Chinese engine mileage log

Drew said:

Didn't know where I should post this and I'm sure there are people that will differ with me.The Chinese Lifan and YX - Piranha engines are just as good and dependable as the Honda horizontal engines.I ran my Lifan 125 very hard after 100 mile break in,and went wide open daily with it for up to 4 miles straight.Now running a Piranha 140 engine that runs great,just don't like starting it cold.

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It's a matter of mileage, degree and...refinement. Most guys don't ride that much, so the mileage/longevity isn't an issue for everyone. Then there are the types of failures. I've seen a lot of electrical failures w ith Chinese engines, something that virtually doesn't happen with OEM Honda. There have been a number of different issues, with different Chinese motors, over the years...it's beyond confusing, at this late date. I would say that, with vendors like tbolt & dratv selling these things, the fleebay junk is easy to avoid. Having good vendor support makes a huge difference. Still, the possibility of having to scrap an engine, or be stuck for want of some relatively minor part is much greater than with a Honda product. That's a huge advantage of dealing with a major, global, OEM...they have a parts & dealership network. Plus, being able to source virtually every single engine part, for a machine that's older than the median age of human beings is downright amazing...as is the fact that these little Honda singles are the most successful engine family in history.

When you get to real road use, things change dramatically. I doubt that you can hurt an L110/125 motor, as long as it's properly tuned (jetting & gearing), oil temps controlled and properly maintained. These engines don't make much horsepower, for their displacement. That said, 5-digit mileage, from a Chinese engine, is the exception, rather than the rule. I've been running the same 110 Honda motor for the past 15 seasons. I've run it wide-open for as long as 30 miles at a stretch. At just a tick shy of 24,000 miles, the valve lash hasn't changed since day one, it still shifts like velvet and, at 50-60mph I can see a clear image in the rearview mirror. The only part I've had to change was the crankshaft oil seal, which began seeping around 17,000 miles. As I said, this isn't for everyone. There's far cheaper horsepower available and the pricetag number captures the attention of most folks. My only point here is that there are differences and you do get what you pay for. It's up to the individual to decide what fits the bill. I mean, if you're getting say, 5,000 miles from a $450 motor and don't mind replacing them at that interval, don't care that much about the smoothness & gear-change quality, cheap-n-chineezy might be for you...especially if you ride less than 500 miles annually. As always, just go in educated, knowing what you're getting. That's not a bow-shot at any product or anyone.

racerx said:

It's a matter of mileage, degree and...refinement. Most guys don't ride that much, so the mileage/longevity isn't an issue for everyone. Then there are the types of failures. I've seen a lot of electrical failures w ith Chinese engines, something that virtually doesn't happen with OEM Honda. There have been a number of different issues, with different Chinese motors, over the years...it's beyond confusing, at this late date. I would say that, with vendors like tbolt & dratv selling these things, the fleebay junk is easy to avoid. Having good vendor support makes a huge difference. Still, the possibility of having to scrap an engine, or be stuck for want of some relatively minor part is much greater than with a Honda product. That's a huge advantage of dealing with a major, global, OEM...they have a parts & dealership network. Plus, being able to source virtually every single engine part, for a machine that's older than the median age of human beings is downright amazing...as is the fact that these little Honda singles are the most successful engine family in history.

When you get to real road use, things change dramatically. I doubt that you can hurt an L110/125 motor, as long as it's properly tuned (jetting & gearing), oil temps controlled and properly maintained. These engines don't make much horsepower, for their displacement. That said, 5-digit mileage, from a Chinese engine, is the exception, rather than the rule. I've been running the same 110 Honda motor for the past 15 seasons. I've run it wide-open for as long as 30 miles at a stretch. At just a tick shy of 24,000 miles, the valve lash hasn't changed since day one, it still shifts like velvet and, at 50-60mph I can see a clear image in the rearview mirror. The only part I've had to change was the crankshaft oil seal, which began seeping around 17,000 miles. As I said, this isn't for everyone. There's far cheaper horsepower available and the pricetag number captures the attention of most folks. My only point here is that there are differences and you do get what you pay for. It's up to the individual to decide what fits the bill. I mean, if you're getting say, 5,000 miles from a $450 motor and don't mind replacing them at that interval, don't care that much about the smoothness & gear-change quality, cheap-n-chineezy might be for you...especially if you ride less than 500 miles annually. As always, just go in educated, knowing what you're getting. That's not a bow-shot at any product or anyone.

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Yes I did research alittle before I bought my Chinese stuff and I seen a few Guy's buy the new Grom's and pay almost $4,000 for one and then they bought all the high performance upgrade parts just to go as fast as I can with my Chinese motor.I paid $745.00 for my CT-70 and put a $450.00 YX140 on it and I'm VERY happy with how little I paid and have invested in it and how good it performs is way better than I expected.I like Honda's of all varieties I am that guy in the t.v commercial with everything he owns is a Honda.But I have a hard time passing up a deal.I will post how many miles I put on this YX 140. Now that I can legally ride it I will probably put at least 2,000 miles on it this year.Will let you know when it lets go,but it might be several years from now,time will tell.Has 860 miles now.oh here is a picture of my VTX 1800 F3

I'd suggest taking some time before passing summary judgment on a bike like the Grom. Maybe it's not your cuppa...it's not mine, either. However, I can guarantee that our reasons are different. That's not to say that yours are invalid. However, there's more to this than acquisition cost and speed. Up-front dollars and mph, quantitative parameters, understandably, capture most of the attention. Everybody wants to know "how much?" and "how fast?"...at least initially. As the miles & years roll on, "how far?" and "how well?" move toward center stage. Eventually, there's the difference between price and cost...where a "cheaper" product can end up being more costly. I stepped back into the small Honda game about 2 decades ago, when a true 60mph bike was quite an achievement...equivalent of "doing the ton" (100mph, in Britspeak) on a fullsize bike. That power level became virtually yawn-inducing at least a decade ago, in the US. I built my first ~80mph CT70 in 2003, after two years carefully planning-out the overall project. It hasn't seen many miles. Understanding why lower-powered machine became the go-to ride is where the answers are to be found...including why the Grom is actually a pretty fair value for $3500 MSRP. It's incredibly easy to invest more than the price of a new Grom into suspension, steering & braking to balance the new motor with double, triple or beyond the stock power of a CT70. And there are reasons why some of us take things to this level, ask me how I know this. For now, suffice it to say that 90% of the mileage on my daily rider was accumulated at rate between 50-55mph. I don't wish to turn this thread into a doctoral thesis & dissertation, just get you to think a little more broadly about what goes into an OEM level machine...regardless of what you decide to pursue. That type of machine may not be for you, at the same it's not just a ripoff, either.

FYI, I find the Grom a little goofy looking and a lot uncomfortable. The CT70 design suits my aesthetic sensibilities much better, the basic setup is a lot more comfortable and, above all, it's far more versatile. It's also a lot easier to get adequate insurance and is not a "depreciating asset". That said, the Grom and its new-gen siblings are far more roadworthy, in pure-stock form, than any CT70 or Z50 was, from the factory. The youngsters of 2018 deserve their own version of the classic small Honda models of the mid 20th century. 1969 was almost a half-century ago, a lot has changed since then.

Just thought i would add this post.My friend bought a brand new Grom last year.He went crazy with it and bought ALL the high dollar Honda big bore kit and made it 176cc.Well he stuck the piston in it,but he does do a lot of stunts and 12 o'clock wheelies on it,but he also changed the oil tube pick- up so it still,pumps oil in the straight up and down position- which NO other horizonal engine can do,actually is pretty easy to do..But he still stuck it,so it don't matter 100% of the time if you got a Honda engine or not,shit happens lol.

Drew said:

Just thought i would add this post.My friend bought a brand new Grom last year.He went crazy with it and bought ALL the high dollar Honda big bore kit and made it 176cc.Well he stuck the piston in it,but he does do a lot of stunts and 12 o'clock wheelies on it,but he also changed the oil tube pick- up so it still,pumps oil in the straight up and down position- which NO other horizonal engine can do,actually is pretty easy to do..But he still stuck it,so it don't matter 100% of the time if you got a Honda engine or not,shit happens lol.

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By "stuck" do you mean seized?

Yes it totally seized up.

Drew said:

But he still stuck it,so it don't matter 100% of the time if you got a Honda engine or not,shit happens lol.

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Unless the engine failure was early in the break-in period, I'll guarandamntee it resulted from abuse..and, yes, stunting easily qualifies as abuse. Adding a custom sump assembly, to keep oil flowing through the pump, will make a huge difference. It's still a horizontal, engineered to operate in that plane. The cylinder still relies on splash oiling. At low revs, with the engine operating in a vertical orientation, splash oiling will be negatively affected and correcting that would be a major engineering challenge. Under that scenario, engine quality is not the issue. So, if abusing the @#$%!! out of a machine is part of one's plan, mo`better to go as cheap as possible and toss broken pieces like Dixie cups. They'll never get a chance to wear out.

Drew said:

Just thought i would add this post.My friend bought a brand new Grom last year.He went crazy with it and bought ALL the high dollar Honda big bore kit and made it 176cc.

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I'm thinking this could be relevant here too. 125 to 176 is...significant, AND the work wasn't done at the factory.

Have not posted on here since 2018.Still going strong,seems to have a few hundred more rpm at top max all out,oil stays cleaner longer now,I guess that it is well broke in now.Last time the speedo worked it had over 2,000 miles on the Piranha 140 motor and that was last year.Been running a 5 row oil cooler since new and using Valvoline 10 W 40 motorcycle oil with a 50/50 mix of 20W50 and 10W40, that is my secret mix.. Runs 70 mph on a $13.00 Chineese carb with 18/35 sprocket combo,I just saved you a lot of headaches with what you need for yours now!!

placek59 said:

Thanks for the info guys - I have a new Lifan sitting in the box, still waiting for a project and was just curious. To me, that is cheap fun, and I wouldn't be able to put more than maybe 500 miles a year on a little street machine. I would like to step up to a big Daytona but just can't justify it right now. Maybe in 5 years (if I'm lucky) when the Lifan gives out I'll go with something bigger and better!

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I have been running YX-140 and doing great with it using the carb that came with the 125 kit I bought,just had to turn in the fuel mixture screw,the 140 actually uses less gas..With the cheap carb and 140 motor I hit 70 mph and I weigh 180 lbs with 18/35 sprocket combo.

Drew said:

Have not posted on here since 2018.Still going strong,seems to have a few hundred more rpm at top max all out,oil stays cleaner longer now,I guess that it is well broke in now.Last time the speedo worked it had over 2,000 miles on the Piranha 140 motor and that was last year.Been running a 5 row oil cooler since new and using Valvoline 10 W 40 motorcycle oil with a 50/50 mix of 20W50 and 10W40, that is my secret mix.. Runs 70 mph on a $13.00 Chineese carb with 18/35 sprocket combo,I just saved you a lot of headaches with what you need for yours now!!

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Any idea what chinese carb that is and what jetting you have? I have suspicion that the carb that came with my 125 kit is a bit rich and if it runs so well on a 140 that would make sense.

Just hit 4500 miles and it was time to install a new clutch on the 140cc as the original was starting to slip. Engine was installed 2/17/2011. Upon disassembly, the spinner was surprisingly clean and the screen was perfect. I change the oil alot, 500 street miles and it gets dumped. It has paid off ten fold for me. 30 bucks later for the whole 5 disc clutch assembly, it is installed and pulls nice and strong again. We have cooler weather now... 40's and 50's so I upped the main jet to 112.5 and she is running purdy! Cruises the 50mph back roads @ 50-55 with a very accurate and ''speed verified'' speedo.