Hey guys, my friend is restoring rd350 so want to rebuild crankshaft,but saw vitos crankshaft at vito website. Quality looks decent , any reviews regarding it ?. Anybody using it?.
Yeah I put one in my RD250 last year, a bit over a year ago. I got about 1300 miles on her with no issues. I'm no expert I just needed to straighten out some lean running issues on my bike and the cases had never been split so I figured I'd change the crank seals and just started throwing more money at it because I can afford to. LOL. Honestly I didn't want to split the cases again should there be something amiss with the crank so I figured it cheap insurance. Seems like a nice part for the money and a great alternative to finding that right guy who can rebuild the original crank. Good luck
I'd also add on to what I said earlier that Vito's has made quite a name for themselves regarding mods for the Banshee quads. I also exclusively use the Walmart Supertech oil as well as the stock injection system. Knock wood tough as nails motor with no headaches. I do backroad cruising locally with my bike and try as much as possible to keep her ripping on the pipe :bacon: :evil2: :bacon: I like to do hour long moto's once a week at best but I got other bikes too so more like once a month. She seems to love it.
I had Joe Spooner, a noted engine builder here on the board, build my engine. I used a Vito's crank. He was very skeptical at first, after he put it in I asked him what he thought. He said he was very impressed and would absolutely consider one for a build of his own..
Also, I forget why/what but I had to ask them a couple questions via the email on their website. I got a very prompt answer with all the info I needed, along with a very cheerful attitude!
Yes, Danny ^^^^^, is correct. I was skeptical at first because I had only heard mostly bad things about them and after seeing and installing one I would most definitely consider one for a future build. Sometimes I think when something like that gets a bad rap it's easy to blame a problem on the unknown product rather than what might be poor assembly practices or something else not related to that product.
Good to hear that firsthand experience gives them a thumbs up. There have been rumors floating around for a while regarding quality but none of the info seemed to be based on any firsthand or verifiable experience. Just Internet rumors.
I'm on year 3 on mine. I hope to do a tear down in the fall as my top end is ready for a look. All I can say is that it's run for three years without any sort of ugly destruction, maybe 1000 miles a year. I like to ride wheelies and crank hard on the throttle generally until I hit the speed limit, then ride pretty tame from there. Though I have had the crank over 100mph for a mile or so back when I was running the pumper flat slides and top end performance was absolutely nuts. I hope to send my stock crank out to get serviced this winter and then inspect the Vito's unit while it sits for the next rebuild cycle. This way I have a crank rotation (haha) for rebuilds every three or four years.
The guy in Michigan who owns Vitos, Rattle Can Ray, has a very bad reputation for selling junk and bait and switch type stuff on Ebay. Hence the nickname.
On most of the Banshee sites Vitos is not regarded as quality mods, but rather completely the opposite.
Quote from: rodneya on July 14, 2020, 08:06:57 PM
The guy in Michigan who owns Vitos, Rattle Can Ray, has a very bad reputation for selling junk and bait and switch type stuff on Ebay. Hence the nickname.
On most of the Banshee sites Vitos is not regarded as quality mods, but rather completely the opposite.
The thing is, he doesn't make the crank. The Taiwanese do. He just sells them. Mine has been OK. It's a good price and the part is solid. Will it outlast a good rebuilt one? That remains to be seen. But, FWIW, it's working fine for me. I bought mine through HVC.
yup, hes just the importer.
Quote from: m in sc on July 15, 2020, 11:07:26 AM
yup, hes just the importer.
Understand he is just the importer, but just like BP motors and other places he imports cheap Chinese or Taiwanese parts.
Just saying you get what you pay for, and Taiwanese cranks come with Taiwanese bearings most likely made to do in elec motors.
we import from Taiwan on a lot of stuff that you just cant get here anymore. not always bad, 1st hand experience. they do some of the best castings ive ever seen actually.
I get your opinion, and its true on many things, but if you dont have a good core, where else will you get one? im pretty sure the lc crank i have in the lightweight came from over-there somewhere originally, but i bought it out of the uk new, and its fantastic TBH.
The new H2 kawasaki cranks are from Taiwan too....said to be excellent !!
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61-AIDmtpFL._AC_SL1500_.jpg)
Quote from: m in sc on July 15, 2020, 12:11:15 PM
we import from Taiwan on a lot of stuff that you just cant get here anymore. not always bad, 1st hand experience. they do some of the best castings ive ever seen actually.
I get your opinion, and its true on many things, but if you dont have a good core, where else will you get one? im pretty sure the lc crank i have in the lightweight came from over-there somewhere originally, but i bought it out of the uk new, and its fantastic TBH.
^^^ This.
The issue with RD's is you can definitely find cranks all over Ebay, from $75 to upwards of $300. They will be used and will need a rebuild. Most crank rebuilders charge $650 or more. That's anywhere from $700 and up. Yet a Vito's crank is $400 new. Now, is the quality there? Again, it remains to be seen. But, mines been in the bike for 2600 miles so far and hasn't failed. :bacon:
I've had parts manufactured in Taiwan and in my opinion they are as good as the US, maybe better in some respects, and they are definitely cheaper. The long boat over is an issue though, and it adds up. I was able to cast some parts here and have them machine finished here cheaper than I could do out of Taiwan on account of higher set up fees in Taiwan. They don't like short run parts very much. Or at least the people I do business with don't.
All of that said, I have no issues buying from Taiwan. They are capable of excellent products.
Tiawan may be capable of excellent products, and the castings may look good. But it is not the casting that is going to fail. The cranks come with low quality bearings that have a history of failures. On a low power stock engine that doesn't get thrashed you may be fine
If you are going to run one, go in with your eyes open and know what you are buying. Dont think it is from a company with a good name in Banshee parts. At a bare minimum I would swap out the outer and small end bearings for something decent.
have you personally split an aircooled rd crank from there? not a banshee one, but an rd one?
i can tell you that the crank i have is sitting under a chuck-q ported drag top end and hasn't been an issue in 3+ years. :twocents:
to your point: i have seen some real shit out of vitos as well, but not on the rd cranks from anyone i've heard with direct experience.
Another Vito's crank user here.
I bought mine in Jan 2017, installed in March of that year.
I now have 7619 miles on it in my '75 with porting, pipes, carbs.
All street riding, highway and city... including 500 miles beating the hell out of it at the gap last year.
Time bomb? Who knows. Will certainly post again if something newsworthy develops, as I too had lots of concerns about these at the time I purchased. The info will be valuable.
Wow never knew there were so many Vito's RD cranks in use by our members.
At least that Vitos crank has the advantage of not having any lead weights that can come loose.
I can vouch for the Taiwanese manufacturing capabilities, even on the bearings. I have personally spend a ton of time auditing automotive parts manufacturing facilities all over Asia and Taiwan has some of the best capabilities. Sure they are not always perfect but if you are at all familiar with the culture there they are very proud people and have a much different approach to manufacturing than the other parts of Asia.
^ agreed. Vietnam in some areas as well. :twocents:
I agree about Taiwanese products being of high quality. An example is the replacement brake master cylinders for Kawasaki's on e-bay and many other sites. They generally cost about $50-$60 bucks and look similar to the originals. I grew tired of rebuilding master cylinders and sometimes they didn't work right after my rebuild.
That said, I recently bought one of Evans Ward's refurbished original Kawasaki master cylinders and it looks great for a good price.
I fitted one to a high HP 350 a couple of years back and was pleasantly surprised at how nice it looked. Not that looking nice is exactly an engineering evaluation, but I was pleasantly surprised by the quality.
At the price, it's great value compared to rebuilding an old crank. Wish they did a 64mm stoke version though.... I'd rebuild a 400 crank if I had to but that's only 62mm stroke and I need a longer (+10mm) for a project and I don't want to machine the crankcases any more than I have to. ...
I hear the same complaints about "Yambits" stuff! I , personally have been satisfied with 99% of the parts I have received from them. Never dealt with Vitos, but have heard a lot of people dissing them without firsthand knowledge, " he said, they said, I heard, don't do this, blah blah blah............................D