Recieved Roketa MC-13 Bali 250, first impressions

[scooter]

Hello. I got the Bali in. For folks that don't know me I've ridden sport bikes most of my life and went to Chinese scooters last year to keep from starting my F350 for short trips, mainly to work and back. So I got a Tao Tao Evo 150 last year. Put 3k miles on it. Love it. But needed something to hold 60 MPH to get to my ranch. This Roketa will be my last "are you sure you're a scooter guy" before I jump into a Burgman 400 or something of that sort...... Here goes.
Uncrated the Bali and left side took a beating. Cracked this, broken that, not too bad though. Spent all weekend stripping it down to frame/ engine. Did very thorough PDI to include all hoses, fluids, tightness and adding loc-tite, etc. Put silicon spray on bolt heads. The usual. PDI was much more complicated than the air cooled Evo. Cooling lines were a real bear.
Riding it compared to my Evo: Let's just say I loved my Evo until I rode this one. About the only thing alike between the 2 is that they're both scooters. The advantages to the Bali is that it's much more comfortable, night and day in fact. The Evo started giving me lower back pains which was another reason to get something else. It's not broken in yet so I can't say much on top end power. Did one stint and it seemed to run out of power at 60 with plenty of gearing left. Low and mid range are good, cruises 50 where my Evo is screaming. I can tune and tinker after it's broken in. The speedo is WAAAAAYYYYY off, it says 80 MPH (Not KPH) when I'm actually doing 42 gps speed. The headlight on the Bali is worthless in that it points 5 feet in front of me. Tried adjusting but they didn't put a stopper inside for the screw to push against the headlight so the screw comes out but doesn't push light up. I'll fix it somehow. The right mirror is worthless; probably need to extend them both up about an inch or 2. I read that the Bali is lighter than the Evo. I thought nah, it's a type O. Well, the Bali is VERY "light" feeling on the road. Almost uncomfortable until I hopefully get used to it. It tracks ruts in the road, is affected by wind, and is almost squirely feeling compared to the Evo. Windshield maybe deflecting wind and causing this? I don't know. Anyway. It does block a lot more wind than the Evo. I rode to work this morning and it was 37. Didn't get too cold at all compared to the Evo in comparable weather. So we'll see how it does in the next year. At that time I'll be convinced I'm a scooter guy for life and probably go with a Burg 400. But this one was $1800 to the door, Evo was about $950. If I go Burg I'm going big with every bell and whistle, probably brand new because I keep my stuff forever once I get what suits me so my thought is I can sell the other 2, recoop a little cash, and not be out a $7000-$9000 machine that I decided I didn't like.
So tips to new guys from a guy that's on his second Chinese scooter in a year. Don't be scared by Chinese if you will do a thorough PDI and like doing maintenance. My Evo has given me ZERO problems. I like it along with most the Chinese scooter guys. However, and this is just me, don't buy less than 250CC if you live in a decent size town. Just my opinion. But I thought I would only ride to work and back on back roads. Then started carrying golf clubs. Then started going across San Antonio to golf, then wanted to get to my ranch with chainsaws and whatnot. Found the 150 to be physically and powerfully not enough to expand on. I also highly suggest buying within your state. I bought the first one in Texas and it was a breeze. Bought this one in Cali, so far a pain in the arse. But we'll see how they treat me. Texas emailed me a paper tag within 2 hours of receiving my Evo. Cali..... Won't send me anything so I'm waiting on the paperwork. Could come in tomorrow, could be a month from now. Once I get that I have to go stand in line at the DMV for 2 hours. I'm learning about the scooter do's and do not's, just a few things I wanted to pass on and hopefully help. Happy motoring.

[Shadowfire]

Another thing to consider when you think about getting a Chinese scooter is that they're running 30 year old engine designs, and you aren't going to be getting the performance of one of the Japanese, Taiwanese or Italian bikes. The YY250T, for instance, gets a max of 14hp @ 244CC, while the Kymco Downtown 300i gets 28hp @ 299CC. This is the difference between 70mph and 90mph top speed. One of these bikes is a bit underpowered for highway use, and won't be able to make the speed limit on long hills. Even the Burgman 200 gets 18hp @ 200cc (and has ABS to boot).

Here in Connecticut, I probably won't even try to bring the YY250T on the highway. People expect you to be going 70-80mph.

[scooter]

I fixed the mirrors. Going to work this morning I realized my brake levers were a little higher than I like. Then snap, move brake levers down and mirrors come up. Awesome. Also took the 151 home today. Kept up with traffic no problem so it seems to be breaking in. The dumb speedo showed 95 MPH, but traffic is normally moving about 60-65 through there so that's my guess. I need to search Scrappy for a different speedo gear. Moved air pressures down to 28 and 32, much less squirrely. That's about it. But yeah, as mentioned above. My experiences so far, speed limit 60 not a problem. 65 or 70 very short stints only to keep from angering people. The Burg 200 is a TANK! Very comfortable. And yes, 18 HP claimed. Pretty reasonably priced too. But I think I'll keep my eye on a 400, maybe just use the Roketa (that's what they sold me but no stickers and of course all the parts say Jonway) for work and back, short trips, etc. 400 is overkill for my daily duties if the gas mileage drops below 60.

[Maddog]

I agree 100% that if you are going to hit the highway you'll need to maintain 65-70 mph. I haven't seen a scoot under 250 cc that will do that comfortably.
I too searched for the minimum scoot to do the maximum duty. Ended up on a Honda Reflex 250. It will hold 65-70 mph all day long, but it's tapped out on power at those speeds. Still gets 65-70 miles per gallon at highway speed, that is what kept me away from the larger Burgman. Why ride a scoot that gets 50 mpg?

[kz1000st]

A word of advice. If you keep it at 60-62 mph it will live a good long life. Yes, the occasional 65 won't hurt it in short spurts. I can tell you from experience that eventually the engine will break in and feel strong and then the temptation sets in. "Oh, it can take doing 75 mph, no problem." Yes....problem.

The metallurgy isn't there to stand up to a flogging. That's why it cost under two grand while a similar sized Honda cost $5500. Respect the revs and you'll ride for years to come. Succumb to temptation and it will blow.

[Shadowfire]

I guess that would depend on what bike you're talking about. The YY250T is geared for fuel economy and top speed, not acceleration, and will (if the cooling system isn't borked because you left the shipping fluids in it or didn't bleed it properly) run at 65-70mph until you run out of gas. It doesn't even get to 6000rpm, so it isn't going to shorten the engine's lifespan.

[scooter]

Just an update. Changed oil again at 100 miles. Is was very dark. Haven't corrected headlight issue yet. I know what i'm going to do but haven't felt like pulling the fairing off again to do it. I have a whistling that sounds like a variator/clutch issue when idling. Will check it out. I had the warped rotor feeling on both brakes. Greasing caliper stays seemed to fix it for the most part. Pulled dipstick while it was idling and was amazed at the blowby. It parted my hair with oil droplets as mouse. After balancing the front wheel it's so smoothe at 60 mph (gps) that I could fall asleep. It wants to "settle in" around 65. The thing just cruises on the highway. Pretty impressed so far.