Honda Ax-1 Bike

[MkX]

Guys I'm in search of Good Honda AX-1 Bike as a secondary vehicle. Plan is to keep it as long as I can.

I ruled out indian bikes bue to various durability issues, etc.

This is not going to be an off roader, hence the trail bikes ticked out. I wanted some powerfull bike with both road use and time to time off road use.

What are the main advantages and disadvantages in two chessy numbers (correct me if i'm wrong here) 110 and 120 (also some call it "Val Akuru model" because how letters printed)

[Watchman]

Guys I'm in search of Good Honda AX-1 Bike as a secondary vehicle. Plan is to keep it as long as I can.

I ruled out indian bikes bue to various durability issues, etc.

This is not going to be an off roader, hence the trail bikes ticked out. I wanted some powerfull bike with both road use and time to time off road use.

What are the main advantages and disadvantages in two chessy numbers (correct me if i'm wrong here) 110 and 120 (also some call it "Val Akuru model" because how letters printed)

I think you need identify what you're going to use this for. Are you going to off-road with it or not? The AX-1 is neither a proper adventure bike nor a proper scrambler (trail bike), so you'll be caught in no-man's land. Since this is going to be a secondary vehicle, if I were you would should look at getting something fun rather than something boring and practical.

Edited July 29, 2013 by Watchman

[MkX]

I think you need identify what you're going to use this for. Are you going to off-road with it or not? The AX-1 is neither a proper adventure bike nor a proper scrambler (trail bike), so you'll be caught in no-man's land. Since this is going to be a secondary vehicle, if I were you would should look at getting something fun rather than something boring and practical.

Yep, that is my exact point too. I need a bike in middle of the road. Another option is Kawasaki D-Tracker. However I prefer Honda. Price also a factor.

When I checked with two bikers who has riding experience with both bikes. They preffered AX-1 over XLR or Baja due to ease of maneuvering, height factor (less height on AX-1). Both selected AX-1 is more fun ride on normal roads comparing to other two.

[Watchman]

Yep, that is my exact point too. I need a bike in middle of the road. Another option is Kawasaki D-Tracker. However I prefer Honda. Price also a factor.

When I checked with two bikers who has riding experience with both bikes. They preffered AX-1 over XLR or Baja due to ease of maneuvering, height factor (less height on AX-1). Both selected AX-1 is more fun ride on normal roads comparing to other two.

Technically, if you are in the middle of the road you are "ON" the road; don't you agree?

Jokes aside, height shouldn't be a big issue after a few rides and the xr250/baja isnt very tall either. I ride a DRZ400 (scrambler, not SM). At 168cm i'm on the shorter side and stand on tip-toes when the bike is stationary, but once i'm moving its hardly an issue. I think the 'ease of maneuvering' is also personal preference and perception.

There's so many of these bikes out there for sale, so why don't you just go evaluate the fun for yourself. Afterall you are the best person to judge the bike most suited for you.

[MkX]

Technically, if you are in the middle of the road you are "ON" the road; don't you agree?

Jokes aside, height shouldn't be a big issue after a few rides and the xr250/baja isnt very tall either. I ride a DRZ400 (scrambler, not SM). At 168cm i'm on the shorter side and stand on tip-toes when the bike is stationary, but once i'm moving its hardly an issue. I think the 'ease of maneuvering' is also personal preference and perception.

There's so many of these bikes out there for sale, so why don't you just go evaluate the fun for yourself. Afterall you are the best person to judge the bike most suited for you.

"middle of the road" seriously I don't know how that came up their .

I've tried my cousin's Baja once. felt bit of controlable. But he was shorter than me. Never ride an AX1 before. However everytime when I have occational try out, I felt these trail bikes are not my cuppa tea.

Another option is Kawasaki D-tracker. However I have a feeling that AX-1 would be relatively easy to maintain than D-tracker.

Edit - what alternatives are there? Mainly road running but, with some off road capability bikes.

Edited July 29, 2013 by MkX

[Cyclist]

MkX, read your heart out , here is my AX-1 Blog. http://myax1.wordpress.com/

Go for a Ax-1 if you are more on the road that off road, with great power to weight ratio you can have some good fun, still you have a great little 250cc that will not disappoint you when you hit the dirt.

Try to get a original 120 chassis bike, so you get less headaches/heart attacks trying to find spareparts etc because they are very rare and expensive.

Identifying each model and all pros cons are on the above blog. Read through the comments too, lot of people who uses Ax-1 has their views written.

[MkX]

Thanks for reply. It seems maintenance of AX-1 is difficult comparing to XR or similar model.. Is it?

[Cyclist]

Thanks for reply. It seems maintenance of AX-1 is difficult comparing to XR or similar model.. Is it?

yes, some parts are hard to find and expensive, but the ride is worth the trouble. .Even if you consider a XR the problem is not too different.

AX-1 Engines are almost perfect, they never die. So no need to worry about engine much , But if it is body parts that you need to find, you have to visit breaker joints in Punchi Jayantha weerasekara mawatha area. of course Ebay has some items like CDI.

But when you buy a AX-1 , better get an un-molested bike which has less kilometers in sri lanka , so the troubles are less as in any vehicle.

remember that AX-1 was last produced between 1989-1994 for Japanese market only, All the bikes are pretty old now, but amazingly they are still better than most new single cylinder 250CC bikes.

Some people see AX-1 as boring because its so silent, best thing is to do is to properly swap the silencer to a super trapp or anything good. then it sounds amazing.

[Shehan_WCC]

I've personally had and ridden all the above mentioned bikes,

TBH nothing beats the Dr-Z 400,

The Ax1 is a good bike but you should take into consideration that the bike is very old,

You should find a genuine bike,basically untouched by our local so called mechanics

Kawasaki D-tracker is a really good bike,a 2004 upwards model is perfect for day to day use,if you maintain it properly,it would never let you down.

[MkX]

Thanks guys.

Yes AX-1 now is out of production.. And one reason I am so obsessed with AX-1 is the looks of it. It's always better looking comparing to XL.

And I'm not a hardcore biker. So having proper off road bike and use it mainly on road is not gonna work for me. Bike will be used mainly on quick trips on weekends and once in a while office travel.

[Watchman]

I've personally had and ridden all the above mentioned bikes,

TBH nothing beats the Dr-Z 400,

The Ax1 is a good bike but you should take into consideration that the bike is very old,

You should find a genuine bike,basically untouched by our local so called mechanics

Kawasaki D-tracker is a really good bike,a 2004 upwards model is perfect for day to day use,if you maintain it properly,it would never let you down.

Amen to that

I'm having a major love hate relationship with mine right now. But show it an open highway or some gravel, it'll justify all the heartache.

[Hoonigan]

"middle of the road" seriously I don't know how that came up their .

I've tried my cousin's Baja once. felt bit of controlable. But he was shorter than me. Never ride an AX1 before. However everytime when I have occational try out, I felt these trail bikes are not my cuppa tea.

Another option is Kawasaki D-tracker. However I have a feeling that AX-1 would be relatively easy to maintain than D-tracker.

Edit - what alternatives are there? Mainly road running but, with some off road capability bikes.

Any chance you're "odd" feeling is due to knobby tyres? If so, think about finding decent SM? or you can take the more enjoyable option of buying a standard XR or a Baja etc and convert it yourself. It's really no biggie to adjust the ride height to suite you better if that's an issue. If you pick a decent tread pattern, you will have a better behaved machine on the road and marginally less capable one off the road. But this should be weighed out largely based on the amount of time you plan on spending off road.

If you aren't really big on the rough stuff, you might as well go for a Sports bike or a naked. That opens up a whole host of options for you and you will enjoy the ride more. There aren't too many things out there that revs to 18K

[Cyclist]

Dude! Thats a great looking bike right there! if you ever going to pass your monster to a caring hand, Id be glad to volunteer! just keep in mind please!

Amen to that

I'm having a major love hate relationship with mine right now. But show it an open highway or some gravel, it'll justify all the heartache.

[Cyclist]

I've personally had and ridden all the above mentioned bikes,

TBH nothing beats the Dr-Z 400,

The Ax1 is a good bike but you should take into consideration that the bike is very old,

You should find a genuine bike,basically untouched by our local so called mechanics

Kawasaki D-tracker is a really good bike,a 2004 upwards model is perfect for day to day use,if you maintain it properly,it would never let you down.

DRZ400 is a legend! my next bike is going to be either a DRZ-400sm or a CB4 Spec3 .Going to be a hard decision!

[Supra_Natural]

Amen to that

I'm having a major love hate relationship with mine right now. But show it an open highway or some gravel, it'll justify all the heartache.

So, kinda like an Alfa then? (Except for the Gravel part)

Dude! Thats a great looking bike right there! if you ever going to pass your monster to a caring hand, Id be glad to volunteer! just keep in mind please!

Unless you live in singapore as well machan, that might be a tad difficult!

[Cyclist]

So, kinda like an Alfa then? (Except for the Gravel part)

Unless you live in singapore as well machan, that might be a tad difficult!

oops! , Thanks for the info Supra, , Sorry for going OT below :

Watchman machang, what are the heartaches your drz giving you mate ? Im all about to lay my hand on one.

Never owned a 400CC before and very worried about the police buggers ,

but the them DRZ400sm and CB4 are making me crazy !

[Cyclist]

Amen to that

I'm having a major love hate relationship with mine right now. But show it an open highway or some gravel, it'll justify all the heartache.

I sold my project AX-1 after the same situation, now regretting each time I remembering it, not to mention about the new buyer calling me about once a month and telling how well its running and new things he has added to it. Hope you understand that situation! its like a ex's new BF telling how good she is LOL

[Watchman]

oops! , Thanks for the info Supra, , Sorry for going OT below :

Watchman machang, what are the heartaches your drz giving you mate ? Im all about to lay my hand on one.

Never owned a 400CC before and very worried about the police buggers ,

but the them DRZ400sm and CB4 are making me crazy !

Well, though the only issue is the carb, it's a big deal. The DRZ comes with a Mikuni Carb as stock. The previous owner upgraded the bike with a FCR carb. The FRC is more performance oriented. At the beginning the bike had trouble idling. The mechanic said that it was because the carb was an obsolete FCR1 carb which isnt as reliable or easy to work with as a newer FCR3. So I replaced the FCR1 with a used FCR3. The change was like day and night.. The bike revs up instantly like a 2 stroke bike and power delivery is so much better. But again the FCR started acting up. When I come down to idling the engine stalls. And at times the revs don't come down easily, and I think the fuel mixture is too rich. I notice carbon deposits in the back of the license plate and the exhaust tip. And the fuel consumption has been decreasing from a acceptable 20-22kmpl to 13kmpl.. on the bright side I'm still getting better mileage than an Allion

My Mechanic said it's an issue with the jetting. So I'm hoping to get it re-jetted at the next service and hopefully it will all be sorted out.

I've been meanig to start a thread on this but something or the other kept coming up all the time.

[Supra_Natural]

Well, though the only issue is the carb, it's a big deal. The DRZ comes with a Mikuni Carb as stock. The previous owner upgraded the bike with a FCR carb. The FRC is more performance oriented. At the beginning the bike had trouble idling. The mechanic said that it was because the carb was an obsolete FCR1 carb which isnt as reliable or easy to work with as a newer FCR3. So I replaced the FCR1 with a used FCR3. The change was like day and night.. The bike revs up instantly like a 2 stroke bike and power delivery is so much better. But again the FCR started acting up. When I come down to idling the engine stalls. And at times the revs don't come down easily, and I think the fuel mixture is too rich. I notice carbon deposits in the back of the license plate and the exhaust tip. And the fuel consumption has been decreasing from a acceptable 20-22kmpl to 13kmpl.. on the bright side I'm still getting better mileage than an Allion

My Mechanic said it's an issue with the jetting. So I'm hoping to get it re-jetted at the next service and hopefully it will all be sorted out.

I've been meanig to start a thread on this but something or the other kept coming up all the time.

13Km/l seems a bit on the high side for a bike no? Actually even 22 seems high..

[Hoonigan]

Well, though the only issue is the carb, it's a big deal. The DRZ comes with a Mikuni Carb as stock. The previous owner upgraded the bike with a FCR carb. The FRC is more performance oriented. At the beginning the bike had trouble idling. The mechanic said that it was because the carb was an obsolete FCR1 carb which isnt as reliable or easy to work with as a newer FCR3. So I replaced the FCR1 with a used FCR3. The change was like day and night.. The bike revs up instantly like a 2 stroke bike and power delivery is so much better. But again the FCR started acting up. When I come down to idling the engine stalls. And at times the revs don't come down easily, and I think the fuel mixture is too rich. I notice carbon deposits in the back of the license plate and the exhaust tip. And the fuel consumption has been decreasing from a acceptable 20-22kmpl to 13kmpl.. on the bright side I'm still getting better mileage than an Allion

My Mechanic said it's an issue with the jetting. So I'm hoping to get it re-jetted at the next service and hopefully it will all be sorted out.

I've been meanig to start a thread on this but something or the other kept coming up all the time.

Suzuki carbs are notoriously bothersome, hard luck that you are facing issues with an aftermarket. I just couldn't get mine to be reasonable with it's drinking habits eventually making me want to get rid of it. Do keep us posted on how you get along fixing her up.

13Km/l seems a bit on the high side for a bike no? Actually even 22 seems high..

On a good day my Suzuki Bandit managed around 18kmpl, which was OK for a '93 4 pot 250. When the carbs are out of tune, things go south to around 12kmpl while losing power as well.

My Honda on the other hand returned about 35Kmpl the last time I checked. Though it's still a 250, it has a V Twin, which helps.

The Thumpers are thriftier on fuel.

The Indians do better at first but are famous for losing their economy just a few years down.

[Cyclist]

Well, though the only issue is the carb, it's a big deal. The DRZ comes with a Mikuni Carb as stock. The previous owner upgraded the bike with a FCR carb. The FRC is more performance oriented. At the beginning the bike had trouble idling. The mechanic said that it was because the carb was an obsolete FCR1 carb which isnt as reliable or easy to work with as a newer FCR3. So I replaced the FCR1 with a used FCR3. The change was like day and night.. The bike revs up instantly like a 2 stroke bike and power delivery is so much better. But again the FCR started acting up. When I come down to idling the engine stalls. And at times the revs don't come down easily, and I think the fuel mixture is too rich. I notice carbon deposits in the back of the license plate and the exhaust tip. And the fuel consumption has been decreasing from a acceptable 20-22kmpl to 13kmpl.. on the bright side I'm still getting better mileage than an Allion

My Mechanic said it's an issue with the jetting. So I'm hoping to get it re-jetted at the next service and hopefully it will all be sorted out.

I've been meanig to start a thread on this but something or the other kept coming up all the time.

Dude! Please start the DRZ thread, im sure there are lot of guys here will like to contribute too. and I cant imagine how wonderful when a 400 4T engine revs like a 2T! must be scary! haha

Checking at the symptoms , I think you are correct about the fuel mix being too rich. well its going to be a trail-and-error fix to get the proper settings I guess , because of the after market carb.

13 kmpl ? , haha that would make some trees cry LOL , hope you get the carb jetted properly next time and upload a video too

here is a video of my little babe after a tuneup. Hope this is not totally OT because its a AX-1. LOL

Edited August 1, 2013 by Cyclist

[Hoonigan]

Dude! Please start the DRZ thread, im sure there are lot of guys here will like to contribute too. and I cant imagine how wonderful when a 400 4T engine revs like a 2T! must be scary! haha

Checking at the symptoms , I think you are correct about the fuel mix being too rich. well its going to be a trail-and-error fix to get the proper settings I guess , because of the after market carb.

13 kmpl ? , haha that would make some trees cry LOL , hope you get the carb jetted properly next time and upload a video too

here is a video of my little babe after a tuneup. Hope this is not totally OT because its a AX-1. LOL

That's not the stock exhaust is it? Sounds cool

[Cyclist]

That's not the stock exhaust is it? Sounds cool

Its stock minus whats inside the silencer!

[Hoonigan]

Its stock minus whats inside the silencer!

Busted out the chambers??? that's brave LOL Did you notice any changes in performance from before?

I ran my VTR on 3 cans..stock > a shortened carbon can > Yoshimura RS3 stainless

Noticed a minor drop in power at the first change..but it sounded awesome and popped a flame when you let go of the throttle at high revs The Yoshi quietened the thing down significantly but made a very noticeable improvement in power.

[Cyclist]

Busted out the chambers??? that's brave LOL Did you notice any changes in performance from before?

I ran my VTR on 3 cans..stock > a shortened carbon can > Yoshimura RS3 stainless

Noticed a minor drop in power at the first change..but it sounded awesome and popped a flame when you let go of the throttle at high revs The Yoshi quietened the thing down significantly but made a very noticeable improvement in power.

Feels quicker to reach 0-100 than a stock ax-1, but cant reach the top speed 140. well, its an old bike, anything could be the reason.

I did not want to do a Yoshi or any other custom muffler, because, AX-1 silencer is bolted to the chassis in 3 positions to support the frame. most swaps causes the support go weak and causes the frame to mis-align.