Suspension help needed, just got a new, kind of odd, bike!!

[fourthfloor]

Hello all!! I am new to the site and forums. I've ridden strictly motocross for close to 20 years and got out of it once I got busy with kids and my tattoo studio. I recently have gotten the itch to get another bike again but didn't want to go the full size motocross bike route b/c there really aren't any tracks around me anymore to ride at. I stumbled across a company called Cleveland Cyclewerks and their FXx model really caught my eye so I picked one up. The stock suspension on it is pretty horrible and I am wanting to upgrade to inverted forks and upgrade the rear shock if there is anything available. I am completely new to the mini world and I don't really know where to start looking for a good suspension set up for this bike that would make it feel and handle more like an mx bike. Attatched is a pic of the bike and if anyone has any experience with this sort of thing I can provide measurements and whatnot. The stock forks from center axle to the top are about 29 1/2". Any help would be appreciated!!

 

[fourthfloor]

Also, the motor is a Zongshen (sp?) 110cc. The guys over at Cleveland said if I wanted to upgrade the engine I could go with the Piranha 160cc engine. The motor isn't broke in yet but I'm kind of thinking I'm going to want something with a little more power than the 110 plant.

 

[my67xr]

Welcome to Minirider's,

Nice pick up there, i don't mind the look of the Motoped's but i haven't ridden one

Do you have the spec's on the fork's and rear shock ?
Eg; stanchion size, are they adjustable top and bottom ?
Rear shock length eye to eye (mounting) spring rate, adjustable preload, compression, rebound etc ?
You may be able to take them to a suspension shop and get them tuned to suit your weight ?

I have heard on another forum that there isn't quite enough clearance with the kick start lever/shaft on the 160cc engine to the crank arm for the rear clutched engine's to fit
This frame set up might be different though.

Cheer's, Craig

 

[fourthfloor]

Thanks for the quick reply!! I haven't been able to get any info on the stock suspension but I do know that neither fork or shock is adjustable. From what I've been reading I see a lot of guys praising the Marzocchi Shivers and FastAce forks so I'm wondering if I could get either of those forks to fit this machine or how much work I would have to do to get it to work. I got to ride it today for about a half hour after work and just taking it off small jumps the stock suspension was really harsh. Do the length of the forks on this bike look like what would be comparable to the 730mm forks? Sorry, I'm just really new and clueless with minis.

 

[fourthfloor]

Also seen the GPX black label mini moto forks that look nice but I can't seem to find or be able to get shipping into the states?

 

[my67xr]

One of our member's here DHXrider build's his own Motoped's, from memory he use's Japanese motocross bike fork's and rebuild's them
I don't know if he replace's the spring's or revalve's them though.
Might pay to PM him and see what he suggest's
I would be looking at the DNM rear shock as a replacement

Yeah with the 730mm fork's it'll drop your front end 20mm, might make the rear feel a bit high too.
DNM Hornet's are 750mm
DNM Hornet Fully Adjustable Upside Down Forks. CRF70 750mm.

 

[fourthfloor]

I will message him for sure, thank you!! This bike also came with evap stuff on it which I took off but am unsure of what this line is for (seems like other similiar motors don't have it) and am wondering if it can be removed and the hole blocked or if I should get a long hose and reroute it somewhere? This line originally had a hose on it that went into some canister looking thing.

 

[my67xr]

The bottom breather pipe, does that just come from the round rocker cover ?
If so you could block it up, or fit another blank rocker cover

There is a brass barb i can see in your pic on the left middle of the manifold, make sure you block that off too.
The only breather you need to be left open is the one behind the top engine mount bolt, it come's off the left half of the engine case

Have you done an oil change on it yet?
Best off to do one asap
And also check the rocker/valve clearance's, they are very tight from the factory.
Make sure engine is at TDC on the compression stoke, not the firing stroke
Adjust the clearance's to .003" on the inlet, and .004" on the exhaust

 

[fourthfloor]

Thank you I will do that!! Here is another pic/angel of that breather hose. Would JB weld be suffice to plug that tit sticking out of the intake pipe?

 

[Trains]

I wouldnt block that port... the manufacturer put it there for a very particuar reason. If you get rid of it you could create pressure in the head causing things to fail or not work properly. Just get some longer tubing.

Sent from my HTC_0P6B6 using Tapatalk

 

[fourthfloor]

After some extensive googling I found a pic of one and you can see that pipe is gone and replaced with a silver blocking plate. I got that all taken care of, now I need to get this suspension figured out lol.

 

[fourthfloor]

The stock forks on this bike from center axle to the top of the fork is 29.5". I seen 730mm, 750mm etc. forks but am unsure where they are pulling their measurement from?? Would these be 750mm forks that are on there I'm guessing?

 

[gottagetacheaperhobby]

If your triples wont take a better set of forks, as in their internal diameter is to small, measure the length of your headstem, and width, and then order new triples with your new forks.... having a set of shivers i can say they are brilliant, but if they are shorter thann what you need it may mess the feel of the bike up, make it to low in the front.. would also replace the steel mesh filter with a good oiled uni filter.

Sent from my SM-T110 using Tapatalk

 

[my67xr]

Yeah the EGR port for the emission's just goes up and into the head below where the cam chain etc run's
and run's in to the exhaust port.
But to blank off that EGR port
Buy a small offcut of 5mm or 6mm aluminium strap and make up a block off plate, use the original gasket as a template.
You can buy the Blanking plate's pre-made too from various place's eg-
EGR Cylinder head exhaust emission blanking plate
If you are ever pulled up and have the emission's checked then you may need to refit it and have it tested and passed for roadworthy.

The PCV port's if there are any extra's that you've blocked off, won't be affected
The head has hole's running from the valve area into the cam gear area for the oil to drain back into the bottom end so it wont be a problem blanking it off
The bearing's in the head don't use a rubber seal either so air can get from the bottom end though the bearing's too, so won't cause any crankcase pressure issue's.
Just make sure the rear top vent is open and either vented to the atmosphere or into the air filter.

 

[fourthfloor]

Excellent information!! Thank you!! I ended up taking the plate off and cutting the tubing off and then sanding it flush. I then sealed up the hole with JB weld and bolted the plate back on. I ended up finding a used set of forks on ebay for a CR80 that were already shortened for a pit bike. They measure 30 1/2" from end to end and the stock forks on my bike measure out to the same so lucky find I'm thinking!! I'll have to get the appropriate triple clamps and probably have to get different spacers for the axle and I'm not sure yet what I'll have to modify for the front brakes. Now I'm onto the rear shock. Any recommendations on the rear??

 

[my67xr]

DNM but with a softer spring than what your current shock has

 

[fourthfloor]

What spring rating would you recommend? I plan on playing around on mx tracks and building a kicker ramp to play on so I'll be needing some bottoming resistance.

 

[fourthfloor]

Eye to eye on the rear shock seems pretty close to 11 1/2"

 

[my67xr]

So you need to find a 290mm-295mm eye to eye shock.
And the shape of your rear swingarm to me say's you'll need the CRF50/KLX110 Triangle/A frame Swingarm style shock which use a lighter spring
The spring diameter can give you an idea of what the spring rate is
I've looked at the spec's for this bike but they don't have any detail's on the rear shock beside's it being non adjustable.

The DNM MTG-RC 295mm come's with a 1000lb spring, and you can get a 900lb, and 800lb spring as well but i'm pretty sure this will be too hard for your bike
There is another DNM shock that is used on the CRF110's which is 290mm long, it's this one and come's with a 350lb spring-
DNM CRF11 Rear Shock (35) - WHS-9128 - Rear Shocks - Pit Bike Chassis Parts - TBolt USA, LLC
And there may be a lighter spring rate option too?
TBolt also sell Motoped's so might be able to help you out more too

There are also FastAce rear shock's that might have something suitable

I did notice that the FXx dealer's list your bike as coming with a KMC 420 chain,
i would get rid of this asap as they stretch very quickly and will jump off the front sprocket, when this happen's they break the stator cover and can smash your stator pickup coil off the backing plate costing you for a new stator and a flywheel puller plus the time to change it over.
Replace it with a DID H/Duty 420 chain or similar as soon as you get a chance, and use some decent oil on it too, i like the spray on Castrol Chain oil (about $8US for an aerosol)

 

[fourthfloor]

Got the bike running pretty good but the suspension is still lacking. Want to try going with heavier fork springs in the front and heavier fork oil as well as a new shock in the rear. I can't seem to find what springs I would need as the forks on this are 750mm telescopic conventional forks. Anyone know any other bikes that use these size forks that I could look up the springs for it?? I got the cut down CR80 forks in today and they are too short. The overall length was the same but I forgot to ask the axle to top of fork dimension