Are these all the same? This is the balloon tired clone of the old Suzuki RV-125cc 4 stroke. Does anyone have one of these, or ridden one?
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Are these all the same? This is the balloon tired clone of the old Suzuki RV-125cc 4 stroke. Does anyone have one of these, or ridden one?
I didn' t realize that Roketa is now distributing the skyteams, too,but they are. These are the same Skyteam mfg. bike.
Thanks, culcune. They also have the CT-70 clone. I like the looks of the TRex, and it looks like a fun bike. I would sure like to hear about these from owners.
I have yet to read about anyone here or chinariders owning the t-rex. There are a couple videos on youtube, including one by skyteam usa, and some from Europe and the UK, but that is it. I have tried to search for any videos by pitster on their sherpa, but nothing comes up.
Roketa only sells wholesale, but I would guess someone sells Roketa in Hawaii and could order one for you. They seem like a great bike for the islands. The entrepeneur in me sees a Hawaiian rental business for them, as well as some other bikes...
Yeah, I've found a few videos, and that's about it.Quote:
Originally Posted by culcune
I own a T Rex here in the Uk, maybe I can help with any wuestions you might have. Have been riding it for a year now.
Ok, what is your impression of the bike over this past year? Give us the good, the bad, and the ugly, please. Videos and/or photos are not necessary, but still appreciated!
Hi culcune,
the T Rex is my first bike I have owned in 30 years and my last was a Honda CT70, so I dont have much experience riding many machines but overall the T Rex seems like a pretty good bike to me, especially considering the low cost. It returns good fuel consumption, I am currently getting 20 miles per half litre of fuel. With a tank of 3.8 litres (an american gallon I think?) I get about 140 miles between fills. I dont ride the bike too hard as I have still been running in the engine. Its a pity the tank isnt a little larger though as I think this would be advantageous on longer runs.
To me the build quality seems pretty good, although I have had some issues with a couple of items on the bike but I think this was more to do with assembly by the dealer rather than something Skyteam had neglected. All of my riding is on tarmac and haven't taken the T Rex off road. It seems to handle quiet well and gives positive feedback through the controls, of course its no racer but it wasn't designed for that purpose. It seems happiest between 35 and 40 mph. I use it to commute to work on main roads and small side roads in a semi rural area and for this its fine. Not sure I would want to use it on freeways as its a bit under powered for that.
I sometimes have issues with the knobbly tyres on tarmac, it feels as if it would run better on slicks or road tyres but this is only a minor niggle. And I am sure I have read before of trail bike riders complaining of knobblies on tarmac. I am very satisfied with my purchase and am even considering buying a Skyteam Skymax to add to the stable. When I can work out how to post photos I will put a few on of the T Rex. The UK models arent fitted with a rev counter/tacho which was a bit disappointing but I just purchased a tacho/hour meter from Ebay and fitted it, works fine. I upgraded the headlight bulb to halogen and fitted a larger louder horn, but everything else is standard on it. I have removed the rear rack as I didnt like the look of it. I made up a couple of small oval brackets from plate aluminium to mount the rear indicators on. Oh and I removed all the decals as I prefer the plain look,
Regards Paul.
Thanks for the information. Those big balloon tires were a concern of mine, as far as how they handle on pavement. Also, do they tend to bounce the bike as both the suspension and the balloon tires rebound? How about tire wear on those huge tires?
Thank you Paul, for your informative post. I am not surprised by anything you wrote, as most of them apply across the broad spectrum of Chinese bikes. Of course the idea of your tires are unique to a select few fat tired bikes offered over the years, including the bike yours is copied from, the RV. I believe the Suzuki was the only streeted bike out of the few offered,probably for the same reasons you gave--the ride quality on tarmac.
I have not been to the big Island, only Maui, in a rental car, but I do remember predominantly paved roads.
There doesnt seem to be an issue with rebound, the ride is quite firm.The tyre pressures are meant to be 16psi maximum, when I first checked mine the dealer had inflated then to 28 psi, they are now running at 12 psi and seem quite ok. I havent had the shrouds off of the rear shocks to see how they are constructed but I may swop them for some gas shocks at a later date. On regular flat tarmac the bike feels quite firm and stable. But over here we seem to suffer from endless road repairs and additions of buried services. So the roads are often like patchwork quilts, this where you get the grip and tracking problems, seams in the road tend to pull at the tyres and move the bike across the road. Tyre wear so far is normal and even across the width, I am up to 1700 kms so far. Thats another thing, the speedo reads and records in Kms although there is a smaller inner ring in mph.
Attachment 13190
This is the T Rex before I removed the rear rack.
Attachment 13191
Another shot of the T Rex at a spot I stop at on my way home for a cigarette break and to enjoy the peace and quiet.
Was just sitting here thinking about other things on the bike. 1st gear is pretty low so I only use it on hill starts, pulling away the rest of the time in 2nd, probably not great for the engine and gearbox but 1st feels quite slow. If its a rolling start being in 2nd gives you that little edge over car and truck drivers who often tailgate you. If you give it some throttle though it will race up through the gears to 45 mph leaving most of them in your wake. All in all I would say I am very happy with my little Chinese bike.
Thank you for the photos! Do you happen to know the teeth on the front and rear sprockets? I would need mine to hit at least 60mph sustained for several miles, but even with sprocket(s) I doubt this bike would do it for me. I do think this would do great for me as an around town bike, and to explore the desert roads and river roads around me. Yuma is pretty much quad territory, or 2 wheels with a paddle, due to the fine beach sand texture of all the off road places nearby. These would make for a good alternative to a quad.
I see you are in Kent. My Father's side of the family all live in Faversham, although one of my cousins moved to Canada, but happens to be there right now visiting his parents and brother for a few more days. Not sure how far you are to Faversham?
Birdmove, I bet this would make a great bike for Hawaii for you!
Me too! It would be nice if it could run at 50 mph though. But I could run on the highway shoulders to and from Hilo. They let bicycles, pedestrians, and mopeds run them. You see lots of Honda Ruckuses, and small 49cc Chinese scooters/mopeds running the shoulders. I sometimes ride my Kymco People 150 on them when I just want to take it easy. The shoulders here , at least on the main highway, are full lane width size. I ride them sometimes when we are having a heavy rain too, as the big drops hurt less at 40 mph than at 50-55!
Sorry I dont know the number of teeth on the sprockets but I can check over this weekend and let you know. I have been thinking of adding a slightly larger rear sprocket to mine to see how much difference it makes, maybe two teeth extra to start with. I was wondering if you could use a gear inch calculator to work out how many extra MPH you would gain?Quote:
Originally Posted by culcune
Faversham isnt too far from here, we live on the Thames estuary and its about twenty 20 miles further downstream. Will be passing that way when I visit my father in law later today in Herne Bay which is in the mouth of the estuary where it meets The Channel.
Quote:
Originally Posted by birdmove
We can use the bus lanes over here to ride in both on motorbikes and cycles. I dont use them when I am on my T Rex but I do if I am cycling as they are safer than using the normal road. And it gives you that extra buffer between you and the crazy car drivers.
Its August Bank Holiday weekend over here so we get Monday off of work. Its been a tradition for years over here to go to the seaside on your bike on these days so I may take a trip down to the coast then on the T Rex. Was thinking of going down to Broadstairs, its about 50 miles. I thought it would be a good test of how the bike runs over a good distance. My step son wants to come too on his scooter, wife will be at work so as long as the sun is out and there's no rain that's my plan.
Attachment 13199
This is what shares the garage with the T Rex but as you can see its in a rather neglected state. Its my winter project!
How many miles have you got on the Trex? Thank you, Jon
Hi Jon, there's around 1700 kms on the clock now, so I guess that's about 800 miles? Am hopefully getting its first service done in a few days time at a local Skyteam dealership, its way overdue, that's why I haven't pushed the motor too much. Have done three oil changes on it since new so hopefully there is nothing drastically wrong with it.Quote:
Originally Posted by birdmove
Opps just checked, its actually 1056 miles, more than I had thought. I am even happier now that I haven't been thrashing the engine!
15 F and 36 Rear :-)
Thank you!Quote:
Originally Posted by trexuk
I wonder if the 125 could get to a sustained 55 mph with perhaps a 16 front?
I like your winter project ct70(?)!
I remember the Herne Bay (I think it is one of the stops) stop from the train from Faversham to London. My brother in law can recite the recorded message from the same train ride where all the stops are listed, complete with a good imitation British accent. I only remember bits of the announcement (Sittingbourne and Chatham, are the only two stops out of the ones announced I remember); plus, my imitation British accent is not so good (ironic since my father still has his real accent after 45 years in the US! LOL
Not sure whether it would run at a sustained 60 or not, I have only taken mine up to 45. Its being serviced on Tuesday so I will fee la bit more confident to push it on. I fitted a rev counter to mine and at 45 its doing around 3300rpm. according to Skyteam it develops maximum power at 6500, so there is quite a bit still left in the engine.
I work in central London and catch the Faversham train home each night, from Gravesend the stops are: Strood, Rochester, Chatham, Gillingham, Rainham, Sittingbourne and Faversham :-)
My winter project is a Honda ST70, you call them CT70s. It runs ok at the moment but isn't road legal. At some point someone has removed all the electrics apart from whats required to run the engine and generate a spark. I have to decide whether to restore it to its original condition with NOS parts, or use pattern Chinese parts and just get it on the road. Its a K0 model from 70 or 71 I think? I had one just like it 30 years ago when i was 20 years old.
There are quite a few original bikes I see advertised here in the west (states of Arizona and California) selling with 125cc Lifan engines; this seemed to happen more often once restored bikes stopped selling for thousands of $'s.
How difficult are the laws to get old projects street legal once again in the UK?
There is a healthy classic and vintage bike and car scene over here, in fact anything old from tractors to steam engines. UK laws for old vehicles are pretty much the same as new ones, there are a few exceptions. Emissions aren't quite so strict but vehicles still have to pass a Ministry of Transport test before they are deemed road worthy. They would need insurance too and road tax, although any vehicle over 25 years old is now considered a classic and as such gets free road tax but must still display the paper licence on it.
I think Lifan engines and other similar makers are quite popular replacements as they are based on the original 60s and 70s engines so dont look too out of place in an old bike. The quality of chinese products has vastly improved over the last few years and owners feel more confident that the products will last. Having said that I would prefer to use the original ST70 engine if possible as I think its a pretty unit. If I were planning to use the monkeybike everyday or cover long distances on it I might go for a modern equivalent. There is a big Monkeybike scene over here too.
Attachment 13214
This is on today locally so may call in?