The Reflex has a 6 speed gearbox. When sprockets are changed to something like 11/44, top speed is very limited. You can be in 6th gear at 20 mph. (I wish there was a way to change this.) Is the TL the same?
The Reflex has a small thin steel skid plate (bash plate) in place of the larger Aluminium TL plate. The little levers on the brake drums are also steel on the Reflex instead of Aluminium.
A local rider did as you suggested and removed the baffels in the box on a US Reflex model. The odd part is that he did not notice a difference in sound or performance
I think the 80 I have ran that way from the factory. It has no reed valve and was tuned like a road racer. Peak power is pretty impressive for an 80 and may be more than my TLR200. This is the only one I have seen in the US so I can not compare it to another but have seen things written saying it was peaky. Is there another 50 in your area that you could compare it to? I hear that Bill Pye is the Fantic expert in the UK so maybe you should give him a call for some advice. What year is your 50?
Going up 10 or so main jet sizes helped a slightly. I spent a lot of time unsucessfully trying to "tune" the problem away before looking inside the motor. I even replaced the needle thinking it may be worn. A plugged exhaust pipe could have a similar effect. (Look at the volume of an MX pipe verses a road race pipe.) I cleaned mine with no affect. I also checked timing and looked for air leaks. I do have a copy of the original owners manual that shows detailed carb settings and other specs. It is from 1993 and covers the 50. I think it shows the peak power of the 50 about 1000 rpm higher than the 80. I could scan and send you a copy if you send me an e-mail address.
I put a lot of thought in to the mods I did but it was not a huge amount of work. If there is sufficient piston to cylinder clearance, cutting the bottom of the cylinder is a fairly straightforward task on the lathe. The mod can be reversed by using multiple base gaskets. While researching on the internet, I found that a lot of this type of work is done on scooters like Vespas and they have similar sized engines. See http://www.mbdevelopments.co.uk/lambretta/lt5.html
I'm not sure what a series 7 Fantic is but I recently had a similar experience with a Fantic 80 Clubman. It says 49.xx cc on the cases so I believe it uses the same bottom end as the 50. The bike started fine but did have an uneven idle. I found that the carb slide was worn and air was getting around the slide at idle. (The slide looked lumpy and the wear was obvious.)
The bike also had the high load bog issue. You never really felt it come "on the pipe" but it would really "fall off the pipe" like you describe. (This 80 is a full size bike.) Very rich main jets had some minor benefit but did not resolve the issue. Eventually I looked inside the motor and found the squish clearance (piston to head) to be around 0.080". There was also some significant misalignment of the transfer ports on one side of the case/ cylinder interface (up to 3/16").
To retard the port timing for more low end power, I machined 0.035" off of the bottom of the cylinder and used a slightly thinner base gasket. In addition to retarding the port timing, this bosted the compression and brought the squish clearance closer to where is should be. I then used a base gasket to match the cylinder and case tranfer ports with a die grinder. At the same time, I removed any gross defects/ bumps that I saw in all of the ports.
I have never done this type of mod before but the change was amazing. Peak power feels the same but the mid range and bottom end of the power curve have been filled in. The change feels like an improvement of 50% or more at some areas of the power curve. It will no longer "fall off the pipe". The last thing I did was to add a flywheel weight. It was a nice addition and made everything smoother and hard to stall. This was a rewarding project but now my daughter is not interested in riding.
Do Boyesen two stage reeds in a 2.9 require leaner jetting? I was running 36/118 with the needle next to the richest position. Recently, the bike has started fouling plugs occasionally and the plug is always black. It is now 35/118 with the needle in the leanest position and is still kind of black/ brown. The only change I can think of is the reeds. I tried a 114 main but it knocked (pinked) like crazy.
I installed Boysen Reeds in a '97 TXT270 with a very good result. It gave the bike very smooth yet strong power at low rpms. Prior to changing the reeds, the bike had a "hit" where there was a step in power. The step could make the bike difficult to control in tight turns and similar situations. I did not notice any other changes. I used the standard dual stage (power?) reeds. Recently I put a set in a 2.9 sherco with no affect. The original reeds looked just like the Boyseen ones. (I bought th bike used so they may have been changed.)
Has anyone experimented with cam timing on a TLR200 Reflex? Can advanced cam timing give more response? Are there any negatives? Since the Reflex was a street legal bike, does it have different cam timing from the English/ Japan trials version? It did come with some smog equipment.
I thought others may find this interesting. A friend has been using a 24mm carb on a TLR200 with very good success. Contrary to expectations, he says it increased bottom end power significantly. The source of the 24mm carb is unknown so I took some measurements and found that the stock 22mm carb is the same casting. The modification involves reworking the engine side by creating a counterbore centered in the o-ring. A taper similar to the original is cut to ease flow. Second, an end mill is dropped down in the throat to increase the height of the oval. Except for a slight difference in the taper, it appears to be an exact match to the 24mm one. I modified one per this procedure and his testing says it works very well. I am doing another for myself so I can test on my own bike. The mod also requires porting the intake manifold to match the larger carb. I have a couple of pics but unfoprtunately the quality is not great. (any suggestions on how to get good pics?) I tried to attach but do not see them as I am posting.
Does anyone know the flywheel puller size for a 1993 Fantic 50/ 80 (air cooled). It looks like a 23.5 x 1.25 but I can't really get a proper measurement. (could be 23mm or 24 mm)
I had issues like that twice on 50cc bikes. (MR50 & JR50) Both times it was the condensor. It seems like any condensor will work. On one I used a Sportser condensor...... on the other an old Ford condensor.
I'm in the process of installing bicycle components to operate the valve lifter on a Reflex with steel tank. Due to the tank, there is little clearance where the cable mounts to the cylinder head. Should I use the original 90 degree metal cable bend to go towards the back and then loop the cable forward? Should I use a straight cable end and try to go up and then forward with the cable? What have others done?
Thanks for the instruction copy. I wonder if it used gears from another Honda model? The quality of the instructions suggest to me that it was not a custom gear manufacturer. (although 20 years ago instructions were not so pretty) A wider range transmission would sure be nice.
The fork springs can be modified for a stiffer rating. There is a tightly wound spring section at the top and a more loosely wound section at the bottom (tight means more coils per inch). The tight section is about 3 or 4 inches long and can be cut off. Heat and bend the newly exposed end to make the spring semi-flat on top and reinstall with new spacers with 3/16" preload. This mod was recommended to me and I found that it made a big difference. The bike handled much better and the forks did not bottom on every tiny jump on the loop. (No....it did not coil bind.) I have also done a similar mod to a Reflex with good success. I did not cut the whole tight end off on the Reflex but it is still a bit to soft.
I have a '92 with upside down forks. Is there a way to drain the oil without pulling the forks? They appear to have no drain plug so I would have to pull them off and dump the oil.
On the Reflex version, I have been told that a spacer is required when going to a small front sprocket. I added a spacer about 1/8 to 3/16 thick when going to a 9 tooth front sprocket. My spacer is just a piece of aluminium tube.
Reflex Tlr What's The Difference?
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The Reflex has a 6 speed gearbox. When sprockets are changed to something like 11/44, top speed is very limited. You can be in 6th gear at 20 mph. (I wish there was a way to change this.) Is the TL the same?
The Reflex has a small thin steel skid plate (bash plate) in place of the larger Aluminium TL plate. The little levers on the brake drums are also steel on the Reflex instead of Aluminium.