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Cleveland Cycle-Werks Homecoming


Tonyblaze

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Me and @ricer1 and my wife and maybe his wife are meeting at Bob Evans at 71 and Snow (not Bagley) at about noon Saturday. Weather permitting if anyone else wants to go.  I have seen the bikes these dudes make, they are really cool.  Looks like demo rides on them, so I am going to roll one.

I will post here again at the last minute to confirm we will be there.  This is weather permitting.

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Okay - I'm at a real keyboard now.  I hesitate to call these "ride reports," because I really just went around the block.  But I got a chance to wring the 250's neck a little, and play in some gravel on the 110cc FX.

Overall impressions are overwhelmingly positive.  For $3,000, they sell great-looking bikes that are fun to ride.  I took the "Ace" out.  Mine was having some kind of fueling issue.  It wanted to buck and stumble under neutral throttle.  I really think it was nearly out of gas...  But I wasn't going far, and it was running fine under throttle.  There's not a whole lot I can say about it that would be surprising to you after looking at it and reading the spec sheet.  It sounds like a 250.  It pulls like a LIGHT 250.   The whole bike is around 320 lbs (so says the mechanic, but that sounds believable for an air-cooled 250 cafe racer replica).  For around town, it would be a hoot.  From the guys who run the shop:  "it's not a hundred mile an hour bike - but it's fun."  Totally agree.   If someone is considering a vintage CB350, they should buy this instead.  It looks as good, and will perform better.  I told my wife that it goes for $3300, and she said, "new?  wow."  Would be a fantastic 'extra' bike that you can have in the garage for friends, wife, girlfriends.   You would definitely end up taking it out yourself more often than you lend it out, and you would love it.

 

The FX is their mountain bike with an engine.  It is so weird. and kind of awesome.   I rode the 110cc model that is clutchless, but has mountain-bike style hand brakes (NOT a clutch).  That was really hard for me to wrap my head around.  I also found myself reaching for a rear brake pedal that wasn't that.  But those are flaws with ME, not the bike.  It can't weigh more than 130 lbs.  I grabbed the subframe with one hand and put my other hand under the spine of the bike, behind the steering stem.  I could pick it up rather easily.

This is the exciting part.  Per the owner(?) I was talking to, they're making race parts for it, AND there will be a 125cc version with a clutch.  But wait, there's more.  Other chinese  made engines are direct bolt-in swaps.   You can do a 160cc conversion with no modification, and a 190 conversion with minimal mods.  The 190cc model has hit 90 mph in testing.  Combine that with the upgraded brake option and the 17" wheel kit ($200 for an extra SET of wheels!), and this thing could be a total kart track racing beast.

The base model sells for $2100.  I didn't ask about any of the upgraded engine or brake costs, but if the wheels are only $200, and they will buy back your 125cc engine, I'm guessing the whole package would come in under $3k for a really fun bike.   I would like to think it would be competitive against 150R's. The upper displacement limit for OMRL Formula 1 is 200cc air-cooled singles :D

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I forgot to mention, the FX is running inverted cartridge forks, and the rear shock is adjustable.  That's a lot of good news on an inexpensive bike.  I won't expect Ohlins quality, but it doesn't feel "cheap" in the least. 

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I road the black Ace.  It ran like shit at idle, stalled 6 times on my test ride.  Gary road the orange Ace, it ran like shit at idle. Other than that, I agree with Chris's assessment of the Ace. I was surprised how well it road even on bumpy roads.  Really nice suspension, and very little buzz even at 6 grand.

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