Lifan 200 Cross

[canuckamuck]

I generalize that Allan will have a great time on the MHS loop.

[papa al]

...seen bicycles touring dat loop....

[papa al]

pet hate of mine people generalising how others ride,especially people with little experience and no license.......

Yes, better when licensed.

[AllanB]

The Mae Hong Song Loop is a public road, driven and ridden by little old ladies and young girls on a daily basis, so I guess they must all posses a phenomenal amount of expertise and dexterity to survive.

Wise up, the guys who die are the ones who think they are Icarus.

[taninthai]

You are strange no one has mentioned people dying ,but since you mention it ,it is actually you that is icarus,the meaning is ignores people's advise and warnings.and yes he ended up dying because of this.

Anyone that has ridden the Mao Hai song loop will agree it's dangerous why you try to deny this I don't know.I have not really come across to many people that come into a forum ask for advise and then completely ignore it or want to argue the toss over it making up silly reasons why the advice is wrong.....why ask in the first place?

I could link to many riders blogs about the mai hai song loop that may help you out but can't be bothered to waste my time they all state it's a tricky road.

[papa al]

papa relates more to Narcissus than Icarus.

[AllanB]

Everything is dangerous...trusting a fart for instance...but then bottling it up is not good either.

"Relax, don't do it.."..... now there are some contradictory lyrics.

[papa al]

DO IT

Or blog

[papa al]

Everything is dangerous...trusting a fart for instance...but then bottling it up is not good either.

"Relax, don't do it.."..... now there are some contradictory lyrics.

You nailed it sir. If you are blasé about strict continence, then MHS loop...meeh!

[papa al]

Nice rain here yesterday so took Xdresser out to ride flooded roads and sois.

Splashin' good fun, mates.

After traversing the foot deep area on third road, decided to stop by my shop.

Had mechanic open wheel bearings:

Regular caged ball bearing with platic/rubber cover.

Not much grease in there so filled 'em.

Manager said 80baht each for sealed-type replacements.

None in stock, unfortunately.

[AllanB]

Why do you want to replace them, the sealing ends are not actually waterproof, they are designed to keep dirt out and hopefully the grease in, you have oil seals too. This set up they have works well, fill up with marine grease next time and also pack your head bearings too with the same jollop. They are taper bearings and can't be sealed...I think, same as most car wheel bearings. Well they were in my day...just in case "You know who" is watching.

Like most things these days in this throw away society, sealed wheel bearings are "maintenance free" a dirty word in my old book. They hold very little grease and once it's gone so is your bearing, however if you do have them you can cheat if the seals are plastic, drill a small hole in the side plate and inject grease using a vet's syringe. But have to get there early.

With this re-greaseable type you can easily push any dirt or water out when you force the new grease in. But, waterproof grease is the stuff you need laddy, like using two condoms, as the Irish say...."to be sure, to be sure!"

"I love old tech.......

[taninthai]

You wanna be carefully all of all this grease you are throwing at your wheel bearings doesn't fly of onto your brake discs,we don't want any accidents now do we,I just had to change a wheel bearing on my van and guess what it is built into the brake disc yes you change the whole brake disc ,I suppose you throw loads of grease at that too.

Beware I would not advise throwing loads of grease at your wheel bearings it is not needed and could in fact be dangerous.

[AllanB]

You wanna be carefully all of all this grease you are throwing at your wheel bearings doesn't fly of onto your brake discs,we don't want any accidents now do we,I just had to change a wheel bearing on my van and guess what it is built into the brake disc yes you change the whole brake disc ,I suppose you throw loads of grease at that too.

Beware I would not advise throwing loads of grease at your wheel bearings it is not needed and could in fact be dangerous.

Yes, my wording was a little blaise in a vain attempt at humour, but I was only advocating changing to waterproof grease from the regular.

But fair point mate......all in moderation.

I tend to pack each bearing to capacity and then add a thumb sized lump amount between the two, then fit the oil seals.

[thaiguzzi]

Nice rain here yesterday so took Xdresser out to ride flooded roads and sois.

Splashin' good fun, mates.

After traversing the foot deep area on third road, decided to stop by my shop.

Had mechanic open wheel bearings:

Regular caged ball bearing with platic/rubber cover.

Not much grease in there so filled 'em.

Manager said 80baht each for sealed-type replacements.

None in stock, unfortunately.

Never buy bearings from a motorcycle shop as a punter if you can help it. Always try and buy from a motor factors (or bearing supplier in the UK) over here, every town has at least one. They will have a vast range of grade A to grade C bearings, sealed, unsealed, and cheaper than any bike shop. Next time the bike is torn down, whip a bearing out and run down to the motor factors, they'll sort you out.

[papa al]

Quoted 80 baht (320 for 4)

Less than ten bucks.

How much would papa save with the motor factor scheme ?

Don't these all come from the same manufacturers ?

[thaiguzzi]

Yeah, 320 baht is cheap for 4 brgs, but...

"none in stock unfortunately"....

[papa al]

This shop is the biggest supplier of OEM small bike parts in Patts.

Waiting a day or two wouldn't bother me much.

Better dealing with shop with track record of standing behind work.

Their guy can open, service, and close 2wheels in under an hour.

Prolly take me all day, and sweaty, dirty.

Pass.

[AllanB]

Went down to the dealer today, as my bike had just arrived, he had just fired it up but was running a bit lumpy, though got better as it warmed up. He said it had been sitting in the other dealership for a while and wants to get it running 100% before he hands it over, also said something about trying to get Lifan to supply new tyres, though the ones on it looked fine. I guess something may have been lost in the translation there.

The shop manager is also the mechanic and seems okay, he rode off for a short test run and took him a minute to realise the gear pattern was different. Told me the bike should be ready Monday, I asked him to take his time, no hurry.

He wants to do the first couple of services and says he can supply me with any parts I need.

I checked the bike over visually and build quality looks good, welds are ok, as good as my Jap built NV, fit and finish, ok too and as expected it does look very basic, very little aluminium and plastic and the only "modern" feature being the hazard lights come on with the brake light??

Not much in the way of electrics, a small speedo/odometer with trip and three lamps, left right and g/b neutral and that's it, coke control is on the carb itself, along with easy access slow running knob.

Just enough room for the two of us, so will need a bit of extra seat padding for the missus, otherwise looks okay...Nice engine note. The only bad point, a really small cigarette burn on the seat..?

The dealer is 25km down the Highway 2 (Mittaparp road), which is very rough now, so having a dirt bike will be handy. The girl in the shop took a picture of the missus.

[taninthai]

555.looks a little like the new bike I'm getting tommorow,except mines 2nd hand got 9000km is being delivered to my door ready to go with no issues what so ever,oh and 1 year warranty from shop

[papa al]

AB, sweet!

TT, sweet, how much?

Identical twins from different mothers.

Oh, I got promised new tires from dealer after a couple monts or so of persistence.cause mine were old, when new.

Remember how to check mfg date.

Specify some less than a year old.

They tried foisting even older ones on me from their stock.

All dusty ha ha.

If riding two-up with precious cargo, I'd consider getting some brand name Michelin or something.

Njoy.

[taninthai]

85k could have knocked him down a little if I go and collect ,but 4hour round trip me to lazy.great condition for 3 year old bike

[MAZ3]

Went down to the dealer today, as my bike had just arrived, he had just fired it up but was running a bit lumpy, though got better as it warmed up. He said it had been sitting in the other dealership for a while and wants to get it running 100% before he hands it over, also said something about trying to get Lifan to supply new tyres, though the ones on it looked fine. I guess something may have been lost in the translation there.

The shop manager is also the mechanic and seems okay, he rode off for a short test run and took him a minute to realise the gear pattern was different. Told me the bike should be ready Monday, I asked him to take his time, no hurry.

He wants to do the first couple of services and says he can supply me with any parts I need.

I checked the bike over visually and build quality looks good, welds are ok, as good as my Jap built NV, fit and finish, ok too and as expected it does look very basic, very little aluminium and plastic and the only "modern" feature being the hazard lights come on with the brake light??

Not much in the way of electrics, a small speedo/odometer with trip and three lamps, left right and g/b neutral and that's it, coke control is on the carb itself, along with easy access slow running knob.

Just enough room for the two of us, so will need a bit of extra seat padding for the missus, otherwise looks okay...Nice engine note. The only bad point, a really small cigarette burn on the seat..?

The dealer is 25km down the Highway 2 (Mittaparp road), which is very rough now, so having a dirt bike will be handy. The girl in the shop took a picture of the missus.

038118e3-5fa3-4340-961a-c02f5324bbef.jpg

Ah,mine does the flashing hazard lights,I assumed it was an iffy earth etc.

[seedy]

Congrats on the new bike. Looks great.

[AllanB]

2 years ago my local dealer had a S/H CRF for 100k baht, it was immaculate, trouble is I had just spent 65k on the NV400, that's the way it goes.

This Lifan doesn't compare with the Wave we bought, which was nigh on perfect from day one and still is, but hopefully things will work out and I will have some fun for my 48k baht.

I have also looked at other S/H bikes over the months and wouldn't have bought any of them, so my choice was based on what is available here.

I think you guys in Pat, CM and BKK have more choices on your doorstep. KK, well it's Hobson's choice until they get their cat together here.

What was interesting yesterday was that the woman couldn't take my money because she didn't have the right paperwork. This is because they didn't normally sell bikes for cash, she said she had personally never sold one for cash.

[seedy]

One Troll / Flaming post removed

[AllanB]

Searching for a bit of info on the Lifan engine and found this Youtube video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSgfuX9entU.

The first thing that struck me was the terminology he used to differentiate between an OHC and pushrod engine.

Exactly the same I used, and took a load of abuse for from a certain "know it all" here, when I suggested both types are OHV.

So others clearly use the same terminology, so perhaps certain people should be a little more relaxed in case yet again they find themselves wrong.

Now onto the subject matter, if true I found it interesting that the original engine was based on a conventional OHC engine but then redesigned to make it more easily serviced.

[AllanB]

Great success, picked it up this morning and had a buzz around SFSG. They fitted new tyres, a clutch cable and 4 other items I have yet to identify.

Did some paperwork and the girl gave us back 1000 baht, more paperwork and gave us another 500 baht back, don't begin the understand but not complaining.

Need to build a ramp now and then go and play silly buggas.

[AllanB]

For those interested I thought I may update you on my new bike, so far.

Day 1 When I first took the bike out, the gearbox was difficult it terms of gear selection especially neutral. The format wasn't the cakewalk I expected and still isn't.

The ride comfort, well it didn't have any of that and I did think I had made a mistake and MrsB wasn't impressed either.

The clutch was stiff and there was a small petrol leak which appeared to be coming from the float chamber.

So I popped the bike back to the dealer and he quickly found a split hose and replaced it, then adjusted the clutch.

The discomfort was an issue so decided to get a new seat made, but also look at lowering the tyre pressures first, which I dropped to 20psi on the rear, leaving the front at the specified 30psi and that helped a lot. The clutch adjustment helped too, but neutral was still a problem.

They are doing some major road building where I live, installing a tunnel under the railway line, so an opportunity to play off road a bit and take a short cut too. Even two up the bike way fine and quite predictable due to the good tyre grip, but I am talking very low speeds. MrsB seemed to enjoy it too taking most of her weight on the pegs during the bumpy bits.

Day 2 We rode down to the "village" a round trip of 60km and the bike buzzed along nicely with things loosening up all the time. We were helping to pack the now dry rice crop, well I was sent off to get the drinks on the bike and that is when we realised a Givvy box was going to be needed. The ride home in the dark was good and despite only having a standard bulb the light was good, which I put down to the higher position of the light.

Day 3. This morning we went in to get the seat done and riding trough town I could feel the gearchange was getting good, with neutral easy to find. With more foam in the seat, the height is now another 1" taller, which I couldn't have done without, but I can still get both feet flat on the floor.

No problems with the gearbox now, though the clutch is still a little stiff I will get used to it, the bike does put a smile on my face which was the reason for buying.

I can foresee no problems doing Mae Hong Song Loop on this, the power is ample, torque being especially good for a 200 two up, so I need to find a Givvy box, some waterproof grease and a halogen bulb. The seat, well it is too soon to know, both in terms of seat height and comfort, but it can be changed in time for MHSL in January.

I will say that the only other new bike I bought was the 110 Wave and that was A1 from the very first minute.

Need to learn a bit of off-roading now......being careful to keep the revs down and avoid labouring.

Would I recommend the bike? absolutely, a lot of laughs for 47,500baht including tax and insurance.

[papa al]

way to go

we wait so long

[AllanB]

I only got the Bike Tuesday, couldn't pick it Monday as that was an unlucky day?? Here's not to reason why....