Mexican Veloci Xeverus...

[MeXeverus]

Hi! My name is Luis, im from Mexico. As you may know here in mexico we are flooded of cheap chinesse motorbikes since a decade, and rising fuel prices makes getting one a must, at least in warmer places.

I bought in 2017 a Veloci Xeverus 2015 223cc , which had the 166FMM OHV variant. Its almost the same as the RPS Hawk 250 which is sold in the United States. At that time i knew very little about bikes, and the engine "knocked" every now and then, until four months after, a valve destroyed my top end, piston and cylinder. It had 19,XXXkm in the odometer.

Thats the point when i started to research a lot about chinnese engines, so 4 months after that, trying to find a the same, replacement engine, i installed a smaller 167FML 198cc OHV engine, which is like 15% less powerful, but its strong enough and very linear. I can cruise at 95 km/h gps speed at 7000 rpm using 16-46 pinion-sprocket combination.

Today, almost 3 years ahead, im now at 49,3XX, riding almost daily to work, and got 70 MPG running 92 octane, which is not bad. I have not done any engine mods yet, but i read and research to maybe do something one day.

I attach a pic of my ride. Feel free to make any comments. And sorry for my english, is not my primary language.

Thanks!

[JerryHawk250]

Welcome aboard! Very impress with the miles you got out of the little engine.

[franque]

That's super cool! P.S., your English is good, better than some of the people who are native English speakers on here.

[Megadan]

Hi Luis! Sweet bike and great story. I like that you are willing to put work in to keeping that little bike going. So many people view these bikes as throw away machines that you just get rid of once they have a problem. You have proven that a little effort can take you a long way.

That luggage is very interesting. It reminds me a lot of the panniers that Givi sells for my Honda VFR.

Originally Posted by franque

That's super cool! P.S., your English is good, better than some of the people who are native English speakers on here.

I was just about to say this.

[MeXeverus]

Originally Posted by JerryHawk250

Welcome aboard! Very impress with the miles you got out of the little engine.

Hi ! thank you JerryHawk250. I dissasembled the engine at 35,XXX to measure tolerances with my digital caliper and they were still in spec, very mild piston skirt scoring. When i hit 50,XXX (which will be in a few weeks i think) i´m going to teardown again to fix a small cylinder head oil leak and recheck whats going on there. Im not doing anything special, just merely maintain it and keep it clean. Oil changes like clockwork anyway...

Originally Posted by franque

That's super cool! P.S., your English is good, better than some of the people who are native English speakers on here.

Hahaha, thanks. Im actually better writing than speaking (i barely speak any), but i can understand well *if* the accent its familiar.

Originally Posted by Megadan

Hi Luis! Sweet bike and great story. I like that you are willing to put work in to keeping that little bike going. So many people view these bikes as throw away machines that you just get rid of once they have a problem. You have proven that a little effort can take you a long way.

That luggage is very interesting. It reminds me a lot of the panniers that Givi sells for my Honda VFR.



I was just about to say this.

I am still reading your posts about cylinder head modification and been reluctant to modify it, simply because i dont have proper tools at home. But surely i would do, even if i can gain half hp ill be fine.


Still learning about how to tune the old pz30 carburetor, too much information to digest, hahaha.


The saddlebags are a chinesse knock off of some givi model, very robust but wind resistance is a concern. Speed is greatly reduced and center of gravity is affected in the way you load every bag of cargo. I only use them when i am going to the store to buy supplies. I wont fill 20$ bucks worth of gas to my old truck just to get 40$ worth food if i can fill $10 to get the same amount of food loaded in the bike...and still ride the rest of the week daily...


Im just being a cheap guy!

[culcune]

Where in Mexico are you? I live in Yuma, Arizona which is on the border with the Mexican states of Sonora and Baja Norte.

Edit: Okay, put in Bahia de Banderas in Google maps and you are quite a ways down the beach from me!

[Julio]

Hola Luis,
About 4 months ago I bought a Veloci Steeler - it look more like the CSC TT250 because of the USD front suspension.
According to the factory specs it has a 250cc engine. But the serial number is 166FMM2... From your thread I guess it's really a 223cc...or are there other versions of the 166FMM engine? Anyone care to comment?
Also, it seems it's made by YinXiang Motorcycles (based on the VIN)... Does anyone know if it's sold in the USA? Perhaps under another brand?

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by Julio

Hola Luis,
About 4 months ago I bought a Veloci Steeler - it look more like the CSC TT250 because of the USD front suspension.
According to the factory specs it has a 250cc engine. But the serial number is 166FMM2... From your thread I guess it's really a 223cc...or are there other versions of the 166FMM engine? Anyone care to comment?
Also, it seems it's made by YinXiang Motorcycles (based on the VIN)... Does anyone know if it's sold in the USA? Perhaps under another brand?

Nothing wrong with the 223cc engines. They are basically copies of the CRF230F engine and they make good power. Likely many of the same mods for the 230 engine can also be made to work with them as well, or there are also options specifically built for the chinese variant of them.

There are a few variations of the design in the chinese world, like counterbalanced versions, and "big head" versions which are designed with a larger bore that are a little bit bigger in CC (232ish)

Don't fee like you have less of a motor because of it.

[NzBrakelathes]

You have the more common engine in china or Apollo db36, maybe the Others like AJP PR3/4 has a 200 version etc
High compression cyl kit and roller rockers is all that’s sold in china
The 232cc engine is very different to yours n nothing fits etc
I can’t work out why the USA got the cg there but....

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by NzBrakelathes

You have the more common engine in china or Apollo db36, maybe the Others like AJP PR3/4 has a 200 version etc
High compression cyl kit and roller rockers is all that’s sold in china
The 232cc engine is very different to yours n nothing fits etc
I can’t work out why the USA got the cg there but....

If you had the gumption, and the wallet, you could use CRF230F forged pistons, which come in stock 65.5mm bore up to 67.5mm bores with "low" 9.8:1 or "high" 11:1 compression options. They share the same bore and wrist pin diameter (15mm). Crown heights are close to the same as well and any variation could be easily adjusted for with a mill.

It is also possible to send the cam in to webcam and have them hardweld regrind the cam profile to one of their CRF230 specs as well as upgrade the valves, springs, etc and have the head ported.

It is entirely possible to build a 25hp engine with a 9000rpm redline that still makes good low and mid range power that runs on pump gas.

The real question is if you would want to spend the money to do so.

[NzBrakelathes]

Originally Posted by Megadan

If you had the gumption, and the wallet, you could use CRF230F forged pistons, which come in stock 65.5mm bore up to 67.5mm bores with "low" 9.8:1 or "high" 11:1 compression options. They share the same bore and wrist pin diameter (15mm). Crown heights are close to the same as well and any variation could be easily adjusted for with a mill.

It is also possible to send the cam in to webcam and have them hardweld regrind the cam profile to one of their CRF230 specs as well as upgrade the valves, springs, etc and have the head ported.

It is entirely possible to build a 25hp engine with a 9000rpm redline that still makes good low and mid range power that runs on pump gas.

The real question is if you would want to spend the money to do so.

Remembers it’s a Chinese cylinder and prob wouldn’t handle such a thin wall and heat etc
Simpler to leave cheap junk working as it is n just carry on.

[MeXeverus]

Originally Posted by Julio

Hola Luis,
About 4 months ago I bought a Veloci Steeler - it look more like the CSC TT250 because of the USD front suspension.
According to the factory specs it has a 250cc engine. But the serial number is 166FMM2... From your thread I guess it's really a 223cc...or are there other versions of the 166FMM engine? Anyone care to comment?
Also, it seems it's made by YinXiang Motorcycles (based on the VIN)... Does anyone know if it's sold in the USA? Perhaps under another brand?

There are very few variants of the FMM family sold in mexico, at least to my concern. 166 FMM CG balanced type is used mainly with veloci from 2015-present. 223cc OHV, but since veloci its the only brand which sells them its stupidily expensive to fix or replace common wear items like rings or cylinders.



Italika uses 166 FMM CB balanced type (the one with overhead camshaft) in virtually all of their 250 series. Since 2018 they started to sell the 6 speed variant. This engine is actually cheaper to fix because italika its virtually everywhere.


There was a third kind (169FMM non-balanced) CB which i guess its a 232 cc engine. Never sold very much (2016 with the MB XRE bike was the last one) This engine looks very much like the actual RPS hawk sold in the EU. Its far more powerful than the other two.


I have seen 170FMM and even 172FMM, both being from carabela in mexico. These still are being sold in the Vector and Shark motorcycles. These are CG balanced engines, which i think are near 240 cc.

[Wild Dog]

Originally Posted by Megadan

If you had the gumption, and the wallet, you could use CRF230F forged pistons, which come in stock 65.5mm bore up to 67.5mm bores with "low" 9.8:1 or "high" 11:1 compression options. They share the same bore and wrist pin diameter (15mm). Crown heights are close to the same as well and any variation could be easily adjusted for with a mill.

It is also possible to send the cam in to webcam and have them hardweld regrind the cam profile to one of their CRF230 specs as well as upgrade the valves, springs, etc and have the head ported.

It is entirely possible to build a 25hp engine with a 9000rpm redline that still makes good low and mid range power that runs on pump gas.

The real question is if you would want to spend the money to do so.

Everything you said can be done down here somewhat cheap to speak. CRF 230F pistons can be brought from any Honda seller and they are somewhat common and cheap.
The cams and be handweld and regrind to any spec the user may desire again somewhat cheap, the same goes for valves and springs.
Milling the head is also not a big deal.

Money is not the problem, but reliability is. Sure if you want the engine to be a race machine is not a big deal, one race maybe two and then let's rebuild the engine.

Originally Posted by NzBrakelathes

I can’t work out why the USA got the cg there but....

Me too. I never understood why they send CG to the US, when they have other cheap engines that are better and not much more expensive...
Even here the difference between a motorcycle equiped with the cg230 and
one with the Re250 is about only 200 usd which here can be a lot of money for some people like a delivery boy but in the US is pretty much nothing.

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by Wild Dog

Everything you said can be done down here somewhat cheap to speak. CRF 230F pistons can be brought from any Honda seller and they are somewhat common and cheap.
The cams and be handweld and regrind to any spec the user may desire again somewhat cheap, the same goes for valves and springs.
Milling the head is also not a big deal.

Money is not the problem, but reliability is. Sure if you want the engine to be a race machine is not a big deal, one race maybe two and then let's rebuild the engine.



Me too. I never understood why they send CG to the US, when they have other cheap engines that are better and not much more expensive...
Even here the difference between a motorcycle equiped with the cg230 and
one with the Re250 is about only 200 usd which here can be a lot of money for some people like a delivery boy but in the US is pretty much nothing.

I can get a reliable 25 crankshaft horsepower from a CRF230 engine that wouldn't need constant rebuilding. The Chinese equivalent would be a different question. We ran a pair of them as shop sponsored bikes in a modified aircooled class. It just has to be built in a certain way and with some careful parts selections, but if you can keep the dynamic compression below 10:1, keep the ignition timing conservative, fueling dialed in, and the oil temps stable, it's not difficult to end up with a very powerful engine with a strong power curve up to 9000rpm that can be reliably daily ridden. The cam profile plays a huge role for a lot of this, and obviously the cost involved can get pretty ridiculous.

As far as us getting the CG. It's simple. Profit margin and ease of importing. The CG engine was cleared for emissions and thus became the cheap and easy route for engine choice. You don't think we would love to get better engines? When we DO, they are almost always put up for a disproportionate premium over the CG, which I like to call the exclusivity tax. If the Hawk came with a 6spd OHC engine like the RE250 it would cost over 2 grand on its own just because it has an extra gear and an OHC setup. Even if the motor itself only cost $200 more.

[Savageman69]

Hey man I'm an American living down here in Mexico and just bought one for buen fin couple weeks ago the veloci 250 xeverus pro xr. Great information on your post. It's hard to find information like that since I can't read Spanish.