Quote:
Originally Posted by JFOlivier
that is definitely not a normal engine noise and suspect it has to do with a failed ball bearing.
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Well, I guess it doesn't take too much to figure out it was a ball bearing. There is a picture of it and various other pieces that came out of the oil strainer in Post #15.
It is about 1 year past the 2 year warranty, but it could be 50 years old and ball bearings shouldn't be falling out in under 2,700 miles.
)
Anyway, Lifan first said they can't sell an engine directly and you have to go through a "dealer". Kronik Racing came back with $679 and Turbo Powersports came back with $700 + $200 shipping (although they said I could drive over to their place in Norco, CA and pick the engine up there and not have to pay shipping). Then . . . I asked Lifan if they could manage any kind of a discount (since a ball bearing falling out is obviously not a standard maintenance issue - you could NEVER change the oil and ball bearings wouldn't be falling out in under 2,700 miles if it was any good to begin with!) and they said they could organize a payment of $450 through a "dealer" and then I could drive over to Rancho Cucamonga, CA and just pick up the engine from them.
But then I was looking at past China Riders posts about where X-PECT parts can be found and people have links to
https://kpclubusa.com/. So I looked up the location of that place and it is in the same building in Rancho Cucamonga as Lifan! So why didn't/doesn't Lifan arrange an engine sale through KPClubUSA.com? I just don't understand their whole philosophy and operation. They make it hard to find Owner's Manuals (I posted the PDF I finally got out of them so people can search and find it - but that is a poor specimen of a manual!) and claim to not even have ANY Service Manuals - the closest being something covering the EFI system only. Besides that, why don't they even have a link to KPClubUSA.com on the Lifan website, at the very LEAST in the list of claimed "dealers"? (If engines can be sold on eBay I guess KPClubUSA.com could be selling them just as well. The ones I have looked at on eBay are actually listed as shipping from Ontario, CA, which is right beside Rancho Cucamonga where Lifan is.) Actually, now that I click on things, you CAN BUY a WHOLE MOTORCYCLE off KPClubUSA.com, so why aren't engines listed along with all the other parts?
Most people must not have ball bearings falling out of their engines, so things in general must be relatively OK (most of the time). So I'll probably pay $450 for an engine
IF I can get a clear delineation of how the 1 year/6,000 mile warranty works and what would have to be done to satisfy it. Previous e-mails have said it has to be inspected and you have to have "maintenance records". I told them I would be installing it and I am the only one doing any work on it. If they can manage to put something in writing that the warranty will be in effect under those conditions (a modified version of this warranty posted -
https://kpclubusa.com/pages/warranty - modified to apply to sale of only the engine itself) I'll probably give them another chance. But if not, people can expect to see an X-PECT with a thrashed engine (with detailed descriptions of everything I have found out about it and Lifan and their ability to sell engines) for sale on CraigsList and I will move on to other things.
(Oh, the final response from Lifan when I sent those videos of it running was that they supposed it might be a couple GEARS they marked on a parts list. . . . I was not impressed in a positive way.)