New Bashan BRS 250 'Raven'

[stewbrash]

USPS sent me a text that I would be receiving my digital speedometer (a package) today! Took 19 days from China, who said there was a shipping problem. So...it was time to install the sensor! After I had the mechanical unit off-it went together in less than 30 seconds! It really looks like it was made for it!

[JerryHawk250]

Good deal! Personally i would zip tie the cable to the fork. Just hanging out there that cable might get hung up on something and ripped off.

[stewbrash]

Yeah Jerry, I'm a little concerned with that also, I don't think I have enough slack unless I take it out of the factory wire-loom thingy it goes through. I'll have to take a hard look at that.

[stewbrash]

Received and installed my speedo today. It was 100% plug-n-play with the Bashan BSR! I didn't even have to mess with a tach wire...Just plugged it all in and it worked. The only thing I had to do was fine-tune the circumference of the tire and reverse the yellow and green wires from the sensor. It took awhile to adjust but the speedo will change exactly when the GPS does...so for $49 total cost (compared to $103 on Amazon)...I am extremely satisfied! Also, when I measured my tire it came in at 2220mm in circumference, which is the number I started with and it was 5 mph off so I kept lowering the number until the speedo exactly matched the GPS...at 1995mm. Strange...but true! Also, as you'll see below, it CAME WITH INSTRUCTIONS...HOLY COW...I'M IMPRESSED!

[stewbrash]

Here's a pic of the high-beam on, flashers on, in first gear and if you'll notice the odometer showing 11 MILES, that's how far it took me to adjust the speed to match the GPS! Haha! After about seven or eight times stopping and resetting the speedo, it kept reading about 30% faster than the last time. I finally figured out that as soon as you come out of 'settings' mode it reverts back to Kilometers Per Hour...well, I didn't notice that! As soon as I figured out where I was messing up I dialed it in in about 20 minutes...geesh! The second pic is showing 5th gear...it was amazing that I didn't have to mess with changing the pins for those!

[JerryHawk250]

Originally Posted by stewbrash

Yeah Jerry, I'm a little concerned with that also, I don't think I have enough slack unless I take it out of the factory wire-loom thingy it goes through. I'll have to take a hard look at that.

I strapped it right on the fork and removed that wire bracket.

[stewbrash]

Jerry, that is exactly the mission of the day...thanks!

[stewbrash]

The reverse side of the instructions, showing the wiring schematic...can anyone translate this? Haha! Bunch of lazy electrical engineers!

[stewbrash]

"Tada!"

[stewbrash]

Curiosity killed the cat (who made that up?), so I pulled the carb, not needing to-just curious to see what jets they supplied stock. Turns out the main is a 105 and the pilot is 35. I was thinking more like 88 for stock. At any rate the 10mm nuts that bolt the carb down came off with my fingers so I installed flanged bolts from Amazon so I won't have that problem anymore. The air-mixture screw didn't have a plug on it-it was a d shaped head, which? so I said that since I also wrecked a screw that's enough of that and put on a PZ30 I had around, which also came with 105/35 jets...so I put in a 108 with the 35. Runs awesome. Also ordered the exhaust (Amazon was having a sale) for $65 with a $5 off coupon.https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[stewbrash]

"tada!" At member Jerryhawk's suggestion, I routed the electrical feed from the sensor to the speedo by following the fork...instead of hanging out in the breeze via the old route.

[stewbrash]

After messing with the ceiling straps and/or the floor jack I came to the conclusion that it would be beneficial to have a "motorcycle lift" to facilitate this endeavor! Being the cheap (miserly) consumer I bought the one from Harborfreight for$39.99 and it worked very well, the only drawback is that is designed for tall "Dirt-Bikes" and you have to raise the front wheel a bit (I used a 4X4 that worked well) so you can place the unit underneath. It's easy to find the 'sweet-spot' and balance it so both wheels are off the ground, or you can position it forward or rearward depending on what you need. Also, when i went to the store I couldn't find it with the motorcycle lifts etc...so I asked someone where the 'Motocross Dirt-Bike Stand' was and she pointed to an obscure aisle full of miscellaneous items..weird. Here is the link:
https://www.harborfreight.com/350-lb...and-64926.html

[stewbrash]

I was planning on gutting the catalytic converter ala Jerryhawk's fine tutorial and just run the stock muffler as it's extremely quiet, and I love the stealthiness but I came across this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08S7HQ49B...roduct_details from Amazon for $60 ($5 off coup.) and considering most of them were going for $89 to $99, I jumped on it! Went together in 5 minutes, only had to make a flange (out of the shipping frame...naturally!) to mount the muffler and bingo! NO CATS ALLOWED! Also the bolt holes on the flange to bolt to the head were elongated (you can actually see it in the pic on the Amazon page.) I'll keep the stock muffler (might make a good boat anchor) as it looks like it will bolt right up to the new header pipe...might just do that for a performance experiment! And yes, to answer your question...IT IS PRETTY LOUD!

For the exhaust crush gaskets I bought these, they fit perfectly! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MZDNDMH...roduct_details

Update 7/19...or...a little while later. This was a MAJOR increase in HP! Really woke it up! I highly recommend if you like about 4 more horsepower! Worth the noise increase...my neighbor said that now it sounds like a "Real" motorcycle...haha! I also think I'm getting about a .5 increase from the reverse propulsive phenomena similar to the World War II P-51's with the reflective decibel saturation! LOL!

[stewbrash]

I just know all of you closely following this are probably wondering about the spark-arrestor and the saddle-bags! The muffler has a removeable baffle in the tail-cone so I cut a piece of USFS approved #304 stainless steel mesh () and assembled it between the baffle and the end of the muffler.
https://www.amazon.com/REMOPEST-Stai...NrPXRydWU&th=1
I have placed the rolled up tube of fiberglass matting, temporarily-attached to the velcro straps on the saddle-bags. I'm planning on attaching the original heat shield to alleviate this issue permanently, but I'll attack that next.

[stewbrash]

Since I can't let sleeping dogs lie, (or cat-less exhausts) I mounted the stock heat-shield using (again) the shipping crate leftovers. Since the new exhaust sits a little bit inboard and installing the heat-shield, the saddle-bags are safe from scorching.

If you look at the second picture the attachment points on the heat-shield are at the stock locations, where it is beefed up and has large rubber grommets to absorb shock. You will also notice the extra long bolt on the right side attachment point as it was all I had and I didn't want to cut it off so I could remove it. It sits behind everything anyway.