So I bought a cheap Chinese bike...

Sagalout

Sagalout

Sagalout

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Joined
13 Nov 2003
Posts
5,671
Location
Harrogate
My son has just turned 16 and has been desperate for a moped. We do a bit of MX together so he knows how to ride a bike and he wanted one with gears. He's not into race reps and prefers classic bikes, so when I heard about this bike called the Skyteam ACE on this site (http://www.realclassic.co.uk/skyteam_ace_125_review.html) then discovered a 50cc version it sounded perfect. It's basically a copy of the Honda Dream 50, which costs £6k....the Chinese version is £1400.

I won't pretend its been plain sailing though. These bikes get good reviews and the quality is pretty good (very in places) but some of it is a bit shoddy, and the bike really is a baseplate to then upgrade with better parts. Biggest issue was the bike being delivered and only making 15mph. Turned out to be a combination of a jet blocked with silicone, a dodgy HT lead (replaced with NGK) and an inlet valve with zero clearance. Also there are all sorts of crude restrictions that needed getting rid of.

Now we have a bike that does 35 on the flat, so about there with it, although a bit more acceleration would be better, so will look to open up the exhaust as this heavily restricted and then re-jet as its a bit lean.

It's a great looking bike though and I've had a lot of fun test riding it, to the point where I quite fancy buying a 125 version myself (then adding a 150 kit to it, although apparently they are bringing out a 250 next year). It's funny to be able to just pick it up to move it round the garage - can't do that with my GS!

There's a dedicated forum where some people have built some lovely looking bikes, and a UK tuning company that makes loads of upgrade parts.

So, next steps are exhaust, better tyres (£30 each for Michelins) and better rear shocks (£38 a pair!) then maybe some clip on bars.

No idea how well it will last, and it will probably be worth nothing in a years time, but it should be an interesting project!

Here's a few pics of our little ride out to show it to his grandad (also biker) earlier today.

Untitled by sagalout, on Flickr

by sagalout, on Flickr

by sagalout, on Flickr

by sagalout, on Flickr

by sagalout, on Flickr
 
seanpollock said:
Hi Sagalout ,just bought one of these mopeds for my daughter ,bikes been back to the shop already because it was as flat as a fart ,it's now back and improved but still feels flat .It's difficult to know whether it's still has a fault or it's just a moped as i'm coming from my RC8 .Are you aware of the restrictions ,I know there is one in the inlet manifold and the exhaust is heavily retricted ,as I reckon it needs help or it could be a liability in modern traffic .I was going to take off the inlet manifold to remove the restrictor to start with and was wondering if it would need rejetting but not sure where to get the parts from
Click to expand...

Yeah, I had the same initial issues. From the dealer it was woefully slow, struggling to hit 15mph. I took it to the dealer and they did the following:

Removed inlet washer
Bypassed that egr thing which connects to the carb and exhaust
Set valves correctly (inlet had zero clearance)
Needle set to middle position
Replaced HT lead and plug with NGK ones

It now runs acceptably, although like you it does feel slow after getting off a big bike. One thing to check is the speedo which, on ours at least, under reads by about 5mph at the top end, so 30mph on the clock is actually 35 (verified by gps app and me following on my GS)

I've just bought a chain and sprockets to play around with the gearing, as apparently it's happier pulling a bigger gear. Other than that the remaining restriction is the exhaust which is a bigger job, but as it's currently doing 35 and its a 4T 50cc, I think that's about it. Next step would be the dodgy area of 70cc kits.

Take a look a ooracing for parts :)
 
What top speed are you getting at the moment? I'm tempted by the 70cc kit, as chances of being caught are minimal and a bit more power is safer.
 
Yeah they are fundementally slow - they only have about 3bhp. They do get a bit faster over time as they loosen up too.

I had the same concerns about acceleration, but my son loves it. He's also a lot lighter than me and when I followed him on my GS the acceleration seemed a fair bit quicker. Definitely fine on the flat, just a bit sluggish when turning or setting off on a hill!
 
Its an identical frame to the 125....in fact the whole bike other than the engine, carb and exhaust is identical! That was one of the plus points for buying it, because after a year when he's 17 we can upgrade it by chucking in a 125 engine, which will fit directly in for little money :)
 
First mods....some replacement really shocks, Continental Tyres and a smaller rear sprocket.

Pleased with them all. The tyres and shocks make a huge difference to the handling and it now does 40 on the flat (eventually!)

First mods by sagalout, on Flickr
 
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