Mod bike fun

[ez50]

Mod bikes make great riders. A bigger engine and good suspension on a lilhonda can be a lot more fun than riding a an original K0 putz. Don't get me wrong, my HK0 is special to me and it would take a lot of $ for me to let it go. This summer I found myself pulling out the 12V 88cc K3 just about every time. I really like the 12V headlight but 50+ mph does it for me.
How about you guys? What has been your favorite mod?

 

[69ST]

A little tough to say which mod was my favorite. There are really four basic categories: engine/driveline, suspension/chassis, appearance and rider comfort-related items. I've all but re-engineered my rider into a real road bike; everything but the main frame, rim halves, tail light, rear fender, folding bar clamp, seat latch & hinge, and fuel tank has been modded at least to some extent. It's been a lengthy, mostly enjoyable and, ultimately, satisfying pursuit. To me, being able to just fire it up and ride anywhere/any time, with stone-reliability gets the nod as top priority. Closing in on the 20K-mile mark, the only failure has been the Jincheng clutch cable, that was retained from the an earlier incarnation of the bike.

Horsepower usually hogs the limelight, which is understandable...just a little off the mark, imho. The engine is the heart of any bike and without enough usable power to keep up with traffic, a road machine is a non-starter. Beyond that level, however, is where I see the tradeoffs getting steeper while the returns get smaller. For that reason, I agree with you that a reliable 50mph+ is a good place to start. On that score, while I consider the 110 Nice motor the ultimate in bang-for-the-buck for a high-mileage road machine... without matching suspension, braking, and chassis improvements, 50mph+ cruising just wouldn't work in very many places in the great pothole state. Thus, I'd have to consider suspension, brake & chassis upgrades a virtual tie for the #1 spot. Forced to choose, I'd say they're a VERY close second.

Slight off-topic, but still very important, is rider accommodation. Seating, handlebar grip position, and even exhaust note can cause rapid rider fatigue, if not done right...what OEM vehicle engineers refer to as NVH - noise, vibration & harshness. Once the bike is fast enough to safely venture into traffic, it needs to be tractable at those higher speeds and finally, not beat the rider into submission...i.e. comfortable enough that you enjoyed the ride, not just withstood it. I've left this kinda vague & generalized; it's meant to be a sliding scale. Not everyone rides the same number/type of miles or in the same conditions. FWIW, here's a handy way to check your success...if every ride seems shorter than you'd like, mission accomplished.

 

[Adam-NLV]

This is a great topic.
Here is my list:
Hands down I would have to say;
#1. Is a bigger engine.
#2. Better suspension including brakes.
#3. Improved electrical abilities, lighting and turn signals.
#4. Accurate Gauges ie. Speedometer, Tachometer, oil temp and voltage.

I would love to get a Honda Nice for my 1975 K4 but the sad fact is I just can't afford it. I have been pondering what my next choice would be for a engines mod is and... still can't make a decision. here's some great info for anyone who's trying to get through this engine picking business. As usual the Honda Nice is the preferred choice! This is taken from a Madass site The MadAss Army • View topic - which engine to use??
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There are many different Chinese engine manufacturers who make this style of engine - YX, Lifan, Jailing, Loncin, Daytona, Zongshen. American companies take them and rebrand them as GPX, G2, Thumpstar, OGM, SSR, Pitster Pro, Piranha and so on, but they are ALL made by YX, Lifan, Loncin, Jailing or Zongshen. And all of these engines are made in CHINA.

Honda, Takegawa, and Kitaco are top-of-the-line engines made in Japan. Honda is a bit of both, all parts are engineered and manufactured in Japan but assembled in Thailand, Malaysia and China. These three options are ROCK SOLID engines. They are very powerful, very expensive and very reliable with proper maintenance and operation. If you have the paper, you can't go wrong with one of these.

Daytona is made by Zongshen and is a great motor, basically China's stab at the high-end engine market with a solid showing of power and reliability, but you pay for it, not as much as you would for the Japanese mills though.

Your best bet for getting a good balance of reliability, power, and affordability are Jailing, Lifan, Zongshen - in that order.

Now with that being said, if you buy ANY I repeat ANY of these engines you will also need to purchase the 3-phase Stator/Flywheel from Fasttrails.com*

There are NO engines that come with a 3-phase stator except if you buy from Moto-scoot or Fasttrails Madass Engine kits. Even when an engine says it comes with a "lighting coil" it is still not enough for the Madass 3-phase system. A 3-phase charging system is characteristic of larger sport bikes.

Now, if you opt to buy the engine and stator separately you will save over $200 were you to buy the YX160 or Lifan 150 from FTP or Moto-scoot. You will need a $15 flywheel puller to do this swap though. Very easy to do.

One last thing, if you buy an engine with a "KLX-style head" thats fine, but the Madass exhaust will need to be bent accordingly to fit the angle of the exhaust port.

Planetminis.com is a the leading resource for these types of engines. Miniriders.com is the leading Aussie source.

* Fast Trails Performance - 3 Phase Stator magneto assembly for Kick Start Only engines ... elect.aspx

 

[69ST]

IDK, Adam, I think we're rapidly veering off-topic. And, aside from the copied & pasted post discussing a totally different bike, it's riddled with errors & omissions. Not going to tackle them here, I already posted another novella. Suffice it to say...rely on that post at your own risk.

:focus:​

I had a numbered list, at the end of my previous post and it was similar to yours. The top two items were the same. I deleted it because that reply was already too long. IMO, we should probably limit the discussion to the top 2, or 3, priorities on everyone's list, since ez posed the question "what's been your favorite mod?"

"Favorite" is a subjective term, which is a great base for an interesting & varied discussion thread. It's one of those qualitative terms I mention from time-to-time. That said, for those wanting to delve into the quantitative side I strongly suggest adding the parameters of time & mileage. Annualized cost and cost per mile are key considerations that are all-too-often overlooked, a big mistake...especially for someone who is going to be in this for more than 2-3 years and wants to actually ride. For most who would like a decent restomod/light custom, the difference between chasing a where's-waldo-everyday-low-price, ultimately regretting that decision, and not only coming out bucks-up, but getting to enjoy a setup that works well, is likely to be the equivalent of skipping one trip, per week, to Starbucks.

It all boils down to priorities, which brings this full-circle...i.e. back to the simple & direct original question.

 

[Adam-NLV]

lol Yep, didn't mean to get completely off the beam there... and I would agree that I tend to take what I read at face value. In these days of internet posts, I gotta break that old school habit or at least do other research that substantiates their claim. I still would like to find the skinny on who's making what and who's re-branding what. But that's for another discussion.

:busted_blue: Back to the topic: My L110 was my favorite add-on followed by the taller aftermarket front forks although now I wouldn't mind looking at aftermarket forks with the disk brake set-up.