I had a bad spark plug on mine, so if it runs.. No need to change.. But always good to have a spare sitting around...

 

Thanks for the info guys!

I went ahead and got 9 quarts of Valvoline 20W50 ATV/Motorcycle Oil today as well as 6 NGK D8EA Spark plugs (A $1.88 spark plug isn't going to ruin my day on the trails)

I spoke with John today and he was excellent. He is looking up the K&N Air filter part number and might post it to the thread. This is something else that probably isn't needed, but it's reusable and probably cheap, so what the heck. If anyone knows the correct part number, I'm trying to order it if I can't find it locally. The Jetmoto 250s are back ordered 1-2 weeks right now (apparently recoil from the hype it's been getting), so I have some time to get the air filter.

I'm going to try to find an annodized alluminum inline filter that will fit to dress it up. I'm going to replace the fuel hose only if it's a problem (and only because I saw someone recommend it here.) I plan to wrap the wiring and hoses in wire covers as is popular cars these days.

We are going with the 14 tooth and I'm sure that is what Dad and I will want, but my brother is a whiner, so who knows if it will be enough. He will probably break it in a few days anyway. I'm much less of a "rough rider."

The oil filter is a metal reusable filter. Just degrease it and rinse then splash with alchohol and dry.

It's been said over and over that you need to let it idle for 30 minutes (blipping the throttle lightly just to keep it running) so the gelpack that is protecting the float in the carb doesn't clog any jets. If this isn't correct, someone with experience please step in and say so. I plan on having this Quad in perfect condition for my unborn children to ride... =)

As far as the 10 mph thing, I was thinking from a nitro racing (single speed trannys only) perspective. It didn't occur to me that there are multible gears. Still, I think I'm going to keep it in 2nd gear and come on and off to make sure that the seal with the piston and sleave (does this even have a sleave?) is great. Compression is important. Again, I might be going off the deep end, but my brother is sure to pop a wheelie while the gel is still melting, so I will report any problems his impatience causes.

Did you say you used regular (automobile) valvoline 10W40 or the synthetic motorcycle oil? Why did you use 10W40 and then 20W50? It's 80F here already and will only get hotter from here. I got 9 quarts of the 20W50. Think that will be cool? Your the 2nd person I've seen say 10W40, then 20W50, and I wasn't sure if there was a reason.

The jets should hopefully get here before the ATVs because the lady at raceway said they would ship priority mail. Even if they ship them with the quads, I should get it sooner.

As far as assembly goes, is there anything to watch out for? tips and tricks? How long should I expect to get one out of the box and putting around (given a 30 minute idle time if needed?)

Thanks again!
-JNY

 

Dont worry about the gel pac. Most quads now dont have the gel pac because it causes more problems than not. Just break it in like normal.

 

We have had our 150's and 250's out riding (in pretty rough terrain) around 6 times over the last two months. This is a list of things I have had to fix and or are showing premature signs of wear so far. As I have stated before these are not Honda quality and I have four Jetmotos that were delivered on the same day to maintain. I am still happy with the new quads and for a 1/4 of the price of a big 4 I expected that there would always be something to fix.

So here is the list of things I have had to fix to date, some where on the 150 and some on the 250 and others on both as noted. I may also add to this list as time goes by!

1. No vent hole in gas cap (150) (Drilled hole)

2. Transmission popping out of Drive (150) (I am trying different springs to fix and not sure as of yet if problem is solved)

3. Front wheel out of round on back side causing a wobble and will not hold air (150) (Waiting for replacement)

4. Solenoid sticking ON (150) (Raceway sent me a replacement and also a second back up replacement)

5. Carb needed needle adjusted (150) (Adjusted)

6. Jetmoto Decals coming off (150 & 250)

7. Inner tie rod end mounting bolts on steering coming lose causing sloppy steering (needed an additional washer to lower the Castle Nut down to meet Cotter pin hole better (150 & 250) (Added washers and retightened)

8. Front end alignment (150 & 250) (They were all out and needed to be adjusted toe in slightly to make up for sloppy front end assembly)

9. 17 and 15 tooth front sprocket too high (250) (Raceway sent me new 15 and 14 tooth sprockets free of charge to get my preferred gearing)

10. Camber nut lose (250) (Tightened)

11. Tail light lens screws lose (150 & 250) (Tightened)

12. Tail light bulb went bad (150 & 250) (replaced)

13. Battery rubber hold down strap cracking (150 & 250) (also no tie down for the tool bag)

14. Rubber boots on front end ball joints are ripping open and going bad. (150 & 250) (not sure why and not sure what to do)

15. Rejet Carb (250) (Raceways sent out new Jets free of charge)

16. Front Hydraulic brake needed bleeding (250) (Bled)

17. Had to cut steering stop to increase steering radius (150) (cut way 1/4" from stop on both sides)

18. Rattle in the Mufflers (150) (not sure what to do yet)

19. Gas tank rear mounting bolt Rubber Spacer broke apart (250) (replaced with better spacer)


Items I think need to be built better by Jetmoto or just my own personal opinion.

1. Front end steering and suspension is sloppy compared to big 4 build quality

2. Better quality Decals

3. Better quality Rubber parts (hoses, spacers, straps, boots and such)

4. Paint on engine is already wearing off where foot rubs, Better quality paint?

5. Widen rear axle on 150 to match front tire width.

6. Hole shot knobby tires on the 150

7. Better quality on off controls on the 250 Sport (why not use the same as the 150)

8. Larger capacity fuel tank with a reserve

9. I hate the 250 Sport front bumper reminds me of a cattle crossing grade or a steam train front end; I would rather have the 150's but without the chrome.

10. Larger plastic, the 07 plastic seems almost like a bikini.

11. Upgrade the 150 Muffler to be the same as the 250

So far Raceway and Jetmoto has been great to work with and my reason for posting this is not to make these new quads look bad and problem machines but to give Jetmoto an Idea of what the real world is seeing with these quads in hopes upgrades can be made. Like I stated I may add to this list as time goes by!

outofline

 

outofline, your breaking my heart!


> 1. Front end steering and suspension is sloppy compared to big 4 build quality

Not only discouraging, but dangerous. A good technical diagram with a parts explosion would be ideal. The manual should be in propper english, if it is not.

> 2. Better quality Decals

I could care less, but I certainly understand why one would like to keep it looking new.

> 3. Better quality Rubber parts (hoses, spacers, straps, boots and such)

hoses and straps are cheap and easy to replace with high quality components, as I will probably do right away. What boot are you talking about being cracked? It's RWD, so what boot is there on the front? Sorry, I don't have mine yet so I can't look. haha

> 4. Paint on engine is already wearing off where foot rubs, Better quality paint?

Not so bad, but if $10 added to the price would get better paint, I am confident that most people interested in buying one would like to know that a .5% increase in price means they won't be removing rust and repainting it anytime soon.

> 7. Better quality on off controls on the 250 Sport (why not use the same as the 150)

Kinda dumb for them not to do, however it would be an easy change. I don't mind modding, but at what point does it just became better to have paid $3,800 for a 07 honda 250ex?

> 8. Larger capacity fuel tank with a reserve

Doesn't bug me, although I don't know what kind of runtimes you get on a tank. A reserve is just a no brainer...

> 9. I hate the 250 Sport front bumper reminds me of a cattle crossing grade or a steam train front end; I would rather have the 150's but without the chrome.

I like it =)

> 10. Larger plastic, the 07 plastic seems almost like a bikini.

My brother said virtually the same thing, but I like it. It's certainly different, but I don't know how effective it is at stopping anything whatsoever from hitting you. I dig it the way it is, at least from the pictures.

> So far Raceway and Jetmoto has been great to work with and my reason for posting this is not to make these new quads look bad and problem machines but to give Jetmoto an Idea of what the real world is seeing with these quads in hopes upgrades can be made. Like I stated I may add to this list as time goes by!

Right on. I'm impressed with raceway's ability to answer almost all of my questions very quickly. The only one they were not sure of was what K&N filter will fit it, but the lady I spoke with said that John would share the part numbers with us here when he is certain.

I understood that this was going to require a little bit of elbow grease to keep tip-top, as I expect any reasonable person looking at a quad almost 1/2 the cost of it's competition. Not to mention the features on this quad aren't even found on the competition (look up an 07 honda ATV. check out the shocks, etc)

I don't have a problem double checking the nuts, bolts, and using loctite on anything that moves (and shouldn't), but if the thing needs better rubber, there just isn't anything I can do about that. hose and straps are one thing. I'm not bothered by modification and replacement on a few dollars worth of fuel tubing, but the boots (whatever/whereever they are) bother me. I hope I do not have the same problem, but I think I'll be hunting some rubber treatment while mine is on order.

Mind you! I'm just responding to outofline's coments, and not talking about my experience with the quad, as I do not yet have it. Perhaps this new shipment will be different, however unlikely that is.

I'm glad to know I won't have a gelpack to deal with. I guess we just have to slap the tires on and roll?

If I'm pleased with the quad's quality over-all, I plan to do many upgrades in short order. Some different tires (perhaps swamp type tires) on alluminium rims and most likely spacers on the front, and perhaps the rear. The aluminium handlebars will be great as well. But the best that I can tell is that that is all I can do other than paint (which will probably be on the adgenda as I know a good paint guy who works for peanuts. =)

I would like to see some aftermarket or upgrade parts. There should be replacement parts for all non-standard items (like the boots) that are made with very high quality materials. If you know anything about RC racing, Losi actually makes 3 different materials for every part they sell. They make a cheap plasic part for thier stock ready-to-run kits (which is not very ridged and does not break easily, but can bend permanently.) Thier replacement parts are made with a higher quality, more ridged plastic which will last much longer without warping, but can break where the original wouldn't. Then they make graphite composites that are extremely ridged and can take a serious hit without breaking, but still won't warp permanently. If you want to keep the price point, which is definately attractive, you should have a company which also makes high quality replacement parts. Even if the parts are 20% more than they would be, customer satisfaction would be great. It would be awsome if you could afford to make a honda for 1/2 the price, but in reality, the labor differences could not possibly cover the gap when you get into high-end technical designers. That is why these engines are loosly based on existing technology (aka cloned.)

I really need to go to bed. I'm ranting. Have a good one, and here is to trying to dream about riding my quad in 2 weeks instead of 3.

-JNY

 

The front end may be a bit sloppy compared to the big 4 but you do not notice it while riding at least I don't. I have sat in front of Polaris's and Honda's and pushed outwards on the front of the Front tires and there is no sloppiness or movement, but with the Jetmotos there is movement and I am pretty sure you would find the same with all other Chinese quads. It is all a matter of the quality of parts and engineering that the big 4 has worked out over the years and the Chinese will need to work on. But again I would not doubt the Chinese could build such quality but the price would have to go up also I'm sure. So again for the price it's to be expected.
The Rubber boots I am referring to are the ones that go around the tie rod ends and ball joints to keep the dirt out and grease in.
I have not had the problem that you hear most other Chinese quad owners about every bolt coming loose every ride and the need to loctite ever last thing down. Most all my bolts from the factory were tight and have stayed tight up to now and I have not used any loctite.

Again I am happy with the Jetmotos for what they are and the price I paid! These are just items I have had to deal with to date!

I hope to get out Friday with my dad on his Honda 300 to see how it will compare and Sat. with all our kids so expect another video coming soon! Got to buy another DV tape![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

Right on. I'm hoping to see if some shims will help out here or there to tighten everything up a little bit. The problem is, when you get the suspension and steering totally tight and ridged (ie, no play) you run the risk of breaking stuff should something bad happen. Most High-end RC cars come with a small amount of play that an expert driver can choose to shim for better handling. I guess you helped my fears a little about the bolts. I figure I'll just check the bolts I can see, break in the engine and run it a while on some bumpy trails and then see if anything comes loose. If i decide to paint the whole frame and motor, I might go ahead and strip it and loctite everything. They make a machine that will apply loctite to bolts for use in assembly plants. I imagine that it would be worth the cost in the long run if you count parts that break because of loose bolts.

I'm still not sure what boot your talking about, but I'll have mine soon enough. =)

Here is to hoping!
-JNY

 

I'll chime in here again. I'm pretty happy with the 250 Sport. My son loves it. No lose bolts here either. My son could care less about the stickers coming off.

Problems I have had, The holes in the rear sprocket are too large for the bolts. The sprocket will piviot some. The bolt circle is correct, but the holes are simply too big. Causes a little driveline slop. Might redrill, and retap the hub to allow larger bolts to be used.

The rear of the gas tank leaked, John sent a new tank.

The friction material on the outer pad on the rear bake simply disappeared, made an awful noise. New pads coming, thanks again John.

Water leaks into the headlights. I plan on sealing them with some silicone. No biggie.

One that has shown up lately is the exhaust valve clearance adjuster has had to be "re-adjusted" 4 times now. The engine began ticking, and I found the clearance was WAY too much. I have since cleaned the rocker arm, the adjusting stud, and the lock nut with carb cleaner and locktited it twice. Hopefully it will remain set. Problem is there is no more thread above the adjusting nut, and there is at least 1/8" above it on the intake valve. There appears to be no damage and the engine runs fine. The valve spring looks to be the same height as the intake's, and the pushrod is not bent, and there is no damage to either the valve stem or the adjustment stud.

There is some slop in one of the lower ball joints, it was that way from the get go.

Again, I am happy with the 250, and I know Raceway will stand behind it. The times I have called John he has been right on any problem. I received my jet kit today, and will put them in tomorrow. I have let the ball joint issue go for now cause it's a blast to ride, and I feel like I'm going to "wear out my welcome" calling John about stuff.

 

I just checked my 250's and I found the same thing, The bolts do not appear to have backed out or lose but you can rotate the rear sprocket a bit and feel the sloppiness of the holes. This does concern me cus If the bolts do back out it could get ugly. I will have to watch it closely but Jetmoto does need to fix this on future models. Looks to be a pain to have to fix this!?

 

No big deal to fix. I removed the hub/sprocket assembly, and took them apart. I drilled out the holes in the sprocket to 3/8". I redrilled the hub with a 5/16" drill bit, and retapped the hub to 3/8-16 threads. I then reassembled them, and tightened the bolts down. I then put lock nuts on the bolt's threads sticking out of the hub. Problem fixed.

Only problem I had was the bolt heads would rub the swingarm/bearing area slightly. I ended up just grinding the bolt heads down some. At least now I could get a thin wrench onto the bolt heads IF I need to retighten them, as opposed to the button heads JetMoto used. I really don't think I will ever have to though.