Hensim 150DB tales....

2LZ · 03-10-2010, 12:54 PM

Good day, all. New guy here. Per Spuds request, he'd asked me to give some input on our pair of Hensim's so here goes.....and this time after 15 minutes of typing, I won't accidently brush the 'escape' key. :evil:

Late 2008, the wife and I decided that we'd get a pair of little trail bikes for our pop-up camper. Just some "green stickered" trail bikes for fire roads and sight seeing while camping. After searching ebay, craigslist and coming up empty handed, walking in and out of the Japanese brands....in total shock....we found the Hensim's at our local China bike dealer.....and wow...am I glad we did. The price was right in line with what I was looking to spend for a couple little trail bikes, helmets and all.

Of course....they needed all the normal fixes to get them running right. Move the slide needle and adjust the mixture. Readjust everything and check every nut and bolt. Inflate the tires, etc...etc...

I know a year and a half isn't a very long time for a review but we have ridden them quite a bit between camping and our OHV park and I have to say, I don't regret a single penny I've spent on them.

The little typical pushrod China motor has been spunky and flawless. Always start first kick and not a leak or drip. At first I thought I'd NEVER use the 'granny' first gear but after a day on fire roads....I found myself spending the majority of time in first. Being only a 150cc and not having tons of grunt, you put these things in first or second and they'll climb a tree....and I'm 220 pounds.

Another thing I did was take the baffles out, cut off that metal sleeve that wraps the tube full of holes (California only??) and do some magic on the drill press to enlarge all the holes. This definitely spunkerd it up a bit and still allowed it to pass the "California Coat Hanger Test" by Park Rangers. Also, the change in sound was basically unnoticed.

After a good break-in, I changed to oils to Mobil 1 without any trouble with clutch slippage. They also shift smoother now, neutrals are a snap to find and what little mechanical noise that was there, all but vanished. I know there are varying opinions on oils...so of course, use what you like.

I also drained all 4 forks of the original 'water' after break-in and put in some good ol' Bel Ray 10W. I put in spacers on both forks for a little extra spring rate. 1" on hers. 2" on mine. Wow! What a difference between the good oil and spacers! BTW 1/2" Sched 40 pvc pipe is great for this.

One upgrade I wouldn't suggest..... I originally installed the little red foam, Uni double sock filters. Gets dusty here in the summer. Here's the problem I ran across. Let's say your going up a long steep hill and load the bike up (like my friend did on my wife's bike)....and you stall it on the side of the steep hill, (like he did) and gas dribbles back into the filter and when you go to kick start it on the hill (like he did) and it pops back....."POOF!"....that filter...and with seconds...the entire top end of the bike are fully engulfed in flames. Wrapping around the fuel tank and everything. I ran down the hill and slapped it off the bike onto the ground.
End result? The bike was just fine! Those Hensim plastics are incredibly hard to start ablaze.....my hand wasn't so lucky but hey....I heal.
We brought the bikes home and after cleaning all that sticky, gooey Uni rubber off of everything it dripped on, I reinstalled the stock filter box. Both my neighbor and I compared the two bikes with two different filters and we noticed basically zero power difference between the two. Needless to say, both bikes have the stock filters on them now.

One more thing, not only did the plastics seem amazingly hard to start on fire or burn but they come off in seconds. After we get back from getting them muddy, I take the plastics off both and wash them like dishes in my garage sink. Piece-o-cake to clean. Oh....and the hand guards I almost took off when I first saw them?....even when she dumped hers hill climbing, they did their job amazingly well.

Needless to say, I haven't regretted a second of these little guys, so far. I just sold mine to get the larger GY that just got signed off for sale in California (dirt only) but if it wouldn't have popped up, I'd still be quite content on my Hensim.

Hope this answers a few questions.....

03-10-2010, 12:54 PM	#1
2LZ Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Volcano, Ca Posts: 7,085	Hensim 150DB tales.... Good day, all. New guy here. Per Spuds request, he'd asked me to give some input on our pair of Hensim's so here goes.....and this time after 15 minutes of typing, I won't accidently brush the 'escape' key. :evil: Late 2008, the wife and I decided that we'd get a pair of little trail bikes for our pop-up camper. Just some "green stickered" trail bikes for fire roads and sight seeing while camping. After searching ebay, craigslist and coming up empty handed, walking in and out of the Japanese brands....in total shock....we found the Hensim's at our local China bike dealer.....and wow...am I glad we did. The price was right in line with what I was looking to spend for a couple little trail bikes, helmets and all. Of course....they needed all the normal fixes to get them running right. Move the slide needle and adjust the mixture. Readjust everything and check every nut and bolt. Inflate the tires, etc...etc... I know a year and a half isn't a very long time for a review but we have ridden them quite a bit between camping and our OHV park and I have to say, I don't regret a single penny I've spent on them. The little typical pushrod China motor has been spunky and flawless. Always start first kick and not a leak or drip. At first I thought I'd NEVER use the 'granny' first gear but after a day on fire roads....I found myself spending the majority of time in first. Being only a 150cc and not having tons of grunt, you put these things in first or second and they'll climb a tree....and I'm 220 pounds. Another thing I did was take the baffles out, cut off that metal sleeve that wraps the tube full of holes (California only??) and do some magic on the drill press to enlarge all the holes. This definitely spunkerd it up a bit and still allowed it to pass the "California Coat Hanger Test" by Park Rangers. Also, the change in sound was basically unnoticed. After a good break-in, I changed to oils to Mobil 1 without any trouble with clutch slippage. They also shift smoother now, neutrals are a snap to find and what little mechanical noise that was there, all but vanished. I know there are varying opinions on oils...so of course, use what you like. I also drained all 4 forks of the original 'water' after break-in and put in some good ol' Bel Ray 10W. I put in spacers on both forks for a little extra spring rate. 1" on hers. 2" on mine. Wow! What a difference between the good oil and spacers! BTW 1/2" Sched 40 pvc pipe is great for this. One upgrade I wouldn't suggest..... I originally installed the little red foam, Uni double sock filters. Gets dusty here in the summer. Here's the problem I ran across. Let's say your going up a long steep hill and load the bike up (like my friend did on my wife's bike)....and you stall it on the side of the steep hill, (like he did) and gas dribbles back into the filter and when you go to kick start it on the hill (like he did) and it pops back....."POOF!"....that filter...and with seconds...the entire top end of the bike are fully engulfed in flames. Wrapping around the fuel tank and everything. I ran down the hill and slapped it off the bike onto the ground. End result? The bike was just fine! Those Hensim plastics are incredibly hard to start ablaze.....my hand wasn't so lucky but hey....I heal. We brought the bikes home and after cleaning all that sticky, gooey Uni rubber off of everything it dripped on, I reinstalled the stock filter box. Both my neighbor and I compared the two bikes with two different filters and we noticed basically zero power difference between the two. Needless to say, both bikes have the stock filters on them now. One more thing, not only did the plastics seem amazingly hard to start on fire or burn but they come off in seconds. After we get back from getting them muddy, I take the plastics off both and wash them like dishes in my garage sink. Piece-o-cake to clean. Oh....and the hand guards I almost took off when I first saw them?....even when she dumped hers hill climbing, they did their job amazingly well. Needless to say, I haven't regretted a second of these little guys, so far. I just sold mine to get the larger GY that just got signed off for sale in California (dirt only) but if it wouldn't have popped up, I'd still be quite content on my Hensim. Hope this answers a few questions.....
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