|
|
Post by rdhood on Oct 26, 2019 13:49:55 GMT -5
Its raining outside.. I am repairing torn off tabs and bits of plastic all over the body. I am just about ready to put it together. I need a test spin ... something to test the engine/brakes/etc before I put the plastics all back on. Also, I ordered a Honda belt for it. What everyone says is true: the original Honda belt is probably over 3" wide, and they specify 2.5-3.5". All of the Gates or Bando, or other belts at the same length, are 2.5" or less. It looks like only the Honda belt will truly be reliable. I also bought a battery tender. I have one for every battery-started device that might not get started on a regular schedule.
|
|
|
|
Post by rdhood on Oct 27, 2019 16:05:58 GMT -5
Yes! Today I took it for a test spin, and it is so much smoother than the bike pictured in my avatar that I am astonished. People always talk about the dead spot in acceleration at 40mph on a Reflex, but coming from a 150cc for for years... I can't feel it! It's a hundred pounds heavier and about a foot longer wheelbase than my other scooter, but I still think my 170lbs can push it around pretty good. I can still pick it up if I drop it on it's side, lol.
I am still working on the plastics and waiting on a belt, but I am ready to put it together and register it and ride it. Altogether it is coming in under $1000, which isn't bad for a Honda 250cc product with 8k miles.
My experience is having ridden bicycles for about 80,000 miles, and then the 150cc. Amazingly, a 150cc scooter has just about the same wheelbase as a mans bicycle. A 150cc feels like a really, really heavy bicycle, and its one reason why I love it. 250cc doesn't feel all that much bigger, but it is much smoother.
p.s. Yes. I bought this having never ridden one. The guy had it for $800 and (sight unseen, over text) I offered him less than half and he took it.Oddly, motorcycle/scooter forks/triple tree are just exactly like a 30 year old bicycle's! I looked at it and knew that I could fix it, I just didn't know for how much. If the engine is good, definitely worth it. If the engine was blown... probably too much for me. But I guessed that hitting a curb and dropping the bike messed up the front end and the plastics, but probably not the engine. At this point, I think I guessed right, and I will baby this thing till the end of it's (or my) days.
I did a Carfax on the VIN and found out some history: it was transfer registered in GA in 2006, and then crashed in 2016, and then sold in Aug 2018. That's it. But from the looks of it, it appears to have been owned for someone who kept it garaged until it was bought in 2018 from the guy I purchased it. It looks like it spent about one year outdoors under a shelter. From what I can tell, he did two things: changed the air filter, and changed the battery. He put a $170 LiPo battery in there! I am not sure what he was thinking, but this has all been in my capabilities to fix,and its about 96 % there.
|
|
|
|
Post by rdhood on Nov 2, 2019 13:46:25 GMT -5
This week: I finished filling in holes in the plastic, reattaching tabs, etc. Put on some touch up spray paint.
Thurs: Got to the DMV and registered the bike. Yes, now I can take it for a serious spin.
Tbis morning: put on the front fairing so that I will have lights and be street legal. And then: I took it out for an extended ride. About 45 minutes and 25 miles later, it all seems very good. I still don't feel a drop in power at 40. I a going to have to open it up and see what I have. Now I can put it all back together! I wanted to make sure that the non-oem fuel pump worked at all power levels, that this did not have some kind of engine heating or oil leak problem before I put the plastics back on.
Later on: the new belt came in . Guess what? The honda oem belt and the Bando belt are exactly the same...has both names on there... and they do NOT meet the spec in the service manual. So maybe Honda changed the spec after so many years? I am waffling if I should put it on. There is a new battery, a new air filter, and( washing them off) a new rear tire and a fairly recently swapped front tire. Would whomever did all that not change the belt?
|
|
