getting an xpro titan and apollo db36 soon, shipped yesterday

[Cheapascanb]

So let me start off by saying I am 50, and my son is 19. We recently moved to Wyoming and are close to lots of public riding real estate. I could go get a japanese bike but I dont intend on punishing the bike(well maybe a lil, smile) and I really dont want to pay 7k plus for a bike so I looked into going with a dealer aval Kayo, but wtf, msrp 1999 and out the door price 3700??? yeah im gonna pass on those fees boys im good thanks. I was looking at used bikes but what I want either isnt coming aval or is 2/3 price of new and 15 or more years old. So what to do?
I grew up on used(junker xr, rm, yz, etc) and am quite able to tear down and rebuild a bike so I started looking at the chinese bikes. Years ago I bought a right way atv (chinese made) kid's 4 wheeler that ran for 10 plus years(yes I had to mod and repair stuff), but overall I definitely got my moneys worth out of it. I will be running the appolo, and my son is buying an xpro so we will compare them and I will be updating this periodically with mods(specific info such as the why, what part and where to get, and or any fabbed up stuff, or important maintenance needs), as well as issues etc.

So far, this forum has provided me with a lot of info as well as resources for these bikes and I am pretty excited to get started, and to contribute. Updates inc probably beginning with initial assembly in about 10 days to two weeks.

[culcune]

Can't wait to see the reviews and comparisons

[moto_mec]

Welcome, this is a great forum alot of information here. I purchased a 2019(used) early this year and having a blast with it. I'm 64 and rode with my oldest grandson(15) last week a few times. I was trying to upload a picture from riding but couldn't get it to work

[OBrienx]

both great bikes with lots of mods and easily sourced parts. the people here are your best help for anything technical related to do with those bikes other then one issue im having currently i havent even had to reach out for help yet with all the info there is on my 250rx

[Plump Kibbles]

You're not lying! That is why I got my very own X-Pro DLX (street legal)!!

You won't be disappointed at all with the X-Pro line. I have been told that they are under Orion, which make some pretty solid bikes as well.

Personal opinion - I would upgrade to the 520 chain, especially for off-roading; which means new sprockets around too. Also would get the carb to make it easier to adjust the mix / idle. I'm on a 110 main and 38 slow, does very well.. but that's just me!

Assembly is easy with those, would recommend adjusting the valves before you get everything together, that way you won't have to fight to get it later!

I have ridden mine pretty hard so far, probably will back off lol but it's been able to take some nice jumps and definitely feels right at home in the dirt, mud, gravels, woods, you name it. Coming with the nice aggressive knobbie tires makes it easy to keep everything under control off-road.

You're going to have some good rides, dude! Good luck and get a good color too!!

[Cheapascanb]

Well, I got the apollo db36 today and started assembly. Got to the swingarm and one of the outer dust seals is missing(of all the things I didnt expect that). Anyone know where I might get one of those lil devils, or what should work Honda xr200 maybe but what year?

[Cheapascanb]

disregard, finally found it after scouring the road and course of the pallet jack. Missing the lock nut but thats alright I can get a m12-1.25 flange nut

[OBrienx]

the apollo250rx are clones of a honda crf230f basically. every honda part for that engine has fit perfectly and ran very well.

if you need chassis/frame parts orion/apollo motor sports has a pretty decent selection and amazon is great for almost everything else.

The apollo is great just modify it as you get more into it as it can use alot of upgrades to get to a MX standard like all these chinese bikes, best part is there is full on honda parts your bike has access to with very limited modification if any required. Very good bike... use lock tight and make sure you get a new carb asap (vm26 mikuni is the going favorite for non engine modified 250rx apollos and zong engines) and a jet kit ( 27.5 pilot and 115 main from the suggestions based off users Douglass).

hope your having fun

[Plump Kibbles]

I just tuned my carb; my results: (X-Pro XB88 250cc DLX) 30mm Mikuni clone, 42 slow jet, 120 main jet, moved the needle up on slot, and using the pod filter - I can now *safely get to interstate speeds with my gearing and carb adjustments. Before, I was only topping around 45MPH at high revs. I got the 520 chain, 12T front sprocket, 30T rear sprocket - with the new carb setup, this thing feels like an actual CRF250 lol I would try out some bigger jets dude, especially if you're going to be riding on pavement a lot. I'm around 75% dirt, 25% road - but I do have to ride to get to where I'm actually going.. so I do have to sometimes take the interstate to catch an exit I can't get to on back roads. I have tried the PWK pumper carb but couldn't fit in in my setup - not enough room, and the hookups were all wrong. Plus couldn't find an intake that was the rubber boot style to put on my engine; came pretty close to one, but didn't fit after all.

THIS part is probably the most annoying - mainly because everyone has a different setup than anyone else, and recommendations lol Like I mentioned I'm on 120 main and 42 slow - that may or may not be enough, or too much, for what you're accomplishing. OH - if you plan on keeping the stock chain setup, totally cool - but I would highly suggest an O-ring or X-ring chain.. lasts much, much longer and doesn't have much side to side movement; less likely to pop off if you do get close it slipping out. Plus the stock chain doesn't have O-rings or anything to keep the dirt out!!

I'm very pleased with my X-Pro setup after tuning everything up - just takes some time!

Cycra makes a skid plate for the YZ250 called the 'full armor' skid plate - and it fits perfectly on the X-Pro chassis!! It isn't metal, but will definitely help protect your under carriage from bottoming out - and I have multiple times WITH the plate, and boy am I glad I got it.. only about 60 bucks too; Amazon. WELL worth the money!!




* = Lightly taken in terms of actual safety.

[Cheapascanb]

Alright so assembly almost complete. Took it apart further than it was, and checked torque etc. Tried to check valve clearance through the ports and cannot get a angled feeler in there. Instead of pulling the cover I set it to tdc and just made sure the rocker had at least some play(prob not enough but it should loosen on break in) If i need to pull it apart later for performance issues I will but im gonna run it in and see how it does. Pulled the plug before firing the bike and it was obviously run somewhere after being built and was in a rich condition. Replaced the plug with a new ngk, started and ran for 20 mins or so(plug looks better but may be a little lean(I am at 4600 ft at my house) I wanna run it in a bit more before adjusting. It has a bog on throttle blip so im probably gonna replace the carb(I already have a mikuni knockoff on hand)and rejet after running the bike a while to see how it acts under load.

Things I have noticed and or altered.

The plastics are shit engineered and tolerances are ass... one hell of a time getting them on the bike but they will go on with some great effort and leverage.

The stock tank is not a good design and will probably vibrate loose or break the rear mount unless you mod a bit. What I did was take two rubber squares about 1.5x1.5 inch and silicone them into the frame crossbar that sits under the tank(take the square and press two ends together so they make a upside down U shape and silicone the ends inside the open frame bar) so that the tank compresses them into the frame and rides on them to eliminate vibration. I will try to see if i can get a shot of this with the seat on tomorrow so it makes more sense.

Thats it for now, more later.

[OBrienx]

ok brother so you need to get your self the plastic tank off orion power sports if you got on with a metal tank and that stupid rear bracket. When you get one message me ill show you a awesome way to install it without welding. If you have a plastic tank use a pool noodle and cutt in lengthways in half zip tie it onto the frame and viola insulted tank but the seat is a bitch if you insulate it at all and if you dont enough it will break or rub through beware.

also the bike runs rich from factory to avoid a lean condition. change the carb use a 27.5 pilot and a 115 main from what the buys here suggest. 2 - 2 5/8 turns out on the bottom adjuster and 3-4 turns out on the idle screw. These are suggestions based off threads iv read on mikunis and these bikes. The sound your hearing is the carburetor needing new jets, a 30mm vm26 or pwk30 carburetor and some soft break in riding... the bike needs to warm up before you floor the throttle period. If it doesn't idle adjust the idle screw dont blip the throttle. let the bike warm up and break in first dont ride the piss out of it or youll regret it. a full tank or so of nice riding non top end should be enough.

change the carb try my suggested settings for the mikuni (VM26) and after that do some calm riding and after youre happy and made sure its tuned right. Too rich is better then too lean but ideally a light brown plug is what you wanna see after a ride. to check different throttle positions if your bogging intermittently run it till it does it a few times then steadily hold in the clutch fully and hit the kill switch and let the bike come to a stop pull the plug and youll be able to tell if its rich or lean causing the bog.

lean - whiteish or pure white in very bad cases
rich - black soot ...the more the richer it has been running

depending on the throttle position it does the bog.. bog bog noise at neutral or riding(not a bahhhhhhhh sound that is a normal to somewhat lean tone) this will tell you if you need to adjust the corresponding control part:

Needle - 0%-25% throttle
pilot - 15%-50% throttle
main - 50%-100% throttle
fuel mixture screw - 0%-100% throttle
idle screw - 0% throttle (only idle)

remember black rich ..white lean.... you can check by the spark plug or more accurately by sound at throttle response. it better to start rich when adjusting then lean out to smaller jets or mixtures as its safer in my opinion and many others iv read.

Also do not run that bike with the factory oil! its really really not ok.

[Cheapascanb]

I should expand on the stock carb being a pain in the ass.... I recently moved to Wyoming and a lot of my tools are in transit. I really dont want to go buy a dremel to groove the bolts just to find the stock jetting on that piece of shit carb.

[Cheapascanb]

Yeah good stuff. I am not a complete nub, but all advice appreciated. I intend to go ride the bike a good bit tomorrow nothing really demanding. I will put Rotella 15-40 white jug, diesel spec, as many suggest - in it before I do so. The bike is definitely a bit lean with the stock carb. I have a mikuni clone, and will put it on after running the bike a bit. I see no point in doing so right now as the bike will change after breaking in a bit so I will just deal with the bog etc and work it later.... plus the plastic is such a pain in the ass I dont want to do it a lot to rejet needlessly. As far as the tank is concerned, yeah I will prob change it at some point but I think I have extended its life a good deal by modding as I have so for now I will just run it.

Without tearing the new carb apart, which is a pain in the ass with the screws rounded etc.... do you know the stock jetting on it? The clone mikuni I have is 100/42 and as I have said the stock carb is definitely lean...
Thanks for the input

[Cheapascanb]

and so you know what im talking about.... its from idle up so 0-25%.... the rest of the throttle seems fine but it backfires after letting off so overall lean

[Plump Kibbles]

Originally Posted by Cheapascanb

and so you know what im talking about.... its from idle up so 0-25%.... the rest of the throttle seems fine but it backfires after letting off so overall lean

I had some backfiring when I was using the filter that came with it - are you on the stock filter; and if so is it oiled? If it isn't oiled, this *could* contribute to the backfiring. Once I got (for my X-Pro) the TwinAir YZ450 filter, all backfiring went away, down-rev and all. If you have some high weight oil around, you can use that - just toss it in a bag, drop some oil around the filter and massage it in nice'n'good like lol But, could be a little too rich and spitting that fuel into the exhaust and dieseling - which is why I got my new carb I could tune up. Needle placement was a big help too, no more bog on idle blip. Turns out, middle position for my needle was restricting the flow on a quick throttle blip - now it's nice and aggressive. Once I got the right mix (to the best of my ability) going into the engine, I don't have so much violent vibrations at higher speeds now either. Would note I got a hotter ignition coil and an NGK Iridium plug too - that's a big must. The stock plug is.. well, I don't want to get moderated lol but it's bad.. Wrong gap, barely made a seal.. I even had to clip the ends and make new contact from the coil to the plug boot - was poorly slapped together foolishly and not making good contact with the center lead. But, for some reason - the oiled filter took out all my backfiring issues and smoothed the whole RPM range out. The stock filter is yellow with an orange brim, cone / pyramid shape and literally dry as a sarcophagus lol Just a tip - dunno if that'll help out or not!