Just got a Kikker!

[Rago]

I figured I'd report on what's going on here lately since I don't post a lot. My Maxfine is still kicking & most of my other projects got put to the side for the summer. I do have one bit of news though. I just got a Kikker 5150 last night. Here's my inital thoughts after a quick testride down the road.

Even with the 110 engine, it really feels responsive. As fast as the Maxfine? I sure hope not, LoL! Will it be? Maybe if I strap on a 140+cc motor. This thing is super light, I'm guessing 160-170 lbs just by picking it up. The bike currently has ape hangers, but that's gonna change real soon. They just clock your wrist in the most uncomfortable angle. After 30 minutes of riding, I was done. The seat could stand to come back a little, but I can deal with it. I'm not cramped on the bike, just feel like I should be more relaxed since it's a cruiser (I'm 5'10" BTW). Speaking of relaxed, the seat on this bike is not for sissies! It's basically a piece of metal with a leather covering. Since it's a hardtail, the seat springs provide the suspension as well. The springer forks seem a tad on the weak side, but maybe I'm just used to riding on an Enduro. I'll probably ride this a little bit longer before I start doing upgrades. I might be swapping handlebars real soon though.

All in all, the craftsmanship is great on the bike & the way that the chain tensioner is set up is far better than most cheaper bikes that I've seen.

http://i32.servimg.com/u/f32/13/72/08/44/kikker10.jpg

[FastDoc]

Amazingly cool machine. 8)

What is your intended use for it?

Who names these bikes?! :roll:

[Rago]

Thanks! I actually got this to help my wife learn how to ride. That's probably reason #1 why the ape hangers are going bye bye. #2 is because of the awkward clocked wrists. We live out in the country with miles of paved road, so I'll be riding this one mainly around backroads & quite a bit. Not 100% sure on getting tags in KS for it, but if I get pulled over in town, by law it is under 130cc & an automatic so no registering is necessary. How are they going to prove that it goes over 30 mph unless they catch me? :D

I don't know who names them. I'm curious to know what the 5150 stands for myself. These are American made bikes with Hi Bird (sp?) engines from what I'm told. After the wife gets comfortable with this, she's gonna step up to a full size bike & I'm gonna make this a mini tire roaster, LoL.

[FastDoc]

5150 is the police number code for 'insane'. :P

Sounds like a great bike for your mission.

It really is really cool. 8)

[Rago]

LoL! well I guess I can see the insane part. Good thing it has a foot shifter to go with the suicide shifter because it tucks just underneath my thigh. Doesn't hit it or anything, but really tricky to shift. I tried it once & decided to leave it alone. Again thanks for the compliment. A good buddy came over last night & when he saw it, he tried renting it from me for a day! Ha ha, nope.....

I'm just happy to see someone making a 3/4 chopper that isn't the generic "dragon 200cc" chopper or whatever name they go by. No offense to people that own them, because they are fairly comfortable, but they just look too cartoonish for my tastes. Checking on the website, these Kikkers now come in 200 & 250cc flavors as well. If all goes well with this one, I wouldn't mind trying out a 250 for daily transportation.

[Rago]

Found a potential problem for anyone looking into one of these bikes. I was riding along the other day & noticed that it kept cutting out when I gave it full throttle. My first thought was CDI since that's what happened to my last bike. After replacing the CDI box, it still did the same thing. Rather than spend more money, I started looking & noticed that the air filter had gotten sucked into the carb. The filters are poorly designed, even though they look really cool & I plan to swap on a K&N or similar as soon as I find something that fits. Basically the filter is a velocity stack with two pieces of mesh wire & a piece of loose filter sandwiched on the end. Nothing holds it there, it just gets pushed to the end & you slide a cap on the front. I foresee this being a recurring problem until it's changed. :evil:

The bike still makes my rear numb, but I have become more used to the ride. I cruised around for a couple of hours yesterday & never became bothered by the ape hangars. Liking it more now that I'm familiar with the bike. :)

[Weldangrind]

Wife's bike, huh? :lol: I bought an ATV for my wife; guess who beats on it regularly?

It sounds like you managed to get tags for it. Any trouble with that?

[FastDoc]

The air filter had gotten sucked into the carb.

That's a first, even here....

I'd replace it with a generic pod filter. I'd bet that you'd not need to rejet as the original was clearly low restriction, and probably not effective anyway.

[Rago]

I agree with the "Guess who beats on it regularly" part. She's rode it one time to my nearly daily cruising. I haven't got tags for it nor do I plan to until I get hassled by the man. I look at it this way.

1. I live 5 miles outside of town on long winding paved roads that can give me hours of entertainment. Literally, I can drive from here in Kansas to Oklahoma or Missouri on just country roads.

2. It's a 110cc auto bike which means that unless they catch me doing over 30mph, it is classified as a moped & doesn't require tags. Even so, I ride my 200cc Maxfine into town & never get bothered, so I'm not really worried. Cops are lienient as long as you don't go to Oklahoma. OK cops are A-holes.

Doc, I kind of had the idea of a low restriction filter. I wonder if the bike manufacturer put tuning into thought when they designed it? The bike clearly has an open element & no muffler, only a long open step tube pipe that sounds pretty cool IMHO. I played with the idle(?) adjustment screw (maybe it's a mixture screw?) the other day & noticed when I turn it counterclockwise just to the point that it starts to have a lope at idle, it has more bottom end. Top end isn't really affected, but take off really became snappy with the screw turned out & the filter took off. Should this be happening or is it in my head?

[FastDoc]

Sounds like a pilot mixture screw.

It still might be in your head though! :P

[Rago]

LoL, wouldn't surprise me. There have been a lot worse things going through my head, that's for sure. :D

[FastDoc]

As a side note it sure sounds like you live in a great area of the coutnty to ride. Maybe if you explore the back roads enough you can still find Mayberry! :D

[Rago]

LMAO! I live outside of the 1st cowtown in Kansas if that says anything. Don't get me started on all of the famous country singers coming out of my area either. I'm just glad that most of the roads are paved. The Kikker isn't too kind to me when I'm riding it up the rocky hill where the shop is.