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View Full Version : Thinking of a performance and/or Engine Upgrade...Suggestions?


sirmaxwell
06-06-2019, 10:13 PM
I finally pulled the plug on a 190cc. I saw the coupon for pitster pro a while back here on CR. just wanted to say the coupon ZS190 still works. brings the motor down to 640 after shipping. much more reasonable in my opinion. I'm excited to get back on my clone, its been almost two years. Mud season is so bad around here I got plenty of time left to bring my bike back to spec. Hope this helps!

My current setup is a 2019 Vader Gen 1 nearly Bone Stock except a 17 tooth front sprocket with a hair trimmed off that sprocket cover. That's all I have "modded". I do have a VM22 carb, air filter + jet kit and new inexpensive full size adjustable hand levers all not installed YET, partly because I dont have a fresh air to exhaust emissions block off plate (mine didnt come with one anywhere) apparently that plate is needed to change carb to VM22 and it's more difficult than just leaving the bike stock, which the stock bike seems to run with no issue when temps are 60 degrees F or highe rother than very occasionally a "stubborn/not perfect" shift--shifter seems to be getting better & smoother with age @ around 500 miles & some of the small amount of shift issues I have could be human error, not sure--also occasionally I will be accelerating and when I get to around 46-49mph in 4th gear the power cuts out as if the fuel was cut or the clutch disconnected power to the rear wheel--not sure what it is, was thinking clutch adn it has only ever happened less than 5 times over 500 miles--I usually close the throttle for a second or downshift when this happens then after 2-3 or more seconds I try the throttle again and its as if nothing happened at all. Maybe the carb is lean, maybe too much load on the engine, maybe a "soft seize" which I have heard of when I used to deal with modified scooters and talk to a forum on those. I have no idea yet. This loss of power happens like I said when accelerating often accelerating close to as hard as I can so always at between 85% to 100% WOT @ north of 46MPH with the throttle still open the power cuts and RPMS/bike speed both drop a bit and quickly in a jerky motion, but before I can recover from the jerkiness of the power loss and look at my RPMs by the time I do that (and I always let off the throttle to at least 50% of WOT every time it happens, and I do that almost immediately, maybe out of surprise and maybe fear) and look down which takes 2 seconds--I can already either hit the gas again and its fine or downshift hit the gas and its fine..strange (thoughts on what causes this?). I have been thinking of returning the VM22 and getting a 22mm PZ22 that can apparently be put on without changing a thing if you get the right PZ22 clone carb--main difference I know of(other than being larger) between the PZ22 clone carbs and stock PZ20 is the PZ22 has an extra input for fuel in case you build an auxillary fuel tank onto the luggage rack or whatever--A kind of cool feature if I were to take the clone on a looong ride or camping for days away from civilization for awhile and wanted more than the approximately 200 mile stock range. I have also HEARD top speed doesnt change from adding the VM22 to a stock bike in conjunction with the 17 tooth front sprocket , that it only improves acceleration, but I also have friends who claim gaining 5+MPH fromadding the VM22 on top of a 17 tooth and/or going down 2 teeth on the rear sprocket to get a claimed top speed of 60-63MPH...Thoughts/experiences on changine the carb anyone? :thanks:

I am looking at many options because I'm not entirely sure I want to use all the power a ZS190cc engine makes in my little Vader. I have heard even the 140cc engines or the 141/146cc Big Bore Kits available for the stock 125cc engine for $150 get the bike to a top speed around 65mph probably in ideal conditions on flat ground with a rider who isn't too too heavy like I feel like I am sometimes at 205lbs,65MPH is probably the extreme limit for how fast I want to ride a clone and even then its not like I want ot go miles at 65mph on the highway---I would only probably rarely even think of going 60MPH, but I can imagine cruising at 50 to 55MPH on a state route with a speed limit of 40 to maybe 50mph although at least where I live people tend to go a minimum of 10MPH over the posted speed limit so I'm not convinced riding a Grom or Grom clone for any distance over a few miles on a 50MPH limit road would ever be a great idea without getting a 190cc engine and doing extensive mods to make the bike ride ok at 60mph and be reliable at 60mph. However, I'm still decideing whether or not I would really really want the extra low end torque, acceleration and hill climb ability the zs190cc offers vs the YX made 140cc s bad enough to go thru the extra trouble of fitting a ZS190cc vs what seems to be an easier route of swapping in a new 140cc for between $300-$400 or even the easiest option seems to be the $150 141/146cc Big Bore Kit piston and cylinder. People have said taht adding a cam and/or new race head to the 140's new engine or bbk really helps also, but I doubt I would spend the extra $250-$300 or so bucks for the head because that would bring the total cost to such a high price it wouldn't seem worth it to me for what I get out of it in terms of performance/power when I ride it, plus the added resale value considerations for if and when I ever sell the complete bike or just the engine.

I'm still trying to decide what I want based on my performance needs of not wanting to go above 60-70MPH for daily cruising on flat ground, I do have some 100 to 200 foot hills near my house I climb regularly on my bike and the biggest "mountain" in town peaks at about 900-950 feet--which is roughly a 700 foot climb in elevation from the starting point at the base with a fairly steep grade--currently I do not go on that hill because my bike probably wouldnt easily climb it much above 30mph, maybe could hit 35moh and the speed limit is 40mph on it--& people around where I live have cars definitley on the nicer side so they have no problem climbing that lil mountain at 60MPH which they very commonly do and people here also go 60MPH in 40MPH zoned backroads--so I want to be ABLE to go AT LEAST 50-55MPH when cruising on straight flat surfaces just so cars won't be up my rear end if nothing else!. Most roads I travel will be 40mph speed limits or under, although the highest I would semi-regularly ride are 45mph and the highest limits I plan to ride the little clone on only Occasionally are probably 50mph roads.--not to say I wouldn't try it out on a 50-65MPH Interstate Highway once or twice IF it wasnt busy and IF I had it upgraded to be able to easily hit or exceed 70MPH

If anyone has any thoughts or reccomendations on what I should get, please feel free to comment--I would appreciate any insight y'all have. I might post this elsewhere to start a new thread and maybe get more answers.

What upgrades and/or engine swap should I go with based on my above needs and trying to get the most bang and resale value combined for my bucks? Consider performance but also keep in mind decent reliability is also important... BUT I would be genuinely surprised if I dont either sell this bike or have a new engine on it or both well before the 50,000 mile and 10 more years from now ownership mark. If I had my way I would definitley keep the Vader and just add to it, starting a bike collection that would eventually put Jay Leno's car & bike garages to shame! However, realistically...I actually have pretty tough money and space and time constraints, so I doubt I will EVER have more than a handful of bikes and Im currently facing the sad prospect of being forced to move into a modest apartment within the next few months after spending the last 30+ years in a decent sized 4 bedroom 2.5 bathroom house with a 2 car attached garage and a little workbench workshop in my furnace room in the basement. I will be missing all of this for sure once I'm forced out, but on the bright side it should make my life easier and responsibilities significantly less.

All that being said, the original reason I started this post is because I checked out the coupon the OP Phildo mentioned and it still works! www.pitsterpro.com get the 190cc engine (listed as a 190cc GPX Moto) and type zs190 into the coupon code to bring down the price including delivery to a total of just under $641!!! What a steal!! I haven't seen it anywhere cheaper, but if anyone is reading this and knows of ANY cheaper prices on a 190cc or ANY good prices on any complete engines, big bore kits or anything for any of our China Bikes (and especially for my Gen 1 Vader!) Please share it with me personally or with the group as a New Thread or Post on an existing thread!! Thanks for reading, please remember to Ride Safe, be responsible and have fun in life!! Peace

This "GPX Moto" 190cc(same as ZongShen zs190 [& I think also same as the most basic 2 valve cylinder headed Daytona 190]) engine includes:
Kick Starter
Gear Shifter
Manifold & Gasket
Coil Pack
Start Relay
Rectify
Rubber Adaptor
Wiring Harness

RedCrowRides
06-06-2019, 10:34 PM
The Zs190 swap is the ultimate ,and to be honest not just due to the increase in cc but

also due to the fact it is a 5 speed tranny compared to our 4 speed, that 5th gear difference is HUGE.


That said, it is still 650$ which is half of what the entire bike costs and you are throwing out a brand new engine at this point .I really think you'd be surprised at just how much a aftermarket exhaust ($100) and a carb /intake/filter swap ($50) wakes these little bikes up, especially with the 17t ,once you get the carb jetted right for your use. The upside to this starting point is, you can use the carb and exhaust on the 190 if you ever decide to go up to that.
Finally , Kronik Racing can point you to some chinese pit bike 140cc cylinder /piston kits that will work on these bikes, Grom kits will not fit ,they are not real expensive but yes some mechanical aptitude is definitely needed to install that kinda stuff .It's not overly hard, but it's not a bolt on carb swap, either. Again, you can use the aftermarket exhaust /carb on the 140cc so its not wasted money .


And you wont find a Zs190 kit for under that 640$ price, thats a great price if you decide to go that way. All i have on mine is a carb, spinner, intake, filter and aftermarket pipe , oil cooler set up and a racing CDI unit but i am not looking for top end so my expertise is admittedly not in that , i built mine for torque to stunt with and smooth throttle response /control. ,and swapped my rear shock to an Ohlins and so forth.

sirmaxwell
06-06-2019, 10:39 PM
The Zs190 swap is the ultimate ,and to be honest not just due to the increase in cc but

also due to the fact it is a 5 speed tranny compared to our 4 speed, that 5th gear difference is HUGE.


That said, it is still 650$ which is half of what the entire bike costs and you are throwing out a brand new engine at this point .I really think you'd be surprised at just how much a aftermarket exhaust ($100) and a carb /intake/filter swap ($50) wakes these little bikes up, especially with the 17t ,once you get the carb jetted right for your use. The upside to this starting point is, you can use the carb and exhaust on the 190 if you ever decide to go up to that.
Finally , Kronik Racing can point you to some chinese pit bike 140cc cylinder /piston kits that will work on these bikes, Grom kits will not fit ,they are not real expensive but yes some mechanical aptitude is definitely needed to install that kinda stuff .It's not overly hard, but it's not a bolt on carb swap, either. Again, you can use the aftermarket exhaust /carb on the 140cc so its not wasted money .


And you wont find a Zs190 kit for under that 640$ price, thats a great price if you decide to go that way. All i have on mine is a carb, spinner, intake, filter and aftermarket pipe , oil cooler set up and a racing CDI unit but i am not looking for top end so my expertise is admittedly not in that , i built mine for torque to stunt with and smooth throttle response /control. ,and swapped my rear shock to an Ohlins and so forth.


Thanks for the reply--I really appreciate it as always Red Crow!. Is all the stuff you have on a 125cc or ZS190cc? I realize you aren't trying hard going for top speed but I'm just curious--What is the highest speed you have hit with your setup?

RedCrowRides
06-07-2019, 07:12 AM
My Bike is a 2018 Gen 2 Vader , I got it from Venom Motorsports., it has the stock 125cc engine in it still. I plan to "one day" do the Zs190 swap but being honest i was happy enough with the basic performance for my use after the carb/intake/filter and aftermarket exhaust swaps that i put money into new bars, risers, a 12 bar ( stunt cage for the tail) stainless brake lines , shock / suspension work etc and some stiffer clutch springs from Kronik .
My GPS verified top speed is 60-61 mph on flat ground , on 93 octane Sunoco pump gas , I weigh about 170 and am 6 feet tall. The bike has had all that emissions /air pump etc tomfoolery removed as well, they don't inspect for it here in FLA so in the trash it went lol.

I'm guessing overall i have about about $800 - 1k in the bike over it's original cost but that still puts me at only about half the cost of a Grom ., about all i want to do to it now is swap out the swingarm and i will be totally happy with it ,and maybe one day when it blows up i will swap in the Zs190 ,but it's so much fun right now i don't know that i could stay off the damn thing long enough to do the 190 swap if i had one sitting here ready to go haha!

Emerikol
06-07-2019, 07:44 AM
Max, it sounds like your power issue is your engine is going through fuel faster than the carb bowl can keep up. During your WOT accelerations you're using every bit of fuel of the carb can supply, and the gravity feed from the fuel tank through the tiny fuel hose just can't keep up. A larger/better carb that's properly tuned [I]may[I] help with that problem, but it could make it worse, as well. Mostly, it depends on the design of the carb and how large the float bowl is. There are a few ways to get around this issue, with the most popular being an aftermarket fuel selector that uses larger hose and fittings. It's a pretty involved mod and requires drilling the old barb out of the carb and fitting a new one. That's over the top for most people (I think it would be for me, too). The other issue could be that there's a blockage or restriction in the fuel delivery system. Look for an inline filter where the fuel supply line goes into the carb. There was one on my DR650 that I removed the very first time I had that line off. As for your suggested mods, I would recommend doing the performance upgrades mentioned below on the engine you've got now to make a nice tuned and balanced bike, and then ride that out until something major breaks. Once you have to have it apart for some reason, then look into doing a performance engine swap. That's my two cents' worth, hope it helps.

sirmaxwell
06-07-2019, 09:44 PM
Max, it sounds like your power issue is your engine is going through fuel faster than the carb bowl can keep up. During your WOT accelerations you're using every bit of fuel of the carb can supply, and the gravity feed from the fuel tank through the tiny fuel hose just can't keep up. A larger/better carb that's properly tuned [I]may[I] help with that problem, but it could make it worse, as well. Mostly, it depends on the design of the carb and how large the float bowl is. There are a few ways to get around this issue, with the most popular being an aftermarket fuel selector that uses larger hose and fittings. It's a pretty involved mod and requires drilling the old barb out of the carb and fitting a new one. That's over the top for most people (I think it would be for me, too). The other issue could be that there's a blockage or restriction in the fuel delivery system. Look for an inline filter where the fuel supply line goes into the carb. There was one on my DR650 that I removed the very first time I had that line off. As for your suggested mods, I would recommend doing the performance upgrades mentioned below on the engine you've got now to make a nice tuned and balanced bike, and then ride that out until something major breaks. Once you have to have it apart for some reason, then look into doing a performance engine swap. That's my two cents' worth, hope it helps.

You're definitley right that at least sometimes when its cold outside and the bike stalls I am having issues with not getting enough fuel, Im guessing its jetted too lean--Im hoping it is more like a main jet issue and/or whatever is responsible to help fill the bowl faster or slower rather than the problem being the hose is too small or the gravity feed ain't cutting it--although if it needs a bigger gas line that's probably easy and I have bigger lines already that I can install. I also have the factory fuel line still installed "as is", maybe cuz I'm lazy, and the fuel line is significantly longer than it has to be, it kind of runs past and maybe a little below where it enters the carb when I let it hang. I do have larger fuel hoses if needed but I bet either different jets or otherwise tuning the carb or a larger carb and setting the stock fuel hose straight will likely help right the issue. I aslo think it Could be important to note I still have all stock emissions, and the carb hooks up to I think a pump valve for the vacuum actuated sytem that pumps fresh air into the exhaust and any of that stuff could be a suspect in messing with how a carb works for either the cold weather complete stalls and the very rare momentary power loss issues I have had. Other than the very very rare momentary power loss I have only suffered a handful of times, My bike seems to run perfectly fine in warm temps as long as the long fuel line doesnt get pinched under the fairings. I recently took off one side fairing to find the fuel line pinched completely shut AND jamming the carb choke in the open position! So since then I have left the fairing off when I ride and will maybe leave it off until I get a day where I feel motivated to swap in that carb or fix the routing of the fuel line or do any work under there at all.

I still do have that rare issue where it momentarliy loses power when under highest acceleration usually at or near WOT in the top 4th gear just before 50MPH. Today I think that issue happened in 3rd gear when revving it nearly as fast as I could up to maybe between 5000 to 6000 RPMS which is interesting because for the previous 10 miles during the same ride I had revved the bike up 1000 more RPMs in 3rd gear getting the bike up to 40mph before shifting each time with no issue until that time when I was going probably 35 mph or less in 3rd. I think a fuel issue could make sense or a clutch issue maybe or maybe a piston/cylinder issue or even what if the chain hit? I have had a lil chain slap that I want to look at, maybe get rid of the chain hitting the cover if I get rid of 18 to 1/4" of slack. I think it has nearly 3/4 to 1 inch slack now, but just by psuhing up and casually eyeballing from in front and above the side of the chain.
I dunno...I really have been meaning to install the new Vm22 Mikuni clone carb and get it jetted/tuned up to see if I can accelerate faster and get to higher RPMS in 4th gear especially with my 17 t front sprocket on--

Performance engine swap? ehhhh I think I went over that one and how I feel pretty well above...Sure I want more power---Sure the ZS190cc is the best return of power per dollar invested that I can find in a significant engine mod/swap--BUT Im NOT sure I want or need all that power--what does the clone top out at with the basic ZS190cc a 17t front and 32 t rear sprocket and best sized jetted and tuned carb and decent exhaust/air filter---just 73MPH? or 77MPH? maybe 83MPH? Some ridiculously high speed like that which could quite easily wreak havok on soo many stock parts of the bike if anywhere near the top speed is used and definitley it will break stuff if top speed is used with the bike being left stock--Also maybe some of the same breaking stuff issues would come up from using most of the toque and acceleration the ZS190 produces not as sure of that though---Solution? keep spending money and changing out bike parts until you have a bike with 100% new parts to go with the brand new engine and then maybe you can use all 100% of it's power without worrying as much about crashing or breaking something weeekly or monthly ir too often...Maybe Im being bit mmm I dont know over the top say with my comments there I guess I mean to say I wish that he price of new bigger engines to swap in and the price of complete BBKs with at least heads and maybe cams was directly proportionate with the size increase and amount of power it adds over the stock engine. Or maybe I really mean to say (since I dont know all the different swap sizes horsepower and total cost numbers) I wish the smaller engine swaps were way cheaper. Of course I want a bigger engine in either a swap or MAYBE a BBK--- IF I could get the 141cc piston/cylinder kit AND a Nice pre-assembled Heavy duty Race head and race cam maybe throw in a race timed CDI for a couple hundred bucks then I likely would be going for it to give it a try and see if that is enough for what I want MY Vader to be used for because it seems sooo easy to do a BBK VS swapping in a bigger engine but the BBK is like 4 times the price I would like to see so it's on hold for me even though I have the cash even though I have a debit card and even though my credit score just increased and I have been offered larger credit lines--to me it doesnt matter if I have the money to do it because if it doesnt seem worth it for the amount of mey being spent and isnt worth it because lie with the ZS190 it might be a good price for what you get but is Maybe MORE than I want in power, then I wont want to do it if Im spending more than a couple bucks and I will probably continue to be a complete cheap-o unless I ever become a multi-millionaire --because even if I have enough money to live modestly off of for a couple years I am absolutely terrified of running completely out of money and having nowhere to live or even having somewhere to live but not being able to afford a car is pretty scary if you are like me and live in a rural area with cold enough weather over half the year including snow up to 7 months out of 12 and pretty terrible to nearly non-exsistant public transport and have barely any sidewalks in town---But hey, maybe you live in a city where its warm, where you can walk or take a bus almost everywhere you ever NEED to go and you can feel ok with spending a lot on your Grom Clone because you don't Need need a car if push came to shove

SO, Ironically, the more I think about it the more I dunno what I will ultimately do...I want more power. I want to spend less on the significant power increases I can easily do. Riding my Vader is currently a major source of my daily recreation, its fun to forget my worries and clear my head by doing laps for a half hour at a time or running to the convenience store for small items on my vader instead of taking my full size V8 SUV sometimes and having fun is very important but right now My Vader is not very important to me beyond having a little fun riding in circles and saving a few miles on my suv and saving a few bucks on gas with runs to the store nearby. Maybe in my life story I just try to find a second hand or new old stock BBK/engine swap or either of those from a company going out of business or look for a giant sale--Although I have already said before I don't see a brand new ZS190cc KIT, (not just the engine but a whole kit!) being any or much less than the current coupon price of $640 Including Deliverey from Pitster Pro ... Maybe in the next chapter of my Vader experience the engine just shows up on my doorstep like an orphan needing a good home! haha I dunno Im def getting too tired right now :thanks:

wlfpck
06-10-2019, 06:00 PM
The issue with these pit bikes and grom clones is that the gearing for the transmission is for pit bikes. That's why a 16T or 17T front sprocket is useful.

If you want to swap the engine, it's better to go with more than to go with too little and then want to switch later.

Essentially the swap is just to a 190cc pit bike engine. Zongshen is the manufacturer and in multiple facebook groups, they are the manufacturers of the Daytona Anima engines that are used in racing applications. Some people reported that when they opened up their ZS190, they actually had Daytona parts in which the Daytona logo was partially ground off.

The GPX motor and stuff are just the ZS190 with a different logo/stamp on them.

If you do 140cc or 150c swap the issue is that you may not get electric start. If you do, you're pretty much near the price of a ZS190cc but you don't get a 5th gear. ZS190 can be had for under $700 using a coupon code. You may save money by getting a 150cc... but then you'll still be limited due to the 4 gears versus 5.

Then you have to consider aftermarket parts. The ZS190 is a Daytona Anima engine. As such, people have swapped a 4v Daytona Anima head onto the ZS190. There's also a 212cc bore kit for the ZS190/Daytona Anima.

Just food for thought.

scoot newb
06-10-2019, 06:41 PM
Yes the 4v head and 212 kit! I was thinking about it but I don't want risk damaging the motor.

scoot newb
06-11-2019, 12:03 AM
If your bike is stalling on idle, it is the air fuel mix screw needs adjusting or the pilot.


The 190 is good. It isn't too over the top. You probably saw in that other 'group' but motor install is just about done.

https://imgur.com/l8OKj67.jpg

Whisky
06-11-2019, 04:03 PM
If your bike is stalling on idle, it is the air fuel mix screw needs adjusting or the pilot.


The 190 is good. It isn't too over the top. You probably saw in that other 'group' but motor install is just about done.

https://imgur.com/WzxKk9m.jpg

Bike is looking good. Did u get your oil cooler figured out? If you don't have already, u might want to think about getting SS brake lines, huge improvement over the stockers. I went with coremoto but if you can figure out the right length in mm u can get them on wish.com, there like 10 bucks ea. I know a couple peeps that got them from there and there not bad much better then stock forsure.

scoot newb
06-11-2019, 04:10 PM
Yes the oil cooler is figured out. I need to make a bracket. Right now it is on there but nothing I'd want permanently.

https://imgur.com/gGcOZzr.jpg

Whisky
06-11-2019, 04:16 PM
Yes the oil cooler is figured out. I need to make a bracket. Right now it is on there but nothing I'd want permanently.

https://imgur.com/gGcOZzr.jpg

I seen some that attached to the top 2 bolts on the head with a bracket that's always an option I guess.

Whisky
06-11-2019, 04:19 PM
On your style I did see a bar that went between your plastic side panels down underneath and they had there cooler mounted to that

wlfpck
06-26-2019, 03:10 PM
This should fit the grom clones

https://www.steadygarage.com/store/kitaco-oil-cooler-bracket-honda-grom-125

Would to secure the side fairings since airbox is removed and would give you a mounting point for the oil cooler. This one is for a kitaco oil cooler. not sure what yours looks like versus kitaco.

scoot newb
06-26-2019, 05:44 PM
This should fit the grom clones

https://www.steadygarage.com/store/kitaco-oil-cooler-bracket-honda-grom-125

Would to secure the side fairings since airbox is removed and would give you a mounting point for the oil cooler. This one is for a kitaco oil cooler. not sure what yours looks like versus kitaco.

LOL Nice. I have it. I just got some bolts and rubber washers to properly mount it. The holes the oil cooler mounts to are too far apart but I can drill new ones. Just gotta get a drill.:lol:

https://imgur.com/ENlKaiB.jpg