Picked up the Lifan Xpect

[Badluck]

Originally Posted by 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.

Its still easy to zone out, especially on long stretches. There's some state highways I'll take that are 55mph, and I find myself having to snap out of it.

Even driving cars it's the best idea to remain attentive.

[TominMO]

Originally Posted by Badluck

Its still easy to zone out, especially on long stretches. There's some state highways I'll take that are 55mph, and I find myself having to snap out of it.

Even driving cars it's the best idea to remain attentive.

Agree of course. Just pointing out how different it is to be hurtling down the road without the protection of a vehicle surrounding you, with a seatbelt and airbag.

[Boatguy]

Originally Posted by 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.

That’s great news!

I’ve found I can basically ride for hours without any discomfort on this bike. Also no natural padding. Ha ha.

The only thing that starts to hurt for me is the clutch hand.

[TominMO]

Have 150 miles on it now, 30 of them today. Mostly in 5th gear on two-lane country roads, speed varying from about 25 - 45 MPH. Keeping the revs under 6000 usually.

The weather is iffy for the next few days; might get to ride and might not. On Tuesday I plan a 70-mile ride, back to the shop where I bought it and return.

[TominMO]

Having some issues with sputtering/dying. This is not fun in a turn BTW.

I have 198 miles on the Xpect, and went for a ride today. It immediately died on me, about 1/10 mile down the road; then restarted itself by being in gear and moving. i.e. a bump-start. This happened several times over the next mile or so, so I decided to head home.

I have also noticed that it no longer starts immediately when I hit the button. Cranks a bit and have to give it a little gas. This has been progressively getting a little worse over time.

When I first got it, I checked the plug gap and valve gaps, all way too small. Set 'em wider and it ran great. I also unplugged the evap canister at the same time by routing the hose back to itself, bypassing the canister.
For clearances, I went with:
intake: .005" (Now set at .002"/.051mm, as of June 2022)
exhaust: .007" (Now set at .003"/.076mm)
plug: .035", NGK DR8EA

I have read a couple of threads on the Lifan Xpect stalling. Tomorrow I will pull the plastics and check the valve clearances and plug gap again. I would be surprised if that were the issue since I set the valves fairly wide, and the plug gap shouldn't change on its own either. Once I check things out, I will alter one parameter (plug gap or valve lash) and see what happens. I wonder if possibly I didn't tighten down one of the valve locknuts well enough?

[Boatguy]

I don’t know if the data point helps, but completely stock with no maintenance on mine. As it was from the factory. 1500 miles. Runs like a champ.

Meaning I’d check things you modified or fiddled with first.

The only problem I had with the bike was a fire. A fire I created by leaving my USB cord install too loose and close to the exhaust. Ha ha.

So check your own mods or adjustments first I think.

[TominMO]

Originally Posted by Boatguy

I don’t know if the data point helps, but completely stock with no maintenance on mine. As it was from the factory. 1500 miles. Runs like a champ.

Meaning I’d check things you modified or fiddled with first.

The only problem I had with the bike was a fire. A fire I created by leaving my USB cord install too loose and close to the exhaust. Ha ha.

So check your own mods or adjustments first I think.

Yep, that's the plan. Didn't do it yesterday because it was too rainy. My non-attached cinder block garage from the 1930s is dilapidated and does not have power to it any more/yet, so no lights. I typically work on the bike outside. Weather today will be good.

I did pull the plug and it looked fine. Franque is of the opinion my valve clearances are too large.....but it ran fine that way for a while. I suspect a loosened adjustment, but I was careful to snug the locknuts down well. If the valves check out, I will reinstall the evap canister.

Also, the oil looks pretty dark for having only 165 miles since I initially changed it, so I will change it again. This time I want to check out the screen as well, in case there is an obstruction. Maybe the bike died due to oil starvation, i.e. seized up from a clogged screen. I think this is unlikely, but gotta check everything.

[TominMO]

Didn't get to it today. Decided it was more important to install a new window in my house. Weather looks decent tmw, starting in the late morning.

[braindead0]

make sure spark plug is tight.

Check fuel petcock for debris, might have been some manufacturing junk in tank that has not partially plugged the petcock screen.

If there's a fuel filter, check that as well.


Problem sounds like a fuel issue.

[mototech77]

I’ve had some conversations with other fellow Lifan Xpect owners about the stalling issues. Adjusting the air bleed screw out some to increase idle speed to about 1900 has helped. However, I have since discovered that at times this adjustment also causes it to stall when cold. The air bleed should be controlled by an IAC valve, but they eliminated this component on the Lifan’s for some reason. Our throttle bodies have a mounting flange for the IAC where the Hawk 250 DLX actually has the part included.

Outside of modifications, the best you can do is to stay on top of maintenance and adjustments.

I ordered an IAC that should fit this throttle body, but it is going to require some machining to fit it properly and open the air circuit, but even then, it doesn’t look like the ECU is provisioned for the connection, so I may also have the challenge of building a circuit to control it.

[TominMO]

It idles fine, so I doubt that adjusting the idle speed will be relevant. It stalls out when driving down the road, at far above idle RPM. This makes me think it is a fuel plugging issue, as braindead said. I'll keep you all posted.

[TominMO]

Spent the day working on my garage roof. Did a half-fast job of plugging leaks for the upcoming fall rainy season.

Made a little progress on the Xpect. Verified that the valves were still properly adjusted; the locknuts were still tight. I adjusted the intake to .004" to placate franque, but left the exhaust at .007".

I now direct your kind attention to these two hoses in the pic below.
a. The closer one goes to the bottom front left of the gas tank, does a 90 upwards and connects to the tank right there. It comes from the EFI housing or whatever it's called.
b. the inboard one connects to the petcock, which is now in the Off position. From On (forward) to Off is less than 90 degrees.

So my questions:
a. What does the closer hose do? A vent, gas gauge connection, or what?
b. With the petcock off, when I remove the hose from the petcock where it connects to the FI housing, I presume there will be a little gas in the hose and that's all. I can just go ahead and drain the tank (gas cap off) into a gas can, right? And then pull the petcock to check for an obstruction?

[braindead0]

I'd guess the closer hose is vent from gas tank however if your bike is EFI that box may contain a fuel pump and that line could be a return line to the gas tank..

Hose coming from petcock is prob fuel line, you shouldn't have much fuel come out of that when removing.. should be possible to drain tank.

You'll find through petcock you can't likely drain fully, I'd remove tank and lay it on it's side then pull petcock to look for obstruction.

Hopefully someone comes along that has your specific model.. I've never seen a bike with EFI and a petcock...seems odd, but I'm an old guy so haven't had too many EFI bikes.

[TominMO]

Yeah this is my first EFI bike too. That didn't exist the last time I owned a bike!

I should be able to drain it, turn off the petcock, pull the tank, turn it on its left side to get gas over there that was trapped on the right; then drain it again. Or I guess I could lean the bike onto the left side to get the right-side gas over there.

[mototech77]

I’ve had my tank off to replace the fuel gauge sending unit. The front fuel line is the return. If you look inside the gas cap opening with a flash light, you should be able to see the vertical tube that terminates just beneath the top of the tank (this tube can also vibrate against the inside of the tank, and can be bent in slightly to help with this). The rear fuel line from the petcock is the feed line and both lines go into the small sump tank that houses the fuel pump. There is a small vent tube that connects underneath the tank near the sending unit that goes to the evap circuit. If all of the evap lines are connected back correctly and you have verified no fuel blockages or kinks, it might also be a good idea to reseat the fuel pump electrical connection and other related connections. Could end up even being something simple like an intermittently malfunctioning handlebar kill switch. I hope this is helpful in some way.