Planet Minis

hooptytank

Wow! I never got so much bang for the buck from any "bolt-on" part as this one.

I bought the engine from another PM member last year. It's a RCM Lifan 156FMI 120 or 125. He already had a TB141 jug, Akunar Piston, TB300 cam, big valve head and OKO 26mm carb.

Once I got it I was debating whether or not to do the swap it in the ZB or save it for my S90. I decided on the S90, but then I realized that the 90 has 3 mounting bolts and some fab would be involved. I was already on a mission to have this thing running by the monday so I grabbed the ZB, which is clean and unmolested original.

A little over an hour later and the Lifan was bolted up to the frame, perfectly! no hammering, bleeding knuckles, etc...WTF? I'm thinking, if this was this easy there will be much bigger problems later on. Not really. The stock footpegs mounted beautifully and lined up with the frame. The stock pipe fit right into the head bolted up. (yes I know, I'm getting a decent sized exhaust later). Throttle cable supplied w/ the carb screwed into the Honda throttle, I had to mount a clutch handle which I had. The carb barely fits without an air filter so I'm going to cut the intake at the base, rotate it to make room for a filter and weld it back up.

My biggest satisfaction was the wiring. Lifans wires were identical to the Honda harness, except for the ground wire which I bolted to the engine case out of sight. The CDI harness included with the engine had the exact 4 pin female connector as the ZB's. I cut this off and pulled the terminals out, and chopped the bullet connectors off all but the BLK/RED from the engine. Ran to the local bike shop and they hooked me up with some male terminals to fit in that connector. Some crimping and now I have a stock style connection between the engine and harness

Add fuel,oil, bolt up the ZB side cover for some Honda bling. Give it 2 kicks (wow, this is what compression feels like) and it lit!

A quick tune and check for leaks and I'm on the road! Effortless 2nd gear wheelies are fuuuun and possible due to the same gearing as the ZB 15/39.







TO DO LIST will be updated as progress continues, and please feel free to chime in you opinion or suggestions:

>>DONE<<Cut/Weld the intake and get an air filter >>DONE<<[b]I used a combination of Kitaco and TB intakes


>>DONE<<new exhaust that is designed for a big engine - I like Over racing but $$$. give me suggestions for something el cheapo deluxe >>DONE<<Pitster Pro pipe and can, modified to fit

>>DONE<<re-gear - I'm aiming for 65 top speed. for cruising around town I want to play with a 13 and 14 front (if available) and a 35 rear. What works for you guys with 3.5x10 tires? ended up with 17/35, good all around performance.>>DONE<<ended up with 17/35

Suspension - Forks are leaking so a reseal is in order, I heard it's possible to upgrade these forks with some emulators and stiffer springs. at the same time a nice shock for the rear. I need advice on these

>>DONE<<clip-ons from NSR50 I saw it here(click). >>DONE<<

Rear sets to compliment the clip-ons

>>DONE<<Tires - what is some above scooter quality rubber? I have a BS Molas 12 in the back now, but it isn't for the US market and can't find any info on it. It was free anyway so I'm comfortable giving it to my dog as a chew toy. >>DONE<<Kenda K413 110/80-10 front and 130/70-10 rear. I think a 120 would be better out back

Monkey R front disk as seen here. Unavailable I assume. I saw the newest post, but it didn't answer the 10" wheel solution. What are other options besides NSR front end which I will not do.

Shift star mod. Yes it did screw up on me once already.

>>DONE<<Oh, and some nice small blinkers, those bricks have got to go!>>DONE<<ebay smoked lens stuff

RcWannabe

Glad it worked out well for you, compression is right be sure to get it to tdc everytime or you will end up with a broken leg I agree you need a much more free flowing exhaust

topgasred

/I have a zb with a yx150 17/31 runs vary well

hooptytank

Will this work for an exhaust? Honda Monkey Bike Exhaust - eBay (item 330236565438 end time May-22-08 05:57:04 PDT)

No way in hell that's a real Yoshi pipe, but looks good

1TrikZB

Congrats on the project. Your top speed is a little conservative. With the right exhaust and sprockets, you should hit over 75mph. I have a 125cc zonger with a takegawa cam that cruises all day at 65 with top speed of 75 no problem.

I would NOTuse the stock ZB speedo. I have heard that you can ruin it by pegging the needle.

You can use NSR bars, but you will have to mod your triple. Your triples look like they are in gerat shape. I have a spare ZB triple and fork tubes for sale if you want to mod a set. Email me at oneTrikZB@yahoo.com if you are interested.

Keep us posted on the build!

peace,
bobbyV

tmas

What did you do about the neutral light staying on constantly?. Take your speedo out and remove the neutral light bulb from the speedo.
tmas

1TrikZB

If it is on only when the motor is running, it's because it is probably tied the wire that illuminates the speedo and not the neutral. If it is only on when the ignition is on, then it is probably connected to the right wire, just grounded.

peace,
bobbyV

hooptytank

The neutral light works exactly as it should, it's on in N, and off when in gear. Like I said the Lifan had all the wires with the correct colors like the stock setup. LT GRN/RED on Honda harness connected to GRN/RED off Lifan.

75 does sound better I do want to replace the speedo so I can keep the milage with the original engine and not ruin it. I'm sure some gov agency will frown on this this but oh well...

shw911

Awesome! Congrats on the smooth conversion. We'll need to set up a local SoCal ride soon. The Rock Store comes to mind.

fatcaaat

Nice ride. I have a 153cc setup in my Skyteam and it sees 75mph as well.

To keep from ruining your stock speedo, I suggest going digital. If you are trying to stay on the cheap, I'd go for a trail tech Vapor. I just mounted one up on my CT70 and I am very impressed with it for the money. Has tach, speedo, engine temp, and a few other goodies. It also keeps track of the tops..like top speed achieved, top engine temp, etc.

With that size motor, the first couple of things you shoudl be thinking about is suspension and brakes.

tmas

Thats pretty good the motor came with the neutral switch. This speedometer drops in the stock speedo bucket and can use the stock cable.
tmas

Attached Images

speedo.jpg (185.4 KB, 479 views)

hooptytank

shw911: A ride sounds sweet, the rock store was my stomping grounds when I had a Ninja. hopefully I'll be able to recruit more people. How many mini owners live around here? I rode the bike over to my buddies house, let him ride it and he's got the fever. So him and his brother in law are starting the hunt for any mini Honda, like a CT70, China clone or even a ZB if it's local AND street legal.

tmas: 140!? WOW you bike is fast, oh wait thats km/h It's a nice looking piece, but I want a tach also that is more accurate than the generator tach/hour meter I'm using now.

fatcaaat: is the vapor lcd panel backlit? Its a necessity for those covert midnight missions

All: give me some suggestions for an exhaust system, something good, with thumper like sound in the $200 range, or a bit more if it's really worth it.

supernes550

welcome to pm. hope to meet up for a ride soon

show these to your buddies
mini small street legal motorcycle moped scooter worth 1200
Linky>>>1998 Panda 50 Honda Mini Trail replica - Street Legal

fatcaaat

The vapor is backlit and is plenty bright for the midnight missions. That is one if the major reasons I purchased it. Driving around DC is tough except at night! For an exaust, the Takegawa Bomber style that Tbolt has, the V8 pipe at Dratv (this is what I run) and Classic Honda has a bomber type all for under $200.

shw911

CT70's
Linky>>>Honda Mini Trail CT70

Linky>>>HONDA CT70 TRAIL BIKE
nice CT70 with original rare black plates. (don't let DMV take them)

tmas

That speedo goes to 160 Km. Try the Kitaco P74 for that price range. Here is a pic.
tmas

hooptytank

If I see that one with black plates I'm buying it and keeping it...

A new bill passed in CA that allows black plates that have dropped out of the system to be re-registered even if they do not belong to the particular vehicle, as long as the plate year and vehicle year are close. very cool! prior to now they would not let you re-register them.

Tmas, that is the pipe I had in mind. hondaminitrail has it for 175. Will it be big enough for the 141? I liked the fake yoshimura pipe from from asian concepts, but I'm shying away from their junk, I might go for their rearsets though.

Next step is an oil cooler from an ATC something that I got for $5 on ebay... can't go wrong. need to see if I can tap into my existing oil plate or if I have to drop some coin for one. Keep in mind, I am on a budget.

I'm looking to get an 04 nsr50 shock, but it will set me back about $400. Options?? I understand KYB makes a shock for this but can't find any info about it.

tmas

I think so. I had it on my GPX 125 as you can see in the pic. Best choice for that price range IMO.
tmas

hooptytank

Thanks for all the links to bikes for sale guys.

Oil cooler mock-up. For $5 off ebay, from an ATC110 or something like that. Cut the ends off and will tap them for AN -6 fittings or weld -4. Then do the same to the cooler adapter plate. The inlet to the cooler will be on the bottom, so I want to run a check valve on the outlet from the head to prevent oil drain back, or run the feed hose higher than the outlet and create a p-trap of sort. Then I'll fab up a bracket and mount it to the engine.

I need to buy a cooler adapter plate, anyone got one for sale?
What kind of oil pressures do these engines run?
I think -6 is a bit of an overkill, -4 going to be enough?

It seems like a bad spot for the cooler in case of a wreck, but I usually go down on left turns anyway









Other updates or actually questions:

Between available NSR50 shocks (which I understand are 210mm) which is better bang for the buck for a 185# rider out of the box:
Stock Honda, Works shock, KYB, Takegawa or Kitaco. I'm leaving Ohlin's off for a reason, unless someone wants to part with theirs for around $400

I'm almost made a decision between the Kitaco P74 and V8 speed source pipes, but then saw the Takegawa Bomber. Does someone knows if any of these have a multiple stepped header design? In other words, help me pick, or I'll hack 6" off this and make it fit:

shw911

Stock Honda NSR50 rear shock is pretty good.

V8 pipe is stepped from about 1" inner diameter to about 1.25 or larger.

I think the Kitaco pipe is a great deal.