Erik,

After looking at the website you provided, the engine is a GY6. They are actually very reliable engines and there is a good supply of aftermarket parts out there for them. The GY6 on our Redcat 150 has a good bit of power on the low end and is almost as quick on take-off as my new Suzuki Ozark 250. I changed the air box over to a UNI pod filter on ours and gutted the exhaust, and rejetted the carb. It is awesome on the low end now. The quad you are looking at LOOKS pretty stable, but looks can be deceiving. If you have the ability to see one of these in person before you buy, I would do it and check the welds out on it. Even though you have made up your mind already, I would try to make it work and buy from Raceway, it offers a lot of piece of mind after the sale knowing that John will always be there for you.

 

I was looking at the ATVs from motorextreme as well. They are located here in OKC so I went to check them out. All of the ATVs looked solid. This will be my first for my son. I liked the price compared to the others and was impressed with everything when I saw them this past Friday. I really liked the safety features they had with a good price. Also, I talked to kevin and he said there is no problem in getting parts if needed. Not getting parts for some of these seem to be a problem, but was comforted to know I will have something that can get fixed if needed. I will be getting one in a few weeks. The next I get will either be the Cyclone 150 or Tornado 200.

Also, go to www.ec21.com and search atv. This is an international market place. I did do some research on the Hi-Bird to see how long they have been in business and found it has been since 1997.

 

Just to add a little more food for thought, you also will want to consider the type of carb on the bike. The following it what I've learned in my recent experiences with the jetmoto 150 and the dingo. Many of the gy6 150s have a "cv" carb as opposed to a "slider" carb. "CV" stands for constant velocity or constant vacumn, IIRC. In any event, the basic way in which the throttle works is that when you move the throttle with your thumb, a butterfly valve on the other end of the cable opens in the front of the carb allowing more air into the intake and in turn, a sping pressured diaphram moves allowing more gas in (note a cv carb usually by a rounded flat steel (as opposed to aluminum like the rest of the carb) cover on the top of the carb - this is above the diaphram - also, the throttle cable usually attaches on the side of the carb - at least on these 150s). Also, the cv carbs on the 150s have an electric choke. There's nothing inherently wrong with a cv carb, in fact, the carb on my rancher is a cv carb. However, on these chinese 150s there are many complaints - mostly about getting it warmed up enough to drive it. Most people think that the problem is in the electric choke - they are generally wrong. From my reading and experience, the problem is in the jetting. You see, people will think their choke is not working when they crank the bike. When they try to give it gas, it stalls. However, the electric choke only works when you are not activating the accelerator. The electric choke works by allowing raw fuel into the carb until either enough heat is built up for it to close off or you press the accelerator, which bypass the circuit it fuels.

The slider carb is one which typically has the accelerator cable on top of the carb. When you activate the throttle, the slider rises allowing fuel and air in at the same time. A slider carb will typically have better throttle response. They say a cv is more fuel efficient. Most slider carbs will have a manual choke. These are typically true chokes, at least on the smaller bikes, in that they are usually a butterfly valve that cuts off air through the carb so that more raw fuel is sucked in (the carb is litterally choked). IIRC, though I havent looked at it in years my wife's timberwolf has a slider carb but the choke works by opening a valve that lets in raw fuel - this is essentially the same set up the cv carb on my rancher has.

I point all of this out to say that I've read many complaints on the chinese cv carbs. The jetmoto came with a slider with a manual choke. When it's cold, you choke it until it gets warm enough to ride. It doesnt take long. On the other hand, the dingo came with the chinese cv carb. It was extraordinarily frustrating to get the thing warm enough in cold weather so it wouldnt constantly stall (Im talking 10 to 15 minutes of idling before you could give it gas). There's some threads on this site that discuss getting this carb to work right, which generally required replacing or drilling one or more jets. Fortunately, I bought mine from raceway. They sent me a mikuni cv carb that was a direct bolt in replacement. It now runs perfectly. So, be aware of what type of carb is on the bike you buy.

Also, as you mentioned, raceway is more expesnsive but the service after the sale can be well worth it (e.g., the mikuni carb, among other things). Also, since youre buying two and you would be a repeat customer, I wouldn't hurt to ask if they would cut the price a bit - the worse thing they could say is no. But, if you buy elsewhere, at least you've weighed the risks.

Rodney

 

Hello we,my wife and I bought your twin boys the 150 cyclone for X-mas! Though Motorextreme,excellant unit for the price,shipping went great! Unit starts great even in subzero temps and is easy to ride the twins are 9 years old.The steering is really quick so caution is advised till you get some riding time! The engine is a GY6 easy to put together and great tech support at motorextremes& 1-877-557-9797 we dealt with Kannin great guys! Happy with unit, kids are still in awe.
David&Patricia
(505)687-2079

 

Rodney, thanks for all the carb advice. Now I know another question to ask when I call the dealers for more info!

David, glad to hear you had a good experience with Motorxtremes! I called last week and talked to Kannin, picked his brain alittle and got some info on the Hi-Bird. Since then, Ive done some more research and have come up with more questions, so Ill need to call and talk to him some more before we decide which ones to buy.

 

ErikTheRed,

Were you going to purchase the 150 from Motorxtremes? If so were they going to sell you a quad and ship it here to California? Also did they tell you that the quad can not be registered here in California? Do you ride on private property or do you ride on State or Federal Land? I don't know about you but I would not want a vehicle that can not be registered or be issued a pink slip or title. In addition to the title issue, I would not want to have to pay any fees associated with not having it registered properly here in California. I know that some people feel that getting caught, if you should, is not a big deal, but I feel that it is only right to be legal and I would not want to have to pay fees when it is only $25 for two years of registration. Who knows, the fees could be outrageous?

SB.

 

SB, Im not real sure where you're going with the sarchasm (if it was indeed sarchasm, like Im trying to avoid paying fees?) but, yes, the fellas at Motorxtremes DID in fact tell me right up front that the quad is NOT EPA approved for California. On the flip side, the dude I talked to at Anam Cycles (E-Bay seller of Komodo, same as Hi-Bird) said they ARE approved, which is false. That Anam fella also told me his quads are one-of-a-kind, not sold under any other name, and unique ONLY to Komodo-- which is also false. Lesson here, stay away from Anam Cycles, he seems to struggle with the truth.

Anyway, yes, the green-sticker issue is significant. While my daughter rides on private land (privately owned land, but not mine), we have decided to buy only ATVs that are EPA approved and registerable here in California just for those times we may want to take our quads camping on any California-owned land or out with other people to different places. The feller at Motorxtremes also told me that Hi-Bird is working on their EPA approval and should have it within 2/3 months. As of right now, we only have 1 quad. The new ones will be for my oldest daughter and my wife, and Im looking for a good used Japanese quad. I think we have decided on the Ranger 150 from ScootersFactory. It IS California green-sticker, the price is right, includes shipping. Not sure yet who makes it, I haven't talked to anyone there yet-- but I think its a Roketa.

 

ErikTheRed,

No sarcasm intended, I'm sorry if it read that way. I know you are trying to save as much as you can when purchasing your new ATV. I think you would have been quite upset if you purchased a quad that could end up costing you more than just the purchase price. Not only that it would suck to find out the quad is not legal to ride on any public land. If it was for private property use only then who really cares right? Here is the CARB site with every Manufacturer who is certified to date. CARB Executive Orders. Anyways good luck in your search for your new or used quad.

SB.

 

SB, thanks for the link-- although Im not sure how to look up a specific manufacturer or model. The bike Im looking at is a Roketa, sold through "ScootersFactory", and they call it a "Ranger 150". Heres a link...

http://www.scootersfactory.com/150cc...ity-p-359.html

I called today, they say that once I receive the bike Im supposed to call them and they will register it with DMV and send my paperwork, including the green sticker. Does this procedure sound right?

And why do I constantly spell "sarcasm" with an h? [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

That sounds right to me. A company that has a dealer license here in Ca. will do all the paper work and registration for you. Normally when a dealer does the paper work for you it is because they already have the vehicle registered to in their name. They do a title transfer and a few weeks later you receive your title, registration, and Green or Red sticker, which ever the quad qualifies for.

When you have a quad shipped to you, I am not sure if they have already done the DMV paperwork ahead of time. It sounds like you are going to have to contact them with the VIN off the quad you receive and they should be able to do the paperwork for you. For my Chinese quad, I picked it up along with the Certificate of Origin and carb sticker, had to take the Certificate, sticker and the quad to the local DMV, they did an inspection and gave me my registration and sticker the same day.

Good Luck.

SB.