill is always safest, but not always an option.

[Weldangrind]

Ah. I wasn't sure what the motivation would be. I normally ride on trails, and there isn't a lot of sidehilling.

[2LZ]

Originally Posted by Weldangrind

Ah. I wasn't sure what the motivation would be. I normally ride on trails, and there isn't a lot of sidehilling.

Thanks to your sage advise, Weld, I just pulled the trigger on the Mikuni and a pod filter this morning. I buzzed it around last night and it does run good but it's really choked up. I don't know if it's C.A.R.B restrictions or what . My 163FML in my X-moto that I rejetted and put the FMF TCII on would slaughter it. Time to let some of the power out....

I also found out last night that the headlights are "for appearance purposes only". I don't think they're good enough to make it to my neighbors and back. Time for a small LED light bar.
EDIT: Just ordered a pair of LED lights. Really need to stay off of Amazon.....

[Weldangrind]

I'd be inclined to get rid of all of the incandescent bulbs on the quad. The stator can only put out so much, and the coil, conventional headlights and battery make that a challenge.

[2LZ]

Originally Posted by Weldangrind

I'd be inclined to get rid of all of the incandescent bulbs on the quad. The stator can only put out so much, and the coil, conventional headlights and battery make that a challenge.

Great! More to order.... Thanks a lot! ;-) I wonder what LED bulbs it takes? I'll have to check that out tonight.

[funonemax]

So many questions for you...

My friend has one of these, labeled a 250cc (but i am suspicious) and it seems to be the same TaoTao that you have. PZ27 carb (does not hold an idle until warmed up)

The two things that I would like to do to it is replace the front suspension and get spacers for the rear wheels.

Can you tell me where you got the spacers from ? Do you have an ebay link or Amazon link? Following her around on the motorcycle, it seems that she is a bit unstable in the twisty trails.

I put it together for her, and unlike so many other people that I have read about, this did not need a chain/sprocket alignment. Wondering if she needs taller tires? I would like to start with the front suspension first and then assess afterwards.

Do people convert the thumb throttle to a twist grip like a motorcycle? I think a joker 1/4 turn throttle would feel great on this thing. Looking forward to seeing what else you do to it.