X18 Super Pocket Bike EXPOSED!!
The x18 Exposed!!!
Welcome to this week’s tech talk at Venom Motor Sports!
In this edition of “Tim’s Tech Corner” we are going to chat about some of the tech features and common questions presented to me about the x18. Please take a minute to also watch the “youtube” video below on the x18 Exposed. The video will help with your understanding of how the x18 operates and common maintenance practises.
Ok, onto the x18!
Tim...How fast will this bike go!
I know, seems like a funny place to start off but it is the most common question I am asked about the x18.
The best word to describe the x18 is smoooooth! The CVT drive is amazing.
I am a six foot tall..too well fed Canadian and the x18 had no problem reaching 30 miles per hour with me driving it. Handles like a dream, so easy to ride!
Tim...What sort of safety gear do you recommend?
Safety gear is like life insurance....you can never have enough.
I always encourage our customers to buy the best safety gear possible. A DOT certified new helmet is a must. I say new as older helmets break down over time and will not provide as much protection for your face and head as a new helmet will. I good rule of thumb is to buy a new helmet every five years...minimum.
Next, get some excellent riding boots and gloves. These are seldom cheap but good foot support and protection is very important. Riding boots will protect your feet in case of accident.
In a perfect world you would also wear an excellent set of motorcycle jacket and pants.
Never drive your bike with any sense dulling drug in your system.
My goal is to ensure that you never have to experience “road rash”. You can check that out on “youtube”. Scary!
Always be very attentive and alert when you ride and be a defensive driver.
Tim...So what do I have to do before starting the bike?
First thing you will need to do is what is commonly referred to “pdi” post delivery inspection and then some assembly work. If your shipping container was damaged or if your notice and damage to your new bike, take pictures with your phone and send them to our support department right away. Support@venommotorsportscanada.com
Now that your ready to begin assembling your bike let us start at the front and work our way back.
Set your x18 on the kick stand. This will give you lots of room to work on the bike safely.
Your bike comes pretty much assembled. The both front and rear tires are already mounted. Just double check to ensure they are tight and that your brake calipers work properly. They should squeeze in on the brake disc when you squeeze the brake handle.
The handle bars will need to be adjusted to a comfortable position for you and then tightened to secure them. Whenever you are tightening up fasteners, tighten one side a little then move to the other side and tighten it up a little. This prevents you from distorting any of the fasteners. Keep working at the fasteners until everything is nice and tight.
You will also need to adjust and tighten the mirrors on both sides, again take your time and go slowly. You want to do the set up right the first time.
Safety is very important to us at Venom Motorsports Canada.
Our customers have the choice or receiving their bike fully assembled and road ready, or to do the “pdi” inspection and assembly themselves. Whenever we conduct a “pre delivery inspection” and assemble a bike we always check every fastener to ensure that everything is tight before releasing the bike to our customer.
During the manufacturing process the engine and drive train use torque specifications to ensure components are properly tightened. Frame related components use castellated nuts and cotter pins, hex lock nuts that have an nylon insert, nuts and lock washers to ensure that components are snug.
I always check every fastener on my bike as in any manufacturing process some of the fasteners may not have been tightened as snug as I would like them at the factory. So, I check ever fastener when preparing a bike for a customer and encourage customers to give the fasteners a check once a month. This is because fasteners will loosen up due to the vibration created by the bike when in operation. To me this is just part of normal maintenance of a bike, I have followed this policy for years. I also spend a minute each day to inspect my bike before taking it out on the road, just to be safe.
You will find that all of the threads are Metric on your bike. Whenever possible I recommend that you use a metric “hex nut with nylon insert”. They are my favorite fastener as the nylon insert holds the nut fast and they will not become lose over time. If you ever need additional fasteners for your bike but are not sure of the size, simply take the nut or bolt with you to a local hardware store to ensure you get the right size.
When you are satisfied that all of the fasteners on your bike are snug move to the battery checks. We only need the battery to start the bike, once the bike is started the alternator will produce enough power to keep the bike running and also charge the battery.
So, we need to ensure that all of the battery connections are tight. The battery box on the x18 is located in the large space beneath the seat close to the bottom of the bike.
The battery box is a black coloured plastic box that the battery sits into. You will be able to see the electrical connections at the box so its easy to find.
Work the battery into position from the front opening in the faring moving from the front of the bike to the back. You will see a black negative terminal and a red positive battery terminal. Check to ensure that both are tight. Also have a look at the fuse while you are looking at the battery. Should your fuse ever fail, it is really easy just go to your local hardware store and buy one. The fuses are very inexpensive and easy to change. Just pop the old one out of the fuse housing, and replace it with the new fuse. The use is really important, if the fuse does not work, no power will get to your bike. This means no horn, lights or starter. Simply replace the fuse with the same size fuse you took out of your bike.
Having completed your battery checks it never hurts to top off the battery. Charge if you have a charger handy. If not, no worries...the battery should still have a residual charge and enough power to get your bike started for the first run.
Once the bike is running the alternator makes all of the electrical power the bike needs.
So once the bike is running you can actually take the positive terminal off the bike and it will continue to run. If the bike stalled it would indicated that the alternator and or rectifier/voltage regulator system is not working properly.
You see, when the alternator is working well...it constantly supplies all of the electrical energy that your bike needs for ignition, lighting, horn and speedometer functions. The alternator also provides a trickle charge to the battery to keep it full at all times.
If you leave your bikes lights on...you will quickly use up the charge in the battery and end up with a “dead” battery that no longer has any charge left.
But Tim, I only left the lights on for a short time...maybe 3 or 4 hours. Yes, that is sometimes long enough to prevent your bike from starting. You have to keep in mind that the battery on bikes is very small and light weight by design. Typically the charge available from the battery will allow you to roll the bike over say 30 to 40 times before it dies out. As the charge in the battery drops off, all you will hear is a clicking sound from the starting relay at this point. No worries you can simply charge the battery or give the bike a boost...as you would boost your car to get it going.
Tim...Do I have to do anything on the fuel system?
This part is pretty easy! I always recommend using a high Octane fuel on our bikes. The x18 has a high compression ratio engine very close to 10:1. I would stick with the higher grades of fuel available say 91 or 93 octane level. If you are going to store the x18 for any length of time add some fuel stabilizer in the gas in your tank. Better yet, simply empty the tank and let the bike run out of gas.
Fill up your gas tank and check for any leaks. Leaks typically occur where the fuel line connects to a fitting using a press fit system. So the male fitting is ribbed and holds the fuel line in place by a friction fit and a compression clamp, typically a “C” ring. This is ok as the fuel system only experiences atmospheric pressure and can hold tight just fine using this sort of sealing system.
I always say it never hurts to just feel the fuel line with your fingers and ensure that it is not kinked or bent over. If the fuel line is kinked in any way that will reduce the amount of fuel going to the carburetor and the bike may not start. So make sure it is not kinked and that fuel flows freely into the fuel filter.
You will be able to see the fuel flowing into the fuel filter when you roll the bike over and try to start it.
By now you will have noticed a fuel line that comes off the carburetor but seems to go no where? No need to worry about that line. It is an overflow line that allows gas a safe place to flow should the float in the carb ever get stuck in the open position. If you ever do see gas leaking out of that line it is telling you that the carb float is stuck in the open position. Time to repair or replace the carb.
Your x18 is equipped with an “enricher” that acts like an automatic choke. So all you have to do is simply press the start button and your x18 will start right up.
If you notice that the engine rpm seem a little low you can increase the engine rpm by adjusting the idle screw. The idle screw is a spring loaded brass coloured screw on the carb. Turning it inward will increase the engine rpm, outward will slow the engine down.
If you increase the rpm too much....the bike will try to run away from you!
Tim...I have heard a lot of different recommendations for “breakin” the bike in. What do you recommend?
This is a bit of a touchy subject. Everyone seems to have a slightly different idea about how to break in a bike. I will share mine with you...and why I feel it is a good method.
To begin with I always suggest that during the break in period you avoid driving your bike like you stole it. Speed up and slow down often, do not hold a constant steady speed for over 10 minutes. Always focus on speeding up and slowing down. You need to do this as all of the mating mechanical parts need to wear into and fit into each other. This mating period will be assisted if you increase and decrease engine rpm. If you take care during the break in period your bikes engine will last much longer.
The first five hours of operation is the most critical in breaking in the bike well.
Most important!!! DO NOT RED LINE YOUR BIKE DURING THE BREAK IN PERIOD!!!
After five hours of operation change the oil with 800 ml of Synthetic four stroke motorcycle oil. The oil drain plug is the large chrome plug at the very bottom of the engine. Simply remove it and the oil will drain out. Ensure that you do this using the center stand to allow all of the oil to drain out, before topping off the oil.
Then ride the bike for another 10 hours of operation. During this second phase of break in you can ride the bike for longer periods of sustained constant rpm, but try to keep it in the 20 minute range. Do not go out for a 2 hour drive at 30 miles per hour with no change in speed or rpm.
After the second 10 hours of riding...once again change the oil, same procedure as above.
This will ensure that the bike is well broken in and after this third oil change your fine for the season.
The manufacturer recommends that you do the first oil change after 300 miles...and then change your oil every 1000 miles afterwards. The manufacturer also recommends that you use 15W 40 motor oil.
I would recommend changing the oil every 1000 miles as well. Use a good synthetic motor oil..15W40 or 10W40 would be fine. You can click on this link to check out motor oils. www.thebestoilforyourbike.ca
Tim...What air pressure should my tires have?
The tires on your bike require a tire pressure of 32 psig.
Always fill your tires COLD as they will heat up after being driven and the increase in temperature will produce and increase in pressure.
If your tires are overinflated the tire will wear excessively in the center. If the tire pressure is too low the sides of the tire will wear excessively. Tire pressure is critical for both tire wear and performance.
You want as much of your tire in touch with the road surface at all times to ensure the best possible control and comfort.
Tim...Is it important to check that all the nuts and bolts are tight?
Well....I like living, so I always check everything. Not to scare you but it is always a good idea to ensure that all of the fasteners on the bike are snug.
Typically everything is just fine but this develops the habit of really checking your bike over from time to time and getting to know it. When you are driving your bike its mechanical parts are going to vibrate. The vibration will cause some parts to become lose. So check your bike from time to time looking for loose fasteners and fittings. This is a normal part of bike maintenance and will help you get to know your bike better.
Always do a walk around inspection of your bike before your ride. Just take 2 minutes and walk around the bike looking for anything that looks loose or not right.
Ensure that the bike looks fine before starting it up.
Start your bike up and listen for any funny sounds or vibrations before taking off.
Safety first always!
If you have any tech questions about our vehicles, please feel free to email them to...
Support@venommotorsportscanada.com
Check out our blog next week as we take an in depth look at our new adult electric ATV, these are cool!
Till then, Enjoy the ride!
Tim
Technical Support Specialist
Venom Motorsports Canada
1-855-984-1612
