If you run the tires that soft you will do irreparable damage to them. You probably already have. Look on the sidewall for a ring of different color from the rest of the tire, or rather the same color but with an obvious matt tone to it. If you see that you need to replace the tire, it shows you’ve overheated the sidewall and damaged the textile plies.
You also run the risk of damaging the rims when you hit a sharp bump. Inflate the tires to the correct pressures to avoid this.
Stefan, I’m right along with you, but
[quote] (also rendering your tacho worthless)
[/quote]
I think you mean speedo.
[quote=“old canuck”]Stefan, I’m right along with you, but
[quote] (also rendering your tacho worthless)
[/quote]
I think you mean speedo.[/quote]
Wrong on both counts. Tach is driven off the camshaft. Speedo is driven from the front wheel hub. Neither one cares about the final drive ratio.
oh well, but you catch my drift: fiddling with it might cause trouble of the unwelcome kind…
Changing the final drive ratio? No, not really. You just have to remember that unless the stock gearing is completely off, you will have to give up something, somewhere. You lower the overall gearing you’ll get more torque at the back wheel in any given gear for hill-climbing and acceleration off the line. The payback will be that your top speed might be lowered and you will cruise at a given speed at higher rpm. Raise the overall gearing and you’ll lose some acceleration and hill-climbing torque, but cruise at a given speed with less rpm. You may or may not get better top speed.
It’s not exactly trouble, just a compromise. A lot of people who ride a lot on steep mountain roads or ride two-up choose to drop the gearing and get a result that better suits their riding style. It just takes a little thinking about and/or calculation before buying and fitting parts.
So I put the nitrogen shocks on, and the ride is quite nice now: it doesn’t feel like my butt is being rammed into the seat any longer. The mechanic I went to gave me SYM N2 shocks (part no. 52500-B4H-000; model PA12C2) for $8,000NT. Also, the air pressure in the tires is back up to the factory recommendation for two-up riding.
Incidentally, if anyone is looking for a friendly and helpful mechanic in Taichung, go to the Bimota/Yamaha dealership at 245 Zhong De (Chung De) Rd., Sec. 2. They deal in some pretty serious motorcycles, but didn’t mind taking the time to help me with my little Hartford. I think they’re grooming me to buy a bigger one, so they were great. The mechanic’s name that I had was A-Tong; very friendly, but doesn’t speak English.
Here’s a question: He recommended that I use some pretty fancy, synthetic Italian oil (Selenia 10W40). It costs $400 per oil change. My initial reaction is that it is overkill on my Hartford. I put on about 8,000 km a year on my old motorcycle, but I’m hoping to do a bit more long-distance traveling on this new one. That means that I’d be spending over $3,000NT a year on oil changes. Maybe if I had a Bimota it would be worth it, but a Hartford? What are your thoughts on it?
[quote=“ca01007”]Here’s a question: He recommended that I use some pretty fancy, synthetic Italian oil (Selenia 10W40). It costs $400 per oil change. My initial reaction is that it is overkill on my Hartford. I put on about 8,000 km a year on my old motorcycle, but I’m hoping to do a bit more long-distance traveling on this new one. That means that I’d be spending over $3,000NT a year on oil changes. Maybe if I had a Bimota it would be worth it, but a Hartford? What are your thoughts on it?[/quote]400NT doesn’t seem too much to spend on a can of oil. I’m pretty sure that the Yamaha branded oil I used to use was 400 a can.
These little engines work pretty hard so I reckon it’s worth it to get decent oil.
Just my thoughts on the matter – others may disagree.
We took the bike to DaHu (Tahu) yesterday, its first longish ride. I found it comfortable, but my wife said it was merely okay. We had no problem maintaining speed and keeping up with the cars in the mountains, but they could go faster out on the open. My handle bars still vibrated, so I guess I’ll just have to accept that as a casualty of owning a small bike. Maybe I’ll try some new hand grips, but I’m not holding my breath.
For the most part, I’m impressed with the bike and I like it.
two questions:
- How much does the HD-200S cost?
- I always have to wonder about a physically big and heavy-looking bike, including those 150 kmyco choppers. Does the weight of the bike put a huge strain on the engine espically if you drive up and down hilly roads alot?
I bought mine for $71,000NT, but that included registration, 2 years of insurance, and theft insurance. You’ll need to change the seat ($750NT to $1,100NT) and the shocks ($4,000NT to $11,000NT). If you want a little extra power, you’ll also want to change the exhaust pipe, but I don’t know the cost of that.
The heavier the bike, the less power you have for the hills–assuming an engine of similar size. When I was shopping around, the Kymco dealers all said those nice, fat-looking bikes were not good in the mountains.
[quote=“ca01007”]I bought mine for $71,000NT, but that included registration, 2 years of insurance, and theft insurance. You’ll need to change the seat ($750NT to $1,100NT) and the shocks ($4,000NT to $11,000NT). If you want a little extra power, you’ll also want to change the exhaust pipe, but I don’t know the cost of that.
The heavier the bike, the less power you have for the hills–assuming an engine of similar size. When I was shopping around, the Kymco dealers all said those nice, fat-looking bikes were not good in the mountains.[/quote]
Thanks
Looking at the website the bike looks quite nice and I’d say within my price range