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Post by ltdhpp on Aug 18, 2013 9:11:26 GMT -5
JR - how much are those crate clones to your door? Are there many aftermarket goodies for them? Because that's where any money saved on this Reflex would go, lol. One thing I hate is the whisper quiet exhaust... So does this improve your chances of getting a Reflex? Yes! Maybe... I plan to do some more homework on what made-in-Taiwan aftermarket goodies for the clones might fit a reflex  A lot of times bikes at dealerships sit for months. Ask them how long its been there. Not having fresh fuel hurts performance too. Is the rear shock adjustable? The Burgman was and when I got mine it was way to tight... It's only about a month old on the lot. I ride by this place almost everyday fetching tires for my work and eye-bang (from the shop truck) what they have sitting outside (they go in at night and if it rains). And yes! I quickly found out they have adjustable pre-load on the rear suspension after some more googling. It's funny, this 'K-mod' that was mentioned is simply a roller weight change... Reflex people act like it's some ancient Chinese, er... Japanese(?) secret, lol Evidently these things have some strange just-for-the-geezers Honda variator that uses two very different weight rollers and has two very different ramp plate profiles. I kept hearing it referred to as a 'two-stage' variator... The 'k-mod' is simply removing the lighter rollers from one of the profile ramps, which sounds like it leaves it acting like a typical variator with lighter weights. Other folks just bought a variator for the 250cc 'big ruckus' and tune to taste. Me, well... I immediately started wondering if you could experiment with changing the weight of the rollers in both ramp profiles to get something better than the above two scenarios... I haven't yet joined their message board to see if anyone has tried, but from stuff I have found searching so far, it doesn't seem like many Reflex riders are also scooter mechanics...  |
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Post by ltdhpp on Aug 17, 2013 19:01:48 GMT -5
Go to a Honda Reflex forum and ask about (or look up) the "K mod." It is a simple free way to improve the bikes performance. Why didn't i think to search... lol I found lots of good info without even going deep... evidently the low rpm lack of spunk and shuddery sensation is typical and fixable! It seems they 'numbed' the take-off for safety reasons, so it doesn't 'get away from you'... what fun is that??? lol I'm going to do some homework... |
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Post by ltdhpp on Aug 17, 2013 15:21:39 GMT -5
yowzers! I looked at a few of those parts... at least from that site, everything is about 3x the price of the same part for a 150!!!
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Post by ltdhpp on Aug 17, 2013 15:05:23 GMT -5
I thought 2,500 seemed a little high... this is from a dealership though, who supposedly gave it a once-over and a 'tune-up'...
I've seen a few other reflexes on Craigslist near me, they all want $2-2,500 and have closer to 10-20,000 miles on them.
It does have some quirks that remind me of my Chinese scooters... the glove box door doesn't line up 100% when closed and the latch feels cheap. It's got your standard Chinese dash-rattle too... only at certain rpms.
I do like how the feet-forward position is sooo comfortable as well as the backrest. I'm no stranger to knee and backaches so this is pretty awesome. I know the clones would be the same, but there isn't any comparable clone to be found around me. And no-way am I going to shell out cash for a new Chinese 250 from a crate, I'd just as soon buy the Reflex.
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Post by ltdhpp on Aug 17, 2013 14:27:02 GMT -5
... and starting with the comedic side, I severely embarrassed myself! No, I didn't drop it, but when I pulled into a parking lot with it to see how well it re-starts warm, I couldn't get it to crank! I wound up pushing it back, but luckily I was only a 1/4 mile away and it was mostly downhill. It turns out the brake lever safety-start switch is not also the brake light switch like other scooters I've ridden. It has a different switch that you have to absolutely mash the brake lever in order to trigger - I'm talking lock-up-the-brakes-and-crash tight.
(I didn't start it up the 1st time)
Anyways, I was very pleased with the overall power it had, I got it to 55mph on a long empty rarely-used side road, and felt like it had lots of power left at only 1/2 throttle.
A few things I was not impressed by though... on that same road, I almost got bounced off the thing by a little dip in the road. Of course, the road wasn't manicured for highway speeds, but still... no road is perfect.
Power from 0-20mph was very 'blah'...
I feel like my 150cc with bolt-ons would get a giant leap on this thing off the line... also I didn't like how the clutch engagement felt. It didn't really feel/sound horrible or broken, but it definitely did not feel as clean and smooth as either my 50cc or 150cc...
Also, throttle response in general was very 'blah'...
On a flat, my 150cc rpms will change almost directly with throttle position, the engine will respond right away to quick blips of the throttle in a very satisfying way. On this Reflex, its like you're waiting a bit for the engine to catch up to what you are telling it to do.
I know these things aren't designed to be a spunky hot-rod of a scooter, but my main concern about the above 2 things is being able to quickly accelerate out of danger from a stop, low speed, or any speed.
This is a huge deal for me, and one of the points of having a large displacement machine, so it will go exactly as fast as you want it to, as soon as you tell it to (like any motorcycle). Do I need 400cc or better to get this?
Essentially the way this Reflex responds (except for having more grunt power once you are already going), it reminds me of how my 150cc ran when I first got it!
Is this just how all scooters are when they are stock??? Boring?
I'm worried I'd be tempted to modify it, and I'm sure this would wind up blowing up my budget. My goal is to get something I won't even have to think about modifying!
Anyone that has one of these, or even a clone of one, is this how yours acts?
It only has about 7,000 miles on it, it's a 2006, it's in excellent shape (navy blue) and they want $2,500 for it...
Thoughts?? Need input!!
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Post by ltdhpp on Aug 17, 2013 10:44:36 GMT -5
You are experiencing harmonic resonant vibration... a very peculiar and potentially dangerous (not in this case) physical phenomenon...
It's not that applying a brake is literally 'muting' the rattle, it is just changing one of many factors that can lead vibration to resonate and harmonize into a rattle. The vibration is still there, but conditions are no longer 'just right' to turn into a rattle.
You may have noticed that along with holding the brake, you can just touch areas around the instrument cluster to make it stop too.
If you could figure it out, you could most certainly simply attach a heavy piece of rubber to the right place and have it never rattle again. Good luck with that though ;D
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Post by ltdhpp on Aug 17, 2013 10:28:47 GMT -5
Stock clutch engagement is at about 2- 2.5k rpm - the tighter springs add their rating to this. Its just what you want, they don't care what jug or gears you have. One thing is for sure, tighter springs put more stress on the clutch - if you have a BBK I'd get a performance clutch and clutch bell. My stock scooter broke the stock clutch when I put tighter springs in it  |
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Post by ltdhpp on Aug 16, 2013 11:00:39 GMT -5
The fuel/air screw on carb like ours opens/closes the idle fuel circuit so if you turn it counter clockwise it will let more fuel though (I think) and may cure your idle issue. the 'norm' on that is about 2 1/2 turns out from all the way in.
Adjusting the needle lets more or less fuel through the main jet, depending which way you go. Think of the needle as a tapered plug for the main jet. At idle, the slide is all the way down, so the needle plugs the jet. As you rev up, the slide lifts the needle to let the fuel flow you need to accelerate. The taper of the needle is why changing it's height changes flow - the more needle that's in the jet (the lower it is) the less fuel it lets out.
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Post by ltdhpp on Aug 15, 2013 18:10:37 GMT -5
how does it run right now? have you done plug checks?
It's possible the one you have in it is fine. An air filter alone isn't a huge change anyway if your kept the stock exhaust. Mine ran good with just a filter with what I estimated was a 108 jet, which was in my carb when i got it. I say estimate because I don't have a pin gauge, but the next best thing is a torch tip cleaner set. With those you can at least compare what you've got with the other sizes that are identified by the kit.
Another significant adjustment is your main jet needle height. You can take of the carb's top cover and pull the spring and diaphragm/slide piece out. In the slide you will find the needle held into the slide usually with a small screw and plate. Remove this and the needle comes out, which will usually have several notches and a clip you can move around to change the height. Experiment with this first, and if it runs best at one extreme, then change jet size one step and repeat.
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Post by ltdhpp on Aug 13, 2013 11:56:01 GMT -5
That is not the clutch - that is the torque sheave you are opening up. The two halves are supposed to be tight to pull apart but they should spring right back together with force. A stronger torque/contra spring puts more pressure on it giving you better acceleration with that pulley closed and the belt high.
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Virginia
by: ltdhpp - Aug 12, 2013 12:12:22 GMT -5
Post by ltdhpp on Aug 12, 2013 12:12:22 GMT -5
Central VA, in the 'Hill City'
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Post by ltdhpp on Aug 10, 2013 9:41:01 GMT -5
I hear medium to loud exhaust behind me in traffic just fine...  Pipes don't have to be deafeningly/annoyingly loud to me heard. The cans with the silencers in them make plenty of sound without being too much. I would be scared to death to drive a whisper quiet scoot or sport touring bike... ANY extra chance that will let someone know you are in their blind spot is worth having. There's not much you can do (besides lay on the horn) in that 1/2 second it takes for some people to swoop quickly into the lane next to them (you know how some cagers do it...) if you don't have a way out. Of course a safety goal is to not allow yourself to get boxed in by cars and curbs, but sometimes it's unavoidable. |
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Post by ltdhpp on Aug 10, 2013 9:12:39 GMT -5
just a shot in the dark, but try disconnecting the wire from the stator to the regulator.(assuming it's an a.c. system) just use the HV wire to the cdi. What does this accomplish for testing purposes? Rather, what should I look for and suspect if something changes? I'm guessing it eliminates any other electrical (headlights, battery re-charge) from the picture, in case a problem with them is affecting the ignition circuit? And thanks for the diagram! I'm going to keep a printout of that in the scooter... lol |
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Post by ltdhpp on Aug 10, 2013 9:08:10 GMT -5
A failing ignition pickup can cause a signal that builds too slowly and retards timing when they start to fail. They can seem fine when you open up the bucket due to the increased air flow allowing things to cool off but once you start putting everything back together it overheats again and fails. Excellent - this is what I was wanting to hear, and is the only thing that makes sense in my head. I'm going to peel the rear body off when the new one arrives so I can get a good look at all the wiring too. |
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Post by ltdhpp on Aug 9, 2013 11:33:15 GMT -5
Or is it just signal-or-no-signal? Ive been pulling my hair out over this thing, and have tried/tested everything including a brand new carb. Whatever is happening, it will re-create the symptoms fine while it runs on the stand, then will magically clear up and run as good as ever, for no apparent reason. When it acts up, it doesn't want to rev up, and if you try it will stall, then not want to restart for a bit. According to my tach (and a spark test) I have spark as soon as I can crank it after it shuts off - I have no indication of loss of spark, unless it comes back that quick. It acts the same with the blue CDI and the stock one. I put the stock coil wire back on and have all but abused it trying to make it act up, and it doesn't Then on the other hand (this is well after it's warmed up) it will randomly run and rev up fine after doing/touching nothing. It revs just as good as ever, and sure enough if I shut it down when it is 'good', it will start right back up just fine. Then about the time I think about putting it back together to go for a ride - it won't rev up anymore, after doing nothing. Its got fresh gas that's been running fine in my mower - no vacuum leaks - valves are spot on - compression pumps up to almost 200psi. There is plenty of fuel flowing into the carb. So, if I have spark, fuel, and compression, all that leaves is timing, right? It behaves exactly the same with the new carb as the old one. I was able the get the a/f screw and idle set while it was 'good' It sort of makes sense in my head... ignition needs to advance when it revs up, right? So if it doesn't, or if timing is way off, the fuel wont burn, loading it up and making it extra rich? maybe making it flood out? When it is 'bad' and shuts off, it does act like a carb thats flooded, it takes a little time and nursing the throttle to start it back up. I have a replacement trigger on the way, but I'm not looking forward to replacing it, since one of my fan bolts has a head rounded off.... |
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So does this improve your chances of getting a Reflex?
A lot of times bikes at dealerships sit for months. Ask them how long its been there. Not having fresh fuel hurts performance too. Is the rear shock adjustable? The Burgman was and when I got mine it was way to tight...
