Laos on a Lifan

[steveccanyon]

Hey Guys

picked up the bike in Chaing Mai last week and headed over to Laos. She needs more power..



Any suggestions?

Other than that it's not to bad, not been out riding riding, leaving tomorrow morning to get the trip under way.

Done an oil change and adjusted the valves, still rattling though



Added some bar risers.... still to low, have to get some new bars at some point, it doesn't like all the weight on the back so I posted some gear onto my final destination, hope that improves the handling.



Sorry the internet is not much good here, when I get a better connection I will write some more.....

[katoranger]

More power. How is the carb jetting? Also a new engine may need a few miles to loosen up.

[Weldangrind]

If the exhaust system has a catalytic converter, that will cost some power. If you choose to remove it, you'd need to fatten up the jets to compensate. I've had trouble finding replacement jets for the Keihin-cloned carbs, but no problem at all with 30mm Mikuni carbs.

I'm using atv bars on my TW, and they provide a very good reach for me, with minimal strain on my back.

[FastDoc]

Nice pics and thanks for posting.

A 200cc CB is a 200cc CB but you can optimize what you have with relieving intake and exhaust restrictions. It also needs to loosen up a bit.

Valves on these little aircooled bikes make some noise. If they are correctly adjusted they are correctly adjusted. I assume you changed the oil from the delivery soy sauce they ship these engines with?

Enjoy the ride. I am jealous. :oops:

[SpudRider]

Thanks for posting the ride report, Steve. As usual, the others have given you superb advice.

Spud

[SpudRider]

Incidentally, that's a nice looking bike. I like the plastic, exhaust, headlight, and skid plate. What model Lifan is that? Did the bike come equipped with hand guards, or did you add them?

Spud

[steveccanyon]

Originally Posted by katoranger

More power. How is the carb jetting? Also a new engine may need a few miles to loosen up.

Know idea about the jetting, it sounds loose already ...hehheee

[steveccanyon]

Originally Posted by Weldangrind

If the exhaust system has a catalytic converter, that will cost some power. If you choose to remove it, you'd need to fatten up the jets to compensate. I've had trouble finding replacement jets for the Keihin-cloned carbs, but no problem at all with 30mm Mikuni carbs.

I'm using atv bars on my TW, and they provide a very good reach for me, with minimal strain on my back.

When I get back to Thailand I'm gonna bash the cat out and get some bigger jets, if I can find them. I will get some good bars in Thailand also, still to low...

[steveccanyon]

Originally Posted by FastDoc

Nice pics and thanks for posting.

A 200cc CB is a 200cc CB but you can optimize what you have with relieving intake and exhaust restrictions. It also needs to loosen up a bit.

Valves on these little aircooled bikes make some noise. If they are correctly adjusted they are correctly adjusted. I assume you changed the oil from the delivery soy sauce they ship these engines with?

Enjoy the ride. I am jealous. :oops:

I have changed the oil already, man she rattles....will do some mods in Thailand....

[steveccanyon]

Originally Posted by SpudRider

Incidentally, that's a nice looking bike. I like the plastic, exhaust, headlight, and skid plate. What model Lifan is that? Did the bike come equipped with hand guards, or did you add them?

Spud

its a 200 explore, i added the bash plate and hand gaurd, it look good but needs more grunt.

Another problem is the front forks when I brake the front pulls to the right a lot, going to have to change the suspension it's not enough for Laos...any ideas what will fit on it?

[katoranger]

Rattling may be loose engine mounting bolts.

[FastDoc]

Originally Posted by steveccanyon

its a 200 explore, i added the bash plate and hand gaurd, it look good but needs more grunt.

Another problem is the front forks when I brake the front pulls to the right a lot, going to have to change the suspension it's not enough for Laos...any ideas what will fit on it?

Pulls to the right....

That's not good.

Check the rear wheel alignment. You may need to measure with a string. The witness marks may not be reliable/symmetric.

I'd also check the front axle bolt(s) and loosen and retorque the triple tree bolts. Check for play/looseness in the steering stem bearings. Finally look for any cracks.

[culcune]

For your lack of power concerns, what rear sprocket is on the bike? Many if not most 200 enduros from China that we got in the US 6 or 7 years ago came with 56 tooth rear sprockets, which were changed out for sprockets that would allow the bikes to cruise at 55 to 60 mph without the engine revving at near-death.

In the part of the world you are riding, if the sprocket is in the 30 to mid-40 teeth, perhaps you might change it for something higher numerically.

[steveccanyon]

I'm not to worried about top speed, I like a bit of torque which the Lifan lacks. I have gutted the exhaust which has given me a bit more power, but down the trails it's ok really it plods along well...

I got it up to 105ks but she was shaking a bit....

[steveccanyon]

I spent couple of days in Houay Xai there is not a whole lot to do there, I did find one Gem and old French fort (Fort Carnot) which I was able to get into and have a look around, for me the gun room was magic along with the views from the look out posts. It seems like there is a restoration job going on but nobody seemed to know about it.








The Views over the border to Thailand.





It's a beautiful day.







The Gun room.







Some great toys!









I could spend all day in here, some of this stuff was really old, makes you wonder what went on in here?




Boys and their toys.







It had been a good day, I love the war stuff. I headed back to my Hotel to prepare for the off tomorrow.


Saturday morning came and I got an early start to head of to Luang Nam Tha, I decided to go the long way which would take me up near the borders of Myanmar and China about 200 k's of Jungle tracks and mountain tops with a couple of river crossings thrown in, nothing to hard. Once I was off the main road this was the scene...





Nobody about, got the place to myself.





On my route I was able to visit another Lima site, LS1 nothing really to see but my imagination fills in the blanks, it's in there somewhere.




I plodded on for a few more hrs and then I hit the jungle, the trails where undulating and great fun to ride.





This a a blast, nobody around.





Only a few river crossing and no wet feet, I was having a ball.




There was a few boggy bits and one of them caught me out and threw me of fortunately my back pack got caught in the handle bars and I did not end up going down a steep slope, however something in the bushes was a bit upset with me coming crashing through his house and bit me, never had a reaction to a bite like that before, my forearm is swollen and there's a lot of heat and itching, other than that I'm fine. The bike didn't come of so well, bent handle bars and mangled gear lever both need replacing.





Good job I didn't go down there. :helpsmilie:




I straightened the lever out best I could and decided to have lunch, by now my arm was swelling a bit, later it got a lot worse.







After my off I had Banana sandwiches for Lunch you can buy bread here, guess we can thank the French for that.. The scenery is stunning and remote is the word lots Banana plantations and nobody around, peaceful just me and the bike.






On one section I found this guy broken down, he had the whole engine apart with the big bearings had gone, makes you appreciate the AA nothing of the sort here your on your own, I wished him luck and pressed on.







He had made camp, guess he was going to be there a while.




That's some fix in the jungle.





Some more great views.









Arriving at Luang Nam Tha about 5 Pm it had been a 10hr 200k ride and I was ready for a rest, found a Hotel got cleaned up and went for dinner, steak with blue cheese cost me more than the hotel but was worth it along with a couple of beers.




Wifi didn't work...Damn!





I went back to my room and sorted all my kit ready for the next day which would be an easy day after today, so a little lay in would be in order and I fell asleep watching TV, a great day.