My life with Sally

[Nutlang]

Intro: With this thread I will try and maintain on ongoing review of my 2023 Big Boy Mustang (DF252RTR in the US) aptly named Sally, by my wife !!

So Sally was born, somewhere in China, I guess, in October 2022 and came into my life on the 17th of June 2023. I paid around $2604 for her and did the licencing and registration myself.

Here she is with just 7,5 miles, driven home from the dealer.. Obviously the 165FMM motor is still very new (stiff) so I am taking it very slow during the run-in period. The owners manual I got is not to great but managable in terms of understanding what is being said..

One concern that I do have is that I have noticed a small layer of oil in the exhausts after having ridden her a few kilometers..I know enough, I think, about engines to know that this is not normal.. She currently have 90 miles on the clock so i will keep an eye on this....

So this morning, 13 July, I decided to ride to work with Sally at a leisurely 40-45mph so that I can stay under 5000 rpm`s during the run-in period. Thank goodness there were some trucks on the road that I could hide behind from the cold For once, I did not mind them at all...

It seems that the oil in the exhausts are getting less so I`m hoping the dealer maybe just overfilled her..
I can feel the motor slowly but surely starting to loosen up as she feels more alive going through the gears.. Speaking of the gears, they are a little "clunky", for lack of a better word, but manageable..

So, Sally is scheduled to go for her 300mile run-in service tomorrow; 27/07/2023. I am very interested to see the amount of metal shavings coming out of the oil filter screen and if the gearbox, with the new oil in, is still as "clunky"....

This weekend I am planning to go through every bolt/nut and add some loctite to them and in future will be dropping the oil every 625 miles....I`m also looking to replace the stock chain with a DID type but not to sure wether it is a 428; 520 or 530 chain... I guess the dealer will tell me...

Service done and dusted, new 428 DID fitted, finally figured out the sprocket combo - 17T/41T..
Chain had no slack and oil only half filled.. Topped up and adjusted chain. Metal shaving not to much but I`ll still be dropping the oil at 600 miles..

Sally now has around 400 miles and I`m stuggling to keep her below 50mph. She wants to stretch those legs of her.... But she is gonna have to be patient, she`s not gonna go over 50mph until Daddy feels comfortable that her "heart" is ready for it.... The gear change seem to be smoothing out, still "clunky" but the shifting is positive..

So yesterday 20th August I dropped the oil at 1000km and was glad to notice that the oil strainer was spotlessly clean.

Thereafter I fabicated a small screwdriver to adjust the mixture and got that sorted..

Next I attempted to adjust the valves; 2 problems here;
1. For the life of me I could not get the valve cover off, it kept getting stuck between to the top part of the frame and the rocker arms..
So then I thought, ok i will move the cover in such a way that I at least can reach the valves, no problem there but then my 2nd problem; those adjuster locking nuts (10mm) was so tight that I could not loosen them, was afraid I was gonna make the nut round with the wrench...

So this begs the question to me; was the valves ever set in the first place??
So I`m gonna take the bike to a workshop mate of mine; worked for Suzuki for many years to se if he can help me..

To be continued.............

[Zapkin]

years ago, I had a Lifan GY-5 and they were built in such a way that you had to grind off a small part of the top of the valve cover in order to get it off. Needless to say, when I pointed this out to the local Yamaha dealer (who sold me the bike) they were not happy. They acted like I was trying to tell them their job. The place has since gone out of business. They basically sold me a bike and then made fun of me for buying it. oh well, I had fun with it.