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Post by beerkeg on Aug 30, 2013 14:41:33 GMT -5
I just got the Bi Metro and with the help of a young friend had it uncrated and assembled in about 3 hours or so. It went together well but I must say the PDF file assembly instructions leave a lot to be desired. For example the bolt that holds the bikes front forks in place in shipping is also the front axle. The instructions fail to mention that. We were looking all over for it and the spacer. Bike started right up and runs like a dream. Had her out for short rides since it's not yet registered or plated. This is a 110cc 4 stroke, air cooled engine, and a 4 speed semi automatic transmission. I have not even taken it out of 3rd gear so far. Takes off ok in that gear and doesn't seem to wind out and call for 4th in the short blocks that I've ridden so far. This bike has lots of torque, even in 3rd gear I can feel the engine braking if I ease off the throttle. It looks just like the Honda Cub it is a clone of. It's plenty fast enough for my riding around the city. Going to take some getting used to shifting gears with out a clutch and the rear brake is by the right foot also something to get used to. So far it seems to be a really sweet ride. I got be blue and white package. I look forward to getting the registration done and get plates on her for a longer higher speed run and chance to run through all 4 gears. Shifting is a bit tight being new. I checked the oil and it was right up to full when it got here and the oil doesn't smell like the usual Chinese crap oil we know and hate. I'll change the oil once she is used a bit more. One thing I did not like was the right turn signal hangs over the front brake lever making that a bit awkward but I have very large hands. There are two molded in signal lights that do not seem to be wired as they function only as reflectors. Apparently DOT required the addition of the added ones. I'll post further review after she gets a few more miles on her.
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Post by skuttadawg on Aug 30, 2013 20:35:00 GMT -5
I would change the oil to be safe along with the gear lube . Most use 10w40 and GL5 or 80w90 gear lube but being a manual it may require a thinner oil . My Echarm uses 10w40 in the gears and engine
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Post by scootnwinn on Aug 30, 2013 23:01:42 GMT -5
Skutta the bimetro is chain final drive you could use 10w40 but a nice sticky chain lube like PJ1 is probably best...
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Post by skuttadawg on Aug 30, 2013 23:36:11 GMT -5
I used Mecron ( Ford auto tranny oil ) in my Honda CR125 instead of regular gear oil . Unsure if an auto clutch is wet like a manual clutch is . Spray the chain when you park it . If you spray and ride it wet it may sling the oil off and onto other places .
Scootnwinn did you mean WD40 ?
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Post by prodigit on Aug 30, 2013 23:45:26 GMT -5
On those bikes you got to do a sprocket change, to get better MPG, and better top speed.
What's the rear sprocket tooth count?
Most of the time they got great torque, but you need to rev them really high for it to gain somewhat useable speed; like in 4th gear, 2k RPM, you're probably only going 10-15MPH.
To get the best gear ratio, you should rev 4k RPM @ 40MPH.
You could do 55MPH with a bike like that, with the right sprocket change.
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Post by scootnwinn on Aug 31, 2013 9:00:15 GMT -5
I meant chain lube don't use wd40. The gear and crank case use the same oil guys. Also the stock sprockets will do fine there is a guy on here who gets great mileage and performance stock. Changing from stock you will compromise some part of the bikes performance
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Post by cat0020 on Aug 31, 2013 16:43:10 GMT -5
I have put about 850 miles on my BMC bi-metro since JUL. I used regular Rotella on the chain, just as in the engine for oil changes, lube the chain as often as oil changes. The little 110cc engine revs high and generates quite a bit of metal flakes between oil changes. Valves tend to stay well within adjustments though. The transmission still stays pretty knotchy for me, even though I downshift quite a bit when I slow down. With the sprockets changed, acceleration in 1st head and top speed have both improved from OEM gearing. Maybe this thread can be combined with my BMS scooter threadjust to keep the info about the same scooter together. |
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Post by cat0020 on Aug 31, 2013 16:50:19 GMT -5
BTW, I wouldn't operate this scooter much in speeds 40mph or above for sustained amount of time.
The suspension of this a scooter simply isn't designed to operate at that speed with much safety margin.
The combination of lightweight and poor suspensions, a nice bump in the road can easily send the rider/vehicle airborne, taco the wheels upon landing, send operator kissing the pavement.
After putting more than 500k miles on 2 wheeled vehicles in the last decade, I've learned valuable lesson of operating within each vehicle's designated operating parameters, not only does it keep vehicles operating properly, keeps me from breaking bones.
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Post by prodigit on Aug 31, 2013 19:15:13 GMT -5
Indeed, those bikes are geared too short. Too fast acceleration, needs shifting too frequently, too low top speed, and too low MPG. Unless you're planning on riding in inches deep mud, rough terrain, or on steep hills, you could easily change the gearing from the stock ??14/41T?? setup to a 16/41T or a 14/35T I wouldn't go lower than those settings. I have a 14/31T on mine, but top speed is too much susceptible to winds and hills, and acceleration even with the 17cc more, is painfully slow. But the usable 'all-day' rev range is between 30-45MPH now (up from 25-35MPH on stock), and the MPG's went up to 105MPG (occasionally gotten 118MPG), up from 84MPG. MPG's should be taken with a grain of salt, because the tank only holds 0.8 gal of fresh gas, and even after filling it up, one can overfill 10% more fuel, so those last 10% are susceptible to some variables... The metal flakes are from the transmission as well as from the engine. They will decrease. I have a similar 4 step semi-manual gearbox, and a 127cc engine, possibly a BBK on that 110cc engine. The oil intervals should be (in odo reading or km's) 50 (50km after first interval) 150 (100km after second interval) 300 (150km after third interval) 600 (300km after 4th interval) 1000 (400 km after 5th interval) 1500 (500km after 6th interval) 2200 (700km after 7th interval) 3000 (800km after 8th interval) and every 1000 consecutive km's. Read more: itistheride.boards.net/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=1729&page=10#ixzz2dayam1dLoil should be ~10W40 (5W30 to 10W30 might work ok in colder places) Also it might benefit you to plug in a magnetic drain plug, to minimize metal flake circulation through the engine. |
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Post by beerkeg on Aug 31, 2013 22:03:43 GMT -5
So far I only have about 12 miles on it, just around the immediate area as it's not yet registered or insured. I hit a snag with registering it in Wisconsin. The local DMV says they do not have this bike on their approved list (what ever that is) and cannot register it. They referred me to DMV central offices in Madison and I've had email from them saying there are several answers to my questions and I need to call them. It's extremely difficult for me to use a telephone after cancer treatments (no voice box) so I replied to their email with photos of all pertinent informational tags and stickers. It is stated on the MCO and on the attached tag that it meets all federal DOT and EPA standards so I don't see any reason it should not be easily registered. I'll be looking for a reply to my email soon. I explained to them about the difficulty with telephones so hopefully they'll understand that not every one can do the usual route. From the little riding I've done I can see that possibly taller gearing could be helpful but I won't think of any changes until it's well broken in. Their user manual would have me do less than 25mph the first hundred miles and less than 30 for the first 500 or so. I'm not likely to stay much under 30 around here without getting run off the road. I would not feel comfortable going faster than 40 on this bike. But I do all city riding so that's plenty fast enough. I'm going to take it easy on the bike for the first 200-300. I did change out the oil that came in it. Did not find any metal flakes in it but it's hardly been warmed up so far. I'll post further after I know more. Great info from all you guys.....Thanks  |
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Post by prodigit on Sept 1, 2013 0:58:53 GMT -5
the speed doesn't really matter on this bike,
in the beginning you can't just rev them too high.
So it would be better to go 35MPH in 4th gear, than going 10MPH in 1st gear.
Also, downshifting (going from 4>3>2>1) should be done very tardy, meaning at very low revs. Don't downshift when the engine is revving high, unless you can compensate by opening the throttle. That's about the only shitty thing about this bike, when you enter a red light, and don't know if you need to upshift to 4th, Neutral, and back to 1, or go from 4>3>2>1st gear!
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Post by prodigit on Sept 1, 2013 12:47:35 GMT -5
I also was thinking, too bad that the bike's suspension is bad. However on normal asphalt roads it shouldn't give you any problems.
My Roketa MC-05-127 has amazing suspension! I even rode at 15MPH over a road block the height of the sidewalk and survived!
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Post by beerkeg on Sept 1, 2013 16:28:42 GMT -5
[replyingto=prodigit]prodigit[/replyingto]From the short rides so far I've found that I only use 3rd and 4th gear. There is always a lag with traffic getting started and this bike has pretty good acceleration in 3rd. I'm most often at the next stop by the time I need 4th gear. Down shifting has not been a problem and I do it at a pretty slow speed. I'm sure I will be using all the gears once I can ride further as there are some nice hills along the way. Right now it's all level ground. I sure would prefer to do my riding up at my summer place in lake country. Very rural with lots of curves and hills to deal with. Unfortunately even though I'm retired I have to stay here due to the ongoing medical care.
I've been reading conflicting ideas on break in, one method says push it so the rings expand out and wear in well, others say take it easy for awhile. Some good points on both sides of that discussion. It sounds like I'll be just fine with the way I'll need to ride here in the city. I'm thinking high quality oil and frequent changes make a lot of sense.
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Post by prodigit on Sept 1, 2013 19:01:32 GMT -5
At the breakin, the only thing you need to be careful with is not to rev the bike too high.
The other method is actually balasting the engine's load (meaning riding WOT, but at low revs).
Both methods use low revs. With a high load the engine breakin will happen faster, but IMHO nothing you should worry about. Just ride it regularly and not too crazy.
As far as starting in 3rd is not good for the clutch. You may not notice it, but when you start in 3rd, WOT, the first few seconds the clutch will be slipping because your RPM is too low.
Feeling like departing in 3rd gear is a sign you need to upgear your gears. Easiest is to either change the front sprocket, or order a new rear sprocket. They're only $50 at rebelgears.com.
Hold down the rear brake, while you get the sprocket screws loose, then take out the rear wheel axle (use the center stand to lift the rear wheel off the ground, or use the car lift to lift it a bit higher), and exchange the rear sprocket.
When tightening, have someone lock the rear wheel brake, while you tighten the bolts (or you press the brake, while someone else does the bolts). A 15 min job. Front sprocket is easier, because once you go down more than 3 tooth, you'll need to remove chain links, to keep the chain at the right tension.
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Post by cat0020 on Sept 2, 2013 8:21:07 GMT -5
I replaced my sprockets with cheap replacement from eBay, both sprockets cost less than $25 combined, free shipping even.
Going to a 16t front allow much more use for the 1st gear, better cruise range in traffic with 3rd gear and high speed 40+mph cruising for 4th gear much less engine stress.
I also took off about 6-8lb. of items from OEM scooter, losing that weight is about the same as adding more power output to the engine.
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