How to...for Skyteam V-Raptor (Retro) 250

[Panic-Pete]

Hello Doc.

Check the fork seals for leakeage. Change the damperoil. However i have no data on this.
I would start with SAE 10W and 110 -120 cc.

Stock adjustment works well on mine, on bad roads too.

For rear Suspension, the XL600 shock absorber ist much too strong. Spring rating as well as dampingforces are much too much, for the little V Raptor.

Do you have a chance to get an original damper ?

[thedoc62]

When I need parts I get them from a spanish site (Motorrecambio.es), they usually ship fast and not expensive, but when I can use european parts I usually prefer them to the original chinese ones
The Hornet used rear mono (60 euros expense) works just fine either in solo or couple ride, maybe even too good and it makes the front suspensions feel poorer than they really are
I wouldn't go back to the original rear suspension though, a real piece of junk costing around 130 euros............no way
However, I am sick of hearing that "CLUNK" noise everytime I hit a bump or a hole and i fear it also causes the frequent damage to front lamps
I got a aftermarket odometer whose inner light went off almost immediately and every now and then i have to check the cable connections between it and front wheel cause they tend to unscrew..........vibrations can bring any kind of trouble
it would be nice to find some aftermarket front suspensions from some chinese pitbike and adapt them............maybe i'll start searching around

[thedoc62]

wish I could post that my raptor was easily reaching 120 km/h like the friend said before in this discussion...............not sure if I ever reached that, but surely it took a LOOOOOONG launch to do so
moreover, travelling for too long at that speed, each and every time I f**k up some headlight or taillight bulb or some other part gets lost due to heavy vibrations
since I still have a pretty heavy hand on throttle, few days ago I almost messed up my engine during a highway speeding..............engine suddenly lost power and almost died so I instantly pulled clutch to avoid tire block and stopped in a park area
few minutes after I slowly moved to my mechanic with a strange sound coming from engine head
he confirmed my suspect about a initial seizure (not sure if this is the right to define piston and cylinder starting to get stuck due to overheating, although oil level was ok, but this happened to me in the past on both 2-stroke and 4-stroke engines while I was speeding a lot for too long)
he suggested me to just get going and avoid further speeding cause this bike is not meant to be used like that, but the noise is still there and I feel frustrated as anybody can imagine..............what's the use in riding a bike when you cannot speed from time to time ?
it sounds like riding a ill horse that can just trot and not gallop...........
he thinks the only reason to open engine would be substituting the whole power unit (piston, cylinder ans so on) and so far it's not worth the expense
anyhow, should this be the case, does any of you raptor owners out there know about websites where I can find aftermarket pieces (even better if they are NOT from Skyteam and if displacement is a bit bigger than 223 cc) ???

[Ariel Red Hunter]

Originally Posted by thedoc62

When I need parts I get them from a spanish site (Motorrecambio.es), they usually ship fast and not expensive, but when I can use european parts I usually prefer them to the original chinese ones
The Hornet used rear mono (60 euros expense) works just fine either in solo or couple ride, maybe even too good and it makes the front suspensions feel poorer than they really are
I wouldn't go back to the original rear suspension though, a real piece of junk costing around 130 euros............no way
However, I am sick of hearing that "CLUNK" noise everytime I hit a bump or a hole and i fear it also causes the frequent damage to front lamps
I got a aftermarket odometer whose inner light went off almost immediately and every now and then i have to check the cable connections between it and front wheel cause they tend to unscrew..........vibrations can bring any kind of trouble
it would be nice to find some aftermarket front suspensions from some chinese pitbike and adapt them............maybe i'll start searching around

Well, what you describe sure sounds like you seized a piston. This is often caused by too lean a main jet, or lubricant failure. It is not any hotter in Italy than it is in Texas, for example, so I don't think high ambient temperature is the problem. This is the first time I've heard of this problem on a China bike. Changing out a damaged piston is NOT a big deal. Usually all of the damage is to the piston. A new piston with new rings will require a break-in all over again. I would had the mechanic change the oil and clean the strainer and the centrifical oil filter, before I ran that engine again. Very likely there are metal particles in the oil. On the front fork issue, the original oil that came with the bike is more of an anti-rust oil than a fork oil. I would change it to automatic transmission oil. Try GM Dexron ATF. If it's better, but still not stiff enough, try Ford Mercon. That super heavy rear suspension unit in the rear is overloading the front forks.