Heya! I'm a new skyteam V-retro/V-raptor rider in Melbourne Oz

[loader]

Hi all,
I'm old to motorbikes but new to chinese bikes. I just divested myself of my 1957 BMW sidecar to my brother in New Zealand and felt like a bit of cheap fun after the headaches of old bmw parts.......so bought a Skyteam V-retro on a whim last Friday Afternoon.

First thoughts are:

• Build quality not great but not as bad as I'd been lead to believe
• Wheels are wobbly - will need attention
• A few loose bolts for something with only 45kms on the clock
• Clutch has serious grab issues - possible warped plates?
• Man I can't wait to start chopping bits off it!

So here's the todos:

• Fit Slash cut muffler/can
• wrap heat tape on headers
• De-badge tank & side covers
• Matte black vinyl wrap for tank, guards, light
• Fit matte black smoke bullet indicators
• Cut out cat-converter & remove heat guard from header & reweld section
• remove dinky reflectors
• straighten rims & balance
• replace dodgey looking bolts on engine & other various points
• chop rear guard shorter before vinyl wrap
• Chop front guard shorter before vinyl wrap
• Remove stock mirrors & fit matte black bar end mirrors
• Find a decent carb for the engine- makuni??
• remove air box and fit pod filter
• blank off cat converter oxy intake
• replace spark plug
• check valve clearance
• Dismantle and trouble shoot clutch
• replace rear sproket with something not made of muck-metal
• replace chain with something not so stretchy
• tidy up electrics
  refit rear light and plate holder to shorter guard or gear rack
• Fit stupidly loud obnoxious airhorn somewhere

I've seen a couple of skyteams v-retros on here that are looking pretty good, and reading the threads has already given me a lot of the above ideas.
I'm planning on doing my work at the Kustom Kommune in north Melbourne.

I'd love to find out if anyone has fitted another carb to one of these, as the stock one seems a bit lacking.

[Krasi_BG]

Hey, loader, welcome. I have the same bike in the garage, although not customized at all.

There are few of us here - me, a German (Trailbikeryder ), and a couple fellow Australians of yours - stellio78 and overlander. Australian fellas did some heavy customizations of their Skyteam V-Raptors (must be the water or something ), so you'd better check their threads.

[Weldangrind]

Welcome!

After the headaches of old BMW parts, welcome to the headaches of new China parts.

I've had good results with this carb: http://www.ebay.com/itm/MIKUNI-VM26-...eaa257&vxp=mtr

The clutch issue is likely to be cable lubrication and adjustment.

May we see a link to the vinyl wrap you intend to use?

[loader]

Thanks guys, will definitely check the clutch cable, as the clutch grab is ridiculous, sometimes stalls the bike.

Weld- Here's the vinyl wrap I'm going to have a crack with:
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/OEM-Matt-...0cf5b7a&_uhb=1

If the vinyl wrap fails then I'll just resort to Matt black spray paint.

I Will definitely pick up one of those carbs you recommend, what size pod filter would fit? 42mm? 44mm?

[Weldangrind]

42mm. I've used this one with good results: http://www.ebay.com/itm/42mm-SPONGE-...deb4fe&vxp=mtr

If you need to spray plastic, I can recommend Krylon Fusion.

Thanks for the vinyl link. I watched a couple of Youtube vids on applying it, but I'm not sure how easy it would be to remove.

[SpudRider]

Welcome! We are glad you joined us.

[Trailbikeryder]

Hi and welcome. I have a V-Raptor also here in Germany. Overlander did his V-Raptor there too. Don't forget to lube the speedo cable, other wise it won't last long like mine.

@Weldangrind
it comes off very good and doesn't damage the paint.

[Trailbikeryder]

Originally Posted by Weldangrind

I've had good results with this carb: http://www.ebay.com/itm/MIKUNI-VM26-...eaa257&vxp=mtr

@Weld

What's the difference from that one to the original?

[Weldangrind]

I'm not sure which carb is original. If it has three bowl screws, it's a Keihin clone; if it has four bowl screws, it's a Mikuni.

I've found the Mikuni to be a better casting, and much easier to find jets for.

[loader]

My parts shopping spree on ebay is starting to appear in my mailbox so tonight the chop job begins!!

Weld- I have one of your carbs inbound from China in the next two weeks, what sort of jets should I run at sea level? Melbourne is pretty flat so hopefully won't run into any altitude problems in the central city

My vinyl wrap experiment has had mixed results testing it on the front guard. I've never ever wrapped something with vinyl before, let alone a flexible, rounded intricate shape like a front guard.

So here's my Vinyl Wrap learnings:

-Proper Vinyl Squeegie for $5 is well worth the investment
-Felt sleeve for above mentioned squeegie for another $5 is even better!
-NEVER attempt to wrap something that is not heavy or well anchored down, you need both hands free to pull on the wrap and use the heat gun and squeegie. So not having whatever you're wrapping anchored firmly and accessibly makes it a complete nightmare resulting in much un-needed Homer Simpson outbursts of frustration and fury
-take it slow, and have some entertainment present as it's a boring job

For my second attempt at wrapping the front guard I'm intending on bolting it to a block of wood to clamp in a vice. The only reason I got wrinkled wrap on my first attempt was not having 3 hands to hold the guard and do the wrapping.

Clutch:
OK, this is my biggest concern on the bike and it seems to be getting worse. The cable is fine and well lubed.
Here's the symptoms I'm getting

1. I start to ease out the clutch in 1st gear with the revs on, the bike starts rolling, then there's a loud clunk/kick like I'm crashing it into gear and all the power lurches on sometimes stalling the engine.

-If I ride the clutch heavily it reduces it but it's still there. Being ultra-ultra slow and riding the clutch lets you avoid it......mostly

-Also it seems to get worse as the bike heats up.

-On a total cold start the clutch seems fine.

-It's most evident in 1st and 2nd but still exists in 3rd and 4th gears.

Have any other V-retro or V-raptor owners experienced this "grab" on releasing the clutch? It's a brand new bike on 140kms, so shouldn't be wear (out of warranty due to age). Any suggestions??

A friends suggested it could be the special run-in oil in the engine messing with the clutch plates.
Any thoughts before I commence disassembly of a brand new clutch

Pics of the chop & vinyl wrap will begin in the next day or so

[Weldangrind]

If using a pod filter and a (relatively) free-breathing muffler, I'd use a 110 main and a 25 slow jet in the summer, 115 main and 30 slow jet in cold weather. Keep an eye on the plug.

Your clutch is not specific to the V-Raptor. It wouldn't hurt to pull the side cover off, dismantle the clutch and inspect it. Maybe there's a broken spring. I've never had that happen, but I would certainly buy upgraded springs for an XR200 if I needed springs.

It could also be that someone used regular car engine oil with friction modifiers. I use (on Spud's recommendation) 15W40 diesel oil all year. It is suitable for wet clutches, and the extra zinc is good for bearings.

May we see a pic of the engine?

[Krasi_BG]

My wife's V-Raptor is making the same "clutch noise", and as far as I can tell it's the mushy chain these Chinese fellas use as OEM. Try tightening it a notch more than you'd normally do, and see if it makes a difference.

[katoranger]

Highly recommend changing the oil.

[Trailbikeryder]

I have similar noises when the chain is loose. After I tighten it's gone. You just have to be careful not to tighten it too much. The original chain on the V-raptor has no O-Rings and the back and forth stretch is very high. It even came off one time on mine. I bought a new chain with X-Rings but just haven't come around installing it because of the cold weather.

[culcune]

Welcome to here. Member 'Overlander' is from Australia, and has the same bike. He produces a youtube show called, I believe, The Overlander, in which he goes around Australia in a travel show, highlighting Australia for Australians, but I find informative, if (when) I get out that way. If I decide to do a motorcycle tour, I already know that I will be riding a V-Raptor!!