I've decided to make a new thread for this Cob $ Co bike, to keep the info seperate from the long running G4 Hummer thread.
I bought this bike for my wife & daughter to ride, on account that the seat height is lower than usual at 85cms - which is a lot more managable for the ladies. The bike still maintains the 250cc engine however, which provides a teriffic amount of grunt in a small bike.
I outlined the good and bad of this bike in the hummer thread - and I've added a few more observations here as follows:
Good: - High output Zengshon OHC engine, tough frame, nicely finished wheels, quality adjustable suspension, easy component access, good ergonomics for the smaller rider and low overall weight (85Kgs).
Bad: - Crap quality wiring, some really rough welds, front brake caliper a little misaligned from the disk, front suspension good quality - but a little soft, no rubber anti vibration washers on plastics, crap brake & clutch levers, shitty throttle, piss poor handlebars & fittings, brakelines and wiring badly routed, external exposed air filter may clog in rain & mud, no bash plate, no assembly instructions, piss-poor manual, a number of unconnected hoses and wires plus flimsy all in one tank shrouds, side panels and seat.
I actually didn't want to buy this bike, as I much preferred the configurarion of Cob & Co's 250cc ProX - which is the same size, but uses the more modern twin boom frame and is put together with much highr quality components. My wife however didn't like the colour (carbon fibre black & red) - so we ended uo getting the Link.
Having said all that - I'm determined to make this bike perform well and started work on it today.
First I took a look at the drive train. The Link runs a 42 tooth rear sprocket and 428 gauge chain. I was hoping I would be able to use a spare Hummer rear sprocket to increase the drive ratio - but unfortunately the mounting bolt holes have less distance between centres and so are not compatible. The good news is that the Link runs a 16 tooth front sprocket, which is exactly the same mounting size and system as the Hummer. I have a spare 15 tooth front sprocket - so if it turns out I need a higher drive ratio, I can fit a smaller front sprocket an achieve the same result. I'll decide if that's neccessary once the bike is ridden.
I removed the Chinese chain and replaced it with a DID 428NZ black & gold - which set me back $75 from my local Honda outlet. Don't be tempted to run the Chinese chain that comes with the bike - it will definetely break after a few rides and the results can be catastrophic! Replace it ASAP!!
I had some trouble torquing up the wheel - because the rectangular thrust blocks which the wheel adjusters butt up against, kept rotating when the wheel nut was tightened. This had the effect of pushing the wheel backwards and making the chain too tight. In the end, I got my daughter to jam the the bottom edge of the thrust block with a screw-driver - to stop it rotating. We got it just right in the end, but why the thrust block wasn't made a little bigger to stop it turning eludes me!
Next I stripped the handlebars, lubed all the cables and greased the clutch and brake lever bearings. This made a huge difference to the weight of clutch pull and general smoothness of operation - but it doesn't alter the fact that the levers and throttle are crap and will have to be replaced. I then replaced the crappy piece of foam padding on the crossbar with a spare piece of renthal foam I had lying about. The crossbar was so loose it was almost falling off the handlebars, so I tightened the screws securley with some lock-tight added for good measure. The handlebars are too short for my liking and will eventually be repaced with Renthals, along with the crappy levers and throttle - but not this week!
The next job was to take a look at the hydraulic brake lines, as these had been installed so that they chaffed against the wheels - bloody idiots!!
I first made adjaustment to the hydraulic line clamps to get the tension on the lines pushing in the right direction. I then loosened the rotating hydraulic feed bearing (fits into the back of the calipers) and turned them outwards before re-tightening. This made the hydraulic feed lines bow out and away from the wheel, solving the problem.
Next I removed the shrouds, side panels and seat - so I could get at the wiring. These are bolted together and so are removed as a single unit, once the screws have been removed. These components are very flimsy when compared to those found on the Hummer - and the jury is out on whether they will take much punishment. I originally thought the panels didn't have any anti-vibration rubber washers - but I found them underneath the scews and crushed to powder! I bought some replacement rubber washers from Bunnings for a couple of bucks.
I could now get at the wiring - which was a bloody mess!
There were three prinipal wiring problems as follows:
1. Poorly routed - The HT lead was lying on top of the hot exhaust pipe and was also getting crushed in the steering limiter when the handlebars were turned - other small wires were lying in contact with the cylinder head, ready to get fried!
2. Crappy connectors - cheap nasty connectors with a high chance of shorting out in the wet.
3. Poorly insulated - the cable sheathing was cheap and nasty and in many cases was cut off too short. This leaves long lengths of thin single wires, which are prone to damage. look shitty and are apt to short out in the wet!
First I removed the offending connectors, having bought some high quality replacements from an auto shop.
I then removed the short cable sheathing and replaced it with heat shrink cable sheathing from Dick Smith Electronics. This is a great product and you thread the cables through it easily - then heat the sheathing with a low setting on the heat gun. The sheathing then shrinks to form a tight fitting and insulated sheath over your wires. It looks neat and is resistant to the weather and wet. I then fitted my new connectors and re-routed the wires in a more logical and hazzard free route. Plastic self locking cable ties were then added as required, to aviod all potential snags and hot areas.
A redundant wire harness exiting the crank case was also secured with a self locking tie - out of the way and in a safe position.
That was it for the day. The next job will be to change the oil, secure the fuel line properly, change the spark plug and have a look at firming up the front suspension. After that I'm going to give all the nuts and bolts a going over with the torque wrench - and she should be ready for a first ride.
I bought this bike for my wife & daughter to ride, on account that the seat height is lower than usual at 85cms - which is a lot more managable for the ladies. The bike still maintains the 250cc engine however, which provides a teriffic amount of grunt in a small bike.
I outlined the good and bad of this bike in the hummer thread - and I've added a few more observations here as follows:
Good: - High output Zengshon OHC engine, tough frame, nicely finished wheels, quality adjustable suspension, easy component access, good ergonomics for the smaller rider and low overall weight (85Kgs).
Bad: - Crap quality wiring, some really rough welds, front brake caliper a little misaligned from the disk, front suspension good quality - but a little soft, no rubber anti vibration washers on plastics, crap brake & clutch levers, shitty throttle, piss poor handlebars & fittings, brakelines and wiring badly routed, external exposed air filter may clog in rain & mud, no bash plate, no assembly instructions, piss-poor manual, a number of unconnected hoses and wires plus flimsy all in one tank shrouds, side panels and seat.
I actually didn't want to buy this bike, as I much preferred the configurarion of Cob & Co's 250cc ProX - which is the same size, but uses the more modern twin boom frame and is put together with much highr quality components. My wife however didn't like the colour (carbon fibre black & red) - so we ended uo getting the Link.
Having said all that - I'm determined to make this bike perform well and started work on it today.
First I took a look at the drive train. The Link runs a 42 tooth rear sprocket and 428 gauge chain. I was hoping I would be able to use a spare Hummer rear sprocket to increase the drive ratio - but unfortunately the mounting bolt holes have less distance between centres and so are not compatible. The good news is that the Link runs a 16 tooth front sprocket, which is exactly the same mounting size and system as the Hummer. I have a spare 15 tooth front sprocket - so if it turns out I need a higher drive ratio, I can fit a smaller front sprocket an achieve the same result. I'll decide if that's neccessary once the bike is ridden.
I removed the Chinese chain and replaced it with a DID 428NZ black & gold - which set me back $75 from my local Honda outlet. Don't be tempted to run the Chinese chain that comes with the bike - it will definetely break after a few rides and the results can be catastrophic! Replace it ASAP!!
I had some trouble torquing up the wheel - because the rectangular thrust blocks which the wheel adjusters butt up against, kept rotating when the wheel nut was tightened. This had the effect of pushing the wheel backwards and making the chain too tight. In the end, I got my daughter to jam the the bottom edge of the thrust block with a screw-driver - to stop it rotating. We got it just right in the end, but why the thrust block wasn't made a little bigger to stop it turning eludes me!
Next I stripped the handlebars, lubed all the cables and greased the clutch and brake lever bearings. This made a huge difference to the weight of clutch pull and general smoothness of operation - but it doesn't alter the fact that the levers and throttle are crap and will have to be replaced. I then replaced the crappy piece of foam padding on the crossbar with a spare piece of renthal foam I had lying about. The crossbar was so loose it was almost falling off the handlebars, so I tightened the screws securley with some lock-tight added for good measure. The handlebars are too short for my liking and will eventually be repaced with Renthals, along with the crappy levers and throttle - but not this week!
The next job was to take a look at the hydraulic brake lines, as these had been installed so that they chaffed against the wheels - bloody idiots!!
I first made adjaustment to the hydraulic line clamps to get the tension on the lines pushing in the right direction. I then loosened the rotating hydraulic feed bearing (fits into the back of the calipers) and turned them outwards before re-tightening. This made the hydraulic feed lines bow out and away from the wheel, solving the problem.
Next I removed the shrouds, side panels and seat - so I could get at the wiring. These are bolted together and so are removed as a single unit, once the screws have been removed. These components are very flimsy when compared to those found on the Hummer - and the jury is out on whether they will take much punishment. I originally thought the panels didn't have any anti-vibration rubber washers - but I found them underneath the scews and crushed to powder! I bought some replacement rubber washers from Bunnings for a couple of bucks.
I could now get at the wiring - which was a bloody mess!
There were three prinipal wiring problems as follows:
1. Poorly routed - The HT lead was lying on top of the hot exhaust pipe and was also getting crushed in the steering limiter when the handlebars were turned - other small wires were lying in contact with the cylinder head, ready to get fried!
2. Crappy connectors - cheap nasty connectors with a high chance of shorting out in the wet.
3. Poorly insulated - the cable sheathing was cheap and nasty and in many cases was cut off too short. This leaves long lengths of thin single wires, which are prone to damage. look shitty and are apt to short out in the wet!
First I removed the offending connectors, having bought some high quality replacements from an auto shop.
I then removed the short cable sheathing and replaced it with heat shrink cable sheathing from Dick Smith Electronics. This is a great product and you thread the cables through it easily - then heat the sheathing with a low setting on the heat gun. The sheathing then shrinks to form a tight fitting and insulated sheath over your wires. It looks neat and is resistant to the weather and wet. I then fitted my new connectors and re-routed the wires in a more logical and hazzard free route. Plastic self locking cable ties were then added as required, to aviod all potential snags and hot areas.
A redundant wire harness exiting the crank case was also secured with a self locking tie - out of the way and in a safe position.
That was it for the day. The next job will be to change the oil, secure the fuel line properly, change the spark plug and have a look at firming up the front suspension. After that I'm going to give all the nuts and bolts a going over with the torque wrench - and she should be ready for a first ride.
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