Lifan GY200 ------> Honda CRF250L

[taninthai]

59 minutes ago, canthai55 said:

Cool. Good price too. I look at Facebook CRF250L Chiang Mai. Lots of takeoff wheel sets for sale. Mine still in the garage - little nubs and all !

Yep that’s where I got them from,couple of even cheaper sets appeared just after I bought them..lol

[canthai55]

http://world.honda.com/CBR250R/engine/index.html

[AllanB]

On 14/12/2017 at 1:44 PM, taninthai said:

Yeah the race class came out after Honda released these 250cc beginner bikes???.that quote is talking about 1000cc bikes ???.

i give up caninthai has got it right , it’s riding style that is your problem,,,I also said this the very first day you bought the bike.

if you want torque go and buy the crf1000.  You would probably still find something to  complain about that.

 

yes I just bought a 2nd hand Yamaha scooter ,because some guy called Rossi rides them and everyone knows  he wins races.

No it is the other way around, you see this a beginners bike, Rossi saw it as a class he could beat the world on and did. The guys who bought the bikes developed on the track, saw themselves are the new Rossi. That fact that their bikes are de-tuned doesn't matter...and it also sells tune up bits to get closer to Rossi's bike. "I am riding the same bike as Valentino Rossi, how good is that?

 

Lets face it the kids can get very close to the top flight bikes, not so with top flight Grande Prix cars.

 

Manufacturers spend millions on racing, not so much for the prize money, but for product development and image to sell product. 

[AllanB]

...also I have mentioned a couple of times that one of the main reasons for buying this type of lightweight bike is the avoid riding the highways by putting the bike on the back of my 4 door = short bed pickup. A big 500lb dirtbike is hardly the best choice for this.

 

I also mentioned I can live with the lack of low rpm grunt, just a bit of re-learning, so no need to change the bike, even if I had the money.

 

The point of the tread was to compare the two bikes and as it turned out to query the rough running of the CRF. 

[papa al]

RE: lump,

CBR250R

CBabyRev250Rev

===>CRF designed/geared for solo riding.

need bigger wheel sprocket for 2-up, bro

;-)

(rev)

 

& keep eye on rear frame for stress-cracks.

[thaiguzzi]

On ‎12‎/‎15‎/‎2017 at 7:32 AM, canthai55 said:

http://world.honda.com/CBR250R/engine/index.html

Interesting. A decent read, thanx.

Typical manufacturer's bullshit, sorry, blurb though.

The pressed up crank, the world's "first" single cylinder with shell main brgs, yada yada, actually = cheap.

4.5mm valve stems - sheesh. And I thought 6mm was thin.... I'm used to 8mm on Brit/Euro 2 valvers and 9.5mm on older Harleys...

Roller rockers - no need to remove cams for shim changing - nice.

Roller rockers - without locknut and threaded adjusters to save weight - no - look at the design - it's crying out for old style adjusters and locknuts. Save weight - my arse - one nut per valve. Cheap.

Cylinder liner is interesting.

 

[Neilly]

22 hours ago, thaiguzzi said:

Interesting. A decent read, thanx.

One for you Guzzi...

 

 

[CMKiwi]

Thats a rather unique looking bike. Clean enough lines but I wouldnt want to ride too far on that seat...if you can call it a seat.  Ouch is all I can say.

 

Some purists are sure to say its criminal to do that to a Triumph. And I suppose beauty is in the eye of the beholder....

[thaiguzzi]

1 hour ago, Neilly said:

One for you Guzzi...

 

 

Thanx!

Very nicely done!

Flat track style.

Same Joe Hunt magneto hanging off the timing cover as mine. Mikuni carbs. Beautiful tank. Twin alloy racing Lockheed calipers on twin iron discs. Stock '71 on oil bearing frame. Koni adjustable  shocks.

The only thing i'm not keen on is the 16" back wheel - should be 18", but I see it's an American reg so that's what they like over that side of the pond.

 

Here's another one of mine. Sorry for going off topic.

 

 

[thaiguzzi]

1 hour ago, CMKiwi said:

Thats a rather unique looking bike. Clean enough lines but I wouldnt want to ride too far on that seat...if you can call it a seat.  Ouch is all I can say.

 

Some purists are sure to say its criminal to do that to a Triumph. And I suppose beauty is in the eye of the beholder....

Seat can be comfy long distance if you've got well set up rear shocks.

I've done Euro tours on my Triumph, north of Scotland, etc, 400 miles in a day, on that seat, never been a problem.

Those flat track style seats (seat bases) are just absolute classic.

Triumphs twins have been modified and customized since they first came out in 1937.

Bobbers, choppers, café racers, flat trackers, drag racers, road racers, proper scramblers, you name it, someone's modified it.

IMO that is a very pretty bike. Pretty damn near perfick with an 18/19" back wheel....

[canthai55]

Both very nice ! Am a fan of flat trackers. Did a Sportster like that years ago.

Seat - tho' you would not think so, are comfy. Allow you to move around, go from mid pegs to hiway bars. Change pressure points on your ass, and as said, if suspension works as it should no sweat.

Plus - ride it hard and you are too busy to worry about it !

[AllanB]

Yes 11 pages with pretty much everything said, so my final posting and thoughts.

 

Whilst still a bit rough, the CRF engine is certainly better than when I collected it and the need to rev has become my new riding style. The power kick has become a little addictive, but hopefully I can keep it safely under control. It is particularly handy for crossing highways to U-turn, which I do a couple of time each day, getting ahead of trucks and cars, who would otherwise get up your jacksie. 

 

I have to say the rest of bike is good, fit and finish is well up to Honda standards and the gearbox is an absolute peach, slick as... well Slick 50. The handling is fine for me, since I don't throw bikes around and off-roading I will pick up as I go along.

 

Lights are very good, now I set up the headlight properly, so no need to auxiliary lights, I did a simple seat mod, which works and I can refined it as I go along. Despite the seat mod, the bike is still just a little cramped for two, but only to expected and much better than any other small capacity bike around.

 

So this will be my main bike for everything but grocery shopping and I can rebuild the Shadow at my leisure in me new shed.

 

Will change the gearing to 45t rear at some time in the future and when the Shadow is done, will also look at remapping the fuel as I still think it is too lean.

 

As for the Lifan, I am loathed to sell it and will keep that for a while for my son-in-law, for a few off-road excursions, it doesn't owe me much.

[AllanB]

My last posting was to be my last posting but we did a bit of a road trip and thought I would share my findings.

 

First of all loading ramps, couldn't afford two folding ramps, so settled for 2 hardwood planks. My driveway has a ramp, so half the tailgate loading height is lost and the gentle slope was no problem, walking up the other. There were a few similar ramps and steps available at the other end for similarly easy unloading. MrsB can drive the truck if we have to travel a few kms to find a suitable unloading place, so no problem. I remember the hotel in Trat we didn't even need a plank, just backed up to a step.

 

The home made luggage system worked perfectly with no movement at all at speeds up to 100kph, not sure about about the looks, but anyway.

 

There was a bit of a buzz on the CRF handlebars, but managed to buy a pair of rubber grips that slid (with a bit of soap) over the existing ones for a couple of hundred baht and with leather gloves, that is not a problem any more, bigger diameter too for my Pat Jennings hands.

 

I am starting to get used to the rough engine running, which is still slowly getting better and towards the end of the trip started to enjoy the ride, with lovely slick gearchanging and ample power for 80kph riding.

 

My homemade seatcover isn't quite right (Major Bumsore), but I haven't done too much riding of late, so that might be down to soft living.

 

So looking forward to the next longer roadtrip, hopefully to Cambodia.

 

PS. Or one carrying tip I learned, "use plenty of straps". With the Lifan on the back of my truck, I had used 4 straps, 2 ratchet and 2 cambuckles and spent a lot of time messing around tightening and rejigging en-route. The CRF being heavier I used the lot, and had 10 support strands on the bike and nothing moved at all during the entire 900km round trip.

[papa al]

4 hours ago, AllanB said:

 

There was a bit of a buzz on the CRF handlebars, but managed to buy a pair of rubber grips that slid (with a bit of soap) over the existing ones for a couple of hundred baht and with leather gloves, that is not a problem any more, bigger diameter too for my Pat Jennings hands.

If not already fitted, weighted bar-ends mitigate resonance.

Tire balancing beads smooth things out too.

[AllanB]

On 29/12/2017 at 10:22 PM, papa al said:

If not already fitted, weighted bar-ends mitigate resonance.

Tire balancing beads smooth things out too.

Thanks, it really isn't that bad, although as others have mentioned, there is a bad-ish band around 4500rpm, but I tend to ride through that, 80kph which I tend to sit on is at 5000rpm. If I am on a hill I tend to drop down, bearing in mind we are two up and about 5kg of luggage.

 

Not sure that much is coming from the tyres, it all seems rpm related and if there were, not much can done with nobblies. It is strange, put nobblies on, say a Landrover and the noise is really horrible, especially at really low speeds, you can feel every nobble as it strikes the road, yet on a bike is makes no difference to the noise/ride.

[CMKiwi]

I put bar weights on my CRF and yes it did make a difference.  The vibes decreased immensely.

 

The other benefit was extra protection if you should drop the bike.

 

Damn I miss that bike.