I think you get $100 off for pickup if you can swing it--but only after a motorcycle course and a license for you, eagle! :lol:

Vbike includes the cost of shipping in their price, but you would probably have to pay taxes, etc. being an OK resident. But the bonus is, you might be able to get them to assemble it for you, if you can wheel and deal with them!

slight thread jack but i wonder if them rims would go under a lifan lf250b

i new u would say somethin like that lol :mrgreen:

The bike was $ 1699 delivered to my door. It is posted on their site. vbikeusa.com Work your way to street bikes and then to cruiser and the info comes up. The good news is that they answer the phone and do what they say they will.

Today, I stopped at the Honda shop and looked at the Rebel. I was amazed to see the similarities. They have almost identical engine, identical carburetor, identical clutch linkage arm and identical frame for the most part. The Hensim has nicer pipes, much nicer wheels and a nicer gas tank. For half of the money it seems to be a great deal. I will need time to see how it rides and holds up, but if it is like my Hi Bird, I am going to love it.

I changed the oil and started it up today. It started right up and sounded great. I let it idle and revved it gently to warm it up. It is cold and slippery here so it will be a while before I ride. I am anxious to ride. When I have time I will mention a few bugs I found but solved easily.

Welcome to motorcycle cloning--the Chinese are getting better and better at it! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

We hit the mid 30s in Wisconsin today, so I got to ride the Hensim 250. I had to adjust the clutch a bit but, it went well. It stared up fast with a little choke, and I needed to keep the choke on for two miles. Tranny shifted extremely well. I could not get it into neutral easily, but it goes easily when the bike is not running. Engine sounds great and I can not hear any valve noise. The bike is quiet and that is how I like it. Engine power is good, but I kind of wish I had one more gear. I will consider a smaller sprocket on the back. My speedometer is in mph, but it is reading KM. This should be the sending unit on the front wheel, anyone know where I might get the right sending unit?

In general I love the bike, I was real gentle on the engine and I don't have a tack. It does ride much different than my 200 CC Hi Bird.

Sounds like alittle more clutch adjustment may be needed. Also what oil are you using.

Allen

I expect a few might scold me a bit, I currently have 10 W 30 in it. I knew I would only run it long enough to almost get it up to temperature and I would be running it in cool weather. For sure under 50 degrees. I expect to change it at about 10 hours or so. This is high grade regular oil. I do intend to go with 10 W 40 when I change it. What are your thoughts?

Thanks for the reply!

I don't really know much about oil, but the following is pretty much always true..

Any oil is better than no oil. Fresh oil is better than old oil.

Beyond that, this thread might help - http://www.chinariders.net/modules.p...ewtopic&t=4721


On my Lifan when she was new...I warmed it up once w/ the oil it shipped with. Replaced and ran about 50 miles I think, then changed it again. At 500 miles I changed it again. I was planning to change it again around 1500, but she's sat for a bit now, so I'll change it after it warms up the next time I start her up.

Since you should change after about 50 miles anyway that oil will be fine.

Best to look for an oil the does not say "energy conserving" or use a motorcycle rated oil.

It may get easier to find neutral after a few more miles of riding too.

Allen

Thanks Allan, I will look for an oil like that.

After my first real ride on my Hensim 250, I noticed my chrome pipes have a slight gold color right off the engine block, and I was wondering if that is normal? It is quite faint, but I did not know if that meant it is getting too hot. It is only for the first 4 inches. I would send you some pictures but I don't know how to do that yet.

That is normal.... This is a characteristic of single wall chrome pipes. Eventually it may even turn blue.. Most bikes have a chrome tube over the exhaust pipe to keep the discoloration down.. I think the Rebels have dual wall pipes.


Take a look at parallel twins from years past like the triumph bonnevilles and the BSA bikes. All will have a blue or gold or a mixture of both.

Even My 2008 Triumph bonneville has discoloring. It was gold at first and the changed to a chrome blue.
I have my bike running a lot fatter than the factory settings so it isn't from getting hot frome being too lean.

You can Get some polish called "blue be gone" from caswell plating or another called "Blue job." That will take the discoloring off. But I wouldn't even mess with it. Just ride the bike and have a good time.

You'll be polishing it all the time since its single wall anyway....

Just Ride it and think of it as a badge of honor..

Yeah I think that is from the oils in the metal coming out as it heats up? We have some kind of acid here we used to clean it off the exhaust on my truck, but it kept coming back and the fumes are pretty harsh so we stopped trying to win that battle.