ChinaRiders Forums - View Single Post - Lifan xPect No Mods, No Major Maintenance Experiment Thread

Boatguy · 06-18-2022, 07:52 PM

5500 miles (or so):

Today(and yesterday), I did the extensive 4000 mile maintenance as described in the user manual.

Still no major malfunctions. Just the bad wiring into the headlight area. Fixed last year with a conduit and electrical tape.

Valve Adjustment:

Went for .06 mm intake and .06 exhaust. The engine runs so smoothly at this settings it’s crazy. Like a brand new Honda. No valve sounds at all. Nothing. I had never adjusted them before. The valves were at .13mm and .15mm when I opened them up.

Lined up TDC on the right stroke by watching the intake valve go down (open), then go up (close) and catch that next T| on the flywheel. A perfect lineup in the pic.

Here is a video of waaay too much valve clearance. I found the best technique is to tighten the valves all the way, then back off to your desired gap. Otherwise there is play in the whole valve assembly.

https://youtube.com/shorts/4wuBkzB5U1E?feature=share

Rear tire and tube:

I decided to do this myself. With spoons! Took the hard way, but I needed to learn in case I blow a tube in the middle of nowhere. It was good practice.

It was really hard the first time doing this. I was stuck so I asked for help on the forum.

The minute I asked for help, I found the secret. Small bites. You have to take it easy and just do a few inches at a time on the bead. It’ll go. And I didn’t even use any tire juice at all.

Got it all put back together and went to inflate the tire and it’s leaking. So I took it all back apart again, took the tube out, and found that I pinched it with the spoons. That was my good tube. So, I have some kind of no-name brand tube in there right now. A heavy duty tube, when I was just looking to use a normal duty Michelin. The Michelin is the one I broke.

Got it all put back together and went to inflate the tire and it’s leaking. So I took it all back apart again, took the tube out, and found that I pinched it with the spoons. That was my good tube. So, I have some kind of no-name brand tube in there right now. A heavy duty tube, when I was just looking to use a normal duty Michelin. The Michelin is the one I broke.

This is the tube that comes in the Lifan bikes from the factory. The Yuan King. Considering their currency is the Yuan, it either means it’s very, very cheap (the dollar king) or very very high quality (dollar king). I think it’s pretty high-quality. 5500 miles without a problem on this tube.

I used a stick on rim strip. And it was garbage. It did not stick on the rim at all. Here’s a picture of how poorly it stuck. So I kept it on there, and I put the old rim strip over it, so that’s double protection I think I will be fine.

Chain and sprockets:

I got the JT sprockets front sprocket. Stock number of teeth. 15. I could not find a stock 46 tooth rear sprocket anywhere. Not in stock anyway. So I got it from KP Moto Club. It is simply a new stock sprocket.
I ordered the correct length JT sprockets chain. I got an x-ring chain. I know these aren’t supposed to be the best. But, supply chain problems. This is the best I could do. It has the clip on master link.

So first things first, I had to put the bike up on a stand. Oh yeah. I don’t have a garage. Oh yeah. I’m outside. Oh yeah. I don’t even have a little stand that goes under the engine. Lol I have to travel light. But some of you on the forum here had some great ideas. And I think everyone should take along a piece of rope when they go out on a ride. It makes things like taking the back wheel off a lot easier. Front wheel also.

Can you spot my motorcycle stand? Hint. It’s green. That’s seriously all you need to take a long on a motorcycle trip to work on the front or rear wheel.

So I put the front sprocket on. No troubles. I put the rear sprocket on. No troubles. I put the chain on. Also no troubles. What was difficult was trying to get the damn wheel in place to put the axle through it. The brake kept falling off. The brake kept rotating. The cover for the wheel bearing kept falling off. The rear sprocket and the housing that it is attached to kept falling off. What a nightmare. It was really difficult to hold the wheel up off the ground and try to get all of that to line up. There are no less than five parts that you have to hold into place that try to fall apart. Once you get the axle through, it stays. But wow. It sucks. I even propped stuff underneath the wheel to try to make it easier. It was still really hard.

Here is the front sprocket and new chain. Looking pretty good.

And here is the whole thing. New front bracket, new rear sprocket, new chain. Notice anything wrong with this picture?

FFS!!! I just lost half of this freaking post. Continuing now. Again.

This is the tube that ended up in the rear wheel. Godspeed. It’s a piece of crap. Lol

These brake pads look pretty fantastic after 5500 miles. So do my front pads. Maybe my clutch plates don’t. I’m a downshifter.

Misc: I checked a lot of little stuff. Headlight. Tail light. Blinkers. Brake light. Everything still works. Tightened the new chain.

Results: I’m really pleased. Doing this maintenance is important and you should do this. The bike is just so much quieter and more smooth now. No more squeaky rusty chain. No more valve noise. No more hesitation to stall when it is cold. It’s running like a brand new Honda. And you know what? I think this is every bit as good. They might design these bikes a little heavy. They might design them a little old-fashioned. But this thing has been treating me well.

What’s left??

I still have to change the front tire and tube. That should be a piece of cake now that I know what I’m doing. I am waiting on a Michelin front tire tube. It should be in in a week or two.

06-18-2022, 07:52 PM	#52
Boatguy Join Date: Feb 2021 Location: Northeast Posts: 929	5500 miles (or so): Today(and yesterday), I did the extensive 4000 mile maintenance as described in the user manual. Still no major malfunctions. Just the bad wiring into the headlight area. Fixed last year with a conduit and electrical tape. Valve Adjustment: Went for .06 mm intake and .06 exhaust. The engine runs so smoothly at this settings it’s crazy. Like a brand new Honda. No valve sounds at all. Nothing. I had never adjusted them before. The valves were at .13mm and .15mm when I opened them up. Lined up TDC on the right stroke by watching the intake valve go down (open), then go up (close) and catch that next T\| on the flywheel. A perfect lineup in the pic. Here is a video of waaay too much valve clearance. I found the best technique is to tighten the valves all the way, then back off to your desired gap. Otherwise there is play in the whole valve assembly. https://youtube.com/shorts/4wuBkzB5U1E?feature=share Rear tire and tube: I decided to do this myself. With spoons! Took the hard way, but I needed to learn in case I blow a tube in the middle of nowhere. It was good practice. It was really hard the first time doing this. I was stuck so I asked for help on the forum. The minute I asked for help, I found the secret. Small bites. You have to take it easy and just do a few inches at a time on the bead. It’ll go. And I didn’t even use any tire juice at all. Got it all put back together and went to inflate the tire and it’s leaking. So I took it all back apart again, took the tube out, and found that I pinched it with the spoons. That was my good tube. So, I have some kind of no-name brand tube in there right now. A heavy duty tube, when I was just looking to use a normal duty Michelin. The Michelin is the one I broke. Got it all put back together and went to inflate the tire and it’s leaking. So I took it all back apart again, took the tube out, and found that I pinched it with the spoons. That was my good tube. So, I have some kind of no-name brand tube in there right now. A heavy duty tube, when I was just looking to use a normal duty Michelin. The Michelin is the one I broke. This is the tube that comes in the Lifan bikes from the factory. The Yuan King. Considering their currency is the Yuan, it either means it’s very, very cheap (the dollar king) or very very high quality (dollar king). I think it’s pretty high-quality. 5500 miles without a problem on this tube. I used a stick on rim strip. And it was garbage. It did not stick on the rim at all. Here’s a picture of how poorly it stuck. So I kept it on there, and I put the old rim strip over it, so that’s double protection I think I will be fine. Chain and sprockets: I got the JT sprockets front sprocket. Stock number of teeth. 15. I could not find a stock 46 tooth rear sprocket anywhere. Not in stock anyway. So I got it from KP Moto Club. It is simply a new stock sprocket. I ordered the correct length JT sprockets chain. I got an x-ring chain. I know these aren’t supposed to be the best. But, supply chain problems. This is the best I could do. It has the clip on master link. So first things first, I had to put the bike up on a stand. Oh yeah. I don’t have a garage. Oh yeah. I’m outside. Oh yeah. I don’t even have a little stand that goes under the engine. Lol I have to travel light. But some of you on the forum here had some great ideas. And I think everyone should take along a piece of rope when they go out on a ride. It makes things like taking the back wheel off a lot easier. Front wheel also. Can you spot my motorcycle stand? Hint. It’s green. That’s seriously all you need to take a long on a motorcycle trip to work on the front or rear wheel. So I put the front sprocket on. No troubles. I put the rear sprocket on. No troubles. I put the chain on. Also no troubles. What was difficult was trying to get the damn wheel in place to put the axle through it. The brake kept falling off. The brake kept rotating. The cover for the wheel bearing kept falling off. The rear sprocket and the housing that it is attached to kept falling off. What a nightmare. It was really difficult to hold the wheel up off the ground and try to get all of that to line up. There are no less than five parts that you have to hold into place that try to fall apart. Once you get the axle through, it stays. But wow. It sucks. I even propped stuff underneath the wheel to try to make it easier. It was still really hard. Here is the front sprocket and new chain. Looking pretty good. And here is the whole thing. New front bracket, new rear sprocket, new chain. Notice anything wrong with this picture? FFS!!! I just lost half of this freaking post. Continuing now. Again. This is the tube that ended up in the rear wheel. Godspeed. It’s a piece of crap. Lol These brake pads look pretty fantastic after 5500 miles. So do my front pads. Maybe my clutch plates don’t. I’m a downshifter. Misc: I checked a lot of little stuff. Headlight. Tail light. Blinkers. Brake light. Everything still works. Tightened the new chain. Results: I’m really pleased. Doing this maintenance is important and you should do this. The bike is just so much quieter and more smooth now. No more squeaky rusty chain. No more valve noise. No more hesitation to stall when it is cold. It’s running like a brand new Honda. And you know what? I think this is every bit as good. They might design these bikes a little heavy. They might design them a little old-fashioned. But this thing has been treating me well. What’s left?? I still have to change the front tire and tube. That should be a piece of cake now that I know what I’m doing. I am waiting on a Michelin front tire tube. It should be in in a week or two. __________________ 2020 Lifan x-pect Last edited by Boatguy; 06-18-2022 at 08:25 PM.
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