Road_Clams X18 thread
By: Road_Clam
January 29th, 2011
6:48 am
Well I think I will start a thread on my X18 starting from the day I pulled it out of the crate. Uncrating was fairly easy and straight foreward. Now the fun begins. First I gave the bike a thourough assesment of assembled "quality" and like so many of you comment, it was pathetic at best !
Right off the bat i'm finding cross threaded body mount screws, plastic components that were barely "snug" .
Next moving on to getting it started. I know many of you suggested swapping the oil, but for my initial quick break IMO. the std oil is fine. I'll put a few easy hrs on the engine, then dump the OEM stuff . Initially my X18 would start no problem but would not idle. So after searching I found the idle screw, and after about 2 turns, now we're good I have an idle. My engine has a slight surge to the idle, and i'm thinking the carb is jetted "EPA" lean, so I might open the carb up and see what the jets look like. Right now the first step is to put the engine through a few "heat cycles" I believe heat cycling the engine tempers the internal components for longer life. People will argue this comment, but i've been doing this for many years with excellent engine relibility following new or rebuilt running. Here's a few pics for those of you that didn't follow my "pulled trigger" thread;
Post Reply
175 comments on "Road_Clams X18 thread"
January 29, 2011 at 8:13 am
Hey don't forget the pics so we can watch the magic happen.
January 29, 2011 at 10:59 am
Took it for a ride after a quick once over, holy crap the dam chain was SO tight i felt resistance pushing the bike around (I thought the rear brake was dragging. I will post up a correct "how to " for adjusting your chain. FYI adjusting your chain snug with the bike on the side stand is NOT the correct tension, and it will be tight and beats the crap out of the wheel bearings ! I will explain why later.
So for my initial ride, the engine was tight and revs were a little slow, but all to be expected of a new engine. The gearbox shifter good, and should only get better over time again as things break in. The clutch adjustment was horrible, and the bike would jump as I put the bike in 1st gear. I realized there was about 1/2" of clutch lever free play. So now I have about 1/8" and the clutch action is way better. I personally already don't like all the "mini" hand controls, and the "feel" of the bars and controls is VERY important, so i'm thinking full size hand controls. I am even thinking of fabricating slightly longer handlebars if the cables will allow. Power was nice, and fun. The biggest problem right now is the lack of steering sweep. Thats my #1 priority as the bike just doesn't like to corner sharp. Those steering stop pins relocated is the FIRST necessary mod. Lastly the brakes. The front brake is "ok", the rear absolutely sucks ! I'm not sure if the brake pads need to be "burned" in and will get better, or if the currnet braking performance is what I will have from now on. If the later is the case, I will absolutely need better braking ! All in all it was a blast to beat around my work !
What do you guys want me to do as far as each mod ? Should I keep the mods within this single topic, or should I start a new thread specific to whatever the mod is I am doing ? It might be quicker for a member to search for a specific mod if it carries it's own topic... just some thoughts. Last comment as I start moving towards mods, please be patient as I am working huge overtime at my work, and i'm going to night school for CAD, so go easy on me if it seems like a mod is in limbo ! I will also make sure I take tons of pics along the whole build ! :thumbsup:
I bought acomplete front and rear set of brakes off a '96 KX80, so my first mod is to retrofit the KX80's brakes into my X18. The brakes are probably going to be a tight fit, but WELL worth the effort (or should I say LACK of braking effort) LOL
January 30, 2011 at 11:05 am
You won't get aany complaints out of me.After all i started a bike build thread and thought it was only gonna take me 3 weeks. It turned into 2yrs and i forgot a had the bike.LOL So i won't be rushing you at all.LOL
January 30, 2011 at 4:04 pm
Started tearing off the bodywork. What a friggin PIA setup with the OEM 6mm phillips pan and nyloc nuts !!! I am going to use 6mm stainless pan screws and 6mm "U" nuts for ease of bodywork removal. I also made a good call to purchase a Mikuni VM20 carb, as the OEM carb has a lot of EPA friendly smog crap that need to get yanked. Even the exhaust has a "clean air" injection system. Lastly the swingarm chain adjuster end caps need updating. I also plan on "indexing" the swingarm for ease of future chain adjustments keeping the rear wheel aligned. Here's a few more pics :
January 30, 2011 at 5:03 pm
aThey put a smog valve on it. rip that crap off, and put a small plate over it. did that on my ZX1 110cc dirt bike. All it does is dump dirty air back in your engine. I took that tuned air system off and a new 26mm Mikuni carb, which is over kill. Also put on a oil cooler and modded an X12 HP Side Exhaust w/ is 4 lbs lighter than the stock muffler.
I had to take the body off two weeks after I got it. Them nuts under the tank and the body panel is total Crap.
January 30, 2011 at 5:13 pm
aThey put a smog valve on it. rip that crap off, and put a small plate over it. did that on my ZX1 110cc dirt bike. All it does is dump dirty air back in your engine. I took that tuned air system off and a new 26mm Mikuni carb, which is over kill. Also put on a oil cooler and modded an X12 HP Side Exhaust w/ is 4 lbs lighter than the stock muffler.
I had to take the body off two weeks after I got it. Them nuts under the tank and the body panel is total Crap.
January 30, 2011 at 5:32 pm
For the clip ons i use X1 X2 stock clip on bars. They are way better than stock ones that come on the 4 stroke bikes. With the x1 x2 clip ons you can adjust how far in or out you want the bars,in terms of length. Plus the move the bars forward by an 1/2'' maybe a little more.I had to get rid of the crappy ones that come on the X18/X15's anytime under heavy braking the bars would move on me.This would **** me of real bad and no matter how much i tightened them. They still would move i think it got to the point the bars were bending under the pressure. Plus with the x1/x2 setup you can swap out and use different bars.I'm eventually gonna put on my carbon fiber clip on bars if i ever find them.LOL Oh yeah those little pegs that limit the steering sweep.Just take them off, those were the first thing i took off my bike.
January 31, 2011 at 2:05 am
For the clip ons i use X1 X2 stock clip on bars. They are way better than stock ones that come on the 4 stroke bikes. With the x1 x2 clip ons you can adjust how far in or out you want the bars,in terms of length. Plus the move the bars forward by an 1/2'' maybe a little more.I had to get rid of the crappy ones that come on the X18/X15's anytime under heavy braking the bars would move on me.This would **** me of real bad and no matter how much i tightened them. They still would move i think it got to the point the bars were bending under the pressure. Plus with the x1/x2 setup you can swap out and use different bars.I'm eventually gonna put on my carbon fiber clip on bars if i ever find them.LOL Oh yeah those little pegs that limit the steering sweep.Just take them off, those were the first thing i took off my bike.
January 31, 2011 at 5:28 am
If you keep the stock exhaust can, open it up and remove the hunk of crap that resides there. It will take some work to get the inner can out, however; it will be worth it. You engine will thank you.
January 31, 2011 at 7:12 am
wow i cant believe they put a egr? on a mid