Buccaneer SRT250 Classic or Cafe Purchase

[ChopperCharles]

So, with this exhaust I noticed additional power down low, but no real increase in top end.

So, I took the cover off the airbox, and ran it open. No filter, no airbox top. And.... gained significant top end power. The airbox, and I think in particular the air filter and cage, is a major restriction. I removed the rubber snorkel on the front of the airbox, put it all together... and it was pretty much like stock. Slightly better, but the power I had disappeared. Basically with the airbox in place, the last 3/4 of throttle really makes no difference 70mph+ (actual, not indicated). In fact, I can often get a higher top speed by keepign the throttle somewhere around 75%, instead of pinning it wide open.

With no filter at all, I can feel a big difference between 75% throttle and 100% throttle on the highway. Going up a big hill, with the stock set up I was only able to make 71mph. Same hill, same time of day, same everything, I hit 75mph (actual) with no airbox. That's 80mph indicated. Up a hill. With no traffic blocking the wind for me. And I weigh 250 lbs.

That's a big deal. That's a serious performance boost.

So I've got a 45mm K&N pod filter on the way, as well as a Chinese pod filter on a 90 degree rubber bend. Whichever one fits and/or provides the highest top speed up said hill will be the one I use.

Charles.

[franque]

I might look at your main jet if I were you. It almost sounds like you're too rich in the main jet, I'd try keeping the airbox on it, with one size smaller main, and see what it does.

[JerryHawk250]

The Buccaneer is fuel injected. The free flowing air filter will be a big help. You might want to look into one of the performance chips like these https://www.magnumtuning.com/en/subc.../bike-upgrades . Even though your bike is not listed I think these are universal and use the same for all bikes. All these do is trick the ECU into dumping more fuel but very effective for a stock engine. If you can find someone to dyno tune and flash the ECU would be much better.

[ChopperCharles]

I already have a Dobeck EJK (Electronic Jet Kit) that I modified to work with the Buccaneer. Once I get an acceptable filter mounted up, I will see if the tuner makes a difference. It's been installed for quite some time, but I found that any changes I made with stock exhaust and stock intake just made it slower and killed the fuel mileage. So it's currently set to add zero fuel across the board. With intake and exhaust changes I am going to make multiple runs against a particular hill on the interstate, and go with whatever settings give me the highest top speed going up that hill. Dyno when and if I get the chance, but real world ability to go up a hill without dropping speed is what I really need, and so it should be a good test to dial in the motor correctly.

Charles.

[ChopperCharles]

I mounted the K&N filter. I don't love the mounting position, but it does fit. It's crammed under the tank a bit. Still, there's a notable performance increase over the stock airbox. Plus the stock airbox and filter weighs almost 2 pounds, the K&N weighs just a few ounces. I like this setup, but I've got one more filter I want to try before I call it good. It's just so blasted cold here these days, it's hard to find time for testing and riding.

Charles.

[culcune]

The Buccaneer was recently awarded California CARB certification for the Classic and Café models. Interesting that it wasn't SSR certifying the bike, but rather the OEM, Ningbo Longjia, but I am guessing it will still be SSR distributing them here in the US (Canada, too?). The certificate was just awarded on 1/7/2020, but the certificate covers 2019 models, so I am not sure what is going on.

https://ww3.arb.ca.gov/msprog/onroad..._249_1d0_h.pdf

The US EPA site has not been updated since October, but I am sure there are several bikes, this one included, that has been EPA/DOT certified in the meantime as there are usually not bikes ONLY certified for California.

Edit: I should have pointed out that this is a re-certification for the bike in California, as it has been available there for a few years. I wanted to point out that this is good news in that the bike will likely continue to be sold in California and the US in general.

[ChopperCharles]

That’s excellent news. The frame was redesigned in 2018 to make the passenger section stronger, so it will be nice to see new models. It will make the luggage rack far more useful for carrying heavy loads — there is too much frame flex for a large top case right now.

I’m super curious however if it will be a Buccaneer or the new caffiena that comes over.

Charles.

[ZeroSwagger]

Anyone know if the caffeine is going to make it's way state side? I have been eyeing the Buccaneer for a few months now, but the caffeine is damn sexy...

[ChopperCharles]

FYI, this is the state of my bike now.



It’s no longer a cafe, it’s a scrambler now. And honestly it’s a better bike for it. It doesn’t matter that it’s not fast, it’s WAY more fun this way. It’s geared for 80mph actual at 9000rpm. This gives me plenty of torque on gravel to spin the wheel a bit and to pop the front up to hop over an obstacle in 1st gear with ease. But I can also hold 70-75 on the freeway even up medium hills. This is gps speed. Only mild performance mods - caffenia exhaust and a K&N filter.

The wheels and tires and tubes are way heavier than stock and actually are a negative hit to performance. Gearing, a 520 chain and sprockets, and the intake and exhaust mods more than make up for it though.


Charles.

[wheelbender6]

Cool. Looks like a Ducati.

[ChopperCharles]

The classic is now $2899 and the cafe $2999 right now. Great prices on a great bike.

Charles.

[OKG]

Hello from Germany,

I'm also riding the European version of this bike. It's a Romet SCMB 250 from 2016 distributed by Polands Romet company.

However the bike is pretty good, I'm also interested to modify it. Manly performance but also safety.

Do you have any idea where to buy parts? I only found a shop in Poland selling OEM parts but no mods.

I'm also looking for the caffeina exhaust and maybe the breaking system because it's an ABS system. Any Idea? I plan to also modify the air intake with a open K&N filter, therefore I'll try to design a better Air intake using my 3d Printer.

Second would be to code the EFI, the Delphi MT05 was also used by H&D in past. But it's hard to find the right plugs and software to deal with. I think the standard setup is coded to deal with any low gas quality in the world as it is also sold in India and other asian countries. Gas quality in Europe and maybe in the US is much better which usually has significant potential to increase performance.

Any idea?

Best

[ChopperCharles]

I have a tuner. It can help with midrange, but no performance gains are to be had at the top end. The efi computer adjusts itself to give you the right fuel mix even after upgrading to a caffiena exhaust with no catalaytic conveyer, and a k&n pod filter on a short 90 degree bend. You can gain a bit of midrange torque but the ecu already adjusts the high speed fueling perfectly. All playing with the upper range on the tuner did was drop my power and gas mileage.

The k&n and exhaust are worth sustained Highway speeds about 5mph higher than stock, for a sub-200lb man. If you couple that with a 520 chain and sprockets and a 15 tooth countershadt sprocket, the bike becomes infinitely more rideable.

Check out my thread on advrider.com for all of my mods. Intake, exhaust, tuner, gearing, rims, rack, speedometer reprogram (to display correct speed), etc.

Charles.

[ChopperCharles]

Caffinea exhaust is now available on amazon btw. It’s not cheap, and the hardware is not listed. But look up the lexmoto vendetta on amazon, and you should find a bunch of good parts.

Charles.

[ChopperCharles]

Today’s achievement:



I’ve owned it for one year two months one week and some change, and today I turned 10k miles. I even was able to stop just in time to take the perfect photo.

Charles.