Post by aus on Jun 14, 2017 10:14:10 GMT -5
New to this....
Got a 150cc Motobravo Super Hornet. This particular model is I guess a sportbike style body rather than a scooter type frame.
I'm working on some mechanical problems / performing on overdue inspection and tune up... taking a look at the insides for the first time.
To me it seems the design is kind of crude. It seems things could easily be a lot simpler to work on this bike if it were laid out slightly differently. Also the body of this bike looks oddly chunky to me. When I pulled off the fiberglass or plastic body pieces (fairings?) it seems to me that there is no reason for the seat to be about 8" wider and 4" higher than the frame. I don't think I'd have a difficult time making a lightweight, sturdy, comfortable saddle that looks as good or better than stock and is a much closer fit to the frame.
Also I could do this without drilling any holes that might weaken or let rainwater into the frame.
There is nothing much in that space - a few wires which I could easily move to run along the inside of the frame rather than outside, half a dozen brackets which serve no visible purpose other than for the seat. I'm thinking of grinding those off completely, which would make the modification pretty much irreversible. There's a big piece of sturdy plastic which the battery mounts to, which is possibly in the way of the modification I'm thinking of doing, but, I could easily rig up a mount for the battery that would better protect the battery from weather and vibration. Also this chunk of plastic is a pain in the neck for any access to most of the engine. At the very least I'm thinking of just cutting away two thirds of it so I have 4 fewer bolts to unscrew before I can wrench on almost anything.
If I do this, I'm also thinking I'd probably modify more of the body - this whole bike just looks oddly fat, and there seems to be no point to having so much empty space between the external body pieces and the frame. I don't see how the body design reduces wind resistance very much, and these pieces aren't sturdy enough to add structural support, nor are they designed to provide crush zones to absorb impact.
Is this a colossally bad idea? Surely I can't be the first one to want to do this.... is it a common mod? Sorry for my ignorance, I think I've seen bikes that look like they could be customized this way but I have no idea of any terminology for what you'd call this?
I'm thinking this bike would look better if I sprayed a lot of things with matte black paint as I do these tweaks.
Also I'm thinking of moving wires and a couple of small hoses around slightly. There's something I believe is the vapor seal for the fuel system which is just a length of fuel line flopping loosely around which I'm thinking I could secure to the frame with a cable tie. All the vacuum lines and wires are pretty exposed and randomly scattered and I think I could just make things a little bit neater.
Any thoughts from anyone who's done this sort of thing?
If you have done something similar on any make model, but especially if it was a 250cc or smaller off brand, I'd love to see your before and after pics.
Got a 150cc Motobravo Super Hornet. This particular model is I guess a sportbike style body rather than a scooter type frame.
I'm working on some mechanical problems / performing on overdue inspection and tune up... taking a look at the insides for the first time.
To me it seems the design is kind of crude. It seems things could easily be a lot simpler to work on this bike if it were laid out slightly differently. Also the body of this bike looks oddly chunky to me. When I pulled off the fiberglass or plastic body pieces (fairings?) it seems to me that there is no reason for the seat to be about 8" wider and 4" higher than the frame. I don't think I'd have a difficult time making a lightweight, sturdy, comfortable saddle that looks as good or better than stock and is a much closer fit to the frame.
Also I could do this without drilling any holes that might weaken or let rainwater into the frame.
There is nothing much in that space - a few wires which I could easily move to run along the inside of the frame rather than outside, half a dozen brackets which serve no visible purpose other than for the seat. I'm thinking of grinding those off completely, which would make the modification pretty much irreversible. There's a big piece of sturdy plastic which the battery mounts to, which is possibly in the way of the modification I'm thinking of doing, but, I could easily rig up a mount for the battery that would better protect the battery from weather and vibration. Also this chunk of plastic is a pain in the neck for any access to most of the engine. At the very least I'm thinking of just cutting away two thirds of it so I have 4 fewer bolts to unscrew before I can wrench on almost anything.
If I do this, I'm also thinking I'd probably modify more of the body - this whole bike just looks oddly fat, and there seems to be no point to having so much empty space between the external body pieces and the frame. I don't see how the body design reduces wind resistance very much, and these pieces aren't sturdy enough to add structural support, nor are they designed to provide crush zones to absorb impact.
Is this a colossally bad idea? Surely I can't be the first one to want to do this.... is it a common mod? Sorry for my ignorance, I think I've seen bikes that look like they could be customized this way but I have no idea of any terminology for what you'd call this?
I'm thinking this bike would look better if I sprayed a lot of things with matte black paint as I do these tweaks.
Also I'm thinking of moving wires and a couple of small hoses around slightly. There's something I believe is the vapor seal for the fuel system which is just a length of fuel line flopping loosely around which I'm thinking I could secure to the frame with a cable tie. All the vacuum lines and wires are pretty exposed and randomly scattered and I think I could just make things a little bit neater.
Any thoughts from anyone who's done this sort of thing?
If you have done something similar on any make model, but especially if it was a 250cc or smaller off brand, I'd love to see your before and after pics.
