Adventure Motorcycle Magazine Subscribe Now

Page 4 of 7 FirstFirst ... 23456 ... LastLast
Results 31 to 40 of 67
  1. #31 New Front Tire and Shocks 
    Senior C-Moto Guru Steve_Halt's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2012
    Location
    Ukraine, Kyiv
    Posts
    619
    Right. So after I cut my front tire up on something that resembled a paper knife blade which someone accidentally left in the middle of the road, I had to buy a new front tire from taobao.
    Together with that I got me a pair of stock shocks to replace the old non-working ones and a USB charger. I took the bike to the mechanic yesterday, and I'm (hopefully) picking it up tonight. Will post on the results.
    Reply With Quote  
     

  2. #32 A Few Upgrades 
    Senior C-Moto Guru Steve_Halt's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2012
    Location
    Ukraine, Kyiv
    Posts
    619
    So I had a MWUPP USB charger and a mobile phone holder installed. They have proven to be quite an asset. I put over 200 kms on the bike this Tuesday, and all this time I was riding according to baidu map GPS. The phone holder and the phone charger did their job really well.

    The new front tire is nothing to write home about - it's OK, I guess... And nothing beyond that. Being a CST, I think it will last me forever - Chinese plastic tires usually do.

    As for the shocks - that's disappointment in spades. Nothing changed. Well, I mean, I thought the new shocks may make a lot of difference, but they didn't. I guess it's not the shocks' problem though. It looks like the mount points on a Jetmax are engineered in such a way that the shocks are angled so that they can't compensate for the road bumps. That's some weird engineering... Probably whoever engineered the frame and the shocks thought that the scooter will be used under a full load all the time... I don't know.

    What bothers me is the fact that near the right left bottom shock mount points there are two holes that may allow me to reposition the shocks for better bump absorption. I wonder if those are indeed intended for it or they serve some other purpose. The manual seems to be all silent about it.
    Reply With Quote  
     

  3. #33 Shock Absorber Mounting Points 
    Senior C-Moto Guru Steve_Halt's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2012
    Location
    Ukraine, Kyiv
    Posts
    619
    Below are the pictures of the shock absorbers' bottom mount points:

    IMG_1158.JPG

    IMG_1159.jpg

    As we can see, there are two more holes that look like they could be the mount points for the shock absorbers. I somehow think that if I move the shocks forward a bit, the compression geometry would greatly improve.

    I think I may try it when I got enough spare time to. The only consideration I have is that on the right side the holes aren't really in line with the original mounting point (they are a bit recessed).
    Anyways, if that doesn't work, I wonder what those are for at all!

    Update: So those mounts aren't for the shocks. As it turned out, those were for the pre-production disc brake setup. One of the prototypes had rear disc brake on the right side of the rear console, not on the left one. So once the brake caliper was relocated, the mounting points remained on the console for whatever reason.
    Last edited by Steve_Halt; 08-11-2016 at 04:32 AM. Reason: New information
    Reply With Quote  
     

  4. #34 Jetmax Music System 
    Senior C-Moto Guru Steve_Halt's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2012
    Location
    Ukraine, Kyiv
    Posts
    619
    When I replaced my horn, I had a closer look at the music system on the Jetmax. The amplifier has USB input only, no 3.5 jack. So today I tried USB-3.5 converter from Taobao to play music from my phone. Unfortunately, no luck there.
    It means that if I want to properly upgrade my music system, I'll have to go with a new amplifier and 4 decent speakers (the stock ones are absolute crap). Good sound systems are up to 1200 yuan from Taobao, so I think I'll wait on it.
    Reply With Quote  
     

  5. #35 Jetmax Comfort and Long Rides 
    Senior C-Moto Guru Steve_Halt's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2012
    Location
    Ukraine, Kyiv
    Posts
    619
    So I've been riding quite a lot these days and went to quite a few places around Nanjing.
    My impressions are as follows:

    1. The scooter is much more suited to an open road than it is to city riding. Weather protection and wind buffeting are great. When it may feel a bit heavy and hard to maneuver in the city, long-distance riding is not a problem.

    2. The scooter is comfortable on good roads. Suspension works fine and the seating position is just great. Doing 2 hours non-stop isn't a problem. Your arms, shoulders, butt and neck feel good snd I think I could've ridden for a much longer time. Still on bad roads with irregular bumps the suspension is a nightmare.

    3. Engine is great. There is a noticeable clutch/transmission engagement lag between 50 and 60 km/h, but besides that it pulls good. It never overheated, even though when I crawled through the city it was 30 km/h in stop'n'go traffic in 32 degrees Centigrade.

    4. The brakes could be better hands down. When they heat up, the feedback is very spongy and it takes a heavy scooter quite a lot of road space to come to a stop. ABS would be a welcome addition, but alas, we have none and it's not even an option.

    On a side note, if anyone is reading this, I have a question: Has CFMoto stopped scooter manufacturing? Jetlux and Jetmax aren't on the website any more and the shops in Nanjing don't have them either, so apparently, there's no supply.
    Last edited by Steve_Halt; 08-12-2023 at 06:13 PM.
    Reply With Quote  
     

  6. #36 Service Tomorrow 
    Senior C-Moto Guru Steve_Halt's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2012
    Location
    Ukraine, Kyiv
    Posts
    619
    So I've got me some spares off of taobao and am taking my scoot in for the service. I'll be doing the following:

    1. Change the brake pads, front and rear.
    2. Change the air filter insert.
    3. Change the spark plug (got an original CFMoto one from taobao).
    4. Change the pulley weights, since by the sound of it they are far from perfect.
    5. Change old and oil filter (1450 ml, if the old filter is being changed). Got me semi-synthetic oil 10W-40 Motul. Will see if it makes any difference to the engine sound.
    6. Change the transmission lubricant (I haven't gotten me any, so the local laoban will be using his).
    7. I'll ask the laoban to adjust my valves (0.05 - 0.07 inlet; 0.15 - 0.17 outlet), hopefully he'll do it.
    8. Check the belt wear and see if it needs replacement (I'll replace it if it's required, but now I don't have it on me).
    9. Add coolant (will see if it's below the level - I have 2 cans of CFMoto coolant at home from someone anyways).

    I may even wash the scooter if I feel like it. But that's a big "if".
    Last edited by Steve_Halt; 08-12-2023 at 06:14 PM. Reason: A sudden idea crossed my mind
    Reply With Quote  
     

  7. #37 Service Done 
    Senior C-Moto Guru Steve_Halt's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2012
    Location
    Ukraine, Kyiv
    Posts
    619
    No, I didn't wash the scoot. Three days of rain will do it for me anyway.

    The feeling I have after the service is that the engine sounds much less noisy. That's a plus.
    The new brake pads are really spongy. The brake lever travel (left and right) has increased, but so has the ability to modulate. Feels different from the previous "brakes on / off" feeling, and I think it's a bit closer to how proper brakes should work.

    Pulley weights on the scoot area joke. They are very lightweight (8g or so each), so they provide no acceleration until about 40 km/h. That is non-understandable for me. Since scooters and bikes aren't allowed on highways in China, the top end is basically useless. Good steady pick-up would have been much more useful, yet in the city the thing feels gutless.

    I will probably change the pulley weights for some heavier aftermarket ones. If I can find the suitable ones, that is. Probably those from a Benelli 250 or a Skywave 250 would work, I'm not quite sure yet.

    As for the belt, it's in great shape after 10K km, and is in no need for replacement. All the wear tolerances are legit and within the manual specs. I haven't replaced the belt and am seriously hoping for it to do another 10K km before it dies.

    So far the scooter has been OK, and with less engine noise it's a bit of a more pleasurable ride.
    Reply With Quote  
     

  8. #38 Some More Parts Installed 
    Senior C-Moto Guru Steve_Halt's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2012
    Location
    Ukraine, Kyiv
    Posts
    619
    Hello my nonexistent readers, yesterday I had a few more parts installed on the scoot.

    1. Front shocks - I had 270 ml of 10W fork oil added in each (actually I have no idea how much oil there should be exactly, but I found this amount for Benelli BJ 250 scoot, and, since the scoots are more or less the same... Looking for specific info on CFMoto Jetmax is a waste of time - looks like they're never taken apart, or, if they are, no measurements are taken).
    The result is great. Better than I expected, actually. The scooter floats no more and goes exactly where you point it. When we opened the shocks, each of them had about 70ml of old dirty oil.
    The fork oil seals were replaced too.

    2. Rear shocks - I had yet another pair of shocks from Taobao (just search for 川南本田弯刀cfmoto春风摩托车捷马250-6改装后减震/孔距315mm) - they work much better than the original ones (both adjustable and non-adjustable original CFMoto rear shocks are crap, since they don't absorb the shocks).
    On a side note, these shocks are quite a bit longer than the original ones, but it hasn't told on the scooter handling anyhow so far. Probably they will sag a bit in a year or so. Took a pillion - pillion said it was much better than before.
    Last edited by Steve_Halt; 08-12-2023 at 06:15 PM.
    Reply With Quote  
     

  9. #39 Re: Some More Parts Installed 
    Senior C-Moto Guru Steve_Halt's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2012
    Location
    Ukraine, Kyiv
    Posts
    619
    Replaced the rear tire with a new stock one, now the bike is firmly planted.

    Installed Dr. Pulley weights (21 x 17) - I can't really say that there is any difference in pick up. Seems that the clutch started to engage at lower rpms, but, since the scoot doesn't have a tacho, I can't be 100% sure.

    Front right windshield fixture (bolt/thread) has broken thread, the bolt just slid in. It cause the windshield to vibrate and make this annoying sound. Fixed it with another nut there. That was a pain in the ass to get right.

    Overall on the quality of the metal used in the scoot - it feels like the scoot is made of plasticine. You disassemble it, you assemble it, you disassemble it again, be prepared for worn threads and tons of headache. Chinese green screws aren't up to the task either...
    Last edited by Steve_Halt; 08-12-2023 at 06:15 PM.
    All good things happen after 3,000 rpm.
    Reply With Quote  
     

  10. #40 Dr. Pulley Weights for Jetmax 
    Senior C-Moto Guru Steve_Halt's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2012
    Location
    Ukraine, Kyiv
    Posts
    619
    So these are my impressions of the scoot's performance after I installed Dr. Pulley slider weights:

    1. Now I have a feeling that the scooter has a well-distributed torque over the rev range. The flat spot at around 60 km/h is gone, and the scooter picks up speed progressively and predictably (albeit yet pretty slowly).

    2. The clutch engaging at lower RPMs isn't all that good, since now when I have the scooter on the center stand and fire it up for a warm up, I can see the rear wheel spinning at idle RPMs. That is dangerous indeed, and I can't say I like having this happen.

    3. At traffic lights the aforementioned problem persists, and the scooter would try to launch itself forward at idle RPMs. That is annoying.

    I think I'll be switching to the original roller weights in the near future.
    All good things happen after 3,000 rpm.
    Reply With Quote  
     

Page 4 of 7 FirstFirst ... 23456 ... LastLast

Similar Threads

  1. 2010 CFMoto Jetmax 250 Scooter
    By bikerdoc in forum Scooter
    Replies: 183
    Last Post: 05-29-2016, 04:49 AM
  2. Steve's CFMoto 650 NK(春风 650 NK)
    By Steve_Halt in forum Street
    Replies: 431
    Last Post: 03-19-2016, 06:45 AM
  3. CFMoto Jetmax in Minneapolis, Minnesota
    By vintner in forum Welcome to MCM!
    Replies: 20
    Last Post: 08-24-2012, 10:24 PM
  4. Spark plug heat range for CFMoto 250T-F?
    By joema in forum Maintenance
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 11-23-2011, 03:13 AM
  5. CFMoto Jetmax 250cc
    By bikerdoc in forum Scooter
    Replies: 11
    Last Post: 07-26-2011, 04:00 AM
Bookmarks
Bookmarks
Posting Permissions
  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •