Df250rts performance upgrades?

22andrew22 · 05-18-2019, 10:49 PM

I recently got a x22-r from venom. So far I love it. Still in the break-in so I'm trying my hardest to stay off the throttle, but I have noticed power really drops off after 5500. Anybody else with this bike or the 165fmm/cb250 engine experience this? What performance parts are available for this engine? I've found big bore kits for the water cooled version, but no a/c. Is the stock cdi a weak point? I don't plan on touching the motor until the warranty is up, but I was curious to see what the community had to say.

Thanks, Drew.

RedCrowRides · 05-18-2019, 11:27 PM

Welcome to Chinariders Drew ! My advice is to wander over to the Dual Sport / Enduro Forum by using the Forum Jump drop down and look there, the engine in your Bike is basically the same as whats in the Hawk ,Apollo , etc.

I'm guessing if you don't want to get into internals until after the warranty expires then

you will be looking at carb / air filter mods and aftermarket exhaust , i have no experience with the 250 but i can tell you that replacing my stock carb and airbox on my Venom Motorsports Vader 125 along with an aftermarket exhaust did wonders for it .I did also change my stock ignition out to a "Racing" CDI ,coil and plug wire package but other than it eliminated the rev limiter i didn't notice much of a difference,maybe slightly snappier acceleration ,but in any case it wasnt hugely noticeable like the carb / intake / filter swap was, or the exhaust swap.

anyways hope this helps you some and again, welcome to Chinariders, there is a great Community here and everyone goes out of their way to be helpful i think you will like it here !

culcune · 05-19-2019, 02:31 AM

Like Redcrow wrote, you don't want to mess with the internals of these thumpers; first off, they tend to wake up after 500 or so miles, then it is usually carb and exhaust. Since the hub is common to old Honda xl185 and the likes, rear sprockets are common as dirt with dual sports, and those who change them for either street use report great changes. However, you will have to research what hub your bike uses. Otherwise, your countersprocket should be common to the xr250 like the enduros. That could help out with performance.

22andrew22 · 05-19-2019, 09:43 PM

Thanks redcrow and culcune for the quick replies. I ordered a vm30, should be here tomorrow. Not sure when I'll get time to put it on and tune it though. I've seen a few posts about the sigma jet kits? Seems good to get a baseline tune without spending a couple hours hot pulling the plug, as I work 70+ hours. Are they worth it or am I better off tuning it myself when I get time?

22andrew22 · 10-13-2019, 11:17 AM

Well, I didn't want to go into the motor. I had a rocker arm snap on me on the road. It ended up rubbing the cam almost round on both lobes before snapping the rocker. I'm guessing lack of oil caused it, (it was probably my fault for running it like I did.

). Upon disassembly I noticed quite a bit of sealant in the oil feed(around head studs) and in the channel. Not much metal was found other than dust suspended in the oil(cam) and two small chunks and the two halves of the rocker. No cyl scoring. Had the head decked 1mm, ported, and a valve job thinking maybe valve stem clearance. Reassembled with the smallest amount of rtv(maybe 0.5mm thick.) No leaks, but it was running quite a bit lean.

It's running pretty good now. Rejetted, installed a 34tooth rear sprocket I machined from a blank. That's 25% lower gearing than stock. That gives me about 60mph@~6000rpm, which makes me feel much better taking her on the interstate. I also installed a howdytubr programmable cdi. Other than the terrible instructions, all went well. I still need to tune the cdi, but it's much better.

culcune · 10-13-2019, 12:31 PM

Exhaust would probably wake it up a tad bit is my guess. I think one possible modification to consider would be CSC's head kit. I know that a few of the members with Hawks have bought the head and noticed a one +/- horsepower difference in power. Not sure how close to the CSC or Hawk engine your mill is, even though it is a Zongshen manufactured engine proprietary to Dongfang (according to the EPA/DOT certification list which states the bikes using the 223cc engine are using the Zongshen engine).

22andrew22 · 10-13-2019, 09:56 PM

I have "uncorked" the exhaust by cutting the restrictor plate out up by the head. From what I can tell it shares the top end with a crf230f. At least the cam(maybe different profile) and rockers. I thought about a bbk, but I'm unsure of the head bolt spacing and or the block to cyl clearance difference. Would be nice to bore it 1-2mm.

Joe Schutts · 09-23-2020, 11:37 PM

Hi,

The BEST ADVICE I can give you is to look for someone named

JERRYHAWK250

here.

He has BOTH a Hawk 250 and a Venom X22R and is EXTREMELY KNOWLEDGEABLE about BOTH BIKES - PLUS he is EXTREMELY helpful and friendly. Plus I cannot think of ANY MOD that he hasn't done OR is aware of...

I have been in touch with him numerous times and he has always been helpful.

Get in touch with him - you won't be sorry you did...

Hope this helps...

Joe...

Joe Schutts · 11-03-2020, 11:49 AM

Hi Everyone,

Another piece of advice I can give everyone (who owns ((or is considering buying)) a Venom X22R) is to look for a message link that starts with the following header:

Venom X22R 250 performance mods ( 1 2 3 ... Last Page)

This is a page of upgrades that JerryHawk has done on the Venom X22R and they are helpful and well advised...

Hope this helps everyone...

Joe...

05-18-2019, 10:49 PM	#1
22andrew22 Join Date: May 2019 Posts: 4	Df250rts performance upgrades? I recently got a x22-r from venom. So far I love it. Still in the break-in so I'm trying my hardest to stay off the throttle, but I have noticed power really drops off after 5500. Anybody else with this bike or the 165fmm/cb250 engine experience this? What performance parts are available for this engine? I've found big bore kits for the water cooled version, but no a/c. Is the stock cdi a weak point? I don't plan on touching the motor until the warranty is up, but I was curious to see what the community had to say. Thanks, Drew.
	1

05-18-2019, 11:27 PM	#2
RedCrowRides Join Date: Jun 2018 Location: Florida Posts: 759	Welcome to Chinariders Drew ! My advice is to wander over to the Dual Sport / Enduro Forum by using the Forum Jump drop down and look there, the engine in your Bike is basically the same as whats in the Hawk ,Apollo , etc. I'm guessing if you don't want to get into internals until after the warranty expires then you will be looking at carb / air filter mods and aftermarket exhaust , i have no experience with the 250 but i can tell you that replacing my stock carb and airbox on my Venom Motorsports Vader 125 along with an aftermarket exhaust did wonders for it .I did also change my stock ignition out to a "Racing" CDI ,coil and plug wire package but other than it eliminated the rev limiter i didn't notice much of a difference,maybe slightly snappier acceleration ,but in any case it wasnt hugely noticeable like the carb / intake / filter swap was, or the exhaust swap. anyways hope this helps you some and again, welcome to Chinariders, there is a great Community here and everyone goes out of their way to be helpful i think you will like it here ! __________________ 2001 Mustang GT 2004 Sportster 2018 VADER 2020 Orion RXB250L
	1

05-19-2019, 02:31 AM	#3
culcune Join Date: May 2006 Location: Yuma, Arizona Posts: 9,056	Like Redcrow wrote, you don't want to mess with the internals of these thumpers; first off, they tend to wake up after 500 or so miles, then it is usually carb and exhaust. Since the hub is common to old Honda xl185 and the likes, rear sprockets are common as dirt with dual sports, and those who change them for either street use report great changes. However, you will have to research what hub your bike uses. Otherwise, your countersprocket should be common to the xr250 like the enduros. That could help out with performance. __________________ "They say that life's a carousel, spinning fast you got to ride it well..." TGB Delivery Scooter 150 TMEC 200 Enduro--carcass is sadly rotting in the backyard
	0

10-13-2019, 11:17 AM	#5
22andrew22 Join Date: May 2019 Posts: 4	Update Well, I didn't want to go into the motor. I had a rocker arm snap on me on the road. It ended up rubbing the cam almost round on both lobes before snapping the rocker. I'm guessing lack of oil caused it, (it was probably my fault for running it like I did. ). Upon disassembly I noticed quite a bit of sealant in the oil feed(around head studs) and in the channel. Not much metal was found other than dust suspended in the oil(cam) and two small chunks and the two halves of the rocker. No cyl scoring. Had the head decked 1mm, ported, and a valve job thinking maybe valve stem clearance. Reassembled with the smallest amount of rtv(maybe 0.5mm thick.) No leaks, but it was running quite a bit lean. It's running pretty good now. Rejetted, installed a 34tooth rear sprocket I machined from a blank. That's 25% lower gearing than stock. That gives me about 60mph@~6000rpm, which makes me feel much better taking her on the interstate. I also installed a howdytubr programmable cdi. Other than the terrible instructions, all went well. I still need to tune the cdi, but it's much better.
	1

10-13-2019, 12:31 PM	#6
culcune Join Date: May 2006 Location: Yuma, Arizona Posts: 9,056	Exhaust would probably wake it up a tad bit is my guess. I think one possible modification to consider would be CSC's head kit. I know that a few of the members with Hawks have bought the head and noticed a one +/- horsepower difference in power. Not sure how close to the CSC or Hawk engine your mill is, even though it is a Zongshen manufactured engine proprietary to Dongfang (according to the EPA/DOT certification list which states the bikes using the 223cc engine are using the Zongshen engine). __________________ "They say that life's a carousel, spinning fast you got to ride it well..." TGB Delivery Scooter 150 TMEC 200 Enduro--carcass is sadly rotting in the backyard
	0

05-19-2019, 09:43 PM	#4
22andrew22 Join Date: May 2019 Posts: 4	Thanks redcrow and culcune for the quick replies. I ordered a vm30, should be here tomorrow. Not sure when I'll get time to put it on and tune it though. I've seen a few posts about the sigma jet kits? Seems good to get a baseline tune without spending a couple hours hot pulling the plug, as I work 70+ hours. Are they worth it or am I better off tuning it myself when I get time?
	0

10-13-2019, 09:56 PM	#7
22andrew22 Join Date: May 2019 Posts: 4	I have "uncorked" the exhaust by cutting the restrictor plate out up by the head. From what I can tell it shares the top end with a crf230f. At least the cam(maybe different profile) and rockers. I thought about a bbk, but I'm unsure of the head bolt spacing and or the block to cyl clearance difference. Would be nice to bore it 1-2mm.
	1

09-23-2020, 11:37 PM	#8
Joe Schutts Join Date: Jun 2020 Location: Camp Hill, PA Posts: 113	Hi, The BEST ADVICE I can give you is to look for someone named JERRYHAWK250 here. He has BOTH a Hawk 250 and a Venom X22R and is EXTREMELY KNOWLEDGEABLE about BOTH BIKES - PLUS he is EXTREMELY helpful and friendly. Plus I cannot think of ANY MOD that he hasn't done OR is aware of... I have been in touch with him numerous times and he has always been helpful. Get in touch with him - you won't be sorry you did... Hope this helps... Joe...
	1

11-03-2020, 11:49 AM	#9
Joe Schutts Join Date: Jun 2020 Location: Camp Hill, PA Posts: 113	Venom X22R Recommended Upgrades (LOOK HERE) Hi Everyone, Another piece of advice I can give everyone (who owns ((or is considering buying)) a Venom X22R) is to look for a message link that starts with the following header: Venom X22R 250 performance mods ( 1 2 3 ... Last Page) This is a page of upgrades that JerryHawk has done on the Venom X22R and they are helpful and well advised... Hope this helps everyone... Joe...
	0