chinese or japanese motorcycle /what to buy??

I would submit that the difference in fuel mileage will vary greatly with usage. The full automatics (I call them a torque converter clutch, or snowmobile clutch) have to be at 2000-3000 rpm or above to put any power out, whereas the automatic clutch models (gears) will put out power at just over idle. So to me, I would guess that if one were doing a lot of idling around town, he would get much better fuel economy with an automatic clutch (gears) than with the full automatic (torque converter clutch). However for mostly highway usage or going back and forth to town, the full auto should be more comparable in terms of fuel consumption.

Larry

 

What I found with the Suzuki scooter is it is really powerful and great to ride , but when you decelerate the revs seem to remain high for quite a period before dropping to idle , I had just thought that it was the automatic gearing setup , nature of the beast so to speak, but maybe Robert k and Larry are onto it with their posts , because most trips on the suzi are just short

 

Oztony, you might check the rollers, there may be one or more with a flat spot. I had a friend who used to scribble on his rollers with a #2 pencil to add just a touch of lubricant without enough to gum up the works, his rollers lasted him about twice as long as everyone else was reporting. You might also check in the clutch bell to see if everything is in order and clean.

A well set up scooter will use all of the front pulley. If you don't get full use of your front pulley, it's like being stuck in a lower gear, tooling around in second gear instead of drive. You can mark the front pulley with a sharpie and run it to see how much of the front pulley you are using. You might try sliders, the way sliders are made, they have more travel than rollers, squeezing the belt tighter between the faces and forcing it farther to the outside of the pulley. Collected wisdom says that sliders 1 gram lighter than the roller you have will act similarly at part throttle and better at full speed. A worn variator/drive face/rollers or belt also makes a difference, all normal wear items. There are aftermarket variators for some scooters or the variator can be relieved to allow more travel of rollers/ sliders but I wouldn't bother unless you were going to replace it anyway, you were close to someone who tunes scooters professionally for cheap or you just need a project to keep busy, it is a wear item afterall. Yes I tinker with my junk all the time, not to hop it up, just trying to get it to work the way I think the designers intended, which seldom happens with anything mass produced.

 

The same here, every bike I bought or I have in the shop for repair/maintenance (if the owner agrees), I take apart and grease and spray everywhere it's needed, dis/reconnect all electrical plugs/connectors, this works will keep your vehicle prepared for it's harsh live in the tropics...
It's amazing how little grease(if any at all), they use when assembling the bikes, I have not noticed much differents between Japan or China bikes in this regard...

 

robert k, you are giving fantastic advice for enthusiasts of Mio type scooters but I believe it ain't worth the trouble. When a person is not a 'true biker' and not a mechanical tinkerer then they want a simple, economical, dependable motorcycle that does not break the budget and that they can just get on and ride with maintenance being limited to simple tune ups, oil changes and occasionally a new tire.

For me, that has Honda written all over it. Honda Wave or Honda XRM are both nice for cheap, reliable transportation around town.

 

Sometimes when you have an automatic, just changing the belt can make a perceptable difference, they do get worn out before they will stop driving the scooter, same with rollers. Like I said, check for vacuum leak and the normal wear items. If you are going to replace normal wear items, I see no harm in making slight upgrades which are not full blown tuning. It was a suggestion for oztony because he mentioned that his scooter was thirsty which tells me there is likely a problem. I have seen scooters with the wrong weight rollers in the variator straight from the factory. I suppose I should have asked oztony how many likometers since he serviced the cvt parts.

 

From my own experience I can compare a Yamaha Mio (I had during 50 months and a mileage of 23000 km) against a Rusi MP-110 Z, 2 yrs old now and a mileage of 15000 km and still own. Except for oil change and additional maintenance according to the owner's manual, no repairs with the Mio. The Rusi has some repairs of little cost such as a blinker automate, front bulb, broken cable of the throttle. Very important with a Chinese made motorbike is change of oil on time, drive it decent and not like a formula 1 machine and it will reward you with many years of trouble free driving. Some extra costs for repairs, if necessary, is possible but if so than do also keep in mind the price of the Yamaha Mio - 63.000,00 peso - versus 30.000,00 peso for the Rusi.

 

I know that our American cousins often try to stamp their mark on my mother tongue, but I really do like this new word

 

I would avoid RUSI myself. I have known to many who have had to bring RUSI's in to often for maintanaince and fixing problems. While RUSI I've heard is good on not charging you so much for needing to fix stuff after you've only owned it 3 months and such the annoyance is why would your motor be breaking down after only owning it for a couple months.

Honda and other major brands tend to last much better and need far less to keep them going in my opinion. I would definately suggest Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki, or Suzuki brands over Rusi. After all there is a reason why Rusi is starting out at 40k while similiar branded is 55k. Very cheaply made parts.

Now which brand you go with is a personal choice. But you need to think on things like size that is comfortable for you. How you will use the motor be it in city or traveling. Do you want a specific style of look or whatever works as long as it goes.

Size. If your a decent sized guy then a small style like the Honda Wave 100 may feel like a tricycle. While it may be a great starter bike you may quickly outgrow it and if you ever try a medium sized bike never want to ride that old tricycle again.

Use. Are you just inner city travel going 20-35km most the time? Are you looking for long hauls and need some power to just get going? Are you going to be doing some serious climbing that some smaller bikes struggle on with a couple passengers at times? If want a bit of power then need you'll def want a clutch. But some clutch bikes struggle when your going to slow (my bike struggles if going under 20km and wants to run over real slow idiots).

Style. Do you want a bike that looks a bit sporty and sleek? Do you want a boxer style bike? Or just whatever works.

I'd go visit a bunch of major dealers, save RUSI for last. Sit on a fair number of the bikes and think of comfort and how you'd plan to use the bike. I'd hate to be doing a 6 hour haul on a RUSI and have it break down midway or the same haul on a Honda Wave 100 with a tiny tank and not much power and after 3 hours feeling like the engine wants to take a break. Point is figure out your use and comfort and then get some choices.

 

I wish I could claim I had been drinking but no, it was just tiredness and dyslexia.