80sDweeb said:
A 25cc increase doesn't sound like much, but it's a 20% increase in displacement, over and above the lost power from many miles on a little Chinese clone engine. I imagine you'll love the improvement, and 150cc is a great size for a city commuter, especially when you're on a budget (you won't spend all your money on fuel = more money for other upgrades!)
I like the look so far, and think lowering the front a little, and adding a fender, will improve the look even more.
The smaller wheels with big tires look great, too, makes the bike look less like it will break at the first pothole (hole in the road.)
That seat upholstery job looks great, was that expensive?
Scott in Penfield NY
Hi there Scott, thanks for interesting in my build! Greetings from Venezuela!
It really does not sound like much, but comparing my actual engine performance vs the CG150 equipped bikes, it's substantial the amount of extra response those little bike have over mine.
I mainly do city commuting, sometimes through the speedway, sometimes through avenues and Streets. Either way, due to the topography of Caracas, you'll always have to go up some steep hills, and in those situations, the bikes I'm talking about, have just an extra bit of response that is what I'm lacking. I too blame those thousands of miles the engine already has in it, and I'm tired of not being able to upshift one more. That's the reason behind the upgrade, also the fact that this mod is practically bolt on and won't compromise the engine structurally makes it so no brainer.
Lowering the front and fabricating a front fender are two jobs I'll be tackling soon, those are key for the entire look of the bike.
About the upholstery job, it was really economic, even for me (by this I mean that it seemed a right quote for the price). If I had to say an amount in dollars, it would be so insignificant that it would be funny for you guys.
Making numbers, I'll say the seat job was about 10$ (told ya hahaha), but this numbers come from the fact that currently venezuela's currency has almost no value against the us dollar, but that's not the subject of interest here, I came to share my experience in building bikes, not complaining about economics, and life problems.
I'll look for the pics of the seat, after taking it from the upholstery so you can have a detail look on it. I erased all the pics from the phone for after backup and cleaning, just have to get them from Dropbox.
Sadly this week is going to be a "no-progress" week, I have midterms coming next week so I'll have to study instead of building, but somehow I'll manage to make something on the bike, as little as it may be even if it means only turning a tiny screw.
Cheers guys, see you soon
DH900sl