CT70(88cc kit and cam)vs lifan 125cc

[fallenfast1]

I have beating myself up about this for awhile now. 229$ for a lifan 125cc and 359$ for a 88cc kit with carb and cam. Now its real to me,went for ride the other day with a lifan 6.5hp minibike(ya know old school ape hangers and all) and a 86 suzuki dr100. I got smoked by both in every sence of the word. I would catch the minibike on long flat straights but the thing gets such a jump it has to be a loong straight.I can catch thedr in thewoods as long as theres no hills,mud or ruts. I searched all over the site and got no results so Im asking. How is the power compared between the two,the full 88cc kit and a lifan 125cc? With the lifan comes bs wiring headaches and the CTs gonna cost the money without the headaches. I really need some input cuz this thing (ct) is gonna badazz or im dumping it off.I want a fighting chance riding with these two bikes.Wife dr100 and the boy on the minibike.

 

[Art]

The Lifan may outrun you but the Honda will be running long after the Lifan is dead and buried.
Lifan motors are great runners but "disposable".

 

[fallenfast1]

So the lifan will be better and more powerful than a beefed up ct70. I own a lifan engine(6.5hp) and it gets beat and always starts first or second pull. I dont mind the clone thing,a proper break in period will make or break any engine.

 

[JPct70]

there is no substitute for displacement with these bikes. but what trans are you running? if you don't have a 4 speed GET ONE as well as the proper gear ratio to go with it. Keep in mind the Dr100 has a 6-speed which is a significant advantage. The only way I see you beating it since you cant have a 6-speed in a ct-70 is to have more displacement than it.

 

[Grant's trail]

So the lifan will be better and more powerful than a beefed up ct70.]

Well it depends how long your going to ride it. MHO is if your going to ride 5 or 10 miles every weekend for 6mo or a yr maybe a little more, Its hard to beat a lifan or PRC motor for the money, (putting aside the all Honda thing) But if you have rode all your life and really enjoy it you might want to put the extra money in the honda. I have a 160 lifan in a ct and it is the fastest ct I own right now but it has had some clutch problems I should replace the clutch cover because the release mecanizem has worn out early. you can hear its gearbox is rougher when it idles and shifting quality isn't as good good as the honda. good luck with your prodject.

 

[P.C.]

if your doing a 88 kit i would go for the 166 dollar stroker crank and you will be ahead of the pack and running stronger for longer.

 

[fallenfast1]

I really want to keep it all honda as close as you can with the bigbore kit but I dont want have ppl waiting for me. I have a 72hk1 and the dr100 is only good for about 50mph even with 6 gears. Im not going to stroke the engine cuz then ill just destroy it running it wide open at 15-20mph for 10miles in the woods witch turns into an hour ride cuz sometimes ill be going 2mph. See my dilema. My bike has collector value cuz its in nice shape and the numbers are less that 100 apart but to me its a compact fun machine. It will never see the road while I own it. Im getting the whole "Theres no replacement for dicplacement" Thing. I think im going to have to put my lil70cc engine on the self and get a lifan. Im only going to be running a headlight and maybe a tail light so the wiring shouldnt be to bad. Sorry for the long posts but its really a big deal to me and I olny want to do it once. The 88cc(in not going stroker) will never beat the 125 lifan.

 

[P.C.]

i think that running a 88 wide open would be the same as running a stroker 110 wide open.its how you take care or it.you wouldnt have to beat on the 110 as much to achieve your goal of keeping up.i thought that was the whole point.a great idea would be to source a buildable 100 dollar 4 speed H motor.and leave your original on the shelf.or just do a clone motor,i have both.i like the honda motors better! a stock H runs 44 mph a 88 will do 52 but not in a hurry,hence the 6.5 lifan will still smoke you off the line.a 110 should get in the low 60's rapidly.i agree the china motor is the cheapest way.craigslist has alot of beat up ct's and parts lots to find a donor 4 speed.

 

[Grant's trail]

I Have a 110 honda a 52 stroker crank and a 52mm bore kit, It sounds like your leaning toward a lifan which is fine, Like i said before they will do the job. but don't think the honda won't. with a stroker crank hill riding is were it shines. lots of grunt you'll dump yourself off before you run out of power. the little 110 I have will run with the 160 lifan up to 45 or 50mph it tops out at about 57 or 58 but I have a sl cam in it and its geared a little low. taller gears and a road/track cam and I think it would out run the 160 on the flats, my lifan doesn't have a timing advancer and about 55 or so it hits a wall and takes a lot to reach 60.

 

[fallenfast1]

This is how im seeing it now,my ct has been around longer than I have. It runs great and startS on the first kick dosnt smoke and is reliable as a rock. If I do the whole deal to it Iknow ill destroy it,I have that way with machines. If I get a 125 china rig and smoke it in a couple of years no big deal,I got my money out of it. I smoke the honda and its terminal one more ct70h for the scrap yard,I feel thats a loss. Im just going to put the 70 engine up. You think the stock pipe would be good for the 125 engine or should I put that up too and get a clone pipe. I still want it quite. Thanks for all your input!

 

[Grant's trail]

The stock pipe will be fine for the 110, drain the oil that comes in them and use a good 10/40 run it for a 100 miles or so and change it again that will help the life of that engine alot.

 

[vrodsss]

I Have a 110 honda a 52 stroker crank and a 52mm bore kit, It sounds like your leaning toward a lifan which is fine, Like i said before they will do the job. but don't think the honda won't. with a stroker crank hill riding is were it shines. lots of grunt you'll dump yourself off before you run out of power. the little 110 I have will run with the 160 lifan up to 45 or 50mph it tops out at about 57 or 58 but I have a sl cam in it and its geared a little low. taller gears and a road/track cam and I think it would out run the 160 on the flats, my lifan doesn't have a timing advancer and about 55 or so it hits a wall and takes a lot to reach 60.

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Grant -- That sounds like a good setup . Which bike do you have that in ?

 

[69ST]

This is how im seeing it now,my ct has been around longer than I have. It runs great and startS on the first kick dosnt smoke and is reliable as a rock. If I do the whole deal to it Iknow ill destroy it,I have that way with machines. If I get a 125 china rig and smoke it in a couple of years no big deal,I got my money out of it. I smoke the honda and its terminal one more ct70h for the scrap yard,I feel thats a loss. Im just going to put the 70 engine up. You think the stock pipe would be good for the 125 engine or should I put that up too and get a clone pipe. I still want it quite. Thanks for all your input!

It's been my experience that speeds above 60- 65mph are good for the occasional short blast and that's about it. On the road, mid 50s are a nice balance, fast enough to feel some good breeze without having to remain hyper vigilant. Offroad, 30mph is "carrying the mail", so what you're after is torque. It's not really all that different from building a well-balanced road bike; once top speed isn't the #1 priority, performance improvements are primarily all about torque/acceleration. Since you're unconcerned with road use, why not build-up a 12v CRF or XR 50/70? A Traillbikes bore-up kit & stroker crank will give you 117cc the easy way. With some modest port work and a relatively mild cam you should have a nice fat torque curve, well suited to 3-gears and sub-40mph speeds. Stock Honda 3-speeds are pretty well bulletproof and since nobody wants them, a good base motor should be available cheap...voila!.. decent offroad power, a good gearbox and Honda quality, the best of all possible worlds on a budget.

 

[Grant's trail]

It was in my 70HKO, Its an old SL engine I keep around for expairment's Its also the one I broke my leg with. I put the correct H motor back in with a sl cam and Trail bike 88 kit and it runs good, But nothing like the 110 SL. lol That thing, if you wing it in sec gear hard you can spit yourself off, thats with a 17 counter and 38 rear. but its real tracktable too and great hill climber if thats what you want to do.

 

[zeriods]

I have a hmotor in my 79 ct, it tops out at about 48 mph, it was built by enzo and has the 88cc bore kit. the motor is real torky, and I need to change the gearing on it to get more mph, ,If I had it to do over again I would try the lifan engine ( I hate giving the chineese any of my money) because of the type of riding I do, street only, no more trails around here. You can always switch bake to a honda. Or get a early xr75 those are really cool too!!!

 

[zack_novak]

i think that running a 88 wide open would be the same as running a stroker 110 wide open.its how you take care or it.you wouldnt have to beat on the 110 as much to achieve your goal of keeping up.i thought that was the whole point.a great idea would be to source a buildable 100 dollar 4 speed H motor.and leave your original on the shelf.or just do a clone motor,i have both.i like the honda motors better! a stock H runs 44 mph a 88 will do 52 but not in a hurry,hence the 6.5 lifan will still smoke you off the line.a 110 should get in the low 60's rapidly.i agree the china motor is the cheapest way.craigslist has alot of beat up ct's and parts lots to find a donor 4 speed.

How are you hitting 44mph on a stock H? I have an 88 kit in my H and it still has a hard time hitting 40.

 

[P.C.]

Hi Zack,thats how fast my H went in the 70's.after sitting a long time and alot more weight it ran 38 all stock.

 

[fallenfast1]

I see dratv has a 6v regulator for the lifan engine so I dont have to change anything at all to bolt it up! Im still feeling bad about altering a pretty decent old h. I have an old well its newer than mine 72h frame and front end thats beat to hell. Id need a seat, throttle,killswitch,nuts bolts,wheels(maybe z50 wheels there are some awsome tiller tires for 8in rims)and a pipe. Hows that for twisting the thought process. Maybe ill just take what I need from the good h putit on the junker sell the frame and engine from the good h.