How to dramatically lighten a China bike?

[Boatguy]

I’m looking at the Surron Ultra Bee right now because it is so lightweight.

I’m now living on my boat and I think I’ll keep doing so.

I need a bike that is:

*55mph+
*street legal
*weighs closer to 200lbs or less
*can go at least 50 miles in one direction, stay overnight, then go 50 miles back

and won’t break the bank.

The xpect I have meets most of these points but it’s 280lbs.

Without thinking about looks or suggesting stupidly expensive things, what are some low hanging fruit ideas I can do to lighten the xpect?

What are the heaviest parts of the bike?

What parts are unnecessary?

What parts are heavy and cheap to change to something lighter?

What about Chinese pit bikes with blinkers? Is there such a thing?

[Texas Pete]

The usual suspects are the exhaust system, battery, aluminum sprockets and perhaps narrow chain, foot pegs, and any metal mounting frames for add on gear can be very heavy. Going lighter wheels works too but it’s costly to switch to new rims and wheels.

[Megadan]

Considered a smaler/cheaper ebike? This one is one I would love to have. 1200w continuous hub motor and a 60ah 48V battery. With that big battery it can go 70+ miles on a charge and thanks to the 1200W motor it can do speeds of 30+ Yes, it's 2400 bucks, but also a nicely engineered machine with full suspension. https://www.eahoraebike.com/products...tric-bike-grey

Unless you want something a bit faster, then yeah it's not the greatest option. Fills all the other desires well.

[Boatguy]

I would definitely welcome a bunch of suggestions. That DB 125 at xpro is really something.

Mostly I would be riding this on the road because the places you go with a boat tend to be very developed. At least in terms of roads. Maybe not so much in terms of getting an Uber or public transportation. That’s where things fall short and where I need some kind of transportation to bring with me.

I do need to be able to go 55+ because for something to be street legal and safely ride around on the road to go places, I see that has the minimum. I can’t do 30 on the road people are going to run me over.

Even 55 kind of sucks. That’s what the xpect does right now with its current gearing.

E bike is definitely not the priority. It’s just that the surron weighs so little. But now I see this DB 125 and I’m surprised. It weighs about the same. Yet it can go much farther.

Realistically it’s going to be a road machine. I might even replace the knobby tires on whatever it is with street tires and even street rims.

A Grom comes to mind or a monkey or something like that, but they are just too small. They are short. They are not easily seen in traffic.

Any revised suggestions? I’m going to look a little more deeply into this DB 125 at X pro. My xpect is from xpro so I have some confidence in ordering from them. They were great.

[Boatguy]

Originally Posted by Texas Pete

The usual suspects are the exhaust system, battery, aluminum sprockets and perhaps narrow chain, foot pegs, and any metal mounting frames for add on gear can be very heavy. Going lighter wheels works too but it’s costly to switch to new rims and wheels.

I applaud you for answering my original question as mis guided as I guess it was.

When I look at everything on your list, it sounds like a fortune to save about 10 pounds. So I guess making an existing bike light weight is probably not the way to go.

The big ones are the engine and frame I guess. And that means a new bike

[bigdano711]

Remember, you can always build a bigger boat. ;-)

Honda XR150L

https://powersports.honda.com/motorc...1E2em4g4-jYGO8

[Boatguy]

Originally Posted by bigdano711

Remember, you can always build a bigger boat. ;-)

Honda XR150L

https://powersports.honda.com/motorc...1E2em4g4-jYGO8

It’s a big boat ha ha I went big building it. 1250 square feet. But it’s a high-performance sailing boat. Lightweight.

Also I want to be able to get this thing on and off the boat easily and I’d really like to be able to do that from anchor. That’s the main consideration.

The ideal bike should be able to be taken out of a dinghy when I get ashore or put back into a dinghy again. Like at a boat ramp.

Checking out the xr150l

Edit: the xr150L is, unfortunately the same weight as my xpect. Hoping to knock 100 lbs or so off the xpect weight

[Boatguy]

Originally Posted by jeffrey

Look up the X-Pro DLX Storm 150.

Look at this little inconspicuous post, for the win!

Listed dry net weight is 181lbs
Listed max speed 65+

That extra 25cc is a big deal I guess.

They put this together with the extra 25cc but didn’t add a ton of weight to go with the extra power.

Weighs the same as the surron ultra bee and has, of course, unlimited range which is a huge plus.

Listed UNDER $1000!

Wow.

Front Tires 70/100-19
Rear Tires 90/100-16

Probably would need to change these and the knobbies to something with a little more street grip. More like 60/40 or 70/30 tires ok for gravel and packed dry dirt, but very good on the street.

[XLsior]

2 stroke scooter might be the weight reduction you are looking for. though not sure how street legal they are these days without being of a particular vintage...However trying to get larger than a grom but lighter than a grom is a conundrum.

Other option would be find a Honda classic or clone cub or trail and put in a new 150cc or higher displacement engine to achieve the 55mph requirement.

Or the Xpro DLX 150 with all the superfluous plastics and any gubbins removed might be the featherweight dual sport possibility.

[Boatguy]

Oh wait. There is some BS involved here.

Xpect is listed at 70mph+.

It does 55-60 max redline stock

[Bikenut]

Years ago I asked a veteran rider how I could make my trials bike lighter. He looked at me and said:

"Go on a diet."

What made me mad was he was right then and, dang it!, he is still right.

[XLsior]

the X-Pro DLX Storm 150 might get you there and back but I don't think it could carry extra luggage without snapping the back end off...

[bigdano711]

Originally Posted by Boatguy

Oh wait. There is some BS involved here.

Xpect is listed at 70mph+.

It does 55-60 max redline stock

55mph for a 150cc engine seems...possible, I guess? The same way that 75mph is possible for my 229cc Hawk engine, with a 150lbs rider, maybe...going downhill....with a tail wind...

[XLsior]

maybe they were listed in a Chinese miles which i believe has been changed to 1 china miles = 500meters...

a US mile is 1 to 1.609344km or 1609meters

so you can fit 3 china miles in 1 US mile...

Another example of why the metric system is superior...

[Boatguy]

Originally Posted by Bikenut

Years ago I asked a veteran rider how I could make my trials bike lighter. He looked at me and said:

"Go on a diet."

What made me mad was he was right then and, dang it!, he is still right.

i’ve given people that advice. It's dead on lol. I weigh 150 pounds and have since high school. Same weight. I just cracked 50 years old.

Losing weight means I have cancer or am dying or something. A couple years back when I got the vaccine and it filled my heart with blood clots almost killing me, I went down to 130 while I was in the hospital. I'll pass on doing that again. I'm good. Lol

but this is all about how heavy the bike is to lift

Even if I was a huge guy, losing weight wouldn’t help me out here.