Planet Minis

redhandmoto

The Great Big Semi of Happiness double parked in my street today, and left off a brand new box of LF110GY-3 in the drive. Got a neighbor to help horse it up on the patio, and applied the boxcutter. Well, I'll be damned.

Didn't really know what to expect, but it wasn't this. It's, well, an instant flashback to 1960-something and my first C-110: cute as a bug, and reasonably assembled. It was made in July, 2008, at about the same time I was getting back on a bike after 32 years away.

Finish - the chrome could be better, but not at this price (and it's going to get murdered-out, anyway). The paint - well, if the Lifan clone is not well-painted, it is certainly heavily-painted. Fer sher.

Assembly/components - Fasteners were well in place, and some stuff was loctited. Wiring protected at rub points. The hoses look ok; at least for a while they won't need replacing. Many weren't quite pushed on far enough, and those thin spring clips clamping them in place do not warrant confidence. Expect that the really tight front brakes will soon seat and wear in - the adjusting nut is out at its limit.

There were two small bits of Chinese newspaper edged with black overspray stuck between the case & coachwork - somebody's last-minute assembly scratched the panel, and it got hastily re-painted in an obscure spot.

Spent about two hours - net - putting the wheels/front brakes, etc., in place, draining the shipping oil & refilling with dino, charging-up the battery, bolting on the shift lever, etc., etc., so by three-thirty, after taking a lotta breaks for coffee and hard-target searches after missing nylon mallets, funnels, & what not, opened the petcock, and turned the key. Before I could hit the starter button, the horn was blaring and the left turn signal was flashing: the one was in the "on" position and my paw was on the other. I recouped, gathered my wits, & hit the button: "What's that noise?"

I hadn't expected the thing to start. It was running, albeit badly, but it was running. Would have died at once but for small blips and a little revving, so it'll be carb/idle fussing tomorrow.

Anyway, ran it ten minutes or so, exulting like a king. This might not be a big deal to you, but I - a life-long non-wrencher - felt like Enrico Fermi. Switched it off (forgetting to shut off the petcock), pushed it down to the drive, and tried to start it up again. Cranked robustly, but it wouldn't fire. Flooded it out. Pushed it back to the patio and threw a tarp over it. Tomorrow will follow the traditonal got gas?-got spark?-got air?-kill-switch? path...

What a hoot. Have other bikes, but they're complex and computer chip controlled and I don't mess with them beyond the very basics. Don't have the experience/knowledge; not a clue. This will be my learning bike, and this simple start was a lotta fun. The LF CT70-110 clone is - I'm told - dead simple, and tomorrow I will introduce myself to its components in earnest. Plenty of time: several days of lousy weather are ahead, and the MSO won't arrive for a while. My last Old Science bike was a '68 C77, and I didn't work on it, either...

One ignorant, no; dopey, question - the manual has a contradiction in its description of the choke lever: "push left the choke lever to close the choke...," says the text. "Choke lever-CLOSE, " says the illustration caption, showing the lever all the way over to the right.

Which is it, anyway?

Hey, I said I was ig'nernt...

best regards to all,
rhm

cdoublejj

In middle school they had this basic small engines book wich was actually quite helpfull, might hit up the library. they show how the carb works and the spark plug and every thing, better yet try youtube.

redhandmoto

Thanks, cd, but Middle School is about a year or so too advanced for me...

I do have a nice tech school text I got form the library to help get some sort of unified mental picture of the process and pieces; been reading here and at planetminitrails.com, and YouTube-ing it out the ying-yang...but you know what they say: adults learn by doing, not by reading.

Got plenty of time to sort it out; keep thinking "What one man has done, another man can do." (Anthony Hopkins in "The Edge"). For the first time in my life, I have the time to sit down and enjoy learning this stuff...and using all the filthy words I know when I gash myself on a raw fender edge, and then get gasoline in the scrape...

dsrt4

Sweet! Where did you buy it from, I am concerend that the MSO wasn't sent with it?
Let us know.

For the Choke....Slide the lever on the handle bar to the left before you start it... Start it and then bring it into the middle as it warms up.

The choke will not raise the rpms like on other bikes. After you get the choke sequence down it will run like a watch. It probably just flooded out. Also Get a Fuel Filter..

On my 08 Lifan 110, I would get out on it on the Cold Fall mornings at 4am for the commute to work. I would choke it, Put the helmet and gloves on and close the choke to the right part way after about a minute. It was and still is the most reliable bike in my collection of over 20 bikes. Even with the 140cc on it it.

Better rear shocks and heavier oil in the frontend is a must.

Have fun with it. I dont think I would have my collection of Real minitrails if I would not have gotten it.

redhandmoto

Yo, dsrt4! Thanks for pointing me to this site - I was up 'til 3am reading threads and - frankly - thinking about getting down the road & doing the 140cc thing like you. This is certainy a small, uncomplicated platform to work and get comfortable with.

I got the bike here: American Lifan Authorized Dealer | Genuine American Lifan Dealer in Located in North Texas offering the full line of American Lifan Motorcycles. Jared is a responsive and friendly guy; communications are solid. I'm not worried about the MSO - it's in the mail, and even my cycle dealer around the corner takes a few days to get an MSO to you when you buy a little bike off his floor (like my wife's '09 Met). I b'lieve that the bike itself was drop-shipped from American Lifan Intergalactic Headquarters in Dallas anyhow...and was surprised that it showed up within 40 hours of my order.

I was wondering why the rpms didn't change when I was horsing around with the choke during the few moments that the pup was running. And thanks also for clearing up the Lifan east-west confusion about the choke lever position. I'd be out there right now if it hadn't just started raining -again - as it will off and on for the next week..meanwhile, I'll be in the Lotus position under the tarp with the bike as the rainfall slows a bit, staying sort of dry and poking at it. Once it's running once more, I'll play with the air-fuel screw to get rid of the roughness...I hope.

Do you have a recommendation for new rear shocks? I appreciate being able to pick yr brain and experience base, and I see what you mean about the addictive nature of minis: I find myself suddenly drawn to a Monkey clone...at this rate, I'll never get back to my pursuit of a new Suzuki TU-250 (250 bikes are my favorites; gotta Vespa GTS 250ie and a Honda PS250 at present).

EDIT: Dude, you have 20 bikes?!!

redhandmoto

So having set aside the entire day to mess with the carb & etc., I found myself back in business in like ten minutes flat. As opined, it had simply been flooded.

Sat before the air/fuel screw and, uh, screwed with it 'til it iidled nice and smooth. Amazing.

And then I did a bad thing - I went inside & got my gloves and lid, and then I, uh, put the tags from another bike on it (no one, of course, on this forum had ever done such a thing), jumped aboard, and rode around the block. Like forty times. The odo reads 12 miles now.

Holy Flattened RoadToads! Damned thing wants to wheelie in every gear. I was screaming, "Easy, Big Fellow, Easy, Boy!" My neighbors all went back inside for beer and aspirin.

And now for the dopey questions du jour...

1) It comes of course with the famous pot-metal tool collection in a a black baggy with a d-ringed rubber strap dealy to mount it on the bike. That package also included a big flanged nut, apparently for its attachment. My question? Where's the tool bag get attached & how? I'd just put it in my pocket...

2) I'm not crazy about the heat shield covering the exhaust. I once saw a retro "Old School"-looking Harley with the pipe wrapped with some kind of wide, matte-black heat-insulating tape. Looked great. I'd like to do the same; anybody know about that stuff - what it's called and where to get it?

Well, it's back just inside the fence on the center stand & covered with a tarp. Last year, I sunk a three foot piece of 3" iron galvi pipe with big tees welded to either end into a hole filled with 30 pounds of concrete, and buried so as to leave only the tee exposed. It's locked to that with a massive Kryto chain threaded thru the tee and rear wheel. It was always my intent to leave the "errand" bike just outside the door like that for those quick runs around town. My bikes otherwise live in my "garage", actually an enlarged garden shed.

When the rains abate again, will put a hair dryer on the decals - decals must go: they're, ah, too young for me, and I might otherwise be tempted to start flashing the "peace up" sign at other bikes...

As to the ride: it was my long-lost C-110 all over again, but geared real tight (17T & 34T already on the way). No complaint at all - works as adverised - big bang & massive entertainment value for few bux.

Geez, dsrt4; 20 plus bikes...? Man...

dsrt4

I have not changed my shocks out yet but I think I just may head to the local motorcycle salvage yard and find some big bike shocks that length.

Most any of the parts that fit the ct-70 will fit your bike so keep that in mind.

I have 20 or so "Street legal" bikes. Everything I bought since I was about 14 I have kept and just never gotten rid of.

Nothing fancy though. I Collect Vintage tube frame mini's as well..

redhandmoto

Oh, Man! Got some pix up? Love to see some pix of that herd...

mangyrat

congratulations on the new bike Redhandmoto.

i have ordered 2 ct70 clones this year and both sent the MSO a few days later after i signed the liability release.
i would not be worried on not getting the MSO with the bike if its a bike form trail buddy or hoppers imports both are great dealers.
be sure to tell us who you got it form and how everything goes.

as for the bike not starting back up make sure the tank is full if its low on fuel it don't like to start due to the gravity feed fuel set up the tank is not high enough above the carburetor for it to force fuel in it when its really low.
i had to fiddle with the carburetor for 2 days to get my wifes 110 to run right but my 125 didn't take 10 min to get it where i like it.

a few things i would replace right away are the spark plug and fuel filter both are really cheap. if your bike didn't come with a fuel filter add one asap.

for some half way decent shocks and other parts look at **********.com

redhandmoto

Fuel filter in on it, Mangy; but I'll probably go get one from Honda (since they're right around the corner). I'll get an NGK plu at the same time.

See posts above - thing was only flooded (by me, of course).

See the link above for my dealer - Shamrock in Forney, TX. Jared is a great guy to work with. Didn't know really of any other dealers before I stumbled across an 110GY-3 thread someplace, googled the bike, and his site popped up.

I've dealt with online dealers before for expensive items (photo equip), and I can say that his responsivenes is second to none.

This whole experience - which took less than a week end-to-end - has been terrific: good sales experience and the help and advice I've gotten here at PM.

(and it's still raining here...)

88ccmotoX

Redhandmoto,
What a great read! Your story is exactly why I love these little bikes like I do! Glad to hear everything is running great for you on it. Take some pics maybe some time. The sprockets will for sure make it more streetable and give you more top end.
Have Fun!!
Motox

redhandmoto

Thanks, 88ccmotoX - Ya know, what I still can't believe is the sheer torque. I am neither light nor small (5' 11" & change, 192lbs), and in every gear, the little thing is like, "Let's GO, Tubby; Let's GO!"

The front brakes have seated nicely - boy, those things were tight to get in - hadda tap 'em with a nylon-faced mallet just to assemble, and thought I might have misaligned something. But no, the whole contraption is intuitive and logical, even for the non-Wrench.

The pipe is too reticent, too quiet for me. I like a bit of a throaty sound, and have done the shade-tree cookbook alterations to stock exhausts on little bikes like the Vino 125 before to get a little improvement and better sound - haven't found any threads so far that deal with simple alterations to the 110GY-3's exhaust. Kinda surprised at that - makes me suspect that the thing is, umm, simply designed for for cost-efficiency and not amenable to being opened-up. Don't want to chance ruining the back-pressure balance with a shot in the dark...

mangyrat

Sorry Redhandmoto i didn't see the link i had a internet explorer 8 disaster going on and highlight links was turned off.

you have got to love the little bikes they are way to much fun.
i just started working on tagging my 2nd clone, tax was $21 now i have to wait for the DMV to open Monday to get a tag on it.

i would never trade tags so i can ride. i just say screw it and ride it with out them. thing is I'm half a block form the sheriffs department and have to ride right past them. the pipe i have on it don't help me slide under the radar either.

redhandmoto

Hah! The police pretty much ignore me, Mangy, because I'm old, and I look old. Nothing like big glasses and a white moustache to counteract the loud Prima pipe on my GTS.

Actually, this is less true than even just last summer - I'm starting to get the fish-eye from the Rollers, In these parts, fortunately, they're usually too busy chasing slammed and murdered-out Hondas to bother with me.

I hate IE - nobody can truly wrangle Microsoft except Bill Gates, and he ain't talking...

mangyrat

I'm no spring chicken my self but not totally Grey haired yet.
most of the cops know me and know i am legal most of the time except when I'm working on a bike or setting up a new one.

i get the funny looks all the time but its mostly from the HD crowed wondering why I'm decked out in riding gear form head to toe. when they ask why i have all that crap on in the heat of the summer i tell them i don't dress for the ride i dress for the crash.
that or i tell them I'm pretending to be a power ranger.

well i cant complain to much about microcrap.
I'm running vista ultimate 64bit for over a year now and this is the first problem i had out of them.

mangyrat

here is some pictures of my bikes.

redhandmoto

Oh, man, where'd you get that custom "Mangy Rat" graphic? It's perfect for your bike! 'At's a 125, is it not?

Grey hair? I'd take grey hair; hell, I'd take cat hair, I'd take any hair at all...

Well, I had to take the GTS 250 for a runaround this morning, and go kick tires at the 2T shop because the 2010 models are coming in, and when I got back, thought I'd better get a few more break-in miles on the quasi-CT clock before it began raining again.

Pulled the bogus tag off, and decided I'd just be cool and not break 35mph and excite the attention of the Klingons. So I started off easy in the neighborhood streets and lanes.

First gear is completely useless on this thing unless you're in the dirt and it'd probably be pointless there, too. Second thru forth are all I'll use until the new sprockets come in and then we'll see what's what with those.

Meanwhile, I must remember that I ain't on a Harley, I don't have forward controls, and the little beast will rear up and dump me on my ass if I don't keep the weight forward and not sit way back like I'm used to.

So after a while I thought it'd be ok to go out on the boulevard where the limit is 35, but everybody does fifty. I do need to get a little top-end time on it, just to, you know, see what that might be. And so we pulled out after a lump of cages freed by the light passed and I punched it. And so we were up at around a low forty-something and things were fine, and I took a left into a side street where the donut shop is for a celebratory snack, and at the sudden lowering of speed, the engine began to cough and threaten to die. And then died. And refused to start.

While it was croaking, I had flashed on an excerpt of a post, something about how "...the gas tank isn't far enough above the carb for the gravity feed to work reliably when the gas level gets real low..." Uh, oh. So when it quit and wouldn't start again, I opened the tank and looked. Uh huh. About an eighth of an inch or so in the bottom.

I was still peering down inside when a friendly passerby heard me muttering "Aw, Fackety-fack McFackerson," because I remembered I'd never added to the first 2 quarts of gas I used to first start it up and set the idle. I explained to him about the gravity feed. What we did was hold the butt-end of the bike in the air to encourage a couple teaspoons of the remaining gas into the fuel line while I punched the starter. It fired right up, we dropped the bike, and I climbed on in a cavalry leap & sped off. The nearest gas station was four blocks away, and I coasted the last 100 feet. Filled up and rode around for another half hour before heading home.

In the final stretch on the road to our house, I whipped it up again and was just a-flying along when my wife passed me going the other way on errands in the car. She looked surprised. When she got home 10 minutes ago, I asked oif she was shocked because I'd been going so fast. "No," she said, "I was shocked because you looked just like a circus monkey on that thing."

This, from a 4' 11" woman who rides a Honda Metro. Where's the love?

mangyrat

yea that low gas will get you every time.

my wife's red one had a slow leak at the fuel filter and i didn't notice it until it ran out, same thing 1/4th inch or so of gas and it was not going to start up. good thing i was still in the yard messing with it.

yes your exactly right its a 125cc right now its geared to 15/34 i think I'm not real sure on the rear sprocket it may be a 35 tooth. i had a 17 tooth front on it but it didn't fit very snugly and chattered when starting off so i replaced it with one trail buddy sent me. 1st gear is usable up to around 10 mph and lifts the front wheel if I'm getting on it to hard. after i get a tag on it ill take it out and see how fast it will go. the red one is geared to run around 45mph or so "she don't want it any faster" . think about the tire size also your on stock tires that are 3.5-10 if you went with a large tire like a 120/90-10 like what is on both my bikes, it is like adding a few teeth to the front sprocket.
but if your going to go with large tires your goign to have to raise the front fender.
its not hard drill 2 holes in it cut off the old mounting tabs and fabricate a top bracket. i did this on the red one and it tock me 1 hr with a drimel tool and a drill, 2 bolts,nuts and washers.
i used 2 peaces of scrap metal i cut from the old fender mounting taps. i drilled 2 holes in each one for the bolt holding the fender and the other for the lower headlight bracket to drop in to. of course paint it so it don't rust and if you really want to use nylon spacers.

the stickers were made for me buy a guy named Tim on the KLR650world.com forums he dose great work.

you mentioned a pipe and how your not happy with the stock sound, have a look at the one i have on the black bike its one of the trail buddy thumper exhausts. it has a good sound I'm really happy with it and it keeps the old CT70 look.
hear what it sounds like YouTube - ct70 new thumper exhaust you can find cheaper ones but i wanted the stock look.

ill be cutting that goofy looking plastic fender down to size, just like i did with the red one.

redhandmoto

Mangy, that exhaust sound is da nutz - just what I'd like, & it removes the "buzz."

I was checking out those fat tires in your photos - a definite plus and got-to-have. Sometime could I talk you into taking a few close-up shots of your fab? Fender - yeah, agreed; gotta go.

Your bikes sure do have personality.

EDIT - Forgot to ask, Mangy: who makes your tires and where'd you get 'em?

mangyrat

the tires are Michelin reggae's one set i got from my local Kawasaki dealer "they ordered them for me" and the other were from trial buddy.

ill look to see if i have any close up pictures of the fender modification.
it may take some time i have to work today.