Apollo DB-Z40 aka DB-140 aka RFZ-Y 150L

[braindead0]

Maybe I'm the first with this bike? Purchased as a DB-Z40, Vin plate on frame says it's a RFZ-Y 150L and the MCO says a DB-140. It had me a bit worried for registration/titling purposes however that turned out to be a non issue although the title says RFZ-Y1.. figured VIN's match so should be good.

Didn't see a thread for it yet.. Picked it up for my wife and to teach a foster kid we mentor how to ride..

So far I put on a big-gun exhaust, needed spark arrestor and didn't feel like hacking one up on the stock exhaust.

Removed the air-box, the filter provided seemed a bit of a joke.. 3/8" of foam doesn't seem sufficient. Replaced with UNI sock. Bike is still running a bit rich, not surprising as I'm at 4000' elevation.

All that said, I've got o knock off mikuni on the bench for it.. quality seems light years ahead of the nibbi it came with and I suspect the design should provide for better low throttle control... the nibbi had a really on/off feeling.

Valves were all tight, seems common.

Spoke tension was a mess, tightened and trued the wheels up.

Rear brake master cylinder mounting on frame needed to be redone.. as from factory the lever was pushing the rod out to an angle 'grinding' the pushrod against the cylinder. Re-cut the top mounting hole and removed some of the mount so that the cylinder could be tilted a bit to line up with the brake lever.

Ground a groove into the kick starter shaft for the tension bolt and modified the kickstarter (for clearance, and to slide on further).. I couldn't handle looking at the kicker half on the shaft, looks much better now.

Engine runs great... as expected..

I've been considering a chinabike for a long time, finally had a reason to get one.. Pretty much as expected, engine good.. everything around it I'd call adequate for the purpose.

[braindead0]

Boy these valves are noisy, probably normal.. I double checked and I've got .004" intake and .006" exhaust which as best I can tell should be fine for this bike. Been a while since I've had a rocker valve engine so suspect it's normal... and I'd rather be a bit on the loose/noisy side than burn a valve.

Knock off mikuni carb installed. Came with a 95 main jet which I think for my altitude may be too rich. Time to get out somewhere with tools and jets and start dialing this in.

[braindead0]

Turns out the 95 main seems pretty good with pod filter and the big gun exhaust at 4000' elevation at 75 degrees. Needle clip second from bottom, any higher and mid range lean surges.

This carb is night and day compared to the nibbi. Previously the slightest throttle opening would accelerate quite a bit, making is extremely hard to control throttle for newbies. The chikuni throat is thin and rectangular allowing for more gradual opening, and you can feel it.. much more linear throttle.. easy to cruise at any RPM you want... grab and handful and it accelerates nicely.

Might need to go up to a 98 or 100 on the main, but it feels close enough to get out and ride it some more.. see how it reacts to getting more warmed up and ridden.