Stock Hellcat - What needs changed?

SleepyC · 06-12-2019, 11:24 AM

Been reading threads for a long time here and finally bought a Hellcat the other day. Should be here in the next few days. I own a ton of motorcycles (Super Tenere 1200, Husky TE610, Buddy 125, Vespa P200, Honda 900rr etc ect) and wrench on them quite a bit. So working on the bike is nothing new to me.
I have ordered Grom axels and swing arm bolt, and two new motor mount bolts.

Besides that I want to keep this bike stock and reliable. More or less a beer run machine and an event pit bike.

Besides going over every nut and bolt with loctite and changing the above mentioned bolts, are there any other modifications I need to do to keep this think running smoothly? It seems a lot of guy are doing performance mods which is cool, but not what I want to do. Can the included Carb run fine?

Thanks in advance.
SC

SilverBullet51 · 06-12-2019, 11:53 AM

Sounds like you have a good start. My bike runs good on the stock carb. Everything is stock on it besides the 17t sprocket I added. Even for putting around and beer runs I'd probably still change out the sprocket. (It makes 1st gear useful.) I use my bike on a lot of 55mph country roads, where I need to be able to cruise for awhile at a decent speed. If I used it more in town I'd probably go with the 16t sprocket I have.

flhellcat · 06-12-2019, 12:11 PM

I purchased 2 Hellcats a few months ago and have them running pretty well all stock.

One carburetor required cleaning to take the bog out.

The plastics are very brittle. Look for a post of mine about using nylon washers.

Have about 150 km or so on each. Valve lash check on the to do list.

Also seems these get better as they break in.

Generally very pleased, especially for the money.

RedCrowRides · 06-12-2019, 01:42 PM

These Grom clones really do pickup after 300 - 500 mile break in period ,the difference is really noticeable. I'm not a fan of the stock carb but yes they can be made to be reliable and run okay , mine ran fine out of the box with the stock carb ,it just ran even better after changing it, but it's all personal preference.

The valve lash I suspect is the actual culprit behind many perceived " carb issues "
I have seen them all over the spectrum from the factory. All in all i love mine, wouldn't get rid of it for the world way too much fun per dollar.

SleepyC · 06-12-2019, 02:49 PM

Thanks guys, this is what I wanted to hear.

Hellkitty · 06-13-2019, 12:02 AM

I've had my Hellcat for about a year and a half now and I really like it. The dealer supplied me with new engine bolts and hearing about the rear axle being weak I decided I would change it , and then I learned that the swing arm bolt was the same part so I bought two and replace that too. The engine bolts are easier to get at with the swing arm removed so I did it all at the same time.

Like you, I was more interested in reliability than performance but I did replace the carb since I had one already, and I put an aftermarket performance muffler on it just because I hated the heavy boat anchor it came with. I still have the stock sprockets since I use mine mostly for trail riding and I like having that low first gear, if I was using it mostly for street riding I would definitely go with taller gears. I also installed Maxxis dual sport tires, and Grom chain adjusters (they are a little better than the stock ones but not that great). I also remove most of the plastic and installed a replica Honda z50 fuel tank on it just because I wanted to make it look like a Monkey bike. Check out my gallery to see pictures of it if you like.

SleepyC · 06-13-2019, 10:52 AM

So I'm searching and searching and i can't find the oil capacity of the Hellcat?

SAE 15W-40? Or ??
And I'm assuming like 1 QT? (most scooter motors of this size take 1 QT)

ALSO.. Is this the correct plug? NGK C7HSA

culcune · 06-13-2019, 12:03 PM

15W-40 is the standard around here. They should have how much oil and type of spark plug on the manufacturer's plate riveted to the bike.

flhellcat · 06-13-2019, 12:50 PM

Mine took a little under a quart and I've replaced factory plugs with NGK C7HSA.

Another problem I had on one was the inlet to airbox was blocked where the crankcase vent tube attaches causing crankcase pressure. I just drilled it out.

RedCrowRides · 06-13-2019, 06:22 PM

Ah , one thing we did overlook was changing the stock fuel lines. the chinese "rubber" lines they use do not tolerate the ethanol in almost all of our gas here in the US well at all, and will start to break down and "flake"off from the inside.,potentially clogging the inline filter or worse making it past and into the carb jet orifices .

I'd definitely replace the stock fuel lines between the tank and the carb with a good high quality 3/16" silicone fuel line, can get it at most any autoparts store ,etc.

SleepyC · 06-13-2019, 06:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedCrowRides

Ah , one thing we did overlook was changing the stock fuel lines. the chinese "rubber" lines they use do not tolerate the ethanol in almost all of our gas here in the US well at all, and will start to break down and "flake"off from the inside.,potentially clogging the inline filter or worse making it past and into the carb jet orifices .

I'd definitely replace the stock fuel lines between the tank and the carb with a good high quality 3/16" silicone fuel line, can get it at most any autoparts store ,etc.

Excellent advice. I totally spaced on even considering that.
🤘✊🏼

flhellcat · 06-13-2019, 07:03 PM

I run all my small engines on no ethanol fuel. Hellcat's no exception and they seem to like it so far. I learned the hard way unfortunately and I'm lucky enough to have it available very close to me.

I should probably change the lines regardless. The stock do seem like junk.

RedCrowRides · 06-14-2019, 10:50 AM

There is only one Ethanol free station anywhere near me, and man are they proud of it ( it's costly heh ,good thing we get close to 100 miles per gallon ) and I run it when I can, but I've got "caught" out riding and needing gas and had to use Ethanol added gas .It really is murder on the whatever it is they make their fuel lines out of so i changed mine out to silicone based ASAP , it was cheap and i was able to get some cool see thru blue line that matched my bikes overall color scheme ( black with blue trim /accessories)so there was that too lol!

SleepyC · 06-14-2019, 06:34 PM

So got the hellcat and assembled it today. Everything went pretty smooth. Loctighted everything, changed out bolts. Set it up, changed oil, added fuel and it started right up. It idles great. Runs pretty well, but is truly under whelming. The overall build quality is pretty low as well. But I guess I expected this for $1000.

The only thing not working for me is the speedometer. The rpms, gear selector, clock fuel gauge all work, but no speedo.. wondering if something is wrong in the hub? It went together fairly smoothly. Any thing I'm missing in regard to the front wheel hub?

RedCrowRides · 06-14-2019, 08:48 PM

It's really easy to put the speed sensor and the little plastic spacer inside the front wheel in wrong ,and it won't work. Check YouTube for Venom Motorsports channel, they have a real clear step by step video on how to install it and they show the proper orientation and all that., that will probably clear it up .If it doesn't, you will have to chase the wiring down and see if it's a bad connection / not plugged into a connector all the way .

And don't be too hard on the lack of power ,they pep up a good bit even stock at about 300 - 500 miles when everything really seats in good ,and a carb and pipe will wake it up even more for a total of about 150$

06-12-2019, 11:24 AM	#1
SleepyC Join Date: Jun 2019 Posts: 16	Stock Hellcat - What needs changed? Been reading threads for a long time here and finally bought a Hellcat the other day. Should be here in the next few days. I own a ton of motorcycles (Super Tenere 1200, Husky TE610, Buddy 125, Vespa P200, Honda 900rr etc ect) and wrench on them quite a bit. So working on the bike is nothing new to me. I have ordered Grom axels and swing arm bolt, and two new motor mount bolts. Besides that I want to keep this bike stock and reliable. More or less a beer run machine and an event pit bike. Besides going over every nut and bolt with loctite and changing the above mentioned bolts, are there any other modifications I need to do to keep this think running smoothly? It seems a lot of guy are doing performance mods which is cool, but not what I want to do. Can the included Carb run fine? Thanks in advance. SC
	2

06-12-2019, 01:42 PM	#4
RedCrowRides Join Date: Jun 2018 Location: Florida Posts: 759	These Grom clones really do pickup after 300 - 500 mile break in period ,the difference is really noticeable. I'm not a fan of the stock carb but yes they can be made to be reliable and run okay , mine ran fine out of the box with the stock carb ,it just ran even better after changing it, but it's all personal preference. The valve lash I suspect is the actual culprit behind many perceived " carb issues " I have seen them all over the spectrum from the factory. All in all i love mine, wouldn't get rid of it for the world way too much fun per dollar. __________________ 2001 Mustang GT 2004 Sportster 2018 VADER 2020 Orion RXB250L
	4

06-13-2019, 12:03 PM	#8
culcune Join Date: May 2006 Location: Yuma, Arizona Posts: 9,035	15W-40 is the standard around here. They should have how much oil and type of spark plug on the manufacturer's plate riveted to the bike. __________________ "They say that life's a carousel, spinning fast you got to ride it well..." TGB Delivery Scooter 150 TMEC 200 Enduro--carcass is sadly rotting in the backyard
	1

06-13-2019, 06:22 PM	#10
RedCrowRides Join Date: Jun 2018 Location: Florida Posts: 759	Ah , one thing we did overlook was changing the stock fuel lines. the chinese "rubber" lines they use do not tolerate the ethanol in almost all of our gas here in the US well at all, and will start to break down and "flake"off from the inside.,potentially clogging the inline filter or worse making it past and into the carb jet orifices . I'd definitely replace the stock fuel lines between the tank and the carb with a good high quality 3/16" silicone fuel line, can get it at most any autoparts store ,etc. __________________ 2001 Mustang GT 2004 Sportster 2018 VADER 2020 Orion RXB250L
	2

06-14-2019, 10:50 AM	#13
RedCrowRides Join Date: Jun 2018 Location: Florida Posts: 759	There is only one Ethanol free station anywhere near me, and man are they proud of it ( it's costly heh ,good thing we get close to 100 miles per gallon ) and I run it when I can, but I've got "caught" out riding and needing gas and had to use Ethanol added gas .It really is murder on the whatever it is they make their fuel lines out of so i changed mine out to silicone based ASAP , it was cheap and i was able to get some cool see thru blue line that matched my bikes overall color scheme ( black with blue trim /accessories)so there was that too lol! __________________ 2001 Mustang GT 2004 Sportster 2018 VADER 2020 Orion RXB250L
	1

06-12-2019, 11:53 AM	#2
SilverBullet51 Join Date: Apr 2017 Location: Plainwell, MI Posts: 60	Sounds like you have a good start. My bike runs good on the stock carb. Everything is stock on it besides the 17t sprocket I added. Even for putting around and beer runs I'd probably still change out the sprocket. (It makes 1st gear useful.) I use my bike on a lot of 55mph country roads, where I need to be able to cruise for awhile at a decent speed. If I used it more in town I'd probably go with the 16t sprocket I have.
	3

06-12-2019, 12:11 PM	#3
flhellcat Join Date: Mar 2019 Posts: 45	I purchased 2 Hellcats a few months ago and have them running pretty well all stock. One carburetor required cleaning to take the bog out. The plastics are very brittle. Look for a post of mine about using nylon washers. Have about 150 km or so on each. Valve lash check on the to do list. Also seems these get better as they break in. Generally very pleased, especially for the money.
	4

06-12-2019, 02:49 PM	#5
SleepyC Join Date: Jun 2019 Posts: 16	Thanks guys, this is what I wanted to hear.
	1

06-13-2019, 12:02 AM	#6
Hellkitty Join Date: Dec 2017 Posts: 216	I've had my Hellcat for about a year and a half now and I really like it. The dealer supplied me with new engine bolts and hearing about the rear axle being weak I decided I would change it , and then I learned that the swing arm bolt was the same part so I bought two and replace that too. The engine bolts are easier to get at with the swing arm removed so I did it all at the same time. Like you, I was more interested in reliability than performance but I did replace the carb since I had one already, and I put an aftermarket performance muffler on it just because I hated the heavy boat anchor it came with. I still have the stock sprockets since I use mine mostly for trail riding and I like having that low first gear, if I was using it mostly for street riding I would definitely go with taller gears. I also installed Maxxis dual sport tires, and Grom chain adjusters (they are a little better than the stock ones but not that great). I also remove most of the plastic and installed a replica Honda z50 fuel tank on it just because I wanted to make it look like a Monkey bike. Check out my gallery to see pictures of it if you like.
	4

06-13-2019, 10:52 AM	#7
SleepyC Join Date: Jun 2019 Posts: 16	So I'm searching and searching and i can't find the oil capacity of the Hellcat? SAE 15W-40? Or ?? And I'm assuming like 1 QT? (most scooter motors of this size take 1 QT) ALSO.. Is this the correct plug? NGK C7HSA
	0

06-13-2019, 12:50 PM	#9
flhellcat Join Date: Mar 2019 Posts: 45	Mine took a little under a quart and I've replaced factory plugs with NGK C7HSA. Another problem I had on one was the inlet to airbox was blocked where the crankcase vent tube attaches causing crankcase pressure. I just drilled it out.
	1

06-13-2019, 07:03 PM	#12
flhellcat Join Date: Mar 2019 Posts: 45	I run all my small engines on no ethanol fuel. Hellcat's no exception and they seem to like it so far. I learned the hard way unfortunately and I'm lucky enough to have it available very close to me. I should probably change the lines regardless. The stock do seem like junk.
	1

06-14-2019, 08:48 PM	#15
RedCrowRides Join Date: Jun 2018 Location: Florida Posts: 759	It's really easy to put the speed sensor and the little plastic spacer inside the front wheel in wrong ,and it won't work. Check YouTube for Venom Motorsports channel, they have a real clear step by step video on how to install it and they show the proper orientation and all that., that will probably clear it up .If it doesn't, you will have to chase the wiring down and see if it's a bad connection / not plugged into a connector all the way . And don't be too hard on the lack of power ,they pep up a good bit even stock at about 300 - 500 miles when everything really seats in good ,and a carb and pipe will wake it up even more for a total of about 150$ __________________ 2001 Mustang GT 2004 Sportster 2018 VADER 2020 Orion RXB250L
	0