Req: Orion Apollo 38 140cc Thumpstar

[mercho]

anyone know much about this bike? Is it a good bike?

 

[Kourt]

I brought one off ebay the other day- ill be able to tell you how it goes when it gets here in about 2 weeks (WA)

They look strong with an AGB29 frame just with bigger wheels and a 140cc ducar, if we are talking of the same one.

They look like a copy of the moded BBR KLX

 

[mercho]

yeah same bike i think but i'm looking at the small wheel version. i bought the missus a grx 125cc but i want something a bit stronger.

 

[Franky]

With china bikes, If your going to buy one you only buy thumpstar copies, ( or geniune ) reason is the qaulity difference between big wheel versions and smaller wheel versions are huge, china is just starting to move into big bikes and the qaulity stage they are at is shocking, Goodluck.

 

[Kourt]

Yeah the one im getting is basically a AGB29 with 17 front and 14 rear wheels, ive looked at the full size chinese bikes and they look unsafe, wouldnt go near a jump with them.

Has any one got one of these Prox 140's so they can tell us how they go and do the bigger wheels cause any issues?

 

[Franky]

Well, dont ask for pjs opinion, he relys on what atomik mechanics say when they could just be talking from there china man asses, There good engines apart from a few issues etc gear selector.

 

[kennaz]

What exactly does agb stand for? Is it just a code for the bike make?

 

[daniel40]

yeh basically

 

[Sam Wenham]

i have a orion model agb, the ducar isnt too bad, i have set mine up for motard so it hasnt seen the bush. only done a few wheelies and crap around the yard and wreked my head set bearings, front wheel bearings, the spokes went loose. slid out once( cause of the slick tyres) and bent my bars heaps. broken off like 5 bolts ( two in my triple trees ) and bout 10 have fallen out. as well as the bolt that holds the engine in broke when racing it at motard. and its only 2-3 months old months old, done 4 race meets.

i am now on a moto vert. u do get what u pay for! but for the price u can have 3 or 4 to one moto vert pro.

its ur choice really

cheers

 

[50s BRotherhood #1]

maintainence^^^ lol with most ebay bikes u should loctite every bolt or repalce them with higher tensile bolts lol... but u get ur bang 4 ur buck

 

[Kourt]

Got mine 2 days ago, quite tidy

Frame looks realy good, is alot lighter than it looks. Actually a very light bike for its size- seat height is about 88cm which was a suprise.

Did have some issues at first with starting it and keeping it running. Kept sluring when I reved. Found it had a very wanky looking fuel pipe setup. After i messed around chopping fuel pipes, got it running well, and gave it a quick spurt. Had some really good pickup, but couldnt fang it as its not run in yet- ill be able to test it this weekend.

The shocks on back and front are very soft, i might want to ajust these- im sure they going to bottom out even on small humps.

Bolts holding it together are very brittle and the stickers are gona have to go

This is my first Chinese bike so im a bit picky, but once its run in i think it will be good fun. See you in the pines!!!

 

[ChRiIiS]

u ride in the pines aka frankston north ??...

 

[Kourt]

Nah dude just North East of Perth City past Barbagello raceway. Good fun, huge area. Just got to watch the stumps.

 

[dirttau]

gnangarra pines

 

[Kourt]

Took the ProX out yesterday for its run in an i was very impressed, was riding with a mate on a TTR250.

Could'nt keep up with the TTR on straights but could take him through the twisty stuff. On the sand it was better than i expected- but was a little unstable through the really boggy shit -i think if i had the wider tires and let the pressure down it would be much better.

Nothing came loose which i was very supprised about, as i ended up taking the whole tool box and a bottle of lock tight just in case.

Suspension was a let down though- didnt do any jumps because the shocks almost bottomed out from just small humps on the track. I think these are not setup right. The recoil is to fast and there is not enogh dampering, just feels like youre riding something with no dampers just springs. Just seemed to rock like a car with rooted shockies. The back wheel also hits the exhaust which will just mean moving the exhaust to the right a bit so no biggy.

Does any one know how to ajust the recoil and damper setting on the back and front shocks on these bikes- i cant see any ajustment for the dampers front or back?

Oh and i cant get neutral for love nor money once you put it in gear thats it, have turn engine off and use your hand to get neutral? Does any one know how to sort this? Also the gears seem quite hard to change from first to second- maybe its just new and the gear box is tight or something im not to sure?


Recommended upgrades/ modifications:

- Wider tires: where i ride is just sand
- Better seat: it has the hardest smallest most uncomfortable seat ever
- Ajust Dampers: Less recoil and more dampening
- Fuel system: Had to turn my fuel tap around to improve flow and shorten the pipes, also on my tap ON is OFF and OFF is ON- hard to get that one wrong- wonder what else has been made back to front???
- Taller bar's: OEM ones hit your knee's and when standing up you're way bent over.


Good stuff

- Majorly good fun to ride!
- Can keep up with trail bikes (not proper mx bikes)
- Sounds tuff as!
- Looks great- people took alot of interest in it, and were shocked at the price.
- Starts first time!
- Brakes are good (will be better with stiffer suspension)

As a whole im very impressed with the bike, it does need some upgrades/mods but thats part of the fun.

 

[Franky]

Front and rear shocks both are fully adjustable, Front you can adjust the stiffness and recoil, rear you can adjust the recoil aswel.

 

[Jonsey]

Try this suspension set up Video

YouTube - pit bike suspension tips

 

[Kourt]

Yeah i had a look at that vid- good for general pointers but doesnt actually go as far as to giving technical details on how to ajust the shocks. Plus i got a crap back shock with no ajustment for damper, but i did tighten up the spring and that helped heaps but im gonna get a proper fast ace ajustable shock soon.

Since i tightened the back shock the front is alot better aswell to for some reason- it was handling very well this weekend untill i hit a tree root and poped the tube (was riding with the front tyre too low)

 

[Kourt]

I tested the max speed on Sunday on a lime stone track with no mods, all stock engine and drive components and it just got to 100km/h with 80kg rider. Was pretty stable at that speed too. Was riding next to a TTR to recourd the speed. Yeeeha Bitches this thing moves!

 

[winky420]

I got the apollo 38 140cc orion from ebay. Cost me $820 incl shipping. Havent had any problems with so far and for that price is good quality. The ducar goes well and its got proper handles not those bmx handles ive seen on so many lower priced pit bikes.