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Post by 4950cycle on Nov 22, 2016 19:56:00 GMT -5
ramblinman JCL MP250A Lihai 257cc powered / The one problem with anybodys porting operation is they need a flow bench to do better work. If you don't have a flow bench its hard to see the benefits of the porting you are doing at the time.
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Post by 4950cycle on Nov 22, 2016 18:19:00 GMT -5
Yep one for the books. That is why I took the time to post it so others don't have the same hair pulling experience JCL MP250A Lihai 257cc powered / I know this is an old thread, But does anybody know by now if the older 2007 257cc Linhai scooters had this same oil deflecter on the inside of the intake valve cover ? |
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Post by 4950cycle on Nov 17, 2016 22:12:09 GMT -5
Thanks RockyNV. The symptoms (low power, dies at idle,...) were there before the valve adjustment. The mechanic thought that the valve adjustment would fix them. It has 6,000 miles which seems to fit the normal valve adjustment schedule. The valve adjustment had no impact on the symptoms. The scooter had been sitting before I got it and has been sitting a lot of the time since while I try to get it back to rideable shape again. The valve adjustment by the mechanic was done after it sat overnight. I haven't heard of ZMax. Has anyone else had any experience using it? I'll try to read up on it. I have a narrow window when my local weather lets me work on it. I am moving into the favorable period again. I would really like to get this thing up and going reliably very soon before I can no longer work on it due to weather. Should I mess with Zmaz or other solutions or should I start pulling the head? I have not pulled the head before and would be working alone. But with a solid support team believe I could do it. It may not be as quick as if I had it done by a mechanic but I do work for free. JCL MP250A Lihai 257cc powered / Bob, Don't bother these guys. They have important scrabble game and other two word game that need their undivided attention. They don't have time for scooter related nonsense.  |
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Post by 4950cycle on Nov 15, 2016 19:27:01 GMT -5
You might be surprised what white vinegar mixed a tad stronger than 50/50 with water can do to clean up rust on something chrome plated so you can clean it up without scratching it before applying the gun coat. Items that are not practical to submerge you can simple wrap in rags soaked with the vinegar mix followed by plastic wrap and let it set for a few hours or overnight. For those who have not seen how well this can work here's a video: I have taken chromed parts that my children had dropped under water for a number of years before I found them that looked like they were lost causes and got them cleaned up without destroying the chrome plating using vinegar along with a plastic bristle scrub brush so that all it took was a clear top coat to seal things from rusting again. JCL MP250A Lihai 257cc powered / Being kind of a shade tree chemist I figured this vinegar /rust thing out a long time ago after I derusted the inside of a Kawi gas tank in the 80s with muriatic acid (swimming pool acid). I noticed it was a bit to strong for the job. So I figured vinegar being a mild acid so to speak I substituted muriatic acid with vinegar and Bobs your uncle. But I noticed some steel would get rusty again quickly afterward from the acid creating it somehow ? So to nutrilize the residual acid. I made a seat of your pants mixture of baking soda and water and poured it in a pump up yard spayer . I then sprayed the item and it would end up totally rust free with the acid nutrilized causing no ill efects like acid corrosion after the fact. I also had a battery blow up on me on start up in my Geo Metro one super humid summer morning. I love my little 3 cylinder Metro. So immediatly rather than have the sulfuric acid that was blown all over the place under my hood eat and stain up the whole engine compartment I sprayed this baking soda mixture I made up real quick all over it throwing cation to the wind. Never even rinsed it off And now if you look under my hood years later youd never know a full size LA battery speuued smoking acid all over the engine bay. |
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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 4950cycle on Nov 15, 2016 0:04:52 GMT -5
JCL MP250A Lihai 257cc powered / Open basket with more than one safty bungie tied to Gizmo in case she freaked and jumped out. |
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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 13, 2016 9:54:05 GMT -5
JCL MP250A Lihai 257cc powered. / I think that is the only genuine solution. Only problem with that is I will have to wait for someone else do it first. I'll be darned if I'm going to go out and buy any certain model 300 or so scooter ln hopes of a seatmaker will be able to make it fit me. Then I'm stuck with however it turns out. No, I'll just have to wait it seems for someone else to come up with a scooter / seat combonation that can fit someone with a 32 inch inseam with size 14 1/2 shoes. And hope I meet them by happenstance and they let me sit on their bike to see if it fits me. I have listed a number of more powerful Piaggio bikes that 6'6" riders with 36/38 inch inseams and similar shoe sizes to yours ride daily. You really need to go play Goldilocks and sit on a few. It may take a while to adjust to the more upright instead of lounge chair riding position however once you do its really great to be on a bike that has the handle bars close to you yet high enough that they easily clear your knees even in the tightest of turns while still keeping your arms in a neutral position while cruising. The Sport City has floor boards designed with a well for the rider to lock the toes of their boots into so their feet stay more planted for very spirited riding on the twisties and there is plenty of room to lock in the 12/13 EEE Widths I wear with additional space for a few sizes larger. The MP250A most definitely is not the only choice for someone with relatively short legs like you. A person with short legs with a 32" inseam should not need to have the seat modified to fit their legs on any of the upright riding position bikes with a 31/32" seat height from Piaggio. JCL MP250A Lihai 257cc powered / I went and looked at all the angles on the Sport City on the interweb once you were touting it Rock. It looks aweful short lengthwise for a larger frame human to me. But you sure do feel strongly about it. I know when I argue a point to that degree it's because I'm right. I will have to organize a scooter dealer tour of Tampa and/or Gainsville to Brauden my Scooter Horizen. But like a lot of folks I just acn't go out and blow 4-5 grand on a scooter. I will have to find a deal on what ever scooter I settle on. |
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Post by 4950cycle on Nov 12, 2016 23:14:24 GMT -5
Thanks for watching. I started by taking Maggie for short rides close to home. She is latched in, so she's not able to stretch too far, but she does like to get her nose up in the wind. I laughed when I got home and there was "dog nose" all over my iPhone screen. I've never been concerned about her ears. They flap in the breeze when she rides in a car, so it never occurred to me to be concerned. So far they haven't flapped off.  maggie is only ten pounds, so she is easy to carry. A 40 pound beagle would probably need other arrangements. JCL MP250A Lihai 257cc powered / We , my girlfriend and I tried this with Gizzy (Gizmo) on the back of the JCL in a basket with my girlfriend at the helm. Giz looks almost exactly like Maggie. But gizzy is a bit larger at 17 lbs. . But we were not as smart as you about breaking her in slowly. Me on a 250 ninja , My girlfriend on the JCL 250 with Giz took of for a 40 mile rounder on two lane country Hwy. That poor little things fur and ears was blowing all over the place at 65 mph. . When we got home Gizzy was so pissed at us she wouldn't have anything to do with either one of us for hours.  Now we can't get her anywhere near any 2 wheeled ride. |
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Post by 4950cycle on Nov 12, 2016 12:20:02 GMT -5
The seat on the bike can make a big difference. Many seats have a small hump in them that limits where you can sit, and therefore the leg room. I have a Burgman 400 that has an adjustable backrest for the driver. However, the adjustable backrest has been cut down to allow more seating space, and enough legroom for my six foot frame. See if you can find a local shop that does custom seats and talk to them to see what they can do to help a scooter fit you better. JCL MP250A Lihai 257cc powered. / I think that is the only genuine solution. Only problem with that is I will have to wait for someone else do it first. I'll be darned if I'm going to go out and buy any certain model 300 or so scooter ln hopes of a seatmaker will be able to make it fit me. Then I'm stuck with however it turns out. No, I'll just have to wait it seems for someone else to come up with a scooter / seat combonation that can fit someone with a 32 inch inseam with size 14 1/2 shoes. And hope I meet them by happenstance and they let me sit on their bike to see if it fits me. |
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Post by 4950cycle on Nov 11, 2016 22:14:01 GMT -5
The JCL MP250A is 422 lbs and has a low capacity of 385 lbs. The motor is low power at only 16.6 hp. A Sport City 250 is almost 25 hp but only weighs 326 lbs and has a higher 460 lb capacity. A Piaggio BV500 is about 425 lbs wet, has a 460 lb capacity and 39 hp. A Piaggio BV350 is about 400 lbs wet, has a 460 lb capacity and 33 hp. A Majesty 400 is about 450 lbs wet, has good carrying capacity but only 35 hp. A Burgman 400 is about 420 lbs wet, has a good capacity but only 32 hp. A Burgman 650 is about 540 lbs wet, has a good capacity and 55 hp. On the weight to hp the Piaggio/Aprilia are hard to beat with the BV350 having a very good balance of both along with getting about the same fuel economy as a 250cc bike. Check out Craigs List and Cycle Trader looking for dealer advertisements and play Goldilocks sitting on the bikes to see which one has the balance that is good for you. If you are a mature rider with no tickets or accidents some dealers will let you take one for a test ride. Some Piaggio/Vespa dealers may even have some BV's available for a weekend rental so you can really see what the bike is like for more than just a 1 or 2 mile test ride. JCL MP250A Lihai 257cc powered / Thank you for all the concern and info. But I would rather have 20 hp with someplace to put my legs. I need to size up more models. My problem is again, I want to stay fairly light weight , Be able to go about 75 mph, But still have room for my relitivly short legs for my 6'3 self. The Syms and Kymcos are a No go. Made for midgets. From what I've seen, As long as you cut that plastic from right behind your bum in the seat pan my Reflex clone has more legroom than anything besides maybe 650s and such. The 295 cc big bore kit for my Linhia motor will only add barely noticable power, No ? But non of the scooters in the mid 300s low 400 lbs. range have any leg room that I know of cept the one I'm riding. I guess I'm religated to going 65-68 mph top speed. I don't think the scooter I am looking for is even made by anyone as far as I can tell so far. I will check the Kymco Grand Vista out despite what I have said and see if one could be modded a little like mine to get a pinch more leg room. |
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Post by 4950cycle on Nov 10, 2016 1:02:56 GMT -5
JCL MP250A Lihai 257cc powered / One of the main reasons I stay with my MP 250 A is I like the way the center of gravity is nice and low. The second reason is the total weight is managable. I would like to graduate to a Yamaha 400 scooter or a Forza to get more performance. But I don't want to get a heavier machine than I have right now. That is why I came to scooters from big 4 cylinder bikes in the first place. There are faster ,lighter scooters but like the Kymco City they are to small for my 6'3 frame. They have no leg room for anyone over 5'9 for God's sake. Does any of you guys an gals know the wet weight of my scooter or a Yama 400 ? Or do you have any Ideas based on what I have said ?
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Post by 4950cycle on Nov 8, 2016 18:23:56 GMT -5
Oh yeah, andthat was probably young corcle of you stole it in front of a publix... only one i can think thats on a circle... and thats downtown hollywood so as hollywood as you can get. JCL MP250A Lihai 257cc powered / YEP ! Young circle it was. |
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Post by 4950cycle on Nov 8, 2016 9:38:31 GMT -5
JCL MP250A Lihai 257cc powered / This is how it all ended up here. This info is not for a 50cc-150cc scooter. They are a different animal in some ways to the Yamaha 250 / Linhia powered scoots. I have come to the conclusion that my 257cc Linhia will not go any faster on the top end without a meaningful power upgrade. Like a "real" 295 cc (300) cylinder / piston change plus maybe a little upjetting ? It just dosn't have the torque in its present form to go any faster than 68 mph with my 270 lbs , head right up in the wind resistance situation. I don't care what I do to my variator it just can not change this fact. But I have learned a lot about what works and what is a waste of time. #1 Forget about a bigger or a performance carburator if you don't improve your flow in some meaningful way ie: porting your head and exchange some torque for HP , And get an open / noisy exhaust and and lets not forget a performance pod style airfilter, also more noise. Yes , your intake makes noticable noise with no airbox. " It will sound faster " with just a pod airfilter and a more free flowing exhaust, But in reallity the numberes will change no more than slieghtly if at all. But if you are young and like to be noticed this may have some value. #2 Variator changes gave" ME " (big and heavy) no more top speed. But if a rider is much lighter than 270 lbs. this is what you want to do. #1 On the variator improvment, Shorten your variator boss by 1 1/2 mm do not exeed 2 1/2 mm shorter than stock or your belt will almost climb off your variator at top speed. This will allow your variator to reach its full out high gear. In stock form they stop short of this. #2 on the variator improvement, Exchange your 14 gram rollers for 11 gram "sliders" This will give you everything this motor can offer (with the boss mod too) IMO. I have four 12 gram sliders and four 11 gram sliders. This is what I personally want because I am going to get more power in this engine in the near future. But number 2 will keep you in the higher RPM for maximum excelleration and number 1 will give you full top end capibillities.  |
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Post by 4950cycle on Nov 8, 2016 8:12:30 GMT -5
JCL MP250A Lihai 257cc powered / Just type resolve or do I actually have to know how to do something ?
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