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Messages - VeroLikey

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LIKE 200i / Re: Changed Headlight
« on: June 26, 2022, 05:30:41 PM »

What method is used to deal with the extra heat this bulb produces?

Thanks
Stig

I have the same concern, but keep 2 things to keep in mind. 1) Halogen bulbs are hot as Hades, and we don't give that much concern. 2) I'm pretty sure the amperage draw for the LED is less and therefore heat is lower. Here's an Article which says similar things.

Short answer, LEDs are cool.

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LIKE 200i / Pix of Light
« on: June 26, 2022, 03:10:17 AM »
So here are the 2 light pattern pictures. I measured the distance of the dim light and it lights the road out to 80 yards. The high beam lights the road out to 230 yards. So at 40 mph (60 feet per second) that gives me roughly 4 seconds of road in low beam, and 12 seconds while the high beam is on.












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LIKE 200i / Changed Headlight
« on: June 25, 2022, 07:25:42 PM »
So, I wasn't impressed with the stock halogen bulb on the Like 200i so I took a chance, going on a post I read somewhere, to use an H4 LED bulb.

The minus column points for the old bulb were:  •50% due to I feeling like I was out running the light all the time even at reasonable 30mph speeds, it seemed like I had to constantly be on guard to make a split second move to avoid anything that may suddenly appear. •30% felt like the standard light bulb color sort of "Blends In" too much, it might go un-noticed at a bad time by other drivers, a crisper white light seemed to be more visible to other drivers. •20% I wanted a very bright lamp on high beam setting that will really stand out, the stock bulb just wasn't really bright when on High.

My main fears when ordering was the High/Low beam patterns would be crap, or the lamp shape/interface would not match the stock socket.

Installation day. I read that I needed to take everything apart in the gauge/front headlight assembly, so I removed the mirrors and turn signal stalks. Once I got the 4 screws removed and putty knife pried (with a masking tape protection cover)  the 3 top clips to gain access, I realized I did not need at all to remove the mirrors or the stalks...dang, them mirrors are a pain. I was able to just carefully pull back on the gage cluster and access the bulb. The old one popped right out, but I had to loosen a little screw that holds the spring clip in place to rotate a small tab out of the way to allow the new bulb to go in. The new bulb fit right in place after that screw was loosened and I tightened it back up using a Phillips head drill bit in the box end of a 1/4 combo wrench since there was very little room to use a screw driver.  So, it was a relative drop in item as the 3 tabs matched perfectly, they were just a tad thicker being made of plastic instead of a thin gauge metal.

Plugged right in and lit up in high and low beam. So I put everything back together.

WOW. Much brighter, and the beam pattern while not perfect, lays out a very nice well lit large patch of road in front of me without being annoyingly bright to other drivers. High beam is just phenomenal, it really throws out a lot of light. The lamp color is sparkling bright white without being blue, so the color is perfect in my book. And if I should need to get someone's attention, the high beam would scream "Here I Am!!" I don't think even going 100 MPH that I would over run the high beam, it lights the road out to 100 yard and surroundings out to at least 200 yards.

I did use a phillips screw driver to adjust the angle of the beam till it seemed just right in the low beam setting, lighting up enough road in front of me to see well and not feel like I'm over running, The screw access hole is up under the head light, it takes some trial and error to get the screw driver angle right to engage the height adjustment screw. Once the low beam was good, the high seemed perfect too.

Overall, I'm super pleased. I'll try and get a photo of the low beam pattern, ironically, it's like a Bat signal being projected on the ground...but instead of a bat, it's a dead ringer for a Star Wars storm trooper!! I ride around with Vader's Theme ear worm echoing around in my head. Attached screenshot is the exact one I got from Amazon.

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LIKE 200i / Re: My LIKE200iLX hasn't started in a month
« on: April 18, 2022, 02:25:49 PM »
I just got back after 2 months, key, click kill switch, moosh start....instant prrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

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LIKE 200i / Glamour Shots with Palm Trees
« on: February 24, 2022, 04:24:46 AM »
Sunny 81°F day here in Vero. Here's the 200i down at the beach.

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LIKE 200i / Re: New Here from Sunny Florida
« on: February 12, 2022, 10:12:42 PM »
More Pix. Oh, and I got my motorcycle endorsement last week so now I'm all legal with proper registration and insurance too.

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LIKE 200i / Re: New Here from Sunny Florida
« on: February 12, 2022, 10:06:37 PM »
Update Time!!

I added a sploch of paint to the top part of the headlight to reduce the "In Your Face" glare, could have extended it further for optimum effect, but it's much better.

Same silver grill paint (heat resistant) was used to spray on the heat shield, looking much better, not a perfect match, but anyone looking at it would never know the diff.

NEW SKINS!!! At the advice of you all and a good friend that was a crew chief for LMP3 class racing car I ditched the old tires and got the City Grip 2's. Balanced them myself, was surprised that I needed seven 1/4oz weights on the back and six on the front. I suppose I could have rebroken the bead and rotated the tire on the rim to try and find a better pre-weight balance, but I just peeled the sticky tape a few more times instead. Rides very smooth now. The handling is just great now too, it feels much more responsive to swerve about at speed. The old tires felt as though they didn't want to turn as expected, like a car with a lot of understeer, you really had to push it to move and even then it felt somehow out of balance like it was wanting to zig while I was still zagging. Now it feels like it's on rails that I decide where to go, so much more natural, push into the turn and follow with appropriate weight balance. Somewhere along the way I saw a guy that was racing on a scooter...I was like, yeah right, the way mine handled before that would be a scary prospect and not a bit fun trying to get the scoot to respond to what I wanted. Now, with the City Grippers, I'm like, "Where do I sign up for that?!?!!?"

On a side note, getting the tires on and off the rim is a freaking chore. I followed tips on rear wheel R & R from Stig, used a shot of paracoard to hold muffler in place to remove it then tied the same way to reinstall. Worked like a champ, would not have thought to do that were it not for your guide.  Only removed the one screw holding on the mud shield and smooshed it up out of the way, the wheel cleared. Had to deflate the rear for it to get past the back part of engine just above the oil dipstick. Otherwise no issues, the scooter having started out in Austin Texas then here in Florida, it's in amazing condition, zero corrosion.

Got the color matching helmet from Amazon, really like the color, fit, and quick release buckle. It has a flip down visor that still seems to let a bunch of wind smack me in the eye. Might look to getting a pair of goggles fitted with prescription poly carb lenses for riding and dusty work in the shop and such.

Still thinking about the H4 headlight option. My concern is if it will behave right in low beam having a crisp line to not glare at oncoming drivers and when going from low to high beam perform as expected too.

Would also like to replace the rear view mirrors with something wider. I bought a different set and tried them out but they were still too narrow, I need them to be about 2 inches longer sticking out above the hand grips more so I can see past my arms. As of now, I see 2/3rds of me and 1/3rd what's behind me, I'd like to invert that ratio. The one's on there now are kinda beat too and when I replaced them temporarily I noticed they're mismatched as well.

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LIKE 200i / Re: New Here from Sunny Florida
« on: January 09, 2022, 09:06:58 PM »
Hello Vero,
Welcome to the forum!

Ask questions - we've got answers - or at least something which could pass as plausible :)

Stig

Thanks Stig!
Forgotta ask, what lightbulbs did you settle on for everything? I don't think lighting the top box is for me, but interested in lamps in this order, Headlight, Front White Markers, Rear Brake/Running lamps, & Turn Signals.

Go straight to a Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) Basic Rider Course (BRC) immediately!

Thanks Crossbolt
I'm on it, I'm outta town till the 20th, but will get legal within days of returning up at Palm Bay Harley.

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LIKE 200i / Re: New Here from Sunny Florida
« on: January 09, 2022, 06:10:15 PM »
welcome, VeroLikey! Looks you found a nice, low mileage scoot. What's your riding background? An old veteran of many bikes over the years or new to the world of 2 wheels?

I had a Honda Nighthawk 650 (4valve one) when I lived in Charleston SC back in 84-85. Was riding scared all the time, didn't see the risk reward thing panning out so I sold it. I've been wanting a scooter here in Vero Beach to be out in the open air for the last couple months. Was thinking of a 50cc but the more I thought about it the less appealing going a lot slower than the rest of the traffic seemed. I got very comfortable with counter steer on the Nighthawk and how to handle that bike. I still drive paranoid as heck all the time and try to maintain space whenever I can. So God willing, my wee self will return from each journey unscathed.

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LIKE 200i / New Here from Sunny Florida
« on: January 09, 2022, 01:32:06 PM »
Hey All. Just got a 2014 200i. Got it because it was well reviewed and was up for sale on CL locally for a good deal. Has 2,800 miles. I've ridden it for 2 days and have some definite impressions.

Filled it with gas, found out that you need to leave room at the top, that issue's a lesson learned.

Maintenance by previous owner was done per schedule, but I'm going to change with a good synthetic oil soon.

Front tire is out of balance to the point it really shakes the bike. I gorilla taped an ounce of weight (6 quarters) to the front wheel opposite the stem and it seems to have smoothed it out, will get tape weights tomorrow. I'm going to see how that goes long term but will likely change the front Kenda tire soon.

I've been reading up a lot about the top speed and may ruffle some feathers here, but this is my take on it. This scooters drive train is geared to limit you to 60mph or so. Rider weight is often discussed as a limiting factor (I'm a bigger boned type at 6'2" 260lb) but knowing what I do about aerodynamics, it's is not much of one at all, other than having a generally larger surface area. Here's my reasoning on the gears, this scooter accelerates from 20-45mph very strongly then just sort of creeps up on 55mph. All that oooph up to 45 doesn't disappear at 47, I get the whole cube root function with power vs speed, but this curve I'm sensing is way outside that. 2nd reason, and this one is big, here in Vero Beach we have these 2 really nice bridges going to the beach side of town over the Indian River, with my fat self on this scooter it leaps up to 45mph going uphill over the bridges. I was fully expecting the scoot to bog to 30mph and therefore paint a huge "Hit Me" target on my back due to not keeping up with traffic flow. Nope. So that said, really not sure I'd want to go faster on this because even 60mph is really pushing it for something as light as these scooters are. But I'd bet real money the true top speed with better gearing would be closer to 70-75mph, not that I'd even want to do that on this, but it's there.

The headlight glare thing at night is frightful, I'm tall and only have a 30" inseam, so being all upper body I sit like a 6'5" person, and this make the uplight from the front lamp unbearable. Can of sliver spray paint in the works today.

Valve adjustment soon. Do these valves lose clearance pretty quick? Thanks for the great vid Stig, it'll make the job that much easier having seen it done once first.

The only cosmetic issue is the silver painted heat shield bit on the muffler. 2 reasons for the paint. Other than that, it's in excellent shape. It was in the Dallas area from 14 to 19, then moved here to Florida so it's never seen icky roads. Have others painted the silver bit?

Lastly, the mirrors are not in great shape either, and they're not space out far enough to really see behind me, half the mirror is filled with moi. I was thinking of getting the "ISSYAUTO 360 Degrees Ball-Type Side Rearview Mirror" from Amazon due to the bigger mirrors and they're flat glass so I don't have to guess at how far back things actually are.

I've spent some time looking through posts here and you seem like a good group of folks, looking forward to learning more and letting you see how my ride progresses.

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