Apollo ADX-250 upgrade questions
 

Hi all, just purchased a 2015 AZX 250 Apollo dirt bike. I mostly trial ride and took it out for a 2 hour maiden voyage. A few things that I did right away before riding, started, idled and cooled off 3 times for break in. Took EPA stuff off right away. It has the PK30 carb on it and seems to be running correctly.

Like that Upstate NY rider, I am looking for a little more grunt and unfortunately I found this thread after I ordered a 41 tooth rear sprocket instead of a 12T front. Here

http://www.ebay.com/itm/171073994263...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

I would have rather done the front. I read through his thread but it was not clear to me whom he ordered that from. I am not ready to change the carb out yet to a mikini as I feel my limitations are suspension related.

From the box it seems to be set on the lowest adjustment in the rear, I have to raise it up to see how the suspension responds, but I have already ordered a rear air shock

http://www.ebay.com/itm/181445838898...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Moving to the front, I just bought some mineral fork oil to add. I am 6' and 200 pounds, so anything over 3 feet off the ground equals me smashing the suspension dangerously. I think I would also like to change the bars to these moose racing Burleson cut type. The arm fatigue after just a few hours riding was amazing, this bike suspension wise worked me over. I also have a 2000 KTM 250 2 stroke that I ride (left it in denver and get there once every 1.5 months) and that is plush in comparison.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/221843624499...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

has anyone added these? I think I will need some type of adapter assuming this is not a direct bolt on. Other add on's would be a joker billet aluminium throttle and that should just about round it out. Going drill out the rivets on the muffler and unpack it...oh yes, has anyone put an air cone filter on this yet? Any recommendations?

Any feedback on better front forks? Any cross over suspension that works with the OEM brake calipers?

Will add a photo later, but I think anyone would know this bike, black with the 36 logo on it.

My name is Max by the way and I live in Atlanta, GA now. I also ride in Denver regularly and out in the Northwest in the cascade mountain range in Washington state and Oregon. Riding plans are possible Moab trip in April and a definite mining town, back country ride in Steamboat CO area in mid June. Glad to make new friends here, so thank you for your time, consideration to my questions and reply.

Warmest regards.

Welcome, Max!

I have not tried those bars, and I'm looking forward to your review of them, should you decide to buy them. On SpudRider's recommendation, I use Valvoline MaxLife ATF for fork oil; it really improved the ride.

I'd still love to see a pic of your bike. :D

Thank you for the tip on the fork oil. I really think the fork oil and handlebars will get rid of the rider fatigue. I will update when I make these changes.

All feedback and suggestions are welcome. I would really like to find a place that supports these bikes with upgrade parts.

Weldangrind, can you point me to a front 12T sprocket? I think it is probably a lot easier to swap that out than the rear. I tried going over another link in another post for this, but I did not see my Make and Model as an option?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I will get pictures up, but plan to take them once I get my parts in and do a wrenching day on it. Getting the bars and adapter risers this week. Gone for the weekend, but I will be working on it so it will be ready to ride when we go out the 21st.

This is my guess: http://www.jtsprockets.com/catalogue/sprocket/JTF259 You'll need to remove your sprocket and measure to be sure. If it's correct, you'll find it on eBay, or just about any bike shop could order it for you.

http://www.jtsprockets.com/fileadmin...all/jtf259.jpg

I just put an order in, did not take my time and paid about double what I should have, but 10 more is an acceptable loss for my impatience. Classic American syndrome...immediate gratification....

So that completes the laundry list for now. I will grab brush/hand guards later and a 1/4 turn billet throttle later. All of this will go on next week when I have some wrenching time. Thank you for the heads up Weldangrind!

Did you happen to confirm the measurements before you ordered, or does that fall into the impatience category as well?

:D

ummmm, patience category...:hmm:
"Confirm the measurements" phffff, you did that with the link! (bahahaha, I will hold myself accountable)

You may want to double check those measurements on the output shaft. Might be 20mm and 16mm. The incorrect size sprocket could strip the output shaft!!!
We get ours from WHygostock and we send them our measurements and the get the correct sprocket everytime.

So a quick update. I came back from last weeks travel and today was the first 1.5 I had to work on the bike. I switched the front sprocket, and clearly need to swap the rear to the 41 to just take up some slack lol. I also took the front bars off and put 4oz of fork oil in. Put the caps back on and they felt rock solid stiff. Never changed or added fork oil and did not read anything but was I supposed to have them under load when I put the caps back on?? I did get the moose handle bars in today but the adapters come at the end of next week according to the tracking number. Once they are in I will put the bars on, re work the front forks and put the hand brush guards on. Changing the rear sprocket this weekend while my daughter naps! I also have the rear shock so I may look at dropping the stock one out and putting that one in. I did get a coil spring wrench so I will dial up the rear shock first and take it for a ride to see how she feels. Pictures will come, the issue is getting them from my phone to the computer. I have yet to do that.

Glad to have met all of you in this forum! Oh and the front sprocket is not as wide but fit with no slop at all. I hogged out one of the holes in that collar to get one bolt in but did not get the other one in, do people just adapt a C clip in its place?

The fork oil in any China bikes I've owned has been horrid. Sounds like you overfilled your forks by adding, hence the rock hardness. Pull the forks off and drain them, then add the correct amount of a good fluid. I'm about your size and weight and I like 10W. There's threads here somewhere on changing fork oil and Ive done it myself to all my CB's and may have written something up on that regarding quantity. It's a VAST improvement. Will it compete with your KTM regarding suspension? Not a chance but the Apollo also didn't cost near as much either.

So another day working on the bike for 1.5 hours and another round of information. I put the front sprocket on, but the chain will not make the tighter radius which surprised me, so I pulled the rear tire off and tried to put the rear sprocket on after replacing the front back to stock. The rear holes do not line up even though the supplier told me they would. Shame, but not end all. Waiting on the handle bar adapters to get here before I finish the rest.

As for the KTM, well I bought a used 2005 200 2 stroke exc which was raced since new by the original owner who purchased it in 2009. It was $1200 so 300 less than i spent on the Apollo and yes it smokes it in every way. Pun intended (thank you 2stroke humor) but it does not have electric start like the apollo and they are very different machines all around. Regardless. The apollo is for friends to join in on the fun and I most likely will have it sold by the end of next weekend. I do however need to drain those forks and put in some decent fork oil. More time invested, and I do not need idle hands anyways...

I love the tinkering on the bike some nights when i get home after work. Oh, and like a dumba$$ I dropped it off the bike stand and broke the left side fairing. Stupid me, but 45 dollars gets a complete set on Ebay?! Happy about that!

Please dumb that down for me. I've installed 12 tooth sprockets on China bikes in the past.

Bars done
 

Took the KTM out and let my girlfriends sister ride on the apollo. It was her first time on a dirt bike and it was a mudbath day in the woods. Cruel punishment but she took it like a champ. On the way there in the car I told her to expect to crash/fall and try to "Walk off the bike" whenever it was a slow tip over. The bike may be new, but I do not care about seeing her injured in the woods.

She tipped it over 8+ times, picked it up the first 3 times by herself. It was slick as snot and I was trying to explain that going a bit faster clears the lugs on the tires, she eventually picked up on it and became fast enough to keep her momentum up steep hills and over obstacles.

Came back and swapped the bars the next day, trying to attach pictures now. The stock bars ended up slightly bent from dropping it so many times so it was perfect timing to upgrade. I also took the forks out and drained them, put in just 3. ounces of fork oil and capped them. The next thing is to lower the shock or just put the rear upgrade on. I need it to be about three inches lower for her height because she can just tippy toe the bike while standing.

I cannot explain how impressed I was that she toughed it out for over 2 hours in the mud.

My KTM was the nuts. $1200 of shear screaming monster. I have the same bike out in Denver, but here at sea level third gear blip the throttle and my front end makes the the fastest unicycle in the woods. Not my style, but happy to learn the bike and float over jumps... More pictures to post.

The before shots
 

Taken after a ride on Saturday, before I made the changes on Sunday

Great picture with her and the bike all muddy.


/

I am pretty dumb so that wont be a problem
 

Yeah I am pretty dumb so it wont be hard for me to show that. Here is the picture. The stock chain link is too long to make the curvature of the 12 tooth sprocket. I finally dug out the digital calipers to take some measurements and call the sprocket shop to order the correct one. At 10 dollars a pop, I am ok making a mistake on the quick order. Now that I have the bars and front suspension done, its time to put the rear shock on and find a correct 12t.

Flying into tomorrow night for a belated Turkey day, hope everyone here has a nice time with some family.

530 chain duh
 

Ok, looking at the picture i just posted I see I have a 530 chain. My suspicions proved true.

Every other measurement was good. Now I can source one and get it on for some fun!

Yep, I can see that it would be difficult to make a 530 chain wrap around a 428 sprocket.

Glad parts are cheap!
 

Anyone else notice in the picture that the rear shock does NOT have a forked tab on one end? Yep, another bad purchase. Thank god this stuff is super cheap. Located and ordered a rear adjustable Fork tabbed on one end shock...along with a proper sprocket. Should be here by the time I get back from Turkey Holiday and then I can ride the following weekend.:lmao:

Update on changes to Apollo 250cc
 

Sprocket came in Thursday, slapped it on Friday night by hand, took less than 5 minutes. Rolled it into the trailer and went riding Saturday (after I yanked the rear tire back and adjusted the cheap chain tensioners). Spent the day on the KTM for the most part and Lauri spent the day on her quad, but we each took the Apollo out for a ride to feel what the upgrades were like. Let me just say, the 12T is an outstanding difference. Lots of low end grunt and third gear trail riding is perfect for the most part. The handle bars feel SO much better and you can tell the flex helps reduce fatigue and the bike feels snappier. I have yet to take it over any substantial jump to see if the front shocks are going to bottom out, but I will the next time I go out riding.

It is Noticeably heavier than the KTM which will require more work to shift weight around in the trees but I am excited to spend a little more time on the bike and really put it through some paces. I am interested in getting a better rear shock and front shocks, but honestly the way it sits now seems perfect for some medium aggressive trail riding. I wonder if I can get better rims and tires for it to lighten up the rotational mass. Once I wear the rear out, I will look into it. Fun bike so far!

Suspension questions
 

Just wondering if anyone has taken Honda front forks and subbed them onto the Apollo 250? I have the 2015 frame, not sure that means anything, but I was thinking of picking up some 2004 CR250 front forks and seeing if it would match the caliper mounting holes for the brake?

Anyone have any experience here? Also same for the rear, has anyone subbed a rear adjustable shock in the back? I would love to get riders sag and some adjustability on the bike. Any brand, any suggestions?

Thank you for any input.

Experiment part one
 

Well I made a purchase to replace the rear of the bike. I want to be able to set rear sag, and basically adjust to my riding style. This should come in next week, I targeted the entire linkage set up not really knowing what to expect to find when I start putting it together. A front fork replacement is next, but I am worried that the front caliper wont line up. Who knows? One step at a time. Flying blind, but I do not mind. Between this, my retro 1968 Magnavox cabinet stereo console remod and my 3.5 year old daughter....I stay busy enough lol.

What is that shock and link designed for?

2001 honda 250. good question that I should have provided in the original description. I expect that there may be grinding involved...

pictures of rear suspension
 

Added the rear shock a while ago, posting pics now. Front suspension next and carburetor then done.

It sits MUCH higher in the rear and I have yet to adjust for riders sag, but it is close as it stands now. Barely clears the exhaust pipe, but after welding the tabs on for the top side of the suspension it fit in nicely. I am excited to get out and ride this on the trails again...