Lifan X-Pect upgrades. New fork oil, fork boots, chain and front sprocket

KSSK · 01-26-2022, 11:37 PM

I've been busy working on my 2021 Lifan X-Pect in the last several days. Hopefully some of this info can help other X-Pect owners.

New chain
The X-Pect uses a 428 chain with 128 links. There are lots of non-sealed options, but I wanted to try a sealed one. I picked the JT X1R x-ring chain. X-rings are basically just slightly modified O-rings.

There's a lot of thick grease on the outside of the chain that I will need to wipe off. During my test ride it was starting to throw grease. They definitely don't skimp on the grease at the factory.

I had tried to regularly lube and clean the factory chain, but I do some decent off-road riding and it didn't seem to be holding up too well.

Front sprocket swapped to 16 teeth
I previously posted about how I had switched the factory 15-tooth front sprocket to 17 teeth, but I didn't like it and went back to the 15-tooth version.

I decided to try a 16-tooth sprocket. I haven't taken it off road yet, but so far it offers some improved on-road riding while hopefully not negatively impacting my off-road riding as much as the 17-tooth sprocket did.

Fork oil
I removed the forks and drained the factory oil. It was a little under 200 ml. My measuring cup doesn't go below 200, but I'd guess it was 180 to 190 ml.

I added 200 ml of 15 weight oil. It is definitely firmed up. Maybe a little too much for off-road riding. I'm thinking about using a syringe to pull out maybe 10 ml or so and see how it performs.

Fork boots
The forks from the factory have no fork boots and I was sick of them getting all muddy and getting mud in the fork seals. These Polisport boots (size medium) fit well. I posted about it in this thread.