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Spare Parts for the Keeway RKS 125cc
September 2014
After putting 9000 miles on the Keeway he has started to need some replacement parts. These being the chain and front sprocket and the rear tyre.
I thought this would be simple. I would phone my dealership where I purchased the bike and ask for the price on the parts and then order them. However things are never as simple as they seem sometimes and this was one of those times.
I phoned the dealership with the parts I wished to buy and they said they would call me back later that day with a price. Hmm, they failed to do this. I phoned the next day and again was told they would call back. This merry-go-round went on for a week with me constantly phoning to be told someone would call back only for no one to bother. Eventually I got a price £248. What the hell! That was so not worth waiting for. The boyfriend managed to get a cheaper price from another dealership but I was not too happy with their attitude to my 125.
I wanted to replace the back tyre with the same make that is came fitted with as standard. A Cordial tyre. Yes I know what you are thinking, who the hell are Cordial? Well they, like the bike itself, are Chinese. Yes I have heard horror stories of death tyres from China but the Cordial turned out to be great. They were especially impressive for their wet weather grip. However neither my own dealership or the other we tried would promise a Cordial tyre if they ordered one in. My dealership told me they might be the Cordials but they could not be sure. The other dealership said it was what was ever in stock. If I wanted to order a Cordial it would cost more. As they already wanted to charge about £65 for a stock tyre then that was a no from me as well. Also they would not specify a make for the chain saying it would be good enough for a 125. GOOD ENOUGH .... nope this attitude and level of service was certainly not good enough for me or my bike.
So now it was down to me and the boyfriend to outsource the parts ourselves. The tyres were my job and I left Ren with the chain and sprocket. Let the fun commence.
Ren managed through close scrutiny to find a sprocket the same as the original. Although to try and give the bike a little more top end we decided to try a 14 tooth sprocket rather than its original 13. He had sneaked a look when the dealership wrote down the type of chain for my bike so knew it was a 428. He then counted and recounted the chain links on my bike until he finally decided he had calculated the correct number of links and a heavy duty D.I.D chain was ordered. At £8 for the sprocket and £20 for the chain it was about half the price they wanted at the dealership .
Now for the tyres. I could not simply put my bike into the tyre manufactures websites because my bike was not on any of their lists. So I had to search for the tyres by the size. The tyre sizes on the Keeway are unusual. 90/90 17 inch on the front and 110/80 17 inch on the rear. If I wanted a matching pair of tyres there was very limited choice. Either the Maxis or the Heidenau. The Maxxis C934 for the front and the Maxxis C931 for the rear would fit my bike. BUT ... the boyfriend had once had Maxxis and it squared off a lot so I just didn't feel any confidence in this brand so they were off the list. The Heidenau are a German manufacturer but I struggled to find any information or reviews that inspired any trust in this brand either. I am not saying the Heidenau are bad I simply have no experience with them and could not find anyone else who had had them either. So they were out too.
As the front tyre still had plenty of life in and assurances from other riders that a matching pair of tyres is not essential on a 125cc I decided just to replace the rear. I am a bit of a tyre snob as in I will buy the best tyre I can afford. The tyres after all are all that keeps you stuck to the road. It is vital they perform well.
Again however my choice was still limited. Some tyres sized at 110/80 were front tyres only. Continetal ContiGo would fit but once again the reviews were not great, especially in the wet. The boyfriend has a ContiGo on his 125cc and his bike appears to slip more in the wet than mine. As an all year round rider who is far from averse going out in the rain I needed a tyre that had good wet use reviews. So ContiGo had to go off the list too.
This left me with the Pirelli MT75. Pirelli is a well known brand and the MT75 itself had pretty good reviews. At £67 is was one of the most expensive on my list but due to its good wet weather reviews I decided I would go for that. However it was tubeless and my old tyre was tubed. I quick call to Pirelli and they confirmed a tube could be used in the tyre. So I ordered a inner tube for £13.
So in total it has all come to £108. Far cheaper than quoted from the dealerships and for branded stuff I am happy with rather than something they may me good enough for a 125cc .... Pfft. It may be only a 125 to the dealers but to me it is my pride and joy. Now I await delivery and then even more fun will begin .... fitting the said parts, more learning fun.
At 9000 miles on the clock Zen is ready for some new bits and pieces.
Reader's Comments
Robert said :-
Dear Sharon,
Thanks so much for your blog, I am also a proud owner of a Keeway RKS 2012 and have only covered about 8,000 miles, so not as many as you as yet!
I have found the bike to be reliable and love riding her, the only downside to owning one of these is obtaining (for a reasonable price) spare parts, as you don't always know what parts fit.
I was wondering if you could possibly supply the details of where you got the Front and Rear Sprocket and chain, as I would like to upgrade at some point.
Thanks in anticipation, Robert.
So far these have been used for my 2012 RKS (the info might help somebody)
Front Brake pads: £3.90
http://www.chinesemotorcyclepartsonline.co.uk/partno_BP035.php
Oil Filter £3.84
http://www.chinesemotorcyclepartsonline.co.uk/partno_OF005.php
01/01/2000 00:00:00 UTC
Ren - The Ed said :-
Hi Robert. Ren here, I have the enviable job of being Sharon's boyfriend and bike mechanic.
GOOD CALL on the links to the parts, top man.
The front sprocket we had to get from a Keeway dealer for the high price of £16, it should really be about 6 or 7 quid tops. It's almost exactly the same as the Lexmoto and other Chinese sprockets but there's a recess, this is neccessary. You'll find more details here - http://bikesandtravels.com/biker.aspx?ride=692
We didn't replace the rear sprocket as it's hardly worn. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it.
As for the chain, it's a billy bog standard 428 chain, same as my CBF 125, Yamaha YBR and countless other 125's. You can buy the chain by the number of links. Count the number of links on your chain (116 if I recall but DO CHECK!) then order an 116 link 428 chain. I personally wouldn't get something too cheap, broken chains can be a nightmare and dangerous. DID is a fair brand.
Hope the bike keeps you smiling.
www.bikesandtravels.com/biker.aspx?ride=692...
01/01/2000 00:00:00 UTC
Sharon said :-
Hi Robert,
Always lovely to hear from a fellow Keeway owner. Glad you are having fun on your bike too. 8000 miles is not bad at all and adds further proof to my belief that these bikes certainly do not deserve the crap label any longer.
Thanks for the information on the spare parts your have purchased, it is good to share :-).
Really pleased you have found my blog useful so far. There will hopefully be much more to come!
01/01/2000 00:00:00 UTC
Robert said :-
Thanks Sharon and Ren,
It was actually your original blog on the bike that helped me to get one of these so called rubish Chinese bike, a second hand one (75 miles on the clock) for under £1000! what an investment. I love the Bike, the only trouble has been a puncture,last week that is it. Thanks for all you guys have done.
Rob.
01/01/2000 00:00:00 UTC
Ren - The Ed said :-
Hi Robert. You can't blame Chinese quality for a puncture can you! How tall are you? The bike suits Sharon just fine and I'm comfortable on it at 5 foot 8, but it is a tiny bit cramped for me.
01/01/2000 00:00:00 UTC
Rob said :-
Hi Ren,
I am 5foot9 but dont have any other bikes to compare to, I rode a Honda CG and a YBR on my CBT but that was only for a few hours, Jumped onto the Keeway and have been on that since. Have booked a DAS course for June although I dont think I need a bigger bike for the commute especially as im getting 94-100mpg.
01/01/2000 00:00:00 UTC
Ren - The Ed said :-
94-100mpg! Ya must be thrashing it. Sharon gets well over 100. I must say it looks rather smart in the goldy greeny sort of colour.
01/01/2000 00:00:00 UTC
Sharon said :-
Hi Rob, Your bike is a lovely colour. I have only seen the RKS offered in either black or grey where I am. I personally think they are really gorgeous looking bikes :-)
01/01/2000 00:00:00 UTC
Rob said :-
The bike is a grey colour, and yes I am enthusiastic with the throttle :)
The 16 stone probably doesn't help either!
01/01/2000 00:00:00 UTC
Ren - The Ed said :-
HAhahhahhaa!! Brilliant Rob. Yeah Sharon's 8 stone wet through and we don't give it large all the time. I think 100mpg is good going then.
01/01/2000 00:00:00 UTC
Gavin said :-
Hi I have a keeway rakes 125 as well but I've just got my first problem. I have a slow puncture in my front tyre and I was hoping you could tell me if it has an inner tube or is it tube less? X
18/07/2016 16:40:20 UTC
Ren - The Ed said :-
I've replied to Gavin via Facebook...but just in case you're wondering...the RKS has inner tubes.
19/07/2016 07:15:48 UTC
Tom said :-
Hi all been reading all your comments. Much appreciated. I brought my bike brand new in August 2016. Just hit 7000km on it what a brilliant little bike. I'm 6ft 2" and yes little cramped but only on my foot position. I get about 115mpg out of mine and it's ace. I have added some spot lights to the front and also a heated seat as I work shift and go through the lanes and 10Pm. Was going to ask if anyone has done a sprocket upgrade for top end speed and how it works in day to day life. I do a 3 mile stretch Down a duel carriage way 2 a day and don't like it sitting at such high revs. much appreciated
25/02/2017 19:46:56 UTC
Ren - The Ed said :-
The problem we found is finding a larger sprocket cut for the Keeway. I'll ad s link for the details.
I've upgeared my Honda 125 in the past and while the revs dropped a little at speed I would often find the motor couldn't pull the high speeds so I'd have to drop a gear! This kind of defeats the purpose of upgearing.
If you find a suitable sprocket and it's not too expensive it's worth a shot, otherwise don't be thinking it's a magical solution.
www.bikesandtravels.com/biker.aspx?ride=692...
26/02/2017 07:37:22 UTC
Ajmal said :-
I wish to know where can I get spares for my Keeway RK3 125cc please...am from Mauritius...
31/07/2017 15:51:20 UTC
Ren - The Ed said :-
A quick internet search suggests this company deals with Keeway on Mauritius - http://www.easyriders.mu
Cheers.
01/08/2017 11:53:53 UTC
Ajmal said :-
Yes dear...I checked with them but they are selling it at really high prices...
02/08/2017 09:48:18 UTC
Ren - The Ed said :-
I'm sorry then Ajmal, I don't know what to suggest. Parts ain't so cheap here in the UK either.
02/08/2017 13:30:30 UTC
Ajmal said :-
Thanks bro I managed to change my speed sensor and now it works really good...satisfied...
02/08/2017 19:59:21 UTC
Ren - The Ed said :-
Did you manage to find a supplier Ajmal? At least one who sells the parts for a reasonable price.
03/08/2017 11:11:22 UTC
said :-
I went to mikha motors...they are the only one who got originals...but prices...really hot...
:(
06/08/2017 18:12:18 UTC
Ajmal said :-
Hi...anyone knows why does the chain hits the chain protector? Is it because of the Re arm or because of the rear suspension?
10/10/2017 11:25:00 UTC
Ren - The Ed said :-
Hi Ajmal. Sounds to me like your chain is either very loose and needs adjusting or it's worn out and needs replacing.
10/10/2017 13:24:54 UTC
Paul said :-
Anyone know what mudguards fit my rks 125 hard to find a replacement I think it's a ybr 125 front mudguard. But would like to know for sure first.
05/04/2018 19:04:10 UTC
Ren - The Ed said :-
I'd be very surprised if the YBR125 mudguard would fit because the YBR has an 18 inch front wheel while the RKS has a 17 inch front wheel.
The only hint I could give you is the RKS is the same as the Generic Worx - might be worth looking at their suppliers.
06/04/2018 09:12:55 UTC
Paul said :-
Yeah that's the one cheers
06/04/2018 21:01:18 UTC
Philippe said :-
Dear both,
I just owned a RKS125 and I am looking for the manual in English. Could you please provide it to me please? I'd be very grateful.
Regards
28/09/2018 05:09:47 UTC
Philippe said :-
My email philippejulien@hotmail.fr
28/09/2018 05:10:27 UTC
Philippe said :-
I found it...
www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=www.puzey.co.za/downloads/userManua...
09/10/2018 05:06:37 UTC
Philippe said :-
Also the RKV125 complete manual, not exactly the same than RKS but quite similar, same engine if I am correct
www.manualslib.com/manual/922664/Keeway-Rkv125.html...
09/10/2018 05:12:04 UTC
Philippe said :-
XLS parts catalog
www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=www.motorky-skutre.sk/PDF/PRILOHY/v...
09/10/2018 05:24:01 UTC
Philippe said :-
PDF parts catalog
RKS 125-150-ACE150 E01???/????? COVER CYLINDER HEAD ASSY ... PDFwww.puzey.co.za ...
09/10/2018 05:26:42 UTC
said :-
13/11/2018 20:37:10 UTC
Andrew said :-
Just bought 7000 miles on clock 2020 plate love it just done c b t carnt wait to get on the road
17/07/2022 20:08:56 UTC
Glyn said :-
Well done on the bike and your CBT pass Andrew, is is the bike all ready to go or is there some work required?
17/07/2022 20:49:47 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
The bike looks smart enough to me Glyn! Enjoy the ride Andrew - if you service and look after the bike it will serve you well.
18/07/2022 12:44:53 UTC
Themba said :-
I need front shocks l'm from south African
17/12/2023 17:18:31 UTC
Patrice said :-
Hello which speedometer can replace on keeway RKS150 and which exaust can put
17/04/2024 08:03:05 UTC
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