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Post by 4950cycle on Nov 14, 2016 11:38:36 GMT -5
You have to sit on one and see. The Sport City is only $4,000/$5000 to the misinformed along with the price gougers as they sold for $2,999 new and used with low mileage can be had for $1,500 (remember asking a ridiculous price on Craigs List is not getting it). Before judging by deceptive pictures and such you really have to go out and visit dealerships to play Goldilocks and sit on the various bikes to see for yourself what does and does not work. You may find as taller and heavier riders with longer legs than either of us have that a taller bike with a more upright riding position can be shorter in wheel base and yet provide better ergonomics so they work out just fine unless you are dead set to get a low slung ride with a cruiser style riding position. You really need to do more than look at pictures and instead get out there in the flesh to touch, feel and sit on a variety of bikes and then keep a watchful on both Craigs List and Cycle Trader to see which ones come up at a price that fits your budget. I knew before I picked up my Sport City that they were too expensive, too much like a Vespa, not roomy enough for a big body like me, etc until the day I walked into an Aprilia dealership and sat on one. The 6' 6" 300 + lb finance manager asked me to stay till he got ready to leave and when he did he handed me the keys to his bike to take a ride and that was what sold me. What a solid sport bike like ride that was compared to any Chinese scooter I had every ridden and for less than $3,000 when the Chinese 250cc scooters were selling for only a few hundred dollars less locally at $2,699 to $2,899. JCL MP250A Lihai 257cc powered / Well, I'm in the same boat is Oldchopperguy now, No new scooter for a while now. My girlfriend / wife just came home from being put on furlough at the hospital where she "Worked" past tense as of this morning. Everthings on my measley check now. No new/used scooter for me now in the very near future at least. That really SUCKS. Along with all the other financial difficulties that this will cause. Back on the scooter subject. I wish I could get 5 or 6 honest hp more out of the scooter I have. That would sufice my wants for right now at least. Its just that a torque based moter like I think the Linhia 257 is is hard to effectively expand on. In other words they are what they are. A motor that is rev happy can be coaxed to put out more hp more easily. I could spend $600-700 on big shiny performance pipe and carberater a pod airfilter and go up to more than a $1000 with a big bore kit even and all it would do if I'm lucky is gain me 3 hp again if I'm lucky ! More realistically 1-2 hp. . Just not enough bang for my buck IMO. And make a big noisy, not much if any faster ride out of my scooter !  |
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Post by 4950cycle on Nov 15, 2016 0:22:03 GMT -5
You have to sit on one and see. The Sport City is only $4,000/$5000 to the misinformed along with the price gougers as they sold for $2,999 new and used with low mileage can be had for $1,500 (remember asking a ridiculous price on Craigs List is not getting it). Before judging by deceptive pictures and such you really have to go out and visit dealerships to play Goldilocks and sit on the various bikes to see for yourself what does and does not work. You may find as taller and heavier riders with longer legs than either of us have that a taller bike with a more upright riding position can be shorter in wheel base and yet provide better ergonomics so they work out just fine unless you are dead set to get a low slung ride with a cruiser style riding position. You really need to do more than look at pictures and instead get out there in the flesh to touch, feel and sit on a variety of bikes and then keep a watchful on both Craigs List and Cycle Trader to see which ones come up at a price that fits your budget. I knew before I picked up my Sport City that they were too expensive, too much like a Vespa, not roomy enough for a big body like me, etc until the day I walked into an Aprilia dealership and sat on one. The 6' 6" 300 + lb finance manager asked me to stay till he got ready to leave and when he did he handed me the keys to his bike to take a ride and that was what sold me. What a solid sport bike like ride that was compared to any Chinese scooter I had every ridden and for less than $3,000 when the Chinese 250cc scooters were selling for only a few hundred dollars less locally at $2,699 to $2,899. JCL MP250A Lihai 257cc powered / Well, I'm in the same boat is Oldchopperguy now, No new scooter for a while now. My girlfriend / wife just came home from being put on furlough at the hospital where she "Worked" past tense as of this morning. Everthings on my measley check now. No new/used scooter for me now in the very near future at least. That really SUCKS. Along with all the other financial difficulties that this will cause. Back on the scooter subject. I wish I could get 5 or 6 honest hp more out of the scooter I have. That would sufice my wants for right now at least. Its just that a torque based moter like I think the Linhia 257 is is hard to effectively expand on. In other words they are what they are. A motor that is rev happy can be coaxed to put out more hp more easily. I could spend $600-700 on big shiny performance pipe and carberater a pod airfilter and go up to more than a $1000 with a big bore kit even and all it would do if I'm lucky is gain me 3 hp again if I'm lucky ! More realistically 1-2 hp. . Just not enough bang for my buck IMO. And make a big noisy, not much if any faster ride out of my scooter ! I would be more than happy to concede if anybody has done these mods to the 257 linhia and got a better than I said Dyno read. JCL MP250A Lihai 257cc powered / I know what scooter I want now when the time does come though. I really like the Kymco Downtown 300I . If it doesn't fit me I would totally redesign the seat to give me more leg stretch if you know what I mean. I don't mind any wheels that arent below 13 inches. My JCL has 13 inchers with Pilots on them and I can ride the do do out of it. And I'm really not crazy about that modern Euro look that Sym and other Kymcos have. |
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Post by rockynv on Nov 15, 2016 9:48:20 GMT -5
I put function ahead of form and its hard to beat a tall rider with 15" or 16" rims even if it has a shorter wheel base than a bike with the 12" or 13" rims. A bike or a car to me are like a hammer or screwdriver - tools to get a job done and not something to while away the hours looking at. The Aprilia fits in the middle with Euro looks but with enough traditional scooter that it does not look like something Alien from Power Rangers or Transformers Movie however the main factor was that it performed and rode very well along with fit me without modification.
Choose well and you can find a tall rider that takes Metric Cruiser Motorcycle Tires which have deeper tread and more rubber on them so they last longer and are safer than most scooter specific tires especially if you get caught in the rain on the Interstate with the added plus of having a higher temperature/speed rating.
Most do not realize that a tire is only tested to withstand running at its top speed for 10 minutes and that the top speed that its rated at is only 6.5 mph below the speed at which the tire failed the 10 minute test.
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Post by oldchopperguy on Nov 15, 2016 22:47:54 GMT -5
JCL MP250A Lihai 257cc powered / Well, I'm in the same boat is Oldchopperguy now, No new scooter for a while now. My girlfriend / wife just came home from being put on furlough at the hospital where she "Worked" past tense as of this morning. Everthings on my measley check now. No new/used scooter for me now in the very near future at least. That really SUCKS. Along with all the other financial difficulties that this will cause. Back on the scooter subject. I wish I could get 5 or 6 honest hp more out of the scooter I have. That would sufice my wants for right now at least. Its just that a torque based moter like I think the Linhia 257 is is hard to effectively expand on. In other words they are what they are. A motor that is rev happy can be coaxed to put out more hp more easily. I could spend $600-700 on big shiny performance pipe and carberater a pod airfilter and go up to more than a $1000 with a big bore kit even and all it would do if I'm lucky is gain me 3 hp again if I'm lucky ! More realistically 1-2 hp. . Just not enough bang for my buck IMO. And make a big noisy, not much if any faster ride out of my scooter ! I would be more than happy to concede if anybody has done these mods to the 257 linhia and got a better than I said Dyno read. JCL MP250A Lihai 257cc powered / I know what scooter I want now when the time does come though. I really like the Kymco Downtown 300I . If it doesn't fit me I would totally redesign the seat to give me more leg stretch if you know what I mean. I don't mind any wheels that arent below 13 inches. My JCL has 13 inchers with Pilots on them and I can ride the do do out of it. And I'm really not crazy about that modern Euro look that Sym and other Kymcos have.
My friend, I fully agree about the engine mods. CVT tranny scooters are quite different from motorcycles like I rode for 50-years... Many members including myself, have gotten far more performance improvement from tweaking the CVT transmission that coaxing more power from the motor. I think you might get almost what you want simply by switching the rollers in your variator with Dr. Pulley sliders. Next season, I plan to do that on my Kymco 250. Most riders here who switch to sliders are riding 50's and 150's but a few have done the switch on their 250's. Most got better acceleration, hill-climbing and top-speed/cruising speed AND better gas mileage too. Talk about a win-win-win situation!
Any riders who've done the slider conversion on a 250, PLEASE chime in here with WEIGHT recommendation. Getting the right slider weight is absolutely critical.You can usually do the change-out yourself with just hand-tools, and the sliders should cost less than $50. MUCH more "bang for the buck" than any engine mod. Usually you don't even need to change clutch springs. Keep in mind, a 250cc engine is only 15 cubic-inches in displacement. When I was young, the Italian-made Harley-Davidson Sprint 250 won races, and it had 15hp: one hp per cubic-inch. THAT was considered red-hot in the sixties! So even though many of today's 250's put out more, the least-powerful Chinese 250 still puts out that magic 15hp or better.
They have enough power. They just need a better setup getting to the rear wheel.You probably already have a pretty good scooter there, and just maybe, the right weight of SLIDERS could be your "icing on the cake". It's affordable enough to be worth a try. Just be SURE the weights are right for your scoot. ADVICE NEEDED HERE! For my Kymco slider weights too...Leo in Texas PS: And, yeah... That new fuel-injected Kymco 300 is the "cat's azz" for performance, and doesn't fit anybody... LOL! Except ME! LO not so L. Fits me like a glove... Wish I could afford one. The original owner of my old "Minnie Mouse" traded her on one. Oh well, no room in the budget, and the old mouse is a great scoot for me. At least when some Bozo bangs it in the parking lot at Wally World, he's not scratching new paint!  |
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Post by rockynv on Nov 16, 2016 8:31:43 GMT -5
Many find that on a 250 staying with the stock weight on the sliders works out well as the wedge shape of the slider will close the variator up tighter than the roller will unless your belt is too short or the clutch sheaves are sticking and won't open up all the way. Some find that the belt is too short so that it bottoms out in the clutch sheave and there's no belt slack left to allow the variator to close up all the way while others with a clutch that sticks and won't open up fully limits how far the variator can close up limiting top speed also. If the belt is too long it will allow the variator to close but won't open the clutch all the way again limiting top speed. A belt that's too wide can behave the same as one that's too short and one that's too narrow like one that's too long even if technically its too short.
Its all a balancing act of roller/slider weight, belt length/width and clutch contra spring strength. Some find if they get too aggressive with the roller/slider weight that they close up the variator/shift into high gear too soon so that they are no longer in the engines optimum torque range losing acceleration and top speed like trying to shift your car from 1st straight to 5th gear at 10 mph and trying to get up to highway speed.
Some make the mistake of trying too many things at once instead of just one thing at a time so it then becomes difficult to pick out what really did not work for example adding heavier weights or sliders to the variator for more top speed and at the same time installing a stiffer contra spring in the clutch which will negate the effect of the weights and possibly leave you with a CVT that is running hotter all the time and eats up belts more quickly.
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Post by 4950cycle on Nov 22, 2016 22:56:59 GMT -5
JCL MP250A Lihai 257cc powered / I know what scooter I want now when the time does come though. I really like the Kymco Downtown 300I . If it doesn't fit me I would totally redesign the seat to give me more leg stretch if you know what I mean. I don't mind any wheels that arent below 13 inches. My JCL has 13 inchers with Pilots on them and I can ride the do do out of it. And I'm really not crazy about that modern Euro look that Sym and other Kymcos have.
My friend, I fully agree about the engine mods. CVT tranny scooters are quite different from motorcycles like I rode for 50-years... Many members including myself, have gotten far more performance improvement from tweaking the CVT transmission that coaxing more power from the motor. I think you might get almost what you want simply by switching the rollers in your variator with Dr. Pulley sliders. Next season, I plan to do that on my Kymco 250. Most riders here who switch to sliders are riding 50's and 150's but a few have done the switch on their 250's. Most got better acceleration, hill-climbing and top-speed/cruising speed AND better gas mileage too. Talk about a win-win-win situation!
Any riders who've done the slider conversion on a 250, PLEASE chime in here with WEIGHT recommendation. Getting the right slider weight is absolutely critical.You can usually do the change-out yourself with just hand-tools, and the sliders should cost less than $50. MUCH more "bang for the buck" than any engine mod. Usually you don't even need to change clutch springs. Keep in mind, a 250cc engine is only 15 cubic-inches in displacement. When I was young, the Italian-made Harley-Davidson Sprint 250 won races, and it had 15hp: one hp per cubic-inch. THAT was considered red-hot in the sixties! So even though many of today's 250's put out more, the least-powerful Chinese 250 still puts out that magic 15hp or better.
They have enough power. They just need a better setup getting to the rear wheel.You probably already have a pretty good scooter there, and just maybe, the right weight of SLIDERS could be your "icing on the cake". It's affordable enough to be worth a try. Just be SURE the weights are right for your scoot. ADVICE NEEDED HERE! For my Kymco slider weights too...Leo in Texas PS: And, yeah... That new fuel-injected Kymco 300 is the "cat's azz" for performance, and doesn't fit anybody... LOL! Except ME! LO not so L. Fits me like a glove... Wish I could afford one. The original owner of my old "Minnie Mouse" traded her on one. Oh well, no room in the budget, and the old mouse is a great scoot for me. At least when some Bozo bangs it in the parking lot at Wally World, he's not scratching new paint! JCL MP250A Lihai 257cc powered / If anybody is wondering why I am riding on someone elses quotes all the time it's because it says I can't post my own post because my browser is out of date. I guess Windows Vista can't be updated in anyway to make it work either. Anyway Oldchopperguy, I have shortened my variator boss 3 mm to make my variator compress all the way, and put 4 eleven gram sliders in and 4 twelve gram sliders in. I lose a pinch of holeshot performance . But 10 mph and above It gave very nice midrange power and smooth acceleration to 68 mph unless there is any extra resistance . Like strong headwind or pulling 5 % grades or more obviously. |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Nov 23, 2016 0:23:40 GMT -5
4950cycle,
Thanks for the heads-up! That's a trick I had not heard of.
I too had to mix two different weights in my old 150 to get the best all-round performance. Something to try.
My Wife's computer won't work anymore with "updated" Internet mumbo-jumbo. My son gave her an old one he was going to throw out... Cheesh! It's got Windows 7 and works fine. He replaced it with some wonder-whiz-bang bazillion megaweasel Darth Vader gaming computer... Whatever turns you on... It looks like used PC's have absolutely NO value, so, you might find one gathering dust in some family or friend's digs.
Any others with slider advice for 250's, please let us know...
Thanks!
Leo in Texas
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Post by cyborg55 on Nov 23, 2016 9:13:50 GMT -5
4950,,,nice find on the variator boss,,more than a few members here could benefit from "blue printing" their drive line,,,there's a bone right there
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Post by 4950cycle on Nov 23, 2016 23:58:10 GMT -5
4950,,,nice find on the variator boss,,more than a few members here could benefit from "blue printing" their drive line,,,there's a bone right there JCL MP250A Lihai 257cc powered / I learned it from a GY6 150 cc Ricky Racer.  I then confirmed it might work on a 257 Linhai when I did a variator test on my JCL on the center stand. I turned the accelerater to highway speed 6500 RPM and noticed my variator wasn't squeezing the belt out to full diameter with no load. Figuring more might be better , I revved it even higher in RPM to 8,300 " NOT RECOMENDED" The Linhai burbled a bit at that speed like the valves were trying to float . BUT the variator still did not achieve full movement (belt clear out to edge of pulley) or top/ high gear. So first checked and made sure the belt was long enough to allow full movment of variator. It was . Next, Took the variator apart to see what might prevent it from full sqeeze so to speak. I discovered while simulating what it does while in use with my two hands that the boss was a bit two long to let it collapse all the way. I ground it from 61 1/2 mm factory length down to 58 1/2 mm . Bingo ! Got full movment from my variator that quick. To anyone who wants to try this I recommend grinding only 2 mm. I think it will be just right. Don't rev your Linhia like I did. I had coil and CDI mayhem for weeks till I finally got it sorted out again. Take my word for it. 10 to 12 gram sliders, And shorten your stock variator boss to 59 mm . Do nice work though. Remember, they also call a variator boss a variator bearing. So make sure your work is sqaure and smooth in the end. With this mod the lighter the rider the faster he or she will go top speed. With very good accelleration also. Took me weeks or more to come to this. |
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Post by 4950cycle on Nov 25, 2016 20:55:12 GMT -5
JCL MP250A Lihai 257cc powered Also another nice benefit . Engine braking when decellerating has improved at least 40 % IMO.
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Post by dollartwentyfive on Nov 26, 2016 10:44:40 GMT -5
a word of caution when doing engine tests on the centerstand.
as the rear wheel turns, there will be some RPMs that will make the back of the scoot "hop up and down".
if this is severe enough, it will pick the scoot up off the cenerstand and the spring will fold the stand back up under the scoot.
the effects of this will not be good and could cause a great deal of damage.
so, keep your foot on the centerstand kickdown peg at all times while doing engine RPM tests.
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Post by 4950cycle on Nov 26, 2016 23:54:21 GMT -5
a word of caution when doing engine tests on the centerstand. as the rear wheel turns, there will be some RPMs that will make the back of the scoot "hop up and down". if this is severe enough, it will pick the scoot up off the cenerstand and the spring will fold the stand back up under the scoot. the effects of this will not be good and could cause a great deal of damage. so, keep your foot on the centerstand kickdown peg at all times while doing engine RPM tests. JCL MP250A Lihai 257cc powered / I'm 54 yrs. old. You think I don't know better than to launch a scooter through a sliding glass door   |
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Post by w650 on Nov 28, 2016 18:04:24 GMT -5
I know this is off topic but this Dell has Windows Vista and works just fine. Of course the AMD Processor stinks but I can live with it. Maybe something else is off kilter. Have you tried another Browser?
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Post by wheelbender6 on Nov 28, 2016 19:51:42 GMT -5
Good point about the Browser. My outlook email hardly runs at all on the Mozilla Browser.
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Post by 4950cycle on Nov 28, 2016 23:43:32 GMT -5
I know this is off topic but this Dell has Windows Vista and works just fine. Of course the AMD Processor stinks but I can live with it. Maybe something else is off kilter. Have you tried another Browser? JCL MP250A Lihai 257cc powered / I have Windows Vista too. The memo should have said "change browsers". It said I must "Update Browser" . My girlfriend just changed browsers to Google Chrome and all is well now . |
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