Newbie on this forum...
 

Hi there,
have spent a good dozen hours reading various threads on this forum, re 200cc dual sports bikes. Seems very friendly and informative, with very little trolling. Just the way i like it. I've been into motorcycles all my life, still own my 1979 Triumph Bonneville i bought new in 1979 (highly modified and very non std), and have owned a very non std 1989 Moto Guzzi Cali III for over 15 years. Not ridden dirt bikes since i rode a mate's DT 175 when i was 16/17. Been hankering after some trail or dual/sport bike as they are now called for a few months now. Looked at the Honda CRF250, the Kawasaki KLX 250, but i'm a bit of a Luddite, i've never liked FI, liquid cooling, electronics, digital dashes etc. Looked at the KLX150L which is full size, carb'd and air cooled, but then i found my local Chinese bike dealer here in NE Thailand. The Lifan 200 Cross. Wow, all for approx $1500, registered and on the road. Think i'm gonna buy it next week.
My question is;
the engine is a 163FML-2mp, bore and stroke 63.5 x 62.2mm. The blurb says it is counter balanced, but i'm not sure to believe the Chinglish. Can anyone tell me if this is OHV or SOHC? I'd prefer it if it was OHV, but i've got a feeling it's SOHC, not a deal breaker either way.
Thanx and regards,
Mike,
NE Thailand.
ps, the bike has normal tele forks, single rear shock, disc brakes front and rear, and looks like a Honda XL185 from 20 odd years ago, bar the modern plastics.

Welcome; we are glad you joined us. :hi:

I'm unfamiliar with this motorcycle. Can you post photos or provide a link for more information on this bike?

If this video shows the correct bike, it appears to have a counterbalanced engine with overhead valves.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPwP0wZZTBg

Here is another video of the motorcycle. It appears to be a very nice bike. :tup:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3xjPBEIQyM

That's a very good looking bike! Wonder if that will make our shores?

Cheers!

Welcome, Thaiguzzi! I'd love to see pics of your Bonnie and your Guzzi.

The 200 Cross looks like a really sharp bike. It looks like it might have a counterbalance, but the camera pans by too quickly. Can you show us a pic?

Luddites unite!

Weld, the guy talking Spanish in the video mentioned that the bike has a counterbalance.

Thanx guys for your warm welcome and info. That bike in the vids is the latest 2015 model here. The previous 2014 and earlier model is the same bar different plastics around the headlamp, graphics, and has a dual speedo and tacho. The latest model has only a speedo, but a nicer dash surround.
Nice to have a Spanish interpreter on board, yeah i'm pretty sure its ohv too. Although most Chinglish blurb here says sohc.
To view the 2014 model, google Lifan Thailand, google translate will get you into m/c products and the 200 Cross. I'm sorry i can't link to pics, i'm just not that clever with a computer. Ditto with pics of my bikes, although my avatar shows my Guzzi.
Regards,
Mike.

Perhaps this will help: http://www.chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=14422

Very sharp bike. It looks like there is a counterbalance lump in the front of the motor, and that would also be the reason for the cradle frame.

http://www.lifanthailand.com/compone...0e6e2adc88.jpg

BTW, if you were to strip off the side plastics, you might find the original mounting points for twin shocks, which makes it identical to the early XR/XL 185/200. Lifan welded in a bridge to mount the monoshock and added a suspension link to the swingarm.

Thats the kiddie! By the look of the plastics around the headlight and front mudguard that's the 2015 model. So the general consencus here is that it is an ohv engine. Excellent.

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Weldandgrind.
Thanx for your info re uploading pics. Simples. As you requested, a couple of pics of both my bikes.
Triumph is 830cc, bored and stroked, Guzzi is stock engine 950cc.

That's a great looking Triumph! (Guzzi too)

Cheers!

Beautiful machines. I love the chrome oil bag on your Bonnie, and the AN fittings on the oil lines. The bar height looks perfect. Your Guzzi makes the hair on my arms stand up; lovely bike.

I can't be sure of the OHV / OHC status of the Lifan until I see a close-up of the motor.

Cheers weldangrind. The Triumph has virtually no chrome on it. The frame is nickel plated, and the oil tank is stainless, as are the pipes. The Guzzi has virtually no chrome on it, nor black paint. Everything,including the petrol tank is black powdercoat.

You must've spent hours polishing that oil tank.

Right. Found an English pdf file of the parts manual for all Lifan 125, 150 and 200 GY motors. They are a counter balanced pushrod OHV motor. Yeah!!

The counterbalance is a small parasitic power loss, but it will be overcome by the OHC setup. I haven't ridden an counterbalanced bike yet, but I bet they're smooth.

Arrived at my local shop about 10 days ago. Dead battery, twisted the stiff throttle cable, cable broke. Waiting for their mechanic to come from the main dealer 60kms away to change the above, put some go juice in and fire it up so i can hear it running. Larger fasteners have that nice khaki green finish on them not unlike Guzzis from the 80/90's. Fit and finish is good, decent compression on the k/starter. Enclosed 4 pics.
Mike.

That is an attractive motorcycle. :)

Sharp bike. I like how the headlight shroud flows into the fender.

Thanx guys. Mechanic apparently fixed all the foibles today, tomorrow i will check it out and hear it run. Every person's opinions and tastes are different, i personally don't like the headlight surround plastics supporting the front fender. I will also remove the pretend rad shrouds/tank plastics too. The tank is steel, i'll be looking to change the h/bars immediately for alloy Renthal type copies and some Thai copy of an aftermarket silencer (about $45 ish). Oh yeah, price to ride it out of the shop; $1246.00 !!
What i'd dearly like to do eventually (after a year or two and some proper mileage) is make the thing look like it was made in the 70's, ie a Honda TL/SL/XL 185 or similar. Round headlight, aluminium mudguards, different thin long tank, solo seat and even twin rear shocks. All doable out here. Anybody knows where i can buy 15-16" long dual rear shocks?
Mike.

Something like this 350 trials RE Bullet...

Google is my friend... plenty of shocks available in the 360-410mm range. Sorry. All with 4-5" of movement, prices ranging from cheap to silly.
Mike.

Good taste in bikes Sir! :) I just sold a 72 Triumph Daytona - Good job I had a spare hehehe...

Yeah, by 71 they had ironed out all the small unit 500's weaknesses and minor irritants. Good bikes. This shop selling the Lifan is doing my head in, nice girls running the place, no mechanic, new throttle cable fitted, did'nt check the electrics. Battery not connected, not filled with acid, and they can't find the top plugs. "Can we get you another one in with a different colour, sir?" Aaaah...

So, popped in again today. Sales girl seemed a bit more enthusiastic, had put a bit of fuel in the tank, swapped a battery off a scooter, so it would run. Fired it up, first time i've heard it run. Boy is that silencer pretty loud for a stock pipe! Took it for a spin, getting used to the N @top and all the way down for the up changes and vice versa. Went to a garage and put another $1 in the tank and ran better. Fiddled with the tick over screw, idles nicely. Bit buzzy at 50 mph, rear sprocket is 46, dunno what the g/box sprkt is. Front forks seemed good, brakes good, clutch and g/change good, rear shock a bit stiff. Speedo now has 19 kms on it. Gonna buy it, hopefully do the deal Monday 22nd.

The only machine I ever rode with a gear pattern like that was a Honda ATC, back in the '80's.

Once you buy the bike, I recommend that you drain the "oil" out of it, and replace it with a proper motorcycle oil.