I went down and looked at one and sat on it. It is not factory rated for my 240 pounds plus gear and cargo. I would feel ok with it on the road, But I have scooters for the road. I was looking at the K-Pipe as more of a dirt road bike. I decided it might not hold up on dirt roads with all that weight on it. I think the CT90 and CT110 would be better for that. But they have a much more cramped riding position and tube type tires. I think the K-Pipe would be a really fun ride on the street. It has a very comfortable riding position, at least for me. Being a 2017, I'd check to see if the shift pattern has been updated. Even the 2019 has neutral at the bottom. I think the first ones had a completely reversed pattern. There are a couple of great video reviews on YouTube on them by a guy named Dodge Rider. He just bought one and intends to modify it.
I have been following Dodge Rider, he's a very good reviewer when it comes to describing the riding experience. As for the shift pattern, it still is the same and I'm ok with that, I'd actually prefer the heel toe shifter that came on the 2016 as it is more Cub like. Our plan (me and my wife) is if we like this one and think it's suitable for our application then we'll pick up a matching bike and modify both of them. The Application: long range touring. I'm a little dubious of the subframe holding up to a few months worth of gear so I have an idea for reinforcing it, there are lots of ways it could be triangulated to the engine mount area and I have access to a machine shop to make that happen. I've also considered cutting the back end off and constructing a whole new subframe with integrated racks. A new handlebar is probably in the works as well with some heated grips and a windshield. I know the seat sucks, I'll be hacking that up. For the motor, I'm not sure I want to touch it because of the warranty... but its hard to resist with aftermarket parts being so cheap. Any suggestions from owners about other glaring issues or improvements that could be made is appreciated. Personally, this seems like a very good platform for this application (I love the honda style horizontals, so simple to work on) needing only some simple mostly bolt on modifications to be similar in capability to a ct90. That being said, please poke holes in this assessment!
Update Went down to Hall's in Trussville AL (outside Burmingham) on Friday to pick up the K-pipe, they had it assembled and paperwork was fast and painless. Sadly, I didn't take any pictures of it on the carrier behind the Dodge Charger, but lets just say ground clearance was an issue! saw this guy at the gas station on the way home, we helped him back to the bush. Took it for a 10 mile spin that night. The next day (Saturday) I did some breaking in riding around with friends in the Knoxville area before things became to congested because of the game. Afterwards, I did the first oil change at a friends house, clock showed 29.4 miles. Sunday My wife , myself and two great friends went for a ride in the country and finished it off with Cruze Farm pizza and ice cream, we could barely ride home because our bellies were so full! Wife pizza face omitted for personal safety, look at this guy instead. Happy Ice Cream Wife. We are very pleased with the K-pipe, it reminds me of late 90s-00s hondas quality wise (besides decals) and rides a lot like a S90/c110/s65. Its breaking in very nicely, I saw 62 indicated yesterday and it gets stronger with every ride. My wife absolutely loves it, which is good considering this one is hers! I'm happy with it as well barring the few flaws I pointed out in a previous post. I see a second one in our future, I think these will fit our purposes quite nicely. Big thanks to my buddy Dan ( guy next to pizza face wife, also xr400 dude) for riding down to Bama and helping me load up the K-pipe! Also, Thanks Jake for your sexy scooter modeling. Oh, and wife did the 91.8 mile oil change yesterday, easy peasy. Nate
I would love to trade my Rebel for a K-Pipe if only it would support my weight. there is a dealer close by that has 3 or 4 in stock and takes trades. The K-Pipe fits me a lot better than the Rebel. The difference is the Rebel is freeway capable but very cramped. It also has tube type tires. I could ride the K-Pipe on all the local roads, and even up into the mountains on a non freeway road that has a right lane for slow traffic. I have ridden mopeds and my manual shift Stella scooter up there several times. I quit riding mopeds because I got too heavy for them. I had to seriously over inflate the tires and put motorcycle shocks on the rear to keep the rear fender from hitting the back tire. I'm going back to have another look at the K-Pipe. I see you have it on a hitch rack on a Dodge Charger. I have a Mercury Grand Marquis. It should fit fine on that. Where did you get the rack? Why did you cover your wife's face while you were eating pizza, but not in the next picture where it looks like she is earing an ice cream cone?
I just bought a K-Pipe, used, 2016 with 4008 miles, it brings back memories of a Honda CB125S I had 40+ years ago, I've only had it a couple days, managed to put about 20 miles on it, cruises along nicely in the 35-45 mph range with not much throttle, but ask for anymore speed, ya gotta pin the throttle and wait, which is fine for my planned use, just wanna keep miles off my V-strom's tires I gotta say, about my ride yesterday, 28° started with only half a kick on the kick start, first tank of gas 141mpg, but tank is so small, just a splash makes a big difference in mpg comps
For less money than the k-pipe, you can get a scrambler kit for your rebel. https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/323672811342 Lots more legroom with that subframe and seat. Charles.
Wrong Rebel. I have this beautiful 2016 bright red and chrome model. It is my 4th Rebel 250, I've also had an '85, '99, and '04. I bought my 2016 new at a huge discount, largely out of disgust when I saw the 2017 model. I am not a fan of YABOBS (Yet Another Blacked Out Bike)
Probably one of the biggest advantages of a k pipe. Loading it on a vehicle that normally could not handle a hitch carrier weight.
I was thinking of using it as more of a manual shift moped, and riding it up in the mountains. It would be slow going, might even have to be ridden part of the way in first gear, at 5-10 mph. But being a manual transmission, it would have a much wider drive ratio than a CVT scooter of the same size. The spandex bicycle crowd rides pedal bicycles up those mountains. I could probably outrun them. But it's load capacity is not enough to accommodate my weight. That is the main reason I gave up mopeds.
Having ridden my 125cc gy6 manual shift at 5-6k', it will go 45mph or so with my 220lbs. Yes it is down on power but not struggling.
You have a 125cc manual shift GY6? I thought the GY6 was 150cc with a CVT. What's it in? Small bikes with a manual shift have a much lower gear range (yes I know they don't have actual gears, other than the rear hub) than a CVT. They bog down on a long uphill and lug the engine, because they do not have a low enough final drive ratio to keep the engine spinning in the powerband, which on a 125cc would be close to redline. The K-Pipe could be manually downshifted to a much lower drive ratio than a CVT scooter, to keep the engine spinning at high rpms, even if the bike itself was going very slow. Fully loaded 18 wheelers take step grades in first gear, and are barely moving, but they are not struggling. Their engines are spinning in the powerband, and not doing any damage to themselves. Unfortunately the K-Pipe has a load capacity of 233 pounds, and I am probably close to 250 pounds with a helmet, jacket, and a few other things. I don't doubt the engines ability to pull my weight, but I'm concerned about the frame, suspension, wheels, etc. My alternative to the K-Pipe would be a vintage CT90/110. They are not rated to carry my weight either, but have proven they can. I have a VeloSolex moped, which is rated for only 166 pounds, and destroyed two rear wheels on that due to overloading it.
That is an interesting bike, but not street legal. Reminds me of the late, not so great Motoped. I thought that was a great idea, if it had been street legal and a bit more refined. Sort of a cross between a mountain bike and a motorcycle.
There was a street legal version produced. With gy6 electrics widely available, I should have mine road ready for spring. At 160lbs and knobby tires it can be skittish on the street.
It sure seems strange that a $1000 pedal mountain bike will support my weight, but the K-Pipe won't. The Motoped would have been great for gravel roads. I'm currently looking for a used street bike that I can convert to a gravel runner. I found some great ideas on the "some assembly required" forum, but a lot of it requires either skills or equipment I don't have.
I would not usually suggest someone exceed the manufactures recommendations... That being said, this bike (K-pipe) is sporting an overbuilt frame (baring the side stand) for the intended power output and weight capacity. I think you'd be just fine as long as you're not peg mounting/dismounting or hauling a passenger. As for the wheels, though not high quality, they're similar in build to something you would see on a 3-400cc street bike. The Suspension seems adequate. The fork is very similar to older hondas like the cb/cl 125 etc. excepting the brake, its ridiculously large and overpowered for a bike this size. The shock would be my only concern but in my usage hasn't proven to be an issue, it dampens well and the spring rate is on the firm side. If you're truly interested in a bike like this, I highly suggest you go to the dealer and actually sit on one, I think you'll be surprised by how robust this bike appears in person. Cheers
My niece had one of these about 5 or 6 years ago. The specs were pretty promising but it did not live up to expectations. She put a LOT of miles on it in all weathers. Had tons of trouble with it, up to and including a complete replacement engine: Brakes seized a couple of times; Everything rusted; Wheel and steering bearings went out; Electrical faults galore. She got next to nothing for it after about 18 months and 15,000 miles.
