Ordered a Hellcat- what first?
 

So after lurking on the site for a few days I decided to pull the trigger on a Hellcat, which is supposed to be here "within 9 business days".

I've been reading about people swapping carbs, front sprockets, replacing engine bolts etc., and it made me curious- What items should I go ahead and plan to swap immediately? It seems like the engine bolts as they are a high failure item, but is the carb for reliability or performance reasons? With all the sticky's for the Hawks, I'm surprised the Grom clones don't have something similar. I'm trying to read through as much as I can, but the 36 pages of threads is a lot to go through to find something like a bolt size.


I'm looking for a list of items that should be done to improve reliability/dependability, not performance. What are everyone's thoughts? I'd like to collect enough info to make a "start here" type sticky.

Loctite bolts/nuts. Blue on non critical, red on critical, check all wires and connectors. These are a must for reliability. Carbs that come with bike are usually non serviceable so some change for that some change for better performance, sprockets to go faster or better torque.

I recommmend changing the oil before you even run it. The oil that is in it is mostly for corrosion prevention during shipping.

Agree with Hellkitty, please change the oil before you ever crank it ,it is shipping oil and not real motor oil, and on top of that mine only had 1/2 quart in it, it holds a full quart .


The factory fuel lines as well as clamps are also notoriously bad and do not last long, especially if you use gas that has ethanol in it ,they start to degrade inside and flake real bad so get rid of them as soon as feasible., you can find trick looking clear silicone based fuel lines in colors on Ebay or get some black silicone fuel line from Auto Zone etc for under 5 bucks or so . I'd replace the extremely crappy factory spark plug as well with something decent pretty quick as well .,although the stock one will usually last for a few hundred miles.

this was for the vader but redcrow put together a great list of upgrades. Give you an idea if not the same for hellcat

http://www.chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=21688

Thanks for the replies thus far. Keep them coming!

Replace Engine Bolts.
Check all bolts.
Change oil.
Carb. Vm22.
Jets.
pipe.

Then everything else as you can do it.

Tires
Bar
etc.

1600degrees - If you can give me an idea of what you plan to do with the bike , it will help me suggest parts and sources a lot better. Do you plan on building it as an all around every day commuting bike , road race style build, stunt build, or even a crazy stretched , lowered etc build? A lot of track parts and stunt parts can be combined in a single build but for example you do not want to extend the swingarm or lower the bike if you plan on doing any stunting / tricks ,or track time because that long swingarm is not worth beans for cornering.



So, give us an idea of what direction you want to take it and we can be a lot more helpful, altho most any build ought to include bars, carb, filter, and a pipe but hi or low pipe will depend to some degree on the style of bike you want to create.


Btw, welcome to Chinariders.net ,great community here !

I'm not interested in changing the bike into a road racer or anything like that. I'm fine with keeping it as stock as possible with the exception of the reliability improvements. I have no interest in a pipe unless the stock one is prone to breakage for example. I'm not looking for any cosmetic or performance changes at this time, just the key reliability fixes.

Ah kk, then you should have all you need already then outlined above. Let us know as time progresses if you get hooked as bad as we all are and decide to modify it lol and we will try to hook you up with stuff that's known to fit and work !

Great, thanks for the support! This seems like a great community!

My hellcat arrived today! The metal frame it was shipped in looks like someone used it as a shark cage first, but the bike seems OK. I only got a chance to glance at it before I had to head out though.

I plan to post pictures and do an assembly post later.

Can't wait!

Those shipping cages are pretty tough , so you're prolly okay .Mine was flawless as was the cardboard covering but there were still some minor flaws on the bike , I expect either from the factory assy. or from them packing the bike into the crate, nothing severe enough to cry over though.


Take your time and go slow and get her together right with blue loctite etc
and try to get some help with that front wheel, it's a real pain to get on solo.
Make sure you get the speedo sensor and spacer in it correctly too, and add some grease in there ,other than that putting it together isn't too bad ,use care on the handlebar clamp nuts and bolts, they are "chinesium" and you need to get them tight but you cant crank hell out of em like you can on other bikes or you will pull the threads out of the holes.


Hit all your brake and throttle lines with some cable lube or WD40 etc too and don't forget to CHANGE THE OIL before you fire it, it takes a full quart of good stuff thats safe for clutches ,mine shipped with only half a quart in it, and it wasnt really " oil" just some greasy anti corrosive shipping oil .


I know we already told ya all this but it's easy to forget when you're all excited trying to get it together so you can ride that bad boy .Good luck with it , oh and check your chain tension mine was WAY too loose after i connected the rear shock , woulda been bad if i had took off with it that loose ~

Might also want to check your rear sprocket bolts when going through it, as well as the exhaust header bolts. Mine were pretty loose on a few of them. As others have said use a careful hand as they will strip easily. I also had to spend some time getting the clutch cable adjusted.