Picked up the Lifan Xpect

[TominMO]

Test 2.....

.....got it! Rotated it 90 degrees left on my HD and saved it. When I uploaded it to my post here, it automatically rotated it right again, and gave me what I wanted.

[TominMO]

Went for a ride around town this morning, to check out any differences in how the motor responded to deleting the carbon canister, opening up the airbox intake horn, and the valve adjustment. Plus is fun!

Valves are not clacky, so .005" and .007" work well.
Pronounced intake roar when twisting the throttle at lower RPMs, as is to be expected. Feels very peppy as the revs build. Still kept the revs down, since it's only got 50 miles on it right now.
No change at all due to the canister delete.

The motor feels quite healthy, and I got some practice in on low-speed maneuvering/balancing in a large parking lot. Still working on finding neutral consistently, but I think it's more me and not the bike. Gonna go with a 17T front sprocket, since I can pull away pretty easily in 2nd. Be nice to have more top end, and make 1st a little more useful. I don't plan on going offroad until next year. except maybe for some light fire road riding.

[franque]

I would adjust the valves in a bit, .003"/.004" I/E would be as loose as I would run them.

[culcune]

Are you going to be more street oriented with it, or off-road? A few members have installed a 17 tooth countersprocket and have seen a few MPH gain.

[TominMO]

Originally Posted by culcune

Are you going to be more street oriented with it, or off-road? A few members have installed a 17 tooth countersprocket and have seen a few MPH gain.

Always been a street guy, but want to dabble in easy trails and fire roads. The stock tires seem fine for street, and I expect that for the mild offroad I will be doing, are fine for that too.

BTW where do I go to get the 17T? Can anyone provide an Amazon link etc for a known proven good sprocket?

[Boatguy]

Originally Posted by TominMO

Went for a ride around town this morning, to check out any differences in how the motor responded to deleting the carbon canister, opening up the airbox intake horn, and the valve adjustment. Plus is fun!

Valves are not clacky, so .005" and .007" work well.
Pronounced intake roar when twisting the throttle at lower RPMs, as is to be expected. Feels very peppy as the revs build. Still kept the revs down, since it's only got 50 miles on it right now.
No change at all due to the canister delete.

The motor feels quite healthy, and I got some practice in on low-speed maneuvering/balancing in a large parking lot. Still working on finding neutral consistently, but I think it's more me and not the bike. Gonna go with a 17T front sprocket, since I can pull away pretty easily in 2nd. Be nice to have more top end, and make 1st a little more useful. I don't plan on going offroad until next year. except maybe for some light fire road riding.

Awesome!

It’s not you. It’s hard to find neutral on these bikes. In fact, the easiest way to get there sometimes is from second. The transmission is weird like that. You’ll get used to it. The more you use it, the easier it gets to feather it in. It’s quite a barely touching it half shift to get into neutral.

Hope I’m describing that right. It’s all muscle memory for me now. Can’t even picture how to shift the bike anymore. Ha ha. Just get on and go.

The easiest way to find neutral in this bike is to go hard off the line at a newly green stoplight and shift from first to second, grabbing a fist full of throttle to accelerate through second. . You’ll find it then. Ha ha ha.


These motors are super healthy. They run fantastically thanks to the fuel injection, which I why I chose the xpect over the other options in 2020. I suspect yours runs as good as mine.

I didn’t trust the Chinese bike aspect. Bought it as a disposable. A diversion. And it’s run flawlessly. I think you’re going to enjoy it!

[TominMO]

Originally Posted by Boatguy

It’s not you. It’s hard to find neutral on these bikes. In fact, the easiest way to get there sometimes is from second. The transmission is weird like that. You’ll get used to it. The more you use it, the easier it gets to feather it in. It’s quite a barely touching it half shift to get into neutral.

These motors are super healthy. They run fantastically thanks to the fuel injection, which I why I chose the xpect over the other options in 2020. I suspect yours runs as good as mine.

I didn’t trust the Chinese bike aspect. Bought it as a disposable. A diversion. And it’s run flawlessly. I think you’re going to enjoy it!

Yeah, I noticed it is easier to find Neutral from 2nd. Have to pay attention to the throttle position to help out.

It's been so long since I had a bike that the new features they put on there, like gas gauge, tripmeter(s) and gear indicator, I have never seen before. I changed my backlighting to blue, another option that didn't exist with analog gauges.

Also love how it starts instantaneously when I push the button. I need to try out the old school way of starting it too.....

[Boatguy]

It starts SOOOOO perfectly, right??

Like a Japanese car. The absolute instant you begin to touch the starter button it comes right to life.

Try rocking forward and backward a little if you’re stopped and having trouble with neutral. It helps it get in easier too.

And no way!! I didn’t realize we can change the color of the light on the display. Mine came blue and I never touched it.

It is nice having all these read outs too. I agree.

I tried the old school start once. It starts right up that way too. Unless you mess up and hit the compression stroke like I did first kick. Ha ha ha. I haven’t tried that in 35 years or so.

[JFOlivier]

TominMO,I got the 17 sprocket from Amazon, the number is JTF1264.17 and this picked up the cruising speed quite a bit to around 50MPH at 6000 Rpm I then got hold of a 43 sprocket for the back and that takes me to around 54 MPH at 6000 Rpm although it did not increase my top speed over the 46 standard rear sprocket.

[TominMO]

Originally Posted by JFOlivier

TominMO,I got the 17 sprocket from Amazon, the number is JTF1264.17 and this picked up the cruising speed quite a bit to around 50MPH at 6000 Rpm I then got hold of a 43 sprocket for the back and that takes me to around 54 MPH at 6000 Rpm although it did not increase my top speed over the 46 standard rear sprocket.

Thanks! I knew about that one, but was hesitant to get it because I heard it is a little wobbly. Can you confirm that it is not, or did you do something to make it not wobbly?

So this morning I had my usual breakfast of bacon, Hostess HoHos and Michelob, went downstairs and raised the portcullis, threw some raw meat to the salties, and went for a ride. There are a lot of country roads around the small town I live in, which are great for break-in speeds. It's got around 70 miles on it now and runs great.

BTW the "mechanic" at the Chinabike dealership didn't even check tire pressure. 15 psi front, 25 rear......

[JFOlivier]

TominMO the 17 sprocket was no more wobbly than the 15 that came off.

[TominMO]

Originally Posted by JFOlivier

TominMO the 17 sprocket was no more wobbly than the 15 that came off.

Great to know, thanks!

[Moongrass]

Originally Posted by TominMO

Test 2.....

.....got it! Rotated it 90 degrees left on my HD and saved it. When I uploaded it to my post here, it automatically rotated it right again, and gave me what I wanted.

Congrats on the new bike. Just got to 5,000 miles on mine. No issues.

[TominMO]

Originally Posted by Moongrass

Congrats on the new bike. Just got to 5,000 miles on mine. No issues.

Good to hear. Put some more break-in miles on it today, so it's got about 90 now. Can't wait to open it up a bit! But I'll wait until mile 300. I will change the oil at 300, 700, 1000 and every 1000 after that, using full synth starting at 1000 miles.

[TominMO]

@ Boatguy:
In post #1 I whined about how the seat is uncomfortable for me. Took your suggestion to sit more forward, and problem is solved. I was sitting more rearward to extend my arms out more, which is a streetbike way of doing things.

Still slightly uncomfortable due to me not having anything really in the area of "natural padding". But quite doable, not really a problem and not the bike's fault.

Also re-discovering that riding a bike takes more concentration than driving my soccer-mom small Kia SUV. Can't sightsee as much; have to keep from wandering in my lane and monitor intersections more carefully, plus all the up- and downshifting. Much more involving and therefore more rewarding.