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Post by scooter on Nov 11, 2014 3:50:56 GMT -5
I have a 2008 Helix clone scooter here that says CFMoto on the plate, and says Qlink Commuter 250 on the users manual. The title says the make is a CFHG. It's a 244cc, so I guess I could have posted this in the other forum.   I like the low slung seating, the luxurious looking back rest, the HUGE top bag and rear trunk, plus it has a stereo system, and digital dash with temp sensor, but there are some things I DON'T like about it. For one thing the back brake is not on the handlebar, it's on the foot board, and right in the way of where I want to stretch out my legs. What a weird design, stupid even, inconvenient, and maybe unsafe in certain circumstances. I can squeeze my foot somewhat onto the floorboard, outboard of the pedal, but darn that's such a downer. If using regular brakes is like playing a guitar, this is more like playing drums.  Also, I think the tag said it takes a 10" rear tire. Is that even safe at 65 or 70 MPH?  I was only able to drive it around the parking lot. It cranks up super fast and seems quiet, smooth, and zippy. On the down side, turning the wheel to the far left and the far right causes a lever type action. You can feel the handlebars pulling to the sides due to the geometry of the steering system. It's much clunkier in low speed handling than my Titan 150 which zips around parking lots like I'm on roller blades.  The CF Moto / Qlink Commuter "250 cc" Honda Helix clone. What do you know about this bike? Is this a good quality bike? Is it more reliable than my Chinese Titan? Can I go on a 500 mile straight run on it? I'm considering trading up from my 150 Titan, but not sure yet. I want to trade up, but not to the wrong bike. |
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Post by spandi on Nov 11, 2014 13:40:45 GMT -5
It's the Chinese clone of the Honda Helix. We had one member (who was a CF Moto dealer) ride with her husband from Long Island NY to Daytona Beach FL, on them. (after proper setup and pdi of course ) As for the rear wheel, just make sure it's speed rated for the highway. I use P rated. (good for up to 93mph)
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Post by urbanmadness on Nov 11, 2014 23:07:00 GMT -5
The foot brake follows motorcycle convention where the right foot is for the rear brake. It made switching between the two a little more natural. It feels odd at first but you will get used to it, and if you ever move to a motorcycle it will make the transition a little easier.
Many of the honda's were like that (even tho it's just a clone). I'd also be leary of the top speed on it. Many of these scooters can only do 60mph, even tho it is a 250. (don't trust the speedo in it, gps it to be sure) Also, on the 250's (244's), you want to change the coolant during PDI with coolant that DOES NOT contain Silica. The stuff that comes in them is horrid.
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Post by scooter on Nov 11, 2014 23:24:05 GMT -5
The foot brake follows motorcycle convention where the right foot is for the rear brake. It made switching between the two a little more natural. It feels odd at first but you will get used to it, and if you ever move to a motorcycle it will make the transition a little easier. Many of the honda's were like that (even tho it's just a clone). I'd also be leary of the top speed on it. Many of these scooters can only do 60mph, even tho it is a 250. (don't trust the speedo in it, gps it to be sure) Also, on the 250's (244's), you want to change the coolant during PDI with coolant that DOES NOT contain Silica. The stuff that comes in them is horrid. HA! Thanks for the reminder about the brake. I've had several motorcycles but it's been a long time since I've ridden one. I am getting older and apparently senile too. I guess I just expect two hand levers. What a brain fart. Sometimes I wonder about myself.  On my bikes, I used engine braking the most, along with the front brake. The rear brake was mostly used as an assist to the engine braking. Having a clutch/engine-brake and a hand brake, or two hand brakes, seems a much better system than using a rear foot brake. This scooter's system seems dangerous to me. I realize the hand and foot thing is how most people learn to ride, but I didn't do it that way. Also, the ground is really slippery in the rain so I like to put both feet down and keep the bike as upright as possible. I don't want to be deciding between whether I want to get ready to put my feet down, or use the brake, when I stop. I need to take it out and ride it and see if I can live with the "no rear hand brake" system. If I decide to keep it, maybe I can modify the pedal to get it out of the way. Maybe I could even go crazy and add a left brake lever, but I doubt it. Thanks for the info about the top speed. It seems these scooters don't get much more speed even when adding a lot of CCs. |
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Post by bnc on Nov 12, 2014 14:19:13 GMT -5
You might want to consider a Honda Reflex or its clone then. The Reflex has front and rear brakes on the handlebar, it has larger wheels (12" rear, 13" front), both brakes are disks, it has a 249 cc engine. Mine will do 65 mph at 7,000 rpm and 79 mph at red-line of 8,300 rpm measured on GPS. I do almost all freeway riding so the rpm's are almost always between 7,000 and 7,500. It still averages 68 mpg.
I think the clone version actually has fuel injection which is an improvement over the Reflex's carburetor.
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Post by surfpick on Nov 12, 2014 17:12:40 GMT -5
Welcome to the Moto Brotherhood.
I've had mine up to 64 but that is not GPS.
I rest my foot above the brake pedal.
I try to stay far away from cars so I don't expect to need it very much.
The steering is not an issue for me. I lean the bike instead of turning the handlebars, even at fairly slow speeds.
Ya, 10" is pretty small. I'm trying to get a 50cc with 13" wheels, front and back!
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Post by oldchopperguy on Nov 12, 2014 18:25:43 GMT -5
Being an old-school motorcycle guy, I had the opposite problem... Getting used to NOT using my foot for the rear brake... LOL! Now however, I actually DO prefer BOTH brakes being on the bars. I too prefer putting both feet down at a stop. However, the rear foot-brake is something I guess one could live with on a nice scoot at a good price.
I think you could probably cure the stoplight problem pretty easily by adding a brake-light-switch to the front brake lever. If no "bolt-on" switch is available, you should be able to "Mickey-Mouse" a micro-switch of some sort to the front-brake lever. I too would not like the brake-light ONLY activated by the rear brake, even though I rode fifty years on cycles like that. Of course, they also had NO turn signals, OR electric starters... LOL!
As Spandi said, the 10" rear wheel should not be a problem so long as you be SURE to have at least "P-rated" tires at both ends.
Even though it would do near 80 mph, my old Kymco 250 used "J-rated" (62 mph) tires and they were NOT adequate, or safe at 70 mph+. Replacing them with J-rated tires made a BIG difference in overall handling, EVEN AT LOWER SPEEDS. Definitely worth the few dollars extra in my opinion, even on a scooter you may seldom ride over 60 mph.
You have a VERY nice, very classic scoot there! I'm sure it will do most anything you need it to do, and, if you can rig up a stop-light switch on the front lever, it will be safer and more convenient than the factory setup. That way, you could put both feet down when stopping, using only the front brake, and know the stop-light is activated. Little touches like that personalize your individual ride, and give more "pride of ownership" at the same time.
Ride safe!
Leo in Texas
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Post by scooter on Nov 12, 2014 23:04:40 GMT -5
Being an old-school motorcycle guy, I had the opposite problem... Getting used to NOT using my foot for the rear brake... LOL! Now however, I actually DO prefer BOTH brakes being on the bars. I too prefer putting both feet down at a stop. However, the rear foot-brake is something I guess one could live with on a nice scoot at a good price. I think you could probably cure the stoplight problem pretty easily by adding a brake-light-switch to the front brake lever.
As Spandi said, the 10" rear wheel should not be a problem so long as you be SURE to have at least "P-rated" tires at both ends. Even though it would do near 80 mph, my old Kymco 250... You have a VERY nice, very classic scoot there!
Ride safe!Leo in Texas That's what makes it so funny. Six months ago I was looking at my first scooter, wondering how I would deal with a new and different system and now I've forgotten about the old one. heheh. Fortunately this one has a brake light switch on the hand brake. That's good to know about the tires. Worrying about a blowout on 2 wheels is not good. Your Kymco sounds sweet. 80 would definitely be more my speed. Thanks, Leo! |
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Post by scooter on Nov 12, 2014 23:14:29 GMT -5
You might want to consider a Honda Reflex or its clone then. The Reflex has front and rear brakes on the handlebar, it has larger wheels (12" rear, 13" front), both brakes are disks, it has a 249 cc engine. Mine will do 65 mph at 7,000 rpm and 79 mph at red-line of 8,300 rpm measured on GPS. I do almost all freeway riding so the rpm's are almost always between 7,000 and 7,500. It still averages 68 mpg. I think the clone version actually has fuel injection which is an improvement over the Reflex's carburetor. That sounds good. 70 mph would be acceptable, and I guess so would 65, as long as it's at a cruising speed and not over working the bike. Dual disks are great. My 150 has dual disks and I can really appreciate that after riding one with front disk only. I can't even imagine dual drums if that other 150 scooter I rode was any indication of how a typical scooter drum brake works. Thanks for the advice! |
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Post by scooter on Nov 13, 2014 0:05:33 GMT -5
Welcome to the Moto Brotherhood. I've had mine up to 64 but that is not GPS. I rest my foot above the brake pedal. I try to stay far away from cars so I don't expect to need it very much. The steering is not an issue for me. I lean the bike instead of turning the handlebars, even at fairly slow speeds. Ya, 10" is pretty small. I'm trying to get a 50cc with 13" wheels, front and back! Thanks, Surfpick! On my own scooter it took me at least a month before I really started laying into the turns and trusting the tires not to slide or the bike not to fall over. I would really like to try this thing out for at least a few weeks and "get into it". I tried putting my foot above the pedal as you suggested. While my foot was hanging off quite a bit, I could try that on the road. If I did a little chopping and bending then I could get over half of my foot on the board beside the pedal. These scooter tires are so tiny! I guess when the swing arm is built into the engine then you have to keep the tires small or make the drive assembly really long and thicker. |
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Post by scooter on Nov 13, 2014 0:10:56 GMT -5
It's the Chinese clone of the Honda Helix. We had one member (who was a CF Moto dealer) ride with her husband from Long Island NY to Daytona Beach FL, on them. (after proper setup and pdi of course ) As for the rear wheel, just make sure it's speed rated for the highway. I use P rated. (good for up to 93mph) Thanks, Spandi! That's good to know! There is no way I'd take my 150 on a long drive. I'll definitely go with the P-rated tires on faster scoots. |
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Post by spandi on Nov 13, 2014 0:48:43 GMT -5
It's the Chinese clone of the Honda Helix. We had one member (who was a CF Moto dealer) ride with her husband from Long Island NY to Daytona Beach FL, on them. (after proper setup and pdi of course ) As for the rear wheel, just make sure it's speed rated for the highway. I use P rated. (good for up to 93mph) Thanks, Spandi! That's good to know! There is no way I'd take my 150 on a long drive. I'll definitely go with the P-rated tires on faster scoots. You're quite welcome. (the helix 244cc engine is under-stressed to take higher speeds for long distances.)  |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Nov 13, 2014 1:03:34 GMT -5
My "new" old Kymco Grandvista has been a real joy. "Minnie Mouse" is 7 years old, 15K miles on the clock, and reliable as the family sedan... The original owner took her from New York to Los Angeles and from Canada to Mexico, two-up and loaded down with gear! Only repairs needed were one belt, one muffler, one battery, one set of tires and one set of brake-pads. I have become a BIG Kymco fan!
She will actually do 80+, but only on a flat road, no wind, etc. In normal up-down, wind and hills, 70 is realistic, and she'll cruise 65+ all day long. And the tires DO make a big difference. I'd recommend the P-rated tires on ANY scooter (except those that will do better than  mph of course!)
Today's rides have us SO spoiled... Most of my early riding was done on 1950's Harleys. 1200cc, 900 pounds kick-start only and depression-era manual lever, cable-pull drum brake on the front, and a rod-and-pedal manual drum on the rear. Above 70 mph, Fred Flintstone's feet did better! Come to think of it, same was true at 20 mph... LOL!
Heck, we thought we were "state-of-the-art" simply having brakes on BOTH wheels! Back then, some bikes only had one POOR manual drum brake on the rear. Cheesh!
As always, ride safe!
Leo in Texas |
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Post by spandi on Nov 14, 2014 5:08:59 GMT -5
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mph of course!)