New Grom Knockoff's Are Now in the US

[_MaXiPaD_]

Well... I received my Vader!! The bike came quick (ordered it last Saturday and got it today)! I'm so excited to put it together that I think I might knock off from work early today!

I plan on doing a comparison video between the Honda Grom and the Vader. My sister owns a Grom, so I'll really be able to pick these bikes apart and distinguish their similarities & differences.

Expect to hear more about the bike within the next few days and for the comparison video in a few weeks!


BTW, so far Saferwholesale has been great to work with! I still need to receive my paperwork though, so it's not over.

[culcune]

Originally Posted by _MaXiPaD_

I do like that mini-motard look of the TMEC, although I'd prefer that it'd be a manual instead of a semi-auto. Do you know of any distributors in the US that are carrying them yet?

Congrats on the bike--can't wait to read about your experiences and especially the comparison to the Grom!

The distributor to the TMEC is sunright http://www.sunright.net/
They list them under 'Aeolus Scooters'

[tortoise]

Somewhat similar Icebear Fuerza 125 . . 4 speed manual.

[_MaXiPaD_]

Tortoise, that does look pretty close! It looks like a customized Grom (extended swingarm, different headlight w/ windscreen, etc). I wonder what those are going to go for.

Update on the Vader. I assembled it on Friday. It was pretty easy except for putting the front wheel on, but with a little creativity I did find an easy way to put the front wheel on. I found that putting an A-Frame ladder over the front of the bike then using ratchet straps to lift the front end off the ground worked great.
BUT, I did make a stupid mistake.. When I went to drain the oil, there were two bolts underneath; a 14mm bolt on the left (angled down at 45 degrees) and a 17mm bolt right underneath of the exhaust. My thinking was that bolt that was angled down and that was easier to get to was going to be the oil drain bolt. Boy was I wrong.. That was the cam chain tension bolt.

The tension spring rod that flew out of there ended up getting all garbled up, so I had to order a new one. I tried finding a place to order the Lifan spring, but I couldn't find an online store that carries them, so I ended up ordering an OEM Honda Grom tension spring. I hope that it'll work.

People, please don't be stupid like me. Remember that the oil drain bolt is almost always a 17mm bolt.

But boy does it look pretty sitting in my garage! I'm just amazed that they can sell this bike so cheap! I placed my sister's Grom next to my Vader and I much prefer the looks and features of my bike!

[culcune]

Glad to read you assembled it, minus the mishap Do you feel it seems as though it is well-built? I know that Skyteam and Icebear built the CT70 replicas pretty well, as reported by numerous members. Also, pitbikes from China seem to be stout based on numerous youtube videos and members. So, perhaps, the Chinese have the 'minibike' thing down; if only they can replicate quality for full-size bikes!

Thanks, Tortoise, for the Icebear find! Since Icebear offer their CT70 clone as a semi-auto, I am surprised they didn't offer their Grom clone in the same way.

Maxipad, you are correct on the 'custom' aspect as Icebear have their successful custom Ruckus clone lineup in both 50cc and 150cc, and two wheel and trike. They have given several away, or at least offered them, on 'Let's Make a Deal.'

[_MaXiPaD_]

Originally Posted by culcune

Glad to read you assembled it, minus the mishap Do you feel it seems as though it is well-built? I know that Skyteam and Icebear built the CT70 replicas pretty well, as reported by numerous members. Also, pitbikes from China seem to be stout based on numerous youtube videos and members. So, perhaps, the Chinese have the 'minibike' thing down; if only they can replicate quality for full-size bikes!

Thanks, Tortoise, for the Icebear find! Since Icebear offer their CT70 clone as a semi-auto, I am surprised they didn't offer their Grom clone in the same way.

Maxipad, you are correct on the 'custom' aspect as Icebear have their successful custom Ruckus clone lineup in both 50cc and 150cc, and two wheel and trike. They have given several away, or at least offered them, on 'Let's Make a Deal.'

I guess I won't truly know how well-built the Vader is until I can get the motor running. But as far as fit and finish, and all of the little details (led running light, gear indicator, multiple backlit colors to choose from on the instrument cluster, etc.) the bike definitely feels top-notch. I think looks-wise if the Grom looks like it's worth its MSRP of $3,200 then the Vader should sticker at around $3,500+.

If the Vader's motor and transmission are even remotely close in performance to the Grom, then I think it'd be a no-brainer to go with the Vader. But we shall see..

I've finally uploaded some pictures of the Vader, so I'll drop some in this post. (BTW the first pic is where I suspended the bike by the A-Frame ladder, and the last one is a pic w/ all of my bikes including the Hawk 250 )

[culcune]

It looks very natural next to the real deal Grom. I like the black paint. Like I mentioned, perhaps China has the minibike clone thing down seeing at how well their pitbikes and CT-70 clones are according to every owner's reviews on them I have read or seen on youtube. Your thread here has gotten me very interested in the TMEC due to the semi-auto transmission. I had been eyeballing the Skyteam and Icebear CT-70 clones myself, leaning toward the Icebear due to it using the semi-auto tranny.

[_MaXiPaD_]

ICYMI, I just posted a video in the "Video and Pics" section of me riding around on the Vader 125. I'll go ahead and supply the link here as well..

[BlackBike]

Maxi... was there a tornado recently

Thats pretty good thinking with the little Giant!

[_MaXiPaD_]

Originally Posted by jeffrey

Nice video. tboltusa.com has performance parts for those little engines if you didn't know about them.

Yes! I know of them all too well! I'll for sure be buying stuff from them soon. This is terrible of me, but I'm already looking at their engines such as the Piranha (YX) 140 and their Daytona 190.
BUT, there's nothing wrong with my IP54FMI so I need to quit looking at those motors and focus on the performance parts for my current motor.

And BlackBike, I'm sorry but I'm confused and don't know how to respond to your post. Feel free to call me an idiot for not being able to comprehend your post.

[BlackBike]

Originally Posted by _MaXiPaD_

Yes! I know of them all too well! I'll for sure be buying stuff from them soon. This is terrible of me, but I'm already looking at their engines such as the Piranha (YX) 140 and their Daytona 190.
BUT, there's nothing wrong with my IP54FMI so I need to quit looking at those motors and focus on the performance parts for my current motor.

And BlackBike, I'm sorry but I'm confused and don't know how to respond to your post. Feel free to call me an idiot for not being able to comprehend your post.

I was being a jerk about the state of the shop floor. Good thing I 9nly show the nice organized portions of mine.

[_MaXiPaD_]

Originally Posted by BlackBike

I was being a jerk about the state of the shop floor. Good thing I 9nly show the nice organized portions of mine.

OH! Haha I gotcha! Yeah, sadly the portion I displayed was about as organized as I get lol..

[culcune]

Any more videos/review updates? I notice that SSR is showing the 'Razkull' as being available vs. under 'coming soon' (where it still is and has been for several months).

http://www.ssrmotorsports.com/store/...reet-index.php

[_MaXiPaD_]

Originally Posted by culcune

Any more videos/review updates? I notice that SSR is showing the 'Razkull' as being available vs. under 'coming soon' (where it still is and has been for several months).

http://www.ssrmotorsports.com/store/...reet-index.php

Here are the updates so far:

- The bike still seems to have some kind of charging issue.

I can go 4-5 days riding the Vader before the battery has a hard time providing enough juice to start the bike. My temporarily solution is to hook the Vader up to a battery tender overnight every 2-3 days or so. Not a big deal when you have a quick disconnect connected to the battery. And if worse comes to worse, the bike is super light that it'd be easy to push start it if need be.


- The plastics are very brittle.

If you watched my quickie video, you'll notice that the plastic from the tail section broke very easily from a very minor fall (my sister actually caught the bike). Then a week later, the front wheel hugger mounting points cracked on me and the fairing on the left side of the gas tank was holding on by one screw (due to cracking issues). These plastics are definitely not ABS.


- Experienced bogging issues a few times on the highway.

There was a few times where the Vader would cut out on me at about 42-44 mph and would not recover unless I dropped a gear and slowly rev the bike back up. This is probably due to the carburetor needing a larger jet.


- Otherwise, the bike is mechanically (& cosmetically ) breaking in nicely. Power feels a bit stronger, shifting is feeling smoother and the bike feels reliable.



I am thoroughly enjoying this little bike. It's just a bummer those plastics were cheaply made (which I should've expected anyways). But the cheap plastics doesn't bother me all that much. I actually prefer the bike without the plastics because it gives me less to worry about and now I have easier access to the motor and it's components whenever I need to get to them.



The Razkull looks pretty sweet! I'm a big fan of SSR. I can't wait to see one of those!

[Adjuster]

It doesn't sound like you have a charging issue. It sounds more like a power drain issue. Is there anything on the bike that could be draining the power?


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