Four Months

I didn't ride my bike as much in the last month as I needed to take my truck to work a few days and of course we have had lots of rain lately.

Nothing new to report about the bike except I opened the two holes I drilled in the exhaust to larger holes and it made the bike a little louder but it really seemed to help the bike breathe better.

I now have about 3800km (about 2360 miles) on the bike and it seems to get stronger and smoother with each mile.

The bike stays outside all the time and the red on the seat is fading.

Three Months

It has been three months since I purchased my American Lifan GY-5 and no issues has arisen.

I have ridden it to work every day (except for three days that I took my S-10 pickup) and it has averaged 75+ miles per gallon. I always convert the kms to miles.

The bike now has over 3000kms or about 1900 miles. I have decided to change the oil every 1500kms instead of the 2000kms I originally thought about, 1500kms or there abouts keep the miles around 1000 miles per oil change. The oil does double duty (engine oil and transmission oil) and the bike holds just over a quart and I feel 1000 mile oil changes are prudent.

Exhaust mod.

While I like a quiet bike, I thought the exhaust was a little restrictive on my bike. Maybe it was my imagination but I thought I could tell the header pipe was not flowing as well as it should.





















With the muffler only having a 11/16" outlet, I decided to drill some holes to open it up. I selected a 7/32" bit and drilled one hole. I figured the small hole could easily be welded closed if I didn't like the effect.


After drilling one hole (I left the bike running to hear the noise difference) and listening to only a slight increase in the noise level even at higher rpm's, I drilled a second hole. Now the exhaust only has a slight noise increase and I stopped the drilling. If I were to do it again, I think I would put one larger hole instead of the two.


The engine appears to breathe a little better but it may just be wishful thinking. I can no longer hear the bottleneck in the header pipe and the bike seems to perform better above 5,000 rpm's.

Shifting gears

For quality shifting make sure the engine has enough oil (remember engine oil is also the transmission oil) and the clutch is properly adjusted (I like about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch of free play at the outer end of the clutch handle).

Most of shifting problems occur when downshifting. When up-shifting we use the transmission as it was designed. Pull clutch, shift gear, release clutch . Our hand is off the clutch and our foot releases contact with the shifter and the gears mesh.

When down-shifting we get lazy and pull the clutch and try to downshift several gears and sometimes the transmission just doesn't feel right and even tries to hang in gear.

When down-shifting, pull clutch, "burp" the throttle quickly to raise the rpm's as you down-shift one gear, make sure your foot is then not holding any pressure on the shifter after the shift and release the clutch just enough to feel the motor pull against the transmission. Then repeat as you down-shift another gear.

If you have to stop and need to shift down several gears while standing still just release the clutch enough to mesh the gears but not stall the engine.

The tolerances are very tight on these little bikes and the slightest pressure can keep parts from preforming as they should.

Day Trip

The only riding I have done is commuting to work. Today a have an errand to run that required a small "road trip", so naturally I took the bike.

With a fresh oil change (1500km), I gassed it up 1586km, it held 2.075 gal. for 152.23miles (245km)= 73.36mpg.

My day-trip would cover 166.52 miles(268km). I took small paved state highways and cruised about 45-50mph and had an absolute blast. The bike performed flawlessly and my butt held out pretty well. I rode 130km before I took a break.

I ran my errand, had lunch and stopped twice to visit with friends. I took all day to accomplish the trip but could not have had a more enjoyable day roaming the back roads of Arkansas.

I gassed up a little early on the tank because I wasn't sure of the next station. It held 1.617gal for 126.13 miles for an average of 78mpg.

Rubbermaid trunk

I always try to give credit where credit is due. Katoranger from ChinaRiders was the first person that I saw using the Rubbermaid ActionPacker for a trunk.

I really like the utilitarian look as I think a sculptured motorcycle trunk looks out of place on a enduro bike.

This is my version of the Wal-Mart trunk.

I mounted it just behind the upright bar on the luggage rack.

I considered cutting off the upright so I could move the ActionPacker foward to sit on the luggage rack instead of hanging off the back. Two problems with that would be,

1. the Action Packer might have to be removed to get the seat off the bike.

2. I think the ActionPacker would be too far forward and I would hit it with my foot when I throw my leg over the bike.

I used U-bolts to mount the trunk but I need to mount a plate under it as about half of it is not supported by the rack.

Winter protection

I know it is 90+ degrees but winter will be here before we know it and we get a little rain that can be problematic as well.


My last bike was a GoldWing that offered great rain protection and after getting caught in a rain storm on my GY-5, I started looking into rain suits. My last rain suit was a one piece that lasted over 15 years but I think I want a 2-piece suit this time.


















I took this picture of a scooter in Paris last year and I think something like this will someday be imported to the USA as gas priced increase. This could truly be a daily driver in all weather.














This type of protection could be added. The cover is fastened to the fairing and it straps around your waist and drapes over you legs, yet lets you put your feet down when needed. Fastening it across the bike keeps your seat dry while you are not riding it.


With no fairing on the GY-5 something like this would not work but it does get the gears rolling in my head about how to best accomplish a reasonable about of winter protection for my ride to work.


I know coveralls, rainsuit, and waterproof boots will work but I am exploring other possibilities.