Bolt, Flange (8mmX140)
and
Bolt, Flange (8mmX110)

When I bought my Hellcat last Dec. there were two replacement engine bolts in a pouch taped to the outside of the crate with no instructions, it just said "parts". Initially I had no idea what they were for, but I later figured out they had to be engine bolts cause there was nothing else they could be for. Two grade 8 bolts with zinc or cad plating and nylock nuts. I still dont know if the dealer or the manufacturer put them there. Since they were SAE grade 8 it leaves me to believe the dealer put them there. Anyway,someone knew there was an issue with the stock bolts.

Well that's good news Hellkitty, at least some Dealers are reacting .Sadly I did not receive that same Care Package from who I purchased my bike from . It's a shame the issue is so widely known and experienced to the point that it is now "common knowledge" that you just need to plan on replacing them as part of your purchase ,and apparently the powers that be feel that they are okay with that . It just doesn't make any sense to me, even in the "It's a China bike" context. Upgrading two key bolts to acceptable ones just isnt a lot of money to a Manufacturer who would buy in bulk and the known issues have been reduced to so few that to address them and put out a trouble free Bike just isn't that far away cost wise and I'm sure everyone would gladly pay an addtl $25 or so on the front end to have them dealt with by the Factory and be done with it ,why they have seemingly made the decision to keep cranking out bikes with engine mount bolts that WILL fail is just baffling to me , but what ever lol.

Use Zinc Coated (for corrosion protection) Class 10.9 or better yet Class 12.9 bolts.

Class 10.9 is the grade 8 equivalent. Class 12.9 is even stronger.

Fastenal carries them. Should be less than $5 a bolt.

Finally got some time to work on this. Sorry I didn't take as many pics as I shouldve. The grom bolts were bigger than the crappy little one Jiangsu used. So, I drilled out the hole to accept the bigger bolt. Yes it was a pita.
I can see why they use the smaller bolt though. The weld from the swingarm bushing area doesn't give much space for wide (shoulder) bolt or nut. In fact you can't even get the bolt/nut in there with the swingarm on.

https://image.ibb.co/ceOsTU/IMAG6955.jpg

I used my jack to slightly get it out of the way enough to get my nut on. I used a hobby knife to trim the chain rubber a bit, just to make sure it didn't bind.

Again sorry I didn't take more pics. Here's my nice big bolt installed after alot of smack talking,...

https://image.ibb.co/gJwqF9/IMAG6957.jpg

Much more 'solid' feel to the bike. Buzzier in the foot pegs as well. What's next,....

What size bolts did you put in?

Whatever comes stock on the grom. The package didn't have the size on it, just the Honda part #. I'll post a comparison pic,....

Oh you put in Oem grom bolts. Ya they are not the right size. 10mm

I still have my shock mounting bolts in, they have been ok i just put lock tight on them. I have replacements 8mm bolt for them but waiting to see if/till the stock break first.

I also have Oem Grom bolts here as i bough them first then found out they don't fit.

What bolts didnyou.end up with?

These are the engine bolts needed?

I've been riding and that's about it lately. Did have a run in with a lady's bumper a couple weeks back. Been meaning to post but keep forgetting:

Was filtering through traffic and the left hand lane was wide open to the light while the right lane was packed. Putt putting my way up to the light, I should have seen this coming, a lady decides she wants my lane. Bumper meet hip and knee armor. 'Hi, nice to meet you' Craaack! Luckily it was one of those soft flexy bumpers. Maybe it was a lexus, not sure.

I held onto the bike and kind of laid up on her hood, then rolled back down and realized I could keep my balance. Heavy swerve left, then right and I kept going. I guess I really didnt think about it at the time. I split to the front and bailed as soon as I got the green light.

My knee armor really did save my leg from getting squished between the bike and the car. My hip was a tiny sore but all n all I was grateful to Jesus that it wasn't worse. Bike was ok. Nothing at all to remember the incident,...

Lesson is, if you're ever next to a packed lane of cars, and your lane is open, be extra cautious of them wanting your space to zip to the front!

Everyone rags on me for wearing my MX elbow guards and shin/knee guards on street rides but i do it anyways, I learned a long time ago how much damage they can prevent ,and todays cage drivers are worse than ever, what with the cell phone talking, texting, watching movies while driving.

Yea, I don't care either. I always wear my elbow and knee guards if I'm going somewhere. Too much can go wrong too easily and I'd rather keep my knee, elbow, skin etc
http://gstwins.com/gsboard/Smileys/N...le/thumbup.gif

Update,... . . not much new. Been riding about everyday back n forth to work. Got caught in second rain downpour yesterday and Vader ran just as well. Stock tires are a little slippery in heavy rain. Other than that, not much changed. Still great little bike and lane splitting wonder!

Update,.... lately I've been having trouble with second gear. Either it won't go into second or coming down from third it'll skip right into neutral. Really annoying and in Houston traffic, dangerous. It isn't every time, maybe 4 out of ten times shifting. I'm at 542 miles and counting. Will change the oil and see if it helps. I'd adjusted my clutch a few weeks back and shifting was really good. Annoying to start having issues,....

Lol I hear you on the Houston traffic issue. That's why I stay around my side of town. I don't want to take mine anywhere near a feeder or highway.

For your clutch issue... Check the cable. Make sure it hasn't stretched out for whatever reason. Also if you open up the engine, check the clutch basket assembly thing. On the Honda Groms, people upgrade the springs to say the Hayabusa springs and stuff like that. Maybe something wore out or is busted.

When you change the oil, check for any metal particles/stuff in the oil.

Adjusted my clutch lever and seemed to help. Still every now and then the same thing,...annoying.

My tail light about fell off this morning. I heard some rattling and it's just kind of hanging in the tail fairing. Locktite and lockwashers are your friends on these bikes for sure!https://www.motohouston.com/forums/i...es/roflmao.gif

wlfpck, maybe with a 190cc swap but no freeway for me either lol. I think the typical Houston 5 oclock traffic isn't too bad, because everybody is stopped! I lane split most of my ride home. https://www.motohouston.com/forums/i...es/toothy9.gif

https://image.ibb.co/fQ6uie/IMAG7161.jpg
waiting at the gym this morning and took a pic :P

Went to leave this morning and gas gauge was blinking at me. I could hear gas swishing around in tank and I knew I could make it to the gas station but it wouldn't fire up.
Starter turned it over and over and I know the carbs had gas in them but it wasn't happening, like no fire. Anybody else experienced this?
I don't see why they'd make you have a no start condition if the gas gauge showed too low. Lame,....rode bicycle to work:shrug:



watch ill go home and kill switch'll be on:doh:

I was just gonna say " check the kill switch" lol.

(no start - gas light blinking low, kill switch off)
https://youtu.be/D8yT5id00JI

(start after filling)
https://youtu.be/6PmKuXwGbN0

Went home and tested my presumption. Really I think this is a stoooo-ooopid design. I guess if your'e low on gas, don't turn it off until you get to the gas station!:shrug: I know it had gas in it, could hear it swishing around tank and carb had gas in it.

That's crazy if it's true, i was going to say maybe the gas was so low it was below the outlet and that was the issue but if the carb had gas in it-

Lowest i have run mine is one bar, have never seen the low gas flash yet, guess i know now not to let it happen or don't turn it off til i hit a station if it ever does.

I would say it was just out of Gas. Even if there is a little gas in the tank it's probably not feeding to the carb, To low.

Flashing like that is out of gas. I always fill back up on two bars.

I've had my fuel gauge flashing before and it still started but it was right when it started flashing

Maybe I'm wrong. It just seemed that way to me with gas in the tank swishing around. Either way I'm going to try and keep my level up.
Onto something else https://www.motohouston.com/forums/i...ies/happy7.gif Want to replace my crappy fuel lines and have a Molkt carb I want to give a shot, so going to see how that goes

i have gotten to the point i don't even use a fuel filter anymore on these 125cc.

https://image.ibb.co/cUf2Yp/IMAG7186.jpg

messed around with swapping molkt last night but didnt finish,... hopefully get some time tonight to wrap it up and tune it

Got Molkt on and really good over the weekend and seemed really good with 120. This morning coming in to work was acting funky and pop (losing power) at higher rpms. :ohno:

Not cold natured at all anymore, as it was ready to go with non choke this morning. Mikuni and 115 had me waiting two or three minutes to warm up and get going.

I'll ride it a bit and check plug to see how it looks,...

https://image.ibb.co/n8RTBL/IMAG7199.jpg

Plug looking a little rich but not bad yesterday when I checked and changed oil at 700 miles. Took off the outer air filter but still have a blip of power loss at 55mph. This has been ongoing and trying to figure out what it is. Runs good up until around 45mph and then when you hold the throttle, it'll >blip< miss, >blip< miss. That's only way I can think to describe it. If you keep on opening the throttle it's good until you max out and then >blip< miss, >blip< miss again. Maybe try a different coil.

2nd gear is pissing me off more and more. Shift from first to second gets neutral, reshift and sometimes reshift again before getting to second. flaming >:( irritating. Going to order a 190 swap if I can't figure get it work like it's supposed to,....

Was having some glub glub, stall issues and played around with settings. Finally, set needle on second from the top slot and it's running good. Beat my record of 58mph this morning! The big 60mph!:clap:


Also second gear was my shifter bolt loosening up.:doh: Put too much slop in it and giving me a headache. Tightened it up and aces!

Most everyone runs the carb pointed front wise , but just to throw it out there :
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Carburetor-...WvZ1:rk:6:pf:0


This lets you turn the carb for a more traditional backwards pointing position or even slanted backwards or side exit ,I have seen many side mounted like say how a Harley Sportster is done. The one in the above link is red anodized but if you poke around on EBay you can find them in a variety of colors.

I put that coil/cdi upgrade you advised me to get on there redcrow. Deleted the fuel filter too. No sputtering though all I did this morning was 53mph.
The carb spinner I bought also but haven't put it on.
Typically I don't do more than 45 and I don't even drive that far to gym work and home again but if I 'want' to do 60, I want to do 60, not worry about missing, sputtering bs. :tup:
https://image.ibb.co/kVK6V0/IMAG7318.jpg

Glad you got it tuned out to how you wanted it ! I know it can be aggravating but once you get it right, it's not hard to maintain ,carbs don't require near the maintenance once tuned people seem to think they do.



there is a certain aspect of "black magic" to them at first but once you get it figured out ,then it's all good. I suspect that raising that clip up one notch was all it needed all along ,moreso than changing jet sizes but if it makes you feel any better- I've done the same on more than one bike ,changing jets and only later moving the clip , it can be a slow process between jet sizes, fuel/air ratio mixture adjustment ,even throttle cable adjustment at bars etc ,and once I even did all i could think of , then found out i had a bad plug that had a hairline crack in the ceramic that was causing all the issues- another time it was a bad spark plug wire boot .

Which coil/cdi did you get?

https://image.ibb.co/gmXKcq/10.jpg

redcrow sent me a link to
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Ignition-Co...72.m2749.l2649

So far been great. I didn't use the plug since I had an ngk already.

Seems to be a crunchy bearing sound starting from around the front sprocket. Funny cause everything has been dialed in nicely. Was thinking to get some new tires and this noise starts creeping in. I haven't taken off the cover to look at it yet so we'll see what I find later. 'where's that z190 link,....':ohno:

(finds it)
https://pitsterpro.com/index.php?rou...&product_id=79


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took off cover and ssprocket looked ok. On the stand in first and second it doesn't make the noise at all. I think it might be front wheel bearing. I'll check later this evening.
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spun front wheel around but seems tight and quiet. I'm not sure wth this sound is. I'll try making a recording and post it. :hmm:

Had this creaky, plastic, hollow strange sound from the front for awhile and went ahead and did the wheel bearings, thinking there isn't any other moving part it could be. I ordered Grom bearings on the fly, hoping they'd fit. Luckily the bearings fit. Seal on one side fit but on the speed pickup side, not so much. My old one was in good shape so I reused it.

https://i.ibb.co/7NJyqVf/IMAG7594.jpg
Never used this style front stand before though I've had it for years. Worked ok but I like the understem stand better.

https://i.ibb.co/1mCjcXk/IMAG7595.jpg
Craptastic bearings out

https://i.ibb.co/47qQM9t/IMAG7596.jpg
All balls replacements. So this kit works but again, you'll need a bigger seal on the speedpickup side and end up with two extra seals, but the bearings are smooth and bring a smile to my face, not hearing that weird sound anymore.;)

I would check the rear wheel bearings too. They may be fine, but in my experience if one set of wheel bearings is starting to go out, the other set are often not too far behind. Better safe than sorry.

I see you have got it all sorted out , but just as a footnote-

Keep a sharp eye on chain tension, especially on a Vader ,doubled down if you are running the stock chain. The stock chain just stretches faster than anything I've ever seen ,and for whatever reasons the Vader seems sensitive to almost any slop in the chain and you will get strange noises from the front sprocket cover area, which will be even more sensitive if you have gone up to the 17 toof front cog.

I actually installed a dirt bike style spring loaded tensioner to help with the issue in between actual chain adjustments which helped tremendously on cutting down chain slap and noise.

Thanks for tips redcrow! I did have my chain loosening up on me and making me >:(. Solved my problem with extra lockwashers on the adjusters. So far been ok.