ChinaRiders Forums - View Single Post - Buccaneer SRT250 Classic or Cafe Purchase

Buccaneer · 01-30-2019, 10:51 PM

Here are my impressions of the SSR Buccaneer 250i I bought last summer. I've got about 2400 miles on it. I'm using my other main bike, a 1100cc Moto Guzzi Griso, as a point of comparison. Here is a picture I took of my Buccaneer on the bank of the Mississippi River, in Iowa:

Design

My Buccaneer gets a lot of favorable comments, probably at ten times the rate my Griso ever got. It was built by Ningbo Longjia, in China, a different company from the one that builds SSR's pit bikes and the Benellis. Longjia sells some scooters under its own name, and also makes bikes for Genuine Scooters. It has granted Buccaneer distribution rights all over the world. Companies sell it under their own brand names in Germany, Poland, Spain, Thailand, the Philippines, and the United States. Only in Cyprus and Malaysia is it sold as an Italjet as far as I can tell. Italjet does not sell this bike in Italy, where it lately has presented itself as a producer of high-end e-bikes. However, a new iteration of the Buccaneer was announced at this fall's EICMA (2018) to be sold as the Italjet Caffeina in Italy (Scopri la nuova moto Italjet Caffeina).*

Ningbo Longjia says on its web site that the Buccaneer was "designed by an Italian in cooperation with Italjet." The Italian they refer to was almost certainly Oberdan Bezzi. Bezzi's website shows a design of his that is almost identical to the version of the Buccaneer that was first displayed at EICMA 2015 by Italjet. He also posts a photo of himself with several smiling persons that look a lot like Chinese technicians or designers. The design shows the basic configuration of the final model, but is very ugly I think:

This initial design was apparently built by Italjet and/or Longjia as a prototype. A CAD image of it can been seen on the computer screen of Italjet president Massimo Tartarini in a video about a collaboration with another company. Tartarini is the grandson of Leopoldo Tartarini, the founder (in 1959) of Italjet, who had been a successful racer and designer for Ducati.

On the basis of the strong design history of Italjet, and the great beauty of current Italjet e-bikes, I believe it may have been Massimo Tartarini who transformed Bezzi's ugly duckling into the final version that I own. The design obviously took main cues from Moto Guzzi models like the V7 Stornello and Racer, but the result is more beautiful than the Guzzis, I think.

The Buccaneer 250 was named after the 1970's Buccaneer 125, an Italjet that sported a Yamaha two-stroke engine (and had a distinguished racing career in Italy):

Because SSR had really nothing to do with the origin of the Buccaneer 250, and because Italjet had a lot to do with it, I regard it to be an Italjet in essence. I therefore applied some Italjet stickers I obtained from Hungary to the gas tank, and may remove the SSR ones in time. Voila! The Italjet Buccaneer 250:

The U.S. and Wisconsin governments call the Buccaneer a Ningbo Longjia, by the way.

Construction

The Italjet Buccaneer has a tubular steel frame and many metal components that are plastic on other bikes (like my Griso). The gas tank, front fender, and the headlight rim and shell are all steel. The wheel rims, bash plate and side panels are aluminum. Only the rear fender, the seat core, and the tail light and turn signals are plastic. The relays are Japanese, built in Japan. The fuel injection is controlled by a Delphi ECU, the same model, I believe, as used on some Harleys. The drain plug gaskets are solid copper. The chain is a relatively huge 530, as used on much larger bikes. It is not an o-ring chain, probably to conserve scarce horsepower.

Not everything is great. The tank and fender striping is tape, and not applied properly in one spot under the front of the seat. The tachometer needle wobbles as though it needs a bushing. The front suspension squeaks. The front O2 sensor failed for me at 1002 miles, just after the break-in period. It took two weeks to get the new part, but fortunately my dealer, about 50 miles away, arranged things so that I lost no time with the motorcycle in the shop, and was able to continue riding it while waiting for the part to arrive.

One big advantage of the Buccaneer is its engine, which is the long-developed clone of the Yamaha 250 Virago motor, built by Lifan, a different company than Longjia. Lifan has been building it for quite a while, and can be hoped to have overcome initial quality problems. I couldn't really find any substantiated complaints about Lifan's engines on the web, though there were plenty of ominous warnings from those who would never buy one, of course, along with advice to retorque everything upon purchase. A second advantage is that if the engine ever goes south, there are plenty of available genuine Yamaha 250 Virago engines, and brand new Lifans too, that could replace it. Those, however, are mainly carbureted so far.

One other disadvantage is that there is no service manual available, at least "not yet." The service manual for the Virago is of some use, though not for ECU codes, etc. I acquired the ECU codes, however, and was able to diagnose the O2 sensor problem that way. The small owner's manual has some useful information including the valve clearance specs and a circuit diagram.

A final strong point about the engine is the earlier development by Yamaha of the SRV250 cafe racer (not sold in the U.S.) which produced 27 hp, compared to the 18 hp claimed for the Buccaneer. This suggests the basic motor is substantially under-stressed, with room for more performance. There is at least one overbore kit taking it to 320cc.

The brakes are hydraulic disks front and rear, with steel-braided lines. Four pistons front, and one rear. Essentially the same set up as my Griso, except for the addition of the steel braiding, and the omission of a second front disk.

The four-inch diameter dashboard is not an integral part of the electronics. Instead, it is really a cheap item available in generic form on ebay for about $30. Griso owners, eat your hearts out! It has a layout somewhat like the Griso's: a largish analog tachometer above a digital speed readout. There is a gas gauge, odometer, separate turn signal indicators, and a gear selection indicator. No trip meter is mentioned in the owner's manual, but there is one, operated by a button on the back side of the dashboard. No clock or ambient temperature gauge is present.

There is a kit of nine tools in a pouch under the seat and room to store a drawstring backpack, which is great for bringing back a six pack or more from the store. (The Griso has a kit of five tools crammed into a tiny pocket excavated from the seat's padding, and no room for anything else at all.)

Riding Impressions and Performance

Though it weighs only 320 pounds or so, fully gassed, the Buccaneer feels like, and really is, a full-size bike. The seat is about an inch higher than the Griso's, at 31 inches, which is very noticeable. The light weight makes it easier to ride the motorcycle up onto a lift with confidence, and removes any worries about low speed maneuvering fiascos in other situations.

The riding position, with wide handlebars and very slightly rearset pegs, is also like the Griso's, though there is more leg room. The seat is narrow and hard, compared to the Griso, but I am finding it comfortable, and am never sore after rides of a hundred or two miles.

One astute commenter on my bike noted that it seemed like a dirt bike, and he was right. The Buccaneer, despite being called a cafe racer, is really a traditional scrambler, and is sold as such in other countries. I haven't had much opportunity to use it on dirt roads, but it feels right at home on them.

Vibration is very noticeable through the handlebars. I'm not usually sensitive to this problem, but found both hands were getting tingly after an hour or so. To counter this I installed a "heavy bar-end weight kit" from Moto International (since closed), made of the stock weights from the Moto Guzzi Breva 1100. This made a great improvement especially at the left handlebar grip. But there is still a less intense vibration in the right grip.

The suspension is pretty well damped, which is good since the only adjustment is rear preload. The ride feels a little stiff in town (over our decaying streets) but much more compliant at speed. I don't experience dive or wallowing. Steering is easy with the wide bars and light overall weight, though the rake and trail are relaxed. The motorcycle feels very stable right up to its top speed. It feels like it would be stable for higher speeds too.

The braking is fantastic, by my standards. I think it stops faster than the Griso, though of course there is less mass to decelerate. It is hard to say for sure, without measurement or a side-by-side test. There is no fade in my experience, the levers are firm, and the feel is very good.

Cornering is fun. The suspension and frame do their jobs well. There is more cornering clearance than I have been able to use, which is not surprising considering how narrow the bike is, nine inches at the frame rails. The tires will chirp or slide at about the loads I expect, but they are less grippy than I would like.

Speed is attained by continued effort rather than a twist of the wrist. The top speed in still air, on the level, is about an indicated 75 mph. I haven't checked the speedometer's accuracy, but guess it reads a couple of mph high. If you want more speed, you can lean closer to the tank, or head downwind! I rode back home via a 65 mph posted highway last summer, against a forecast 10 to 15 mph headwind. I was able to do 65 or more as a rule, though I did tuck close to the tank sometimes. I'm riding with the throttle wide open for extended periods, and the bike shows no signs of distress.

The exhaust note, by the way, is pretty loud and raspy. Other reviewers commented that they were surprised it passed the EPA standard. Itsa nice!

The rated peak horsepower, about 18, comes at 8000 rpm, per the manual, so that is where I set my redline. The manual says to avoid running over 7500, which I'm taking to mean any prolonged operation up there. 7500 rpm equals 75 indicated mph. I occasionally shift at 9000 rpm, on the basis of a second-hand recommendation that I don't put much faith in. So far, so good.

On the hilly backroads in the Driftless Region of Wisconsin where I ride I find myself with the throttle wide open most of the time. (Have you taken many corners WFO at full lean lately?) If the speed drops to 60 I downshift and ride the torque back up. This is a style of riding I haven't experienced since my first real bike, a Honda CB160.

I'm getting about 75 mpg, with a 3 1/2 gallon tank. So fill-ups are rare experiences.

Overall Evaluation

I love this bike. I remember how much fun I had on that little CB160, and I don't think I really had much more fun on the bikes that followed it. I've gone across the country, and over mountain passes that the Buccaneer would not do well on. But for running around the backroads of Wisconsin it is a great machine. On my Griso I am always holding back, while on the Buccaneer I am constantly giving it more. The speeds are lower, the brakes are as good or better, and the safety is therefore greater. Besides, its beauty is remarked by one and all, or so it seems, and that is pretty nice too.

Sign me,
Buccaneer

* FOOTNOTE ADDED MARCH 3, 2019: I just found a page from 2016 that changes my understanding of the Caffeina model. It was exhibited in 2016 at EICMA, and was to be produced by an Indonesian company, Garansindo Group, called "a part of Italjet," according to the page:

http://naikmotor.com/39900/italjet-c...ncur-juni-2017

The design appears to be essentially the same as the one announced in 2018 on Italjet's home page as a new model. So I no longer think it is really a new model, and I also doubt that it will be sold in Italy, since this is not explicitly stated on Italjet's web site. Maybe it is still to be sold in Indonesia.

Now that I see the Caffeina model existed earlier than I had thought, I no longer wonder why such an ugly model came from the Buccaneer line. I now think both the original Bezzi design and the Caffeina predated the Buccaneer, and that Tartarini may have better taste than Bezzi after all.

The presence of the Indonesian manufacturer in the history of the model throws some doubt on Longjia's original participation. It now seems like Bezzi proposed the basic model to Tartarini at Italjet, Italjet hoped to have its Indonesian partner build it, but Longjia built it in the end. (Maybe.) No doubt the Lifan-built engine was always part of the plan.

It is interesting to me, at least, that the right side cover on the engine first appears in Bezzi's design. This is a subtle but key design element moving the bike away from the false-Harley look of the Yamaha original, in which the oil filter had been concealed with a larger than needed cover, centered almost at the intersection of the cylinder vee, rather than over the filter's actual position, which is further forward. Harleys have a similar circular cover at the base of the vee.

01-30-2019, 10:51 PM	#18
Buccaneer Join Date: Jan 2019 Location: Madison, WI Posts: 83	Here are my impressions of the SSR Buccaneer 250i I bought last summer. I've got about 2400 miles on it. I'm using my other main bike, a 1100cc Moto Guzzi Griso, as a point of comparison. Here is a picture I took of my Buccaneer on the bank of the Mississippi River, in Iowa: Design My Buccaneer gets a lot of favorable comments, probably at ten times the rate my Griso ever got. It was built by Ningbo Longjia, in China, a different company from the one that builds SSR's pit bikes and the Benellis. Longjia sells some scooters under its own name, and also makes bikes for Genuine Scooters. It has granted Buccaneer distribution rights all over the world. Companies sell it under their own brand names in Germany, Poland, Spain, Thailand, the Philippines, and the United States. Only in Cyprus and Malaysia is it sold as an Italjet as far as I can tell. Italjet does not sell this bike in Italy, where it lately has presented itself as a producer of high-end e-bikes. However, a new iteration of the Buccaneer was announced at this fall's EICMA (2018) to be sold as the Italjet Caffeina in Italy (Scopri la nuova moto Italjet Caffeina).* Ningbo Longjia says on its web site that the Buccaneer was "designed by an Italian in cooperation with Italjet." The Italian they refer to was almost certainly Oberdan Bezzi. Bezzi's website shows a design of his that is almost identical to the version of the Buccaneer that was first displayed at EICMA 2015 by Italjet. He also posts a photo of himself with several smiling persons that look a lot like Chinese technicians or designers. The design shows the basic configuration of the final model, but is very ugly I think: This initial design was apparently built by Italjet and/or Longjia as a prototype. A CAD image of it can been seen on the computer screen of Italjet president Massimo Tartarini in a video about a collaboration with another company. Tartarini is the grandson of Leopoldo Tartarini, the founder (in 1959) of Italjet, who had been a successful racer and designer for Ducati. On the basis of the strong design history of Italjet, and the great beauty of current Italjet e-bikes, I believe it may have been Massimo Tartarini who transformed Bezzi's ugly duckling into the final version that I own. The design obviously took main cues from Moto Guzzi models like the V7 Stornello and Racer, but the result is more beautiful than the Guzzis, I think. The Buccaneer 250 was named after the 1970's Buccaneer 125, an Italjet that sported a Yamaha two-stroke engine (and had a distinguished racing career in Italy): Because SSR had really nothing to do with the origin of the Buccaneer 250, and because Italjet had a lot to do with it, I regard it to be an Italjet in essence. I therefore applied some Italjet stickers I obtained from Hungary to the gas tank, and may remove the SSR ones in time. Voila! The Italjet Buccaneer 250: The U.S. and Wisconsin governments call the Buccaneer a Ningbo Longjia, by the way. Construction The Italjet Buccaneer has a tubular steel frame and many metal components that are plastic on other bikes (like my Griso). The gas tank, front fender, and the headlight rim and shell are all steel. The wheel rims, bash plate and side panels are aluminum. Only the rear fender, the seat core, and the tail light and turn signals are plastic. The relays are Japanese, built in Japan. The fuel injection is controlled by a Delphi ECU, the same model, I believe, as used on some Harleys. The drain plug gaskets are solid copper. The chain is a relatively huge 530, as used on much larger bikes. It is not an o-ring chain, probably to conserve scarce horsepower. Not everything is great. The tank and fender striping is tape, and not applied properly in one spot under the front of the seat. The tachometer needle wobbles as though it needs a bushing. The front suspension squeaks. The front O2 sensor failed for me at 1002 miles, just after the break-in period. It took two weeks to get the new part, but fortunately my dealer, about 50 miles away, arranged things so that I lost no time with the motorcycle in the shop, and was able to continue riding it while waiting for the part to arrive. One big advantage of the Buccaneer is its engine, which is the long-developed clone of the Yamaha 250 Virago motor, built by Lifan, a different company than Longjia. Lifan has been building it for quite a while, and can be hoped to have overcome initial quality problems. I couldn't really find any substantiated complaints about Lifan's engines on the web, though there were plenty of ominous warnings from those who would never buy one, of course, along with advice to retorque everything upon purchase. A second advantage is that if the engine ever goes south, there are plenty of available genuine Yamaha 250 Virago engines, and brand new Lifans too, that could replace it. Those, however, are mainly carbureted so far. One other disadvantage is that there is no service manual available, at least "not yet." The service manual for the Virago is of some use, though not for ECU codes, etc. I acquired the ECU codes, however, and was able to diagnose the O2 sensor problem that way. The small owner's manual has some useful information including the valve clearance specs and a circuit diagram. A final strong point about the engine is the earlier development by Yamaha of the SRV250 cafe racer (not sold in the U.S.) which produced 27 hp, compared to the 18 hp claimed for the Buccaneer. This suggests the basic motor is substantially under-stressed, with room for more performance. There is at least one overbore kit taking it to 320cc. The brakes are hydraulic disks front and rear, with steel-braided lines. Four pistons front, and one rear. Essentially the same set up as my Griso, except for the addition of the steel braiding, and the omission of a second front disk. The four-inch diameter dashboard is not an integral part of the electronics. Instead, it is really a cheap item available in generic form on ebay for about $30. Griso owners, eat your hearts out! It has a layout somewhat like the Griso's: a largish analog tachometer above a digital speed readout. There is a gas gauge, odometer, separate turn signal indicators, and a gear selection indicator. No trip meter is mentioned in the owner's manual, but there is one, operated by a button on the back side of the dashboard. No clock or ambient temperature gauge is present. There is a kit of nine tools in a pouch under the seat and room to store a drawstring backpack, which is great for bringing back a six pack or more from the store. (The Griso has a kit of five tools crammed into a tiny pocket excavated from the seat's padding, and no room for anything else at all.) Riding Impressions and Performance Though it weighs only 320 pounds or so, fully gassed, the Buccaneer feels like, and really is, a full-size bike. The seat is about an inch higher than the Griso's, at 31 inches, which is very noticeable. The light weight makes it easier to ride the motorcycle up onto a lift with confidence, and removes any worries about low speed maneuvering fiascos in other situations. The riding position, with wide handlebars and very slightly rearset pegs, is also like the Griso's, though there is more leg room. The seat is narrow and hard, compared to the Griso, but I am finding it comfortable, and am never sore after rides of a hundred or two miles. One astute commenter on my bike noted that it seemed like a dirt bike, and he was right. The Buccaneer, despite being called a cafe racer, is really a traditional scrambler, and is sold as such in other countries. I haven't had much opportunity to use it on dirt roads, but it feels right at home on them. Vibration is very noticeable through the handlebars. I'm not usually sensitive to this problem, but found both hands were getting tingly after an hour or so. To counter this I installed a "heavy bar-end weight kit" from Moto International (since closed), made of the stock weights from the Moto Guzzi Breva 1100. This made a great improvement especially at the left handlebar grip. But there is still a less intense vibration in the right grip. The suspension is pretty well damped, which is good since the only adjustment is rear preload. The ride feels a little stiff in town (over our decaying streets) but much more compliant at speed. I don't experience dive or wallowing. Steering is easy with the wide bars and light overall weight, though the rake and trail are relaxed. The motorcycle feels very stable right up to its top speed. It feels like it would be stable for higher speeds too. The braking is fantastic, by my standards. I think it stops faster than the Griso, though of course there is less mass to decelerate. It is hard to say for sure, without measurement or a side-by-side test. There is no fade in my experience, the levers are firm, and the feel is very good. Cornering is fun. The suspension and frame do their jobs well. There is more cornering clearance than I have been able to use, which is not surprising considering how narrow the bike is, nine inches at the frame rails. The tires will chirp or slide at about the loads I expect, but they are less grippy than I would like. Speed is attained by continued effort rather than a twist of the wrist. The top speed in still air, on the level, is about an indicated 75 mph. I haven't checked the speedometer's accuracy, but guess it reads a couple of mph high. If you want more speed, you can lean closer to the tank, or head downwind! I rode back home via a 65 mph posted highway last summer, against a forecast 10 to 15 mph headwind. I was able to do 65 or more as a rule, though I did tuck close to the tank sometimes. I'm riding with the throttle wide open for extended periods, and the bike shows no signs of distress. The exhaust note, by the way, is pretty loud and raspy. Other reviewers commented that they were surprised it passed the EPA standard. Itsa nice! The rated peak horsepower, about 18, comes at 8000 rpm, per the manual, so that is where I set my redline. The manual says to avoid running over 7500, which I'm taking to mean any prolonged operation up there. 7500 rpm equals 75 indicated mph. I occasionally shift at 9000 rpm, on the basis of a second-hand recommendation that I don't put much faith in. So far, so good. On the hilly backroads in the Driftless Region of Wisconsin where I ride I find myself with the throttle wide open most of the time. (Have you taken many corners WFO at full lean lately?) If the speed drops to 60 I downshift and ride the torque back up. This is a style of riding I haven't experienced since my first real bike, a Honda CB160. I'm getting about 75 mpg, with a 3 1/2 gallon tank. So fill-ups are rare experiences. Overall Evaluation I love this bike. I remember how much fun I had on that little CB160, and I don't think I really had much more fun on the bikes that followed it. I've gone across the country, and over mountain passes that the Buccaneer would not do well on. But for running around the backroads of Wisconsin it is a great machine. On my Griso I am always holding back, while on the Buccaneer I am constantly giving it more. The speeds are lower, the brakes are as good or better, and the safety is therefore greater. Besides, its beauty is remarked by one and all, or so it seems, and that is pretty nice too. Sign me, Buccaneer * FOOTNOTE ADDED MARCH 3, 2019: I just found a page from 2016 that changes my understanding of the Caffeina model. It was exhibited in 2016 at EICMA, and was to be produced by an Indonesian company, Garansindo Group, called "a part of Italjet," according to the page: http://naikmotor.com/39900/italjet-c...ncur-juni-2017 The design appears to be essentially the same as the one announced in 2018 on Italjet's home page as a new model. So I no longer think it is really a new model, and I also doubt that it will be sold in Italy, since this is not explicitly stated on Italjet's web site. Maybe it is still to be sold in Indonesia. Now that I see the Caffeina model existed earlier than I had thought, I no longer wonder why such an ugly model came from the Buccaneer line. I now think both the original Bezzi design and the Caffeina predated the Buccaneer, and that Tartarini may have better taste than Bezzi after all. The presence of the Indonesian manufacturer in the history of the model throws some doubt on Longjia's original participation. It now seems like Bezzi proposed the basic model to Tartarini at Italjet, Italjet hoped to have its Indonesian partner build it, but Longjia built it in the end. (Maybe.) No doubt the Lifan-built engine was always part of the plan. It is interesting to me, at least, that the right side cover on the engine first appears in Bezzi's design. This is a subtle but key design element moving the bike away from the false-Harley look of the Yamaha original, in which the oil filter had been concealed with a larger than needed cover, centered almost at the intersection of the cylinder vee, rather than over the filter's actual position, which is further forward. Harleys have a similar circular cover at the base of the vee. Last edited by Buccaneer; 03-03-2019 at 07:47 PM.
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