KymcoForum.com
General => General Discussion => Topic started by: lilzip24 on October 24, 2016, 11:47:21 PM
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Hey everyone,
I joined the forum because I am now the owner of a 2016 Kymco K-Pipe 125 in Daytona Beach, Florida! So far it's a fun little bike the mess around on besides my 'Zuki DL1000.
I know these just came to the U.S. and I can't wait for other owners to show up here since there is very little information anywhere about these things ;D
Are there any other Kymco products with the same engine? I'm trying to find little ways to make it faster and efficient. Its an awesome bike so far, but who doesn't like a little more power?
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Hello and welcome
Say, what was the issue with the shifting I heard about with these bikes? Something about different kind of shift pattern.
Some said there was a recall...and maybe bikes would be pulled entirely from USA market? I gotta say, I liked the looks of this bike at my dealer.
Your thoughts please...
Stig
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From what I have found, the first 460 or so bikes assembled had an unusual shift pattern. All 4 gears were down like a GP bike and I suppose that breaks the rules here in the U.S even though I know many people with GP style shifting on their street bikes.
I purchased mine about 4 days ago with 10 miles on it. All my gears are up to include First, which isn't typical of any bike I've ridden but not hard at all to get used to.
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How does the K-Pipe compare in size to the Honda Grom?
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K-Pipe:
L x W x H: 76.4 x 37 x 41.3 inches
Wheelbase: 50.8 inches
Seat height: 31 inches
Grom:
Length Overall: 69.3 inches
Wheelbase: 47.4 inches
30.1 inches
The 17 inch wheels versus the Grom's 12 inch wheels definitely help out a lot. I am a 6'2 225 lbs guy and the seating feels very standard. When I rode the Grom it felt small and I felt extremely compressed on it. The K-Pipe is quite comfortable.
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Wow! That is a small bike for a big guy. But, hey, if you're having fun with it it's the perfect size.
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K-Pipe:
L x W x H: 76.4 x 37 x 41.3 inches
Wheelbase: 50.8 inches
Seat height: 31 inches
Grom:
Length Overall: 69.3 inches
Wheelbase: 47.4 inches
30.1 inches
The 17 inch wheels versus the Grom's 12 inch wheels definitely help out a lot. I am a 6'2 225 lbs guy and the seating feels very standard. When I rode the Grom it felt small and I felt extremely compressed on it. The K-Pipe is quite comfortable.
Interesting Kymco made the departure from the midget wheels where Kawasaki did not and a grand less too. Sounds like you made a good choice mate. Any picks?
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Wow! That is a small bike for a big guy. But, hey, if you're having fun with it it's the perfect size.
Yeh I definitely wouldn't have purchased it if i didn't already have a full size motorcycle. Just something to hoon around on ;)
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Hey! You and I both in regards to being new owners of a K Pipe! I've also posted pondering about power on it. I'd love just 10mph more and it would be perfect to take anywhere. I struggle but can get up to 58mph on a straight with wind. I'm about 5'10 190 pounds. I saw a video with a Honda Grom going about 104mph, was insane.
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Hey! You and I both in regards to being new owners of a K Pipe! I've also posted pondering about power on it. I'd love just 10mph more and it would be perfect to take anywhere. I struggle but can get up to 58mph on a straight with wind. I'm about 5'10 190 pounds. I saw a video with a Honda Grom going about 104mph, was insane.
I would agree ...104mph or even 104kph is less than smart on a Grom.
Stig
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Hey! You and I both in regards to being new owners of a K Pipe! I've also posted pondering about power on it. I'd love just 10mph more and it would be perfect to take anywhere. I struggle but can get up to 58mph on a straight with wind. I'm about 5'10 190 pounds. I saw a video with a Honda Grom going about 104mph, was insane.
yes finally someone else!. The fastest I've gotten was 65 (indicated), but I was in a full tuck with a tail wind. I really want to Mod out the thing such as:
- air filter
- exhaust
- carb jets
I cannot find jack about the 125 and only a small amount in the 50cc version. Also, any info I find is Norwegian or Philippine lol. I also need to complete the 300 mile service which includes a valve check.
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yes finally someone else!. The fastest I've gotten was 65 (indicated), but I was in a full tuck with a tail wind. I really want to Mod out the thing such as:
- air filter
- exhaust
- carb jets
I cannot find jack about the 125 and only a small amount in the 50cc version. Also, any info I find is Norwegian or Philippine lol. I also need to complete the 300 mile service which includes a valve check.
Same with me, however I want to mod everything; but I don't want to order parts that I'm unsure will fit/work. One of the things i'm curious of is trying to big bore the engine, that'd be interesting to see but I don't want to guinea pig my bike out.
The main things I will probably do are - Tires, Exhaust, Air Filter, Cafe Race handlebars, new clutch/brake lever, undercowl/undercover for lower engine. Sounds like a lot, but the only thing that would be pricey would be the exhaust and tires. Since there's so little of this specific bike mods i'm hesitant to do much performance mods.
There's so much potential to this bike, I'd love to see what crazy things people come up with in the near future.
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Hey there, newbie owner as well. The first thing I'm doing is getting rid of those stupid headlight turn signals and moving them down to the sides of the tank where every other K-Pipe on the planet has them. Had to order new lenses from europe, but I hate those damn stalks. Also found a company called Delkevik that makes a variety of really cool exhaust cans for the Pipe, that'll be next. If anyone else has good sources for K-Pipe goodies let me know!
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Definitely a lot of potential for this bike. I was talking to Kymco USA on Instagram and they told me this company:
http://www.composimo.com/ (http://www.composimo.com/)
will be producing parts for us very soon!
I also tried going to my dealer who I purchased the K-Pipe from and they don't even have the service manuals yet :( I'm sitting at 275 miles so I need to do the 300 mile service. I would do it myself but without the valve clearance specs, all I can do is change the oil and adjust the clutch.
I also saw somewhere a guy with the 50cc K-Pipe bought either a 33 or 35 mm aftermarket air filter (can't remember) and it worked for him supposedly.
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Hey there, newbie owner as well. The first thing I'm doing is getting rid of those stupid headlight turn signals and moving them down to the sides of the tank where every other K-Pipe on the planet has them. Had to order new lenses from europe, but I hate those damn stalks. Also found a company called Delkevik that makes a variety of really cool exhaust cans for the Pipe, that'll be next. If anyone else has good sources for K-Pipe goodies let me know!
I want to do the same with the turn signals. Why did you have to order new lenses? is there no way to insert bulbs into the clear lenses on the body panels? Only asking because I haven't taken my bike apart yet.
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I want to do the same with the turn signals. Why did you have to order new lenses? is there no way to insert bulbs into the clear lenses on the body panels? Only asking because I haven't taken my bike apart yet.
Correct, there's no easy way to mount the bulbs in the original lenses, it's just a flat piece of silver plastic back there. I thought maybe I could use the mount in the stalks, but that would require lots of plastic and dremel workmanship that I didn't want to bother with. Tip, if you decide to do it, run the wires from the side signals UP to the wires behind the headlight, don't try to pull them down. They're may be some soldering/splicing involved, but much less of a hassle.
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Correct, there's no easy way to mount the bulbs in the original lenses, it's just a flat piece of silver plastic back there. I thought maybe I could use the mount in the stalks, but that would require lots of plastic and dremel workmanship that I didn't want to bother with. Tip, if you decide to do it, run the wires from the side signals UP to the wires behind the headlight, don't try to pull them down. They're may be some soldering/splicing involved, but much less of a hassle.
Thanks for the tip! Where did you find the new lenses at?
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Thanks for the tip! Where did you find the new lenses at?
http://www.racingplanetusa.com/tail-light-rear-indicator-p-193662-1.html?backcPathco=219&cPath=2_51895 (http://www.racingplanetusa.com/tail-light-rear-indicator-p-193662-1.html?backcPathco=219&cPath=2_51895)
Hopefully that works for you.
The parts are MB5403 and MB5404......kinda pricey though....
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Has anyone found a website where parts will be avail in the U.S? Also,do you guys use the side lights on the K Pipe? Mine don't even light up..not sure if they're meant to be used or not
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Has anyone found a website where parts will be avail in the U.S? Also,do you guys use the side lights on the K Pipe? Mine don't even light up..not sure if they're meant to be used or not
Still waiting for someone to make some stuff. I posted a company on the first page of this thread that is supposedly working on parts right now, so I'm keeping an eye out. Discussed a couple of posts above this one we were talking about the side lights. They are just clear lenses if you have a US model. You have to order a different set of lenses (also posted above) to install lights into them.
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Ohh, I thought you were speaking of different lights (that's what i get for skimming through) -.- I will probably end up taking it off. I'm hoping that parts site will also sell fenders, as I have a crack in mine...tried teaching my friend how to ride a bike figured these things would be the easiest to learn on rather than my 500lb cruiser :P
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Ohh, I thought you were speaking of different lights (that's what i get for skimming through) -.- I will probably end up taking it off. I'm hoping that parts site will also sell fenders, as I have a crack in mine...tried teaching my friend how to ride a bike figured these things would be the easiest to learn on rather than my 500lb cruiser :P
Zach, that link I posted above should sell whatever part you have broken as well.
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I have a 2016 K-Pipe 125. I bought the delkevic carbon fiber muffler and put it on with the baffle removed and it sounds amazing. I also added a windshield and some hand guards. I'm puttin some dual sport tires on this week. The only other thing I want to do but can find absoluteley nothing on is a big bore kit. Email me if you want pics or specifics of the thigs I bought.
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I'm new to the forum (second post!) but I wanted to share what I've learned and what I've done to my K-Pipe.
The first thing I did when I got it home was remove all the EPA mandated crapola. While this didn't lighten the bike up all that much or improve it's performance it definitely greatly simplified it and improved it's appearance. The engine and fuel tank now breath to the atmosphere.
During the break-in process I studied the bike and it's carburetor. Unfortunately it's another EPA mandated goodie that doesn't allow you to adjust the mixture screw or the carb needle. After discovering this I installed a Mikuni ($40 from eBay) that I've run on my other horizontal motor bikes removing the extremely restrictive air box in the process. It now breaths through a K & N although I may end up running a foam element on it. I also matched the intake manifold to the new carb which required a tiny bit of aluminum to be removed, maybe ten minutes' work. The jetting is still a work in progress but it's close. Going with this carb eliminated the cable operated choke.
I saw the Delkevic mufflers on eBay but didn't want to drop that much money especially if I found I couldn't live with the noise. As a cheap alternative I bought a pit bike muffler ($20 delivered!), shimmed it with a piece of thin wall aluminum pipe and installed it using a home made aluminum bracket. I rode it around the block and found it screamed "LOOK AT ME!!!" so it came back off. As I plan to ride the bike long distances I just don't think I can live with the noise.
As mentioned on my other post in another thread I recently installed the heel/toe shifter that originally came on the bike, doing away with the linkage. It now shifts backwards from every other new bike in American other than those set up for road racing. That's a big adjustment for me especially when riding my other bikes but it shifts so much better the linkage isn't going back on. Maybe KYMCO reversed the pattern on the 2017 K-Pipes with a different shift drum but so far no one seems to know. If anyone does please let me know.
I hate the phony blinkers in the tank covers and thought about ordering up OEM units for the non-U. S. models to replace them until I saw the price. Right now the whole cover/phony light assemblies are off the bike and other than the wiring hanging down really doesn't look all that bad. I'm not sure what I'll do to replace them if I leave them off but the bike is a lot narrower without them.
The stock handlebars were terrible to me with way, way too much sweep back. I ended up swapping them to a set of generic Honda TRX-450 ATV bars that are a lot more comfortable.
The seat is terrible to my tender bum, too and for now an Airhawk pillon pad is strapped on it. Eventually the seat will make it's way to Sargent for a redo.
Overall I really like the bike. The hybrid manual/automatic clutch setup is wonderful and after several years of riding hot rod step throughs with kickstart motors having an electric starter is like dying and going to heaven. It's a lot heavier than my step thorughs--around 238 lbs. wet as it is right now--but there again it has mag wheels, wider tires and a disc brake, something they also lack.
The blinkers are terrible. When you go to change a bulb you'll see what I mean. I bought a set of Honda XR-L replica blinkers which while bigger and ugly are stone reliable and will accept auto parts store bulbs unlike the expensive and hard to find bulbs that came in the stockers.
One other thing I learned was that this bike uses a DC powered CDI unlike most of the other horizontal motors that use AC powered units. I experimented with several DC units I found on eBay without any noticeable improvement. Keep this in mind if you go to hot rod the bike and get tempted to try one of the many units available for the pit bike market.
I'm really glad to have found someplace where I can share information about these bikes. They're not selling all that well around here and I've never seen another one yet.
Oh yeah--I have a link to a shop manual, too. Holler if you'd like to have one for yourself.
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One other thing I did was eliminate the vacuum operated petcock and installed a manual unit from eBay that cost all of $3.00. This was more of a reliability thing as I've had problems with them on other bikes.
That's the nice thing about these little motors. Parts and accessories are dirt cheap!!!
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I lied--I don't have a link to the K-Pipe shop manual but I do have it in .pdf form. PM me and I can forward it to you.
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C'mon, am I the only K-Pipe owner in America??? Talk to me!!
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C'mon, am I the only K-Pipe owner in America???
Could be, I think I'm one of only 3 who own a MyRoad 700i and I'm ok with that exclusivity. :)
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Could be, I think I'm one of only 3 who own a MyRoad 700i and I'm ok with that exclusivity. :)
A cool thing to own a rare bike, indeed.
I didn't buy my K-Pipe to be exclusive, though. It's the only full size horizontal motor'ed bike of it's kind in America today. I've been rolling together bikes from step throughs using Lifan motors and while they've been a hoot they lack things like blinkers and e-start.
It would be nice if the K-Pipe sold as well as the Grom or the Kawasaki KLR-650 so there'd be more feedback and aftermarket parts.
Speaking of the Grom I tried one but the small wheels and complexity of the F. I. system scared me into selling it. Despite working on bikes for 46 years I just can't get my head around F. I. It did run perfectly, though. Score one for Honda.
Update on the blinker situation--I ended up making a set of mounts out of flat aluminum for the rear and installed a set of blinkers normally used on the bodywork of sport bikes. I needed to move the blinkers back to clear my soft saddlebags. Next to be fabricated are a set of saddlebag supports.
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I saw one in San Antonio last week at the motorcycle shop it's way bigger than the grim I'm 6 5 260 and I would ride it I think your gonna have a lot of fun on that bike
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It's a really fun motorcycle. The best part is if a person wants to modify it parts are dirt cheap. The pit bike boom has brought in a lot of hot rod parts for the horizontal motors that are giveaway priced (relative to everything else on the market) and anyone who can read can work on them. Hell, I'm not even sure that's a prerequisite. These little motors put the third world on wheels and anyone can keep them going.
If a person wanted a genuine fire breather without a lot of work there are lots of bolt-in motors available including a four valve, 190cc Daytona that would certainly make the K-Pipe into a Grom eater.
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Glad I ran across this forum! I was at a dealer today and looked at the K-Pipe. A couple of questions:
The dealership had three 2016 models on the floor. I asked about the 2017s, and the guy I spoke with said they were available, but the dealership wouldn't be ordering any until all the 2016s were sold. He offered $200 off, bringing it to around $2,000 out the door. Of course I'd like to pay less, but what's a reasonable offer on last year's model?
He said the two clear lights in the tank plastic are running lights. I get the impression from reading the posts here that that's not correct, that they're actually where the turn signals are for the rest of the world. Right or wrong?
Finally, he said the shift pattern is four-down. I questioned that, and judging from what I've read here, that has something to do with a recall? What's the deal, is this bike supposed to have that shift pattern, or does that mean it's an older, pre-recall model?
Would you take it, or instead wait for a 2017 model to become available?
Thanks.
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Glad I ran across this forum! I was at a dealer today and looked at the K-Pipe. A couple of questions:
The dealership had three 2016 models on the floor. I asked about the 2017s, and the guy I spoke with said they were available, but the dealership wouldn't be ordering any until all the 2016s were sold. He offered $200 off, bringing it to around $2,000 out the door. Of course I'd like to pay less, but what's a reasonable offer on last year's model?
He said the two clear lights in the tank plastic are running lights. I get the impression from reading the posts here that that's not correct, that they're actually where the turn signals are for the rest of the world. Right or wrong?
Finally, he said the shift pattern is four-down. I questioned that, and judging from what I've read here, that has something to do with a recall? What's the deal, is this bike supposed to have that shift pattern, or does that mean it's an older, pre-recall model?
Would you take it, or instead wait for a 2017 model to become available?
Thanks.
Got my 2016 for $1700 out the door, my clear lights have no bulbs and must be converted to Euro Spec (see earlier posts), and my shift pattern in 4 up
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Man, I don't get on here for a month and this thread blows up haha. Well, I added the Delkevic exhaust as well and it sounds great, although very loud at WOT even with the baffle. Oh well ;)
I apologize in advance, as I play catch up on some of yall's posts, like the gent with the shop manual PDF and how to take apart the emissions bs
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The first thing I did when I got it home was remove all the EPA mandated crapola. While this didn't lighten the bike up all that much or improve it's performance it definitely greatly simplified it and improved it's appearance. The engine and fuel tank now breath to the atmosphere.
During the break-in process I studied the bike and it's carburetor. Unfortunately it's another EPA mandated goodie that doesn't allow you to adjust the mixture screw or the carb needle. After discovering this I installed a Mikuni ($40 from eBay) that I've run on my other horizontal motor bikes removing the extremely restrictive air box in the process. It now breaths through a K & N although I may end up running a foam element on it. I also matched the intake manifold to the new carb which required a tiny bit of aluminum to be removed, maybe ten minutes' work. The jetting is still a work in progress but it's close. Going with this carb eliminated the cable operated choke.
The stock handlebars were terrible to me with way, way too much sweep back. I ended up swapping them to a set of generic Honda TRX-450 ATV bars that are a lot more comfortable.
I know it's a tall order, but would you mind doing a write up for the stuff you have done with the emissions, carb modification, ect?
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...Finally, he said the shift pattern is four-down. I questioned that, and judging from what I've read here, that has something to do with a recall? What's the deal, is this bike supposed to have that shift pattern, or does that mean it's an older, pre-recall model?
It's obviously one of the early K-Pipes that hasn't had the linkage added. If you can remember to shift it in the proper direction buy it. The linkage installed for the recall makes it shift very poorly. The proper fix would be a different shift drum but KYMCO USA went the easy route.
I removed the recall linkage, installed a heel/toe shifter I had in my inventory and found it shifts very well. Folks that road race or ride old bikes will already be familiar with an all-down pattern.
I myself would still like to know if the bike was properly fixed for 2017 with a different shift drum or if it still uses linkage.
As mentioned if anyone wants the shop manual send me a PM with your email address.
Removing the emission stuff is pretty easy. The hardest part is making a plate to fit on the head where that chromed pipe was bolted in place. Basically you just want the engine to vent to the atmosphere and you can do that by running the crankcase vent hose down toward the ground behind the motor.
There's a vacuum line that goes off the intake manifold you'll need to cap off, too. A short length of hose with a bolt in it over the nipple on the manifold is the easiest way to fix this and could be reversed if you wanted to do so. Safety wiring this is a good idea. Alternatively you could remove the intake manifold and seal the hole with JB Weld.
I should have written down the jetting I'm running but I didn't. I'll get that for you ASAP along with an eBay item number for the Mikuni carb. At most they're around $40 although I just bought one for $27. I had to add an adjuster to the carb top which required me to tap the hole in the top (6mm x 1?). Again I'll measure the adjuster, etc. and get this info to you.
As mentioned I don't trust the vacuum operated petcock under the tank so I bought one on eBay, made an aluminum plate to mount it and swapped it in place. When you swap carbs you'll lose the carb-mounted petcock.
I'm making all this sound a lot more difficult than it really is. It's a wonderfully simple bike that invites tinkering.
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Parts...
22mm Mikuni carb--eBay #332140711759 $29.00 w/free shipping
3/16" in-line petcock--eBay#282313044765 $5.99 Cheaper ones are available but this one is held together with screws instead of rivets. There are other 3/16" in-line petcocks but not all have a mounting tab. This one is of decent quality and works well.
Metric 6mm throttle adjuster from Comet Kart Sales (http://www.cometkartsales.com (http://www.cometkartsales.com))--$3.00
I'll have the jetting specs in a day or two.
The 22mm Mikunis have a 38mm carb mouth and one of the angled dual layer foam filters from eBay would probably work well and maintain fender clearance. Currently I have a straight K & N on it and it hasn't hit the fender--YET. Here's a typical angled foam air cleaner: #1724409950348 I've seen these on wish.com (a direct-from-China sales site) for $4 a piece in black. At that price they're hardly worth cleaning!!!
They make a little doober that bolts between the head and intake manifold that allows you to rotate the carb for clearance. I have one and may give it a try to eliminate the potential for the air filter to hit the fender.
Hopefully I'll have enough throttle cable to try this doober and move the carb to the right a bit.*
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Something else I noticed when comparing the specs of the K-Pipe motor to the semi-auto Lifan 125's I usually run is that the KYMCO is down a full point on it's compression. This might explain why it doesn't run quite as well as my Lifan-powered step throughs.
I'll be doing a top end job on my Passport soon and while it's down I'll study the top end and make note of what I find. Later on when I get bored (NOT!) I may pull the K-Pipe down for comparison. Is it just the piston that's different? Or maybe the head? Won't know until I pop it apart.
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Awesome! Thank you for sharing your findings
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*In a post above I mentioned a "doober" (actually called a carb manifold adapter) that would allow you to rotate the intake manifold a bit and eliminate the potential of the fender hitting the aftemarket clamp-on air cleaner. Mine's not done it (yet) so it may be a redundant worry.
Anyway while I had the carb off to adjust the valves I measured the intake hole on the head. It's 27mm with bolt spacing of about 45.5mm so if you decide to go with one of these be sure to get one that'll be the right size. I ordered one up on eBay for $6.98 and it's available in red, gold, blue or black. It's item #292005196488. I won't know until it arrives if turning the intake manifold a few degrees will cause the carb to make contact with the body panels or not. Right now my body panels (with the phony blinkers) are still off the bike.
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The current jetting I'm running with the aforementioned 22mm Mikuni is:
102.5 main (supposedly the same round main jet as used in the 70's/80's KZ-650)
17.5 pilot
The mixture screw is not quite 1 1/2 turns out from a lightly seated position.
The clip on the slide needle is set on the bottom groove (richest position) and I've added a .022"/.58mm washer to raise it even more. This is still a work in progress. It works pretty good but there's an occasional very slight stumble as I first give it throttle to take off.
By the way I'm at around 750' elevation here in the swamps of Indy.
While opening up the carb to get the jetting specs for you the carb float bowl gasket jumped out of it's groove, swollen from the effects of ethanol in our gasoline. All I can do now is let it dry out so it'll fit again. Replacements are available for $5.99 plus $2.67 shipping from eBay, item #252424029726. I just ordered up a couple so whenever I drop the bowl for cleaning or whatever I can install another and let the original dry out.
(Without getting political here ethanol is the worst thing to ever happen to us. It sucks water out of the atmosphere and takes it to the bottom of your gas tank where it turns into a spooge that rots out metal tanks. It also swells up and rots anything made of rubber. The only people benefiting from it are corn farmers and ethanol producers.
End of my anti-ethanol rant and my apologies in advance to anyone who makes a buck off this horrible stuff. This opinion is based on my personal experience. Now I'll go find something else to do while my gasket dries out.)
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Your ethanol comment worries me.
Agree with you about ethanol, government support to big corn.
But I worry about the quality of the materials in that carb. A motor built today should handle ethanol.
It doesn't eat "all rubber" just cheap rubber.
Something's wrong with the quality in the carb.
AMAC
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As I sit here about eighteen hours later the float bowl gasket has returned to normal size and I'm getting ready to reassemble it.
A quality problem? Dunno about that. I can say that I've ridden with these carbs on my two Lifan powered step throughs thousands of miles over the last six years (over eight thousand on the Passport alone) and they're stone reliable. There's a distinct possibility that these Mikunis are made in China, not Japan as they came as original equipment on Pitster Pro pit bikes as far back as 2005. The only time this problem makes itself known is when you pop the bowl off. Otherwise it doesn't leak and the carb does an excellent job.
Would I prefer the rubber this gasket is made of be of something that can handle ethanol? You bet. On the other hand for as inexpensive as they are, the ease of tuning and performance they deliver as mentioned I'll buy an extra gasket and live with the problem.
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OK, I will settle this whole shifter confusion.
According to my local dealer, the first late 2016's kpipe's came with the 4 down shift pattern. Kymco USA was required to change this to 4 up and did it as a recall. Dealers were sent kits to change it and the balance of the 16's in Kymco warehouse were changed before shipping to the dealers. The Kit was simply a new set of footpegs, shifter and linkage. (The 4 down had the shifter bolted directly to the shift shaft)
There is no difference internally with the shift drum.
CJS
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And the 2017's???
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Sorry to interrupt, but who's leg do we have to pull to get a K-Pipe sub-forum? I feel like there's enough of us floating around here. This way we can help each other out more easily.
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Hi I am from the Philippines this might help you or give you(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170328/3ba93ca26ef4e69c80ae861c2639b96f.jpg)(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170328/96bfa8a86f1407cb2bcce0a665157203.jpg)(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170328/32ac84d8ac88f0b689d7f7cf6f173004.jpg)(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170328/16b9a534924f02c506929cd3f6432fc1.jpg) some idea.
http://bit.ly/2o7xvoy (http://bit.ly/2o7xvoy)
'If you don't mean it, don't say it.'
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Regarding the footpegs...
Am I the only one paranoid about breaking an ankle or maybe even highsiding the bike due to the non-folding footpegs???
Lord knows I try not to but in the event of a crash these things could do some real damage. As soon as I find another fabricator/welder I'm going to have them converted into folders.
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Sorry to interrupt, but who's leg do we have to pull to get a K-Pipe sub-forum? I feel like there's enough of us floating around here. This way we can help each other out more easily.
Good luck, I'd wish they would change the name of the Xciting 700i forum to what the bike is actually called the MyRoad 700i.
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Ronigl, that is a nice looking Bike!!
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I'm this close to grabbing one of these. The frustrating thing is no dealers here in the midwest seem to have the 2017 model. I did find a dealer in Virginia that claims to have a 2017 model and another one in Tampa. I called both of them this morning; both said the shift pattern is up on the 2017's, but both dealerships said they didn't carry until the K-Pipe until this year, so didn't know how to compare the 2017 shifter to the kludged 2016 shifter. Here's a pic from the Florida dealer's listing; my guess is it's a stock Kymco photo, but can anyone tell if it looks any different from the 2016 shifter?
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*Exactly what came on my '16 which tells me they left the "international" shift pattern in it and corrected it with linkage (again).
Replacing all that with a standard (or heel/toe, as I prefer) shift lever makes 'em shift a LOT better at the price of having to remember it's backwards from everything else sold today. If you were coming out of a time warp from 1970 a shift pattern like this would be perfectly normal.
*Upon closer examination it appears that the linkage rotates the shift shaft clockwise to upshift. It's hard to tell--can anyone blow this pic up and tell us for sure??? If this is the case the shift pattern has been changed internally on the 2017's. Why are they still running linkage? No clue.
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Thanks. More I look at the listing, maybe these actually are pics of the 2017 K-Pipe there. Here's the link:
https://ocala.craigslist.org/mcd/6064993705.html
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I dug out the linkage setup that came on my K-Pipe per the recall and put it back on the bike. It appears to be identical to what's pictured on the picture of the 2017 that Buckybuck posted.
Based upon this--and going on the wild assumption that the bike pictured is actually a 2017--I'm going to go with my original thought that KYMCO USA decided to just use a motor with an "international" shift pattern and reverse it with linkage instead of building a special US-spec motor with a tranny that would shift to satisfy DOT specs.
My dealer was kind enough to give me the heel/toe shifter that came on the bike and that's what I'm currently running requiring me to remember to push down to shift up.
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To muddy the waters further...
I had my shop and owner's manual out and in them the K-Pipe pictured have "rearset" pegs that are centered at the swingarm pivot. It uses linkage and a different brake lever with this footpeg location.
The bike also had much lower handlebars similar to a "superbike" bend--maybe an inch of rise or so.
I'd bet there's a few potential K-Pipe buyers who'd like to have this setup on their bike. (Not me.) Maybe KYMCO USA will import this as an accessory setup.
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Another thing I've changed is the chain. While the sprockets were new and shiny I switched to an RK "O" ring chain to eliminate having to lube it all the time and have the bike covered in chain lube mung. There were a lot of people who thought this was a bad idea and that it would sap precious horsepower.
I've run an "O" ring chain for some time now on my 125 Lifan-powered Passport and going by the people who've ridden with me they've yet to see a problem with the bike not having enough horsepower. If it does indeed sap power it's so little that I don't notice it. For the convenience and cleanliness it offers I highly recommend it. Ain't cheap but they seem to last forever so the money you spend initially will be repaid with the money you save on chain lube and Gunk.
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:)Tim, (WOODSRAT) I don't know how to thank you enough.
Downloaded just fine Only complaint so far is that I have not been able to locate a flat rock to replace the seat with. Would have to be more comfortable.
Steve
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Well, I did it. I ordered a K-Pipe; it should be at the dealer in a couple of days. The dealer had a white one on the floor I could have brought home today, but I really wanted a red one. My thinking is where I'm planning to ride it a lot had lots of opportunities for mud throwing, and red might hide mud better than white. Also, I'm hoping an accessory like this comes with all the red ones.
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Nice picture but what does the bike look like? :D
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I'm this close to grabbing one of these. The frustrating thing is no dealers here in the midwest seem to have the 2017 model. I did find a dealer in Virginia that claims to have a 2017 model and another one in Tampa. I called both of them this morning; both said the shift pattern is up on the 2017's, but both dealerships said they didn't carry until the K-Pipe until this year, so didn't know how to compare the 2017 shifter to the kludged 2016 shifter. Here's a pic from the Florida dealer's listing; my guess is it's a stock Kymco photo, but can anyone tell if it looks any different from the 2016 shifter?
My dealer in Deland Florida should still have some 2016s possibly some 17s. delandmotorsports.com (http://delandmotorsports.com)
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I read the article on that heavily modified K-Pipe from the Philippines. It's a 150cc Raider motor, but needed heavy frame modification to get the engine in. I'm very jealous though 8)
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I read the article on that heavily modified K-Pipe from the Philippines. It's a 150cc Raider motor, but needed heavy frame modification to get the engine in. I'm very jealous though 8)
Here Sir! [emoji6] [emoji41]
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170331/f9477cf2f7cc5914f70eff366ba2868a.jpg)
http://www.motopilipinas.com/2016/06/decided-fit-raiders-heart-k-pipe/ (http://www.motopilipinas.com/2016/06/decided-fit-raiders-heart-k-pipe/)
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Attention older K-Pipe owners...
I exchanged emails with Peter Jones of KYMCO USA and mentioned that there are "well seasoned" riders purchasing K-Pipes, going against the idea that their target market would be newer riders in the 16-25 year old age group. He said they'd love to hear feedback from us as to why we bought the bikes, what we like about them, etc. along with pictures of us and our bikes.
Contact him at pjones@kymcousa.com.
He also mentioned they have plans of being in attendance at the "True Grits Fun Run" in Suches, GA this coming October. Originally for 50cc motorcycles they've now expanded the ride to include what they call a "Gromish" class for 125cc four strokes. If you can get free this is one of the funnest things you'll ever do on two wheels. I rode it from '86-'90 on an MB-5 and had a ball. Small motorcycles and the mountains of north Georgia make for a fun combination and turned out to be just silly enough to catch on.
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I've never had an AC CDI black box go bad on my Lifan-powered step throughs but I did go through three of them on my Honda XR-650L in 50,000 miles of riding. Out of paranoia I now carry spare black boxes whenever I leave home.
As mentioned the K-Pipe uses a D. C. powered unit which isn't nearly as common as the A. C. units used on most horizontal motors. I picked up a spare for $11.55 on eBay (item #351935973730) and it's cheap insurance to put one in your pocket whenever you go far enough from home that walking back might be a problem.
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Fuel mileage...
If you would please post the fuel mileage you're getting from your K-Pipe and any modifications you've done that might affect it. Other information such as rider weight, height, etc. that would also factor in would be appreciated as well.
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Since we only have a 1 gallon tank...
between 50-65 miles per tank (haven't ran it out of gas but I know the tank was on fumes)
My commute is about 8 miles one way running at WOT doing 55-65 mph (indicated)
height: 6'2
weight: 235
Mods: Delkevic Slip-on pipe
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Results from my first full tank. I'm 6 foot, 180 lbs. I really tried following the user manual guidelines about taking it easy at first and varying the speed:
The fuel gauge began flashing consistently at 73 miles. It took .836 gallons to refill the tank. If I'm figuring this correctly, that's about 87 mpg, which isn't bad. I haven't yet calibrated the odometer against GPS, however, I have checked the speedometer against a mapping app on my phone and my bike's speedometer is surprisingly accurate; compared with a speedometer top speed of 54 mph, the app registered 52 mph as the real top speed.
The manual says to use 91 octane or higher. Somewhere in my mind I recall that Asian 91 octane is the same as our 87 octane. (And honestly, I'm not sure I take anything in that manual as being 100 percent accurate). Anyway, I ended up putting regular 87 octane in mine mainly because I forgot to do otherwise. Am I remembering correctly on the octane difference? What octane are you guys running?
Also, looking at that petcock. There's only two positions there; I'm old-school and used to three positions on my petcocks--On, Off, and Reserve. So, on the K-Pipe, are the positions On and Off, or On and Reserve?
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I run 93 octane (US) and sometimes 91 ethanol free.
The petcock is just On and Off I believe.
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Second tank results:
75 miles at 0.805 gallons to refill for a whopping 93 mpg.
The more I think about it, Lilzip24 is right about the petcock. There'd have to be a separate, shorter tube going to the gas tank for it to be Reserve, and there's not one. Oh well, assuming it's really a a 1.2 gallon tank (the user manual claims it's 4.5 liters), you should be able to squeeze at least another 15-20 miles out of the bike after the fuel bar begins blinking.
I'm still curious what grade gas you guys are running. I put mid-grade in the this tank to see if it makes any difference. But I didn't hear any pinging when I ran regular in it before. And I have to think higher octane gas isn't readily available in a lot of the countries where bikes with this type of engine are popular.
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After 2 tanks of 91 octane ethanol free, my K-Pipe seems to run better overall on the 93 pump gas (up to 10% ethanol).
I also added one of these and makes a hell of a difference.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00QED5QH4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00QED5QH4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
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Third and final results from me:
80 miles at 0.843 gallons to refill for 95 mpg. No mods, getting ready to do that 300 mile initial valve adjustment.
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Woodsrat, I will be at True Grits, hauling from Ontario Canada. Using a 2008 Honda CBR125R.
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Woodsrat, I will be at True Grits, hauling from Ontario Canada...
And I thought I was nuts to drive from Indy...
I'm really looking forward to this event--especially to see your bike!!
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I'm going to dig out the stock carb, see if I can open up the "sealed" mixture screw and find a slide to replace the stocker that won't allow for needle adjustment. Between the mileage you guys are getting and the fact that my clamp-on air cleaner is currently exposed to the elements I'm curious if I can strike a balance between a bike that warms up quickly, can be safely ridden in the rain yet still get decent mileage. The stock airbox's intake is up high away from dust and water, too.
The Mikuni I'm running, while a great carburetor especially for the money, has never achieved great mileage on my Lifans (although I've not checked it yet on the K-Pipe yet). 70-80 MPG is about all I got on the open road with the Lifans.
As mentioned it does fire up immediately and allows me to ride off and turn off the "choke" (actually an enrichening circuit on this carb) less than a half-mile from the house. I'm sure there's some performance increase but without a dyno or another K-Pipe to run against it side-by-side it's hard to tell.
I'd also like to try it with the intake manifold that comes with the Lifan motor. It has a much more gentle curve than the hard bend of the stocker and would angle the carb and air cleaner to the right away from the front wheel. Again I've yet to hit the air cleaner with the front wheel but it's still a concern. Hopefully there's enough throttle cable length to try this.
I'm still waiting on the carb manifold adapter that would allow me to point the stock manifold to the right.
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In an experiment to try to eliminate a slight occasional hesitation when I first give it throttle I swapped the stock intake manifold to the same one I use on my Lifans. I suspected that the tight bend at the top of the stock intake manifold might be the culprit and I was right. The smooth 45 degree intake completely eliminated the problem. Sweet!
Here's a combination manifold/carb/air cleaner on eBay from a U. S. vendor: #282384496040
Using this setup rotates the carb to the right and might hit the stock body panels (the ones the phony blinkers are mounted in). I've got mine off so I can't tell you if there's going to be interference or not.
When the manifold adapter arrives I'll experiment with it and put the manifold/carb in different positions and see which one works best.
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I forgot to mention I got the stock carb out and found that the mixture screw cap is glued on with the equivalent of silicone seal. Unfortunately the screw isn't a normal slotted one but what appears to be a 3/4 moon shape. By liberally spraying the screw with carb cleaner to remove the sealant I was able to get it out with a small flat screwdriver and needlenose pliers. Once out you can remove any remaining sealant with carb cleaner.
I was going to cut a slot in the mixture screw but after the results with the Mikuni currently on it I screwed it back in and put the stock carb/manifold into the "K-Pipe parts removed" box. If you're going to retain the stock carb remove the cap and slot the mixture screw so it can be quickly and easily adjusted.
We got lucky here. Sometimes these caps are a real bitch to get off the carbs.
Now if we could find a conventional slide/needle assemble that can be adjusted we could probably figure out some improvements without replacing the carb with the Mikuni setup and retain the air box to boot.
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Might find something at www.dratv.com (http://www.dratv.com)
Worth a look anyway.
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Great to see some activity here again :)
Two questions. I looked in the Quote Owner's Manual Unquote and couldn't find the answers.
1. What is the purpose of that little light bulb that's to the upper right of the low-beam headlight? It doesn't come on on my K-Pipe. My assumption is that maybe it's a running light for possibly the rest of the world that doesn't require an always-on low beam. But I'm just guessing.
2. Are there supposed to be three settings on the odometer? Mine has three settings that it transitions between when you press the left button for a few seconds--accumulated mileage, trip meter, and whatever that third numeric reading is. Whatever it's supposed to be, there's no ODO or Trip legend that displays below it like what displays when at the other two positions, and it's resettable. The "Owner's Manual" claims the odometer has a blinking oil change indicator function. Is that what this is supposed to be used for? I guess it could be used as a Trip Meter B, just like a real touring bike.
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Great to see some activity here again :)
Two questions. I looked in the Quote Owner's Manual Unquote and couldn't find the answers.
1. What is the purpose of that little light bulb that's to the upper right of the low-beam headlight? It doesn't come on on my K-Pipe. My assumption is that maybe it's a running light for possibly the rest of the world that doesn't require an always-on low beam. But I'm just guessing.
2. Are there supposed to be three settings on the odometer? Mine has three settings that it transitions between when you press the left button for a few seconds--accumulated mileage, trip meter, and whatever that third numeric reading is. Whatever it's supposed to be, there's no ODO or Trip legend that displays below it like what displays when at the other two positions, and it's resettable. The "Owner's Manual" claims the odometer has a blinking oil change indicator function. Is that what this is supposed to be used for? I guess it could be used as a Trip Meter B, just like a real touring bike.
Yes on the lights because in other countries they have a light switch with Off, Park, Headlights on the right handle bar. Same with my MyRoad 700i and Aprilia Atlantic 500 where the opening is just covered here.
If it's like my MyRoad 700i there is a resettable maintenance odometer.
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Yes on the lights because in other countries they have a light switch with Off, Park, Headlights on the right handle bar. Same with my MyRoad 700i and Aprilia Atlantic 500 where the opening is just covered here.
If it's like my MyRoad 700i there is a resettable maintenance odometer.
What model year of your MyRoad 700 thus KYMCO still manufacture MyRoad 700? can i see pict. Thanks!
Sent from my Skyfire2
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What model year of your MyRoad 700 thus KYMCO still manufacture MyRoad 700? can i see pict. Thanks!
2014 and as far as I know Kymco stopped making them with 2015 being the last year.
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2822/33628153142_1c77e4a0f8_b.jpg)
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2014 and as far as I know Kymco stopped making them with 2015 being the last year.
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2822/33628153142_1c77e4a0f8_b.jpg)
Wow how the spare parts do have hard time sourcing out, or encounter problem with your MyRoad 700i, now they released the AK 550i.
But do you have K-Pipe 125cc?
Sent from my Skyfire2
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Wow how the spare parts do have hard time sourcing out, or encounter problem with your MyRoad 700i, now they released the AK 550i.
But do you have K-Pipe 125cc?
So far I have under 5,000 miles on the bike (just bought it last year) so I've only needed oil and oil filters. Had to have a shock and some seals replaced in the CVT under warranty. I think the parts take about a week to get but time will tell on parts availability.
I'm not a K-pipe owner but i look over other stuff on here, I'm pretty much a maxi scoot guy.
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So far I have under 5,000 miles on the bike (just bought it last year) so I've only needed oil and oil filters. Had to have a shock and some seals replaced in the CVT under warranty. I think the parts take about a week to get but time will tell on parts availability.
I'm not a K-pipe owner but i look over other stuff on here, I'm pretty much a maxi scoot guy.
Dreaming to own one like XCting 400i, AK 550i but i am Happy with my scoot Super 8 125cc (https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170425/e194684c6074ab707bf8fec95ad997e4.jpg)
I also like KYMCO K-Pipe because of it uniqueness[emoji6][emoji111]
Everything will be all right
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Dreaming to own one like XCting 400i, AK 550i but i am Happy with my scoot Super 8 125cc
I also like KYMCO K-Pipe because of it uniqueness[emoji6][emoji111]
Everything will be all right
Nice color scoot. The K-pipe is like a proper sized Grom.
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Nice color scoot. The K-pipe is like a proper sized Grom.
Thanks it is almost 8 years my Super 8 125cc . I like a Green K-pipe.
Everything will be all right
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I took the day off and did a 150 mile loop on the K-Pipe down to beautiful Brown County, IN where the roads are hilly and twisty.
The good? 87 miles per gallon even with the Mikuni carb. The best I ever got with this carb on the Lifan motors was 80. Happiness.
The bad? For one, the seat sucks. The forward downhill slope has me sitting on my balls and I'm constantly standing up and rearranging everything. While this seat might fit someone with a shorter inseam (mine's 32") even then the slope will have them constantly pushing backwards against the bars. I think if I level the the seat about an inch or so this will fix the problem at the price of increasing the seat height. I'm going to go find a stadium seat pad, cut it to fit and try that as a temporary measure.
I shouldn't call this a bad thing but the motor doesn't have the grunt of my Lifan motors. Coming out of corners where I could just grab a handful and torque my way out this motor requires me to downshift. Gearing between my Lifan/Passport and the K-Pipe are about the same if tire sizes are computed into the equation and right now I have the same intake manifold/carb/air cleaner on both so that leaves the fact that the K-Pipe is a full point down on compression as part of the problem. Without measuring and comparing them I don't know for sure but I suspect there might be a difference in the cam as well.
Could the giant muffler be restricting it? Maybe. On the Lifan/Passport I'm running a CRF-70 pipe sans spark arrestor screen and it's got a bark to it that the K-Pipe doesn't have. I'm hoping that the volume of the K-Pipe muffler makes up for the fact it's not as straight-through as the Honda muffler. It's wonderfully quiet and doesn't offend anyone.
I may put the pit bike muffler back on, haul it down there and do a bit of testing to see if there's any difference. The muffler might be more restrictive than I think. I hate to have that loud thing on there and I don't think I could stand to ride it down there and back so trucking it is the only alternative. More on this after I give it a try.
*Edit--I went ahead and did another test with the pit bike muffler. I can see virtually no difference in performance. It is very light compared to the stock muffler that weighs almost as much as Oprah.
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Same with me, however I want to mod everything; but I don't want to order parts that I'm unsure will fit/work. One of the things i'm curious of is trying to big bore the engine, that'd be interesting to see but I don't want to guinea pig my bike out.
The main things I will probably do are - Tires, Exhaust, Air Filter, Cafe Race handlebars, new clutch/brake lever, undercowl/undercover for lower engine. Sounds like a lot, but the only thing that would be pricey would be the exhaust and tires. Since there's so little of this specific bike mods i'm hesitant to do much performance mods.
There's so much potential to this bike, I'd love to see what crazy things people come up with in the near future.
OK so first time posting on a forum kinda cool. I have contacted the guys at t-bolt usa to see what they have available iof anything that fits the motor. From what I have read they have a very close motor to the lifan 123.7 has the same square 54mm bore.
On another note my wife and i are looking to buy a set of these in the next month and a half. We are really excited.
;D
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I also haven't noticed a difference in performance between the stock can and my Delkavic. The only issue I'm having is a lot of decel popping, but I haven't actually messed with the stock carb yet
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Shop manual inaccuracies?
I was looking at the shop manual last night in the top end rebuild section and was surprised/intrigued to learn that it says the cylinder diameter is 52.4mm, not the 54mm listed in the specifications--including the specs in the front of the manual. If this is correct the bore and stroke would be 52.4mm x 57mm, not the preferred "square" 54mm x 54mm.
When I got home I measured the cylinder length on my semi-auto Lifan motor and the one on the K-Pipe. Both measured 78mm and both are marked "124cc". A 52.4 x 57 motor would be 123cc.
While this sounds like I'm being anal there's a lot of differences between these two motors, the biggest being that the piston pin on the long stroke motor is 13mm whereas the square motors uses a 14mm pin.
If the K-Pipe is indeed a 54 x 54 motor--and based upon the cylinder length and displacement marked on the cylinder casting I suspect it is--it means I can put the piston out of a semi-auto Lifan into the K-Pipe motor which should up it's compression. If the head is basically identical all that would remain is to swap the cam as well.
It's amazing how two motors with what are supposedly identical displacement can run so differently. Can a point of compression do this much to change how it runs? Or is the cam different as well? As soon as I can confirm that the K-Pipe is indeed a 54 x 54 motor we're going to find out.
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What? Shop manual inaccurate? Take a look at the specs on pages 1.1, 2.1, and 6.1 in the shop manual and decide which set of valve clearance numbers printed on each of those three pages is the right one. However, I do have to think that since this engine type is popular in a lot of countries where the bike owners have more important things to fret about than optimum valve clearance, it's a fairly robust engine, and maybe I worry too much. Maybe the specs are just guidelines.
You and I were in the same mood the other day, Woodsrat. I took my Pipe over to my cabin in Ohio's Hocking Hills area. (One of the reasons I wanted a Monkey Bike was I wanted something light I could easily load in the back of my truck by myself and haul there). It's hilly there also; I was down to second gear a lot of times before peaking a hill. I did discover that the bike is skittish on gravel; I probably should have realized that would be a problem on such a light bike with skinny tires. I tried going down a very steep hill on a gravel road and quickly realized I was skating, not slowing, as soon as I applied the brakes. I ended up sideways before somehow, impressively, getting stopped without dropping the bike. Going back up the hill, I had to waddle-walk the bike, since the back tire was bucking and washboarding as it tried to gain traction on the gravel.
Believe it or not, I'm not complaining. As soon as I got back on level ground, I began thinking how much worse my day could have been had I been on the Kawasaki Concours that I used to have, one of the older ones with that huge, 7-gallon belly gas tank. I think I would have been in a world of pain on that road on that bike.
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More fun with the 22mm Mikuni carb setup...
The carb manifold adapter arrived and at least by my eyes didn't look totally flat. I bought a piece of #320 paper, taped a piece to a surface plate and using a figure-8 motion lapped the top of it flat. The bottom that goes against the cylinder head uses an "O" ring to seal it. A tiny bit of Permatex High Tack holds it in place nicely while the adapter is bolted in place.
It didn't come with the needed flathead 6mm x 1 bolts so a trip to the hardware store got me a pair of stainless socket headed bolts 16mm long. The adapter wasn't countersunk well so another trip to Harbor Freight got me a 90 degree countersink (HF #61552, $1.99) and a few minutes of work on the drill press later the bolt heads were nice and flat in the adapter. Note that metric flatheads are 90 degrees on the angled surface, not the 82 degrees of SAE bolts so be careful that you use the proper countersink for these bolts.
I had a gasket in my inventory and more High Tack painted on it and a couple of 6mm x 1 bolts with 8mm heads 16mm long bolted the manifold to the manifold adapter. (I tried bolts with 10mm heads but it's difficult to get a wrench on them.) I bolted it on so that the carb now points about 20 degrees to the left. Now there's no worry of the fender hitting the air cleaner. I used blue Loctite on the two bolts that hold the manifold to the manifold adapter since the assembly isn't supported any other way to insure it won't shake loose.
I got out the phony blinker/sidecover assembly and it will still fit even with the carb/air cleaner pointing to the left if you wanted to retain it.
I have a fruit can about 4" in diameter and I may experiment with drilling a hole in the chrome cover of the K & N filter and install a bolt in the center of it to bolt on the can for inclement weather. I've used plastic Fast Orange hand cleaner cans for the same purpose in the past on my Lifan powered step-throughs so one of these might end up on it with a bunch of holes drilled in the bottom to insure the filter will get plenty of air.
When I can get someone to get a picture or three of this setup I'll post them. For now here's a picture of the manifold adapter I used except mine was black.
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I received an email today from Peter Jones of KYMCO USA. He confirmed that the shop manual is indeed incorrect in it's specification in the cylinder rebuild section and the correct bore and stroke is 54mm x 54mm. He also told me it uses a 14mm piston pin which to my knowledge is the same as what's on my Lifan semi-auto motors.
Peter's a great guy, a real gearhead and has been very helpful in providing information I couldn't find about our bikes. American Honda could learn something about customer relations from this fellow!!
Here's a picture of a U. S.-spec K-Pipe 125 piston provided by Mr. Jones. I just ordered up a replacement piston kit for my Lifan semi-auto and it appears to be identical. This leaves the combustion chamber to be the difference in compression ratio between the Lifan and the K-Pipe. Again once I get my Lifan/Passport back together I'll pop the noggin off the K-Pipe and see what it's combustion chamber looks like.
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Thanks for keeping us posted Woodsrat! I've been checking here every day for new info
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Oh, the dreams I sometimes have when I'm riding my K-Pipe. But you know, even tho the seat doesn't look any more angled than a lot of other bikes, I feel like I'm being nudged forward all the time. Woodsrat mentioned this also, and I also think he's already tried different handlebars. Is it just this style of bike, rider age, the bike's compact size, or something else?
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Manufacturers do this to make people feel comfortable sitting on them in the showroom. It allows more people to get their feet on the ground, a huge selling point. Only a handful of people find these seats comfortable when actually riding them. The rest of us end up sitting on our "privates".
Until the mid-to-late 50's bikes had tractor-style seats that actually fit the human arse. Some marketing wizard decided that "racing style" seats resembling vinyl covered loafs of bread looked better and they became the standard. These seats evolved into what we have on bikes today.
We've become slaves to fashion.
Just for fun I picked up a seat from an FXRP cop bike at a swap meet and rigged it up on my XR-650L. It was light years better than the stock seat. Ugly, yes but very functional and I couldn't see it when I was riding it. I got this idea from an old duck I know in Florida who put an old leather cop bike seat on various bikes (among them a BMW G/S and a Suzuki DR-350SE) and I was amazed how comfortable it was.
Even one of those cheap solo seats with springs popular on bobbers would work better for most people than the stock seats on dually bikes.
I don't see things changing anytime in the near future and the folks at Sargents will continue to make a nice living making these seats passable for our use.
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New topic...
Given the K-Pipe's been out over a year there's gotta be a few of you replacing tires. What are you using???
I haven't seen much available in tubeless tires in the sizes that come on the bike and was just curious what you're using to replace the stockers.
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My tires are still 50% but I agree that the stock sizes are difficult to find. I'd like to replace them before doing a Mini GP in the fall
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Hey Folks. I have been watching this thread since I bought my 2016 K-Pipe 125 last August. I am Glad it is still moving along. Springtime in Michigan and the riding has begun. I have just over 600 miles on my bike and I agree that the K-pipe needs just a bit more power and a better seat. Otherwise, It is a great Bike. I am very interested in getting my hands on that shop manual. Let's keep working on these bikes. Have a great day.
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After a hundred mile ride to lunch today I decided to try gearing the bike up one tooth in the front to see how it would react. The motor seemed to be "busy" (turning too many RPM) at an indicated cruising speed of 48 MPH and I thought if it would pull one more tooth in the front perhaps it would not only make it feel less busy but also improve it's cruising speed.
I'd previously put an "O" ring chain on it in the stock length but unfortunately it's too short to accept another tooth :(. Off to the shop and I bought a regular #428 chain to experiment with. It took 108 links to mate a 15 tooth sprocket with the standard 36 tooth rear (stock is 106).
Wow!! It still never fails to amaze me how gearing affects how a bike runs. The bike now goes faster in each gear before shifting and will cruise at an indicated 52-55 MPH (actual 49-52 MPH according to my GPS). This is pretty much equal to the Lifan powered Passport I rode to the Smokies from Indy last summer that I was using as a standard.
I'm sure in hilly country I'll be shifting more and next weekend I'll make another run to the hills to see how it reacts.
If you don't have to have an "O" ring chain this is a cheap change with the chain around $20 and the sprocket about $7 on eBay. As mentioned this is a #428 setup and the front shaft is the same style/size as the older Hondas with a 17mm shaft (the Lifans use a 20mm output shaft).
Now I've gotta buy another "O" ring chain. At least I can run the first one on another step through project I'm building.
If you want your bike to feel less busy and have a higher and more comfortable cruising speed give this a shot. I think you'll like it.
Temperatures today got up to around 80 and the bike seemed to be running a bit rich at about 1/8-1/4 throttle opening on the Mikuni I'm running. First I stopped and removed the steel washer I'd put under the clip and up the road stopped again and removed the brass washer leaving only the nylon one. Both helped so I stopped again and swapped the brass one for the nylon one which visually is slightly thinner and again got an improvement. The next step will be to try dropping the needle one notch and then juggle the washers to see what works best.
Life is great sometimes and this was one of those exceptional days when my experiments went well.
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I'm low tech and don't own one of those fancy telephones that take pictures but my buddy was kind enough to take a picture of the carb setup I'm running on the bike. The problem is they exceed the 1024 KB limit.
If anyone knows how to make these "smaller" I can email them to you and let you post them for me. PM me for an email address.
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WR, send that large pic to photobucket or Imgur, then you need only post a link in your message.
Try a little more tech ?
It's better for the forum that way, anyway.
redk
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People have been making fun of my non-techie nature for over a decade now. I left one site because people became downright mean about it. Ironically some of these same people now call seeking help with their builds.
I bought the K-Pipe because I'm more-or-less "stuck in the 70's" and miss the simplicity and ease of maintenance these bikes offered. I bought a Grom and tried really hard to get my head around fuel injection, carrying the shop manual around with me everywhere I went to study but it just never clicked.
My Dad insisted I take a full year of typing in high school figuring if his motorcycle bum son couldn't do anything else he could get a job as a clerk. I never dreamed this skill would be of value to run anything like a computer. Regardless my computer skills are limited and I have no intention of learning anything more. My memory bank is full of redundant information now and while I can tell you all about a particular bike from the 70's or how to set the timing on a bike with a breaker point ignition my lack of skill behind this monitor will probably remain this way.
No offense or anger here (yet)--I just want everyone to know that I'm old fashioned as I can be before people start saying things like "pics or it didn't happen." I'll be happy to go to great lengths to describe something but for those who hate reading better be ready to ignore my lengthy posts. If that's offensive to the majority I'll stop posting and depart.
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WR, I thought your tech description of repairs was pretty good!
If you can step up, to post pics, even better, and you will be able to help more people.
I would probably agree, a person can definitely allow their life to be taken over by what they do on the net.
Yet most the Luddites have been left behind, and they probably couldn't care less.
As they say, almost anyone can grind the grain into flour and bake bread.
The fun people learn to brew beer.
It's your call.
redk
btw, I've kept my old shovelhead because it's a basic machine. Some say same rocker arm ratio as the older knuckleheads.
More recently I found the China girl engine kits for bicycles were pretty handy, and very simple.
These modern scooters are Hi-tech, to me, and are handy, around town.
Took a short hop to the market already this morn.
I'll offer brief assistance if I can. Your choice to take advantage of it or expend more energy resisting.
.
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I've been playing with the idea of changing the front sprocket also. Since your cruising speed increased though, how much slower is the bikes acceleration??
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My K-Pipe's odometer just rolled over to four digits today. Those are miles, not kilometers. One thing I noticed when it rolled over from 999 to 1000 is the thousand digit popped up the left. Any idea how high the odometer can register? There's room on the display for at least two more digits there! Who knows, maybe I can be take pics when my K-Pipe racks up 10,000 miles and again at 100,000 miles.
I've noticed that my bike's gas mileage gets a little better with each tank. I averaged 99.7 mpg on the last tank; I'm sure it'll be over 100 mpg when I fill up again. And that's with stock gearing.
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Hard to tell without a clearer photo but looks like 99,999.
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Hello. I purchased a Kymco Kpipe 125 in May 2017 in Montana. Am having a pretty good experience with it. Have made some upgrades/modifications and had to discover somethings on my own as the owner's manual is ... well ... not quite thorough or accurate. In one place it actually references a completely different motorcycle not available in the US.
Since this comment string for owners/users is not getting much traffic or discussion, I opened a facebook group for english speakers; it is called Kymco Kpipe Users Group. No formal technical advice from Kymco is associated with this. However, it provides an opportunity for users to talk with each other particularly about the KPipe 125.
So far. I have not met via this route any Kpipe owners in the USA. Am wondering if you are out there. The only other group on FB is a K-Pipe Club and FB does not translate the other languages enough for me to communicate very well. Thus...putting out the invitation for KPipe Users here.
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Aren't tune-up specs (valve clearances, etc.) found on a sticker placed by manufacturer somewhere on the bike? I thought it was standard practice. ..?
Stig
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I'm still riding and modding my K-Pipe. I just don't post anymore.
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I'm still riding and modding my K-Pipe. I just don't post anymore.
Any new mods?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Anybody still around LOL? I don’t think I even here crickets..
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Im intermittent here. Ride more than I write.
Have 3300 miles on my '16 K-Pipe and just trucked it out to Alabama for Barber Small Bore. Pretty cool concept and it was fun to flog the bike around the Barber course for a few parade laps.
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Hi all.
I just bought a new 2017 K-Pipe (dealer overstock). This is my first bike. I read through the manual, familiarized myself with the controls, shifter, kick starter and so on. The bike started right up and ran for about 5 minutes, then stopped and I cannot get it started again. It sat overnight, and still wont start.
I'm going to grab a new spark plug today since they're so cheap, but Im wondering about the fuel valve on the side of the carb (pictured). It's not mentioned in the manual, I'm assuming its a fuel shutoff. How open should this valve be normally? What is the proper use of this valve?
Thanks!
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Hi all.
I just bought a new 2017 K-Pipe (dealer overstock). This is my first bike. I read through the manual, familiarized myself with the controls, shifter, kick starter and so on. The bike started right up and ran for about 5 minutes, then stopped and I cannot get it started again. It sat overnight, and still wont start.
I'm going to grab a new spark plug today since they're so cheap, but Im wondering about the fuel valve on the side of the carb (pictured). It's not mentioned in the manual, I'm assuming its a fuel shutoff. How open should this valve be normally? What is the proper use of this valve?
Thanks!
That is the fuel petcock and yes it is the fuel shut-off. I don't know about the K-pipe but on other bikes the handle should point down to be 'on' (when facing it, the longer part of the lever is at 6 o'clock), in the 3 o'clock position it is off and in the 9 o'clock position it is on reserve. In the photo, it looks like it is 'off' (no fuel) to me.
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There is only off and on.
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Anyone found a taller front sprocket and O-ring chain readily available? Another poster on page 7 mentioned he was looking for an O-ring chain.
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The manual says to use 91 octane or higher. Somewhere in my mind I recall that Asian 91 octane is the same as our 87 octane. (And honestly, I'm not sure I take anything in that manual as being 100 percent accurate). Anyway, I ended up putting regular 87 octane in mine mainly because I forgot to do otherwise. Am I remembering correctly on the octane difference? What octane are you guys running?
With a compression ratio of only 8.6, it really doesn't matter.
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I throw 91 in. at 1-2 gallons I don't feel the pain lol. Plus if it sits a while it keeps the octane up a little bit more.
Has anyone seen anything new as far as big bore kits, sprocket & chain kits etc?
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Hey, i have kymco k-pipe 50 and my speedometer display doesn't light up during the night. Is there a switch to put it on or do i have to switch some light bulb and if i have to change it can anyone tell me what fits in?
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Anyone know what size tappet tool for doing the valve adjustment? I was thinking it might be a 3mm Square with 9mm Socket?
Thanks.