Lifan 250cc Questions ???

[rvbilly]

Hi all , am starting my project very soon and am in need of lotsa help pls.
Tomorrow I am picking up this never used Lifan 250cc engine , I`m putting it in my 1984 Honda XR 350 frame , this is going to be just a trail riding bike for the mountains and back woods , will post the serial # tomorrow to try and figure out the year and Hp of it. I believe its a air cooled version of around 2010- 2011 . Previous owner bought it new a couple years ago for a project and never used it so he says lol , I`m going to gear the bike down with a 49 tooth rear sprocket , build a exhaust for it and wire it all up .
Bike won`t be lisenced on the road at all and will have just a speedo and head light put on , here is a pic of the motor and bike ,the motor in the bike was a old Honda ATC 185 that never ran and has been taken out .Thanks for any help Bill .

[Weldangrind]

Hey Bill,

Did the ATC motor bolt in place in the 350 frame? I ask because the ATC 185 had a very similar bolt pattern to the XR200 (IIRC), which means that the Lifan should fall into place, despite the 350 cradle frame.

BTW, the engine is likely 223 or 230cc, but it'll still be a fun motor in that bike. Are you able to get the wiring harness for the motor as well? That would help a lot.

[Weldangrind]

BTW, that's a pushrod motor that makes around 18hp. It is related to the Honda CG125 and the Honda FTR223, both of which are Euro models.

[katoranger]

The bike looks to be in pretty good shape. I think Weld is right on the atc motor. It may be a mostly bolt in.

[rvbilly]

Hi guys , the ATC 185 I had was close but needed to much fabbing to bolt in ,on a further note I picked up the engine today ,brand new Ebay item it was , got it for $ 200 with all electrics , starter , sprocket and new carb ,the original exhaust head and pipe off the Atc 185 bolted right on , am disappointed at this point though ,ran the #ers off the block and its a 200 cc , appears to be of a 2009 year , I believe its a pushrod model .
The # on the block is 163FML + 61005976 , it has a 17 tooth sprocket .
Was told the 2003 Honda CRF 150 and 230 sprockets should be a direct fit , whats the rear sprocket count on a stock Gio dirtbike with this engine ? I dug out my new Xr rear sprocket and it is a 49 tooth , so depending on the gear ratio of the Gio dirtbikes I might need to get a smaller front sprocket . Goal is to be able to get between 45 and 50 MPH .
Where can I find the correct ignition wiring schematic from ?
1- Can I run it without a battery at first ?
2- Can I use a regular kill switch instead of a keyed ignition ?
3- For a headlight what amp bulb can I use ?
4- And lastly what amp motorcycle battery will do of the Walmart brand lol .
This morning I will pull out the Xr and get started on the fitment , plus get a couple better pics of the engine for ya ,cheers Bill

[Weldangrind]

Bill, that pushrod 200 is a fun little motor; I don't think you'll be disappointed.

1. Yes, you can run without a battery. My son's XR200R has a similar motor with no battery.
2. Yes, you can use a regular kill switch.
3. Not sure on the headlight question, but I'd limit it to around 36 watts. I'm also not sure if the headlight will work without a battery. I know that it should, but still.
4. The answer is get the bigest battery that will fit in the space you have. You can go with a small battery, but the extra reserve is very nice when the engine is hot and won't start.

As a point of trivia, I rode my Yamaha TW200 last year with a 5A gell cell, and it was enough to start the engine. It wasn't enough to activate the flasher without revving the engine, so I'm going with the stock size this year.

What do you need to know about the ignition wiring? Perhaps we can just answer your questions.

I believe this sprocket will fit the countershaft, and it's a 520 like the XR350: http://www.jtsprockets.com/catalogue/sprocket/JTF328

[rvbilly]

Hey Guys @ Gals , been doing lots a research with your help , I got a good easy detailed pic of the wiring , WeldanGrind , thanks I ordered up that front sprocket from knarlyParts here in town ,a 14 tooth will be here Thursday for me , 14 X 49 will give me a 3.5 to 1 ratio on the sprockets ,its gonna be low ,stock dirtbikes is around 2.92 to 1 , not expecting more than about 45 Mph but should get there fast ,will be great for the trails and hills , mayby even pull a custom BeEr trailer behind me lol .
I`ve been messing with motor mounts for 2 days now ,the Xr350 mounts are way to low for the engine to sit right , just above the bottom mount the back casing of the motor would hit the swingarm and the cylinder head was up against the front down tube , so I made 2 new lower mounts that lifted the engine 2"`s and forward 1" , this worked good as the engine sits nice in the frame , lift was also necessary to line up the sprocket with the swingarm pivoting point ,the exhaust has lots of clearance as well the dipstick tube.
I need to make up the front downtube and top cylinder head mounts next , the Xr had twin carbs originally and I took the filter out and am going to make a battery box out of it .
Pic 1 shows the mount I put in
Pic 2 shows the sprocket swingarm alignment
Pic 3 shows the exhaust fitment
Pic 4 shows the bike up against my V8 S10 toy .
Will put up more pics and info as I go ..

[Weldangrind]

Dude! So many questions about your S-10! I'd love to see it some day.

I have a tweaked XR200 frame that could donate the down tube and front mount; would that help you?

[rvbilly]

Hi thanks for the offer , but its like my s10 ,I like to fab things up myself ,I`ll be making the front mounts tomorrow .
On the s10 it was originally a 2wd , I first put the v8 in 6 years ago , lol a 267 v8 Chevy ,2 years ago I did the solid axle install and the rear diff lift ,Toyota diffs ,no transfercase , this Friday its coming off the road to finish it , I just got my 357 out of Fortins machine shop ,325 Hp ,putting 700R4 and a NP208 , here is a link to my build
http://www.v8s10.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=21504

It was cheaper doing a v8 than rebuilding the 2.8 .

[Weldangrind]

I like the 267's. I built one 10 years ago and drove it across the Midwest on the Hot rod Power Tour. It got decent gas mileage, and it responded to all of the traditional SBC bolt-ons.

You'd still be fabbing the XR350 frame, because I'd be hacking the downtube off for you. Let me know if you change your mind.

When I have some more time, I'll read about your S-10 build. I'm interested to learn about how you deleted the transfer case. How is the service at Fortins? Does the NP208 have an aluminum case?

[katoranger]

Looks like your making progress. Motor mounts should be pretty easy for you.

Don't see many of the 267.

[Weldangrind]

Originally Posted by katoranger

Don't see many of the 267.

They had a short run; from '78 to '83, IIRC. They had the same stroke, rod length, bearings and bolt-ons as a 350, so parts are plentiful. They had a 3.5" bore and a 3.48" stroke, which is nearly a square engine. The heads had really small chambers (58cc, IIRC) that have decent power potential on a small displacement engine.

I thought it might be fun to stick a 3.25" crank from a 327 in one, along with 6" rods. It would produce the magical 1.8:1 rod / stroke ratio, and would sing past seven grand. It would only amount to 250ci, so it would be ideal for a small circle track car or light hot rod. The gas mileage would be impressive, and it would respond to all traditional SBC bolt-ons.

The 267 had such a short run that it doesn't even appear on the SBC Wikipedia page.

[katoranger]

We had one in a 1980 Caprice wagon. I don't remember too much about it.

[rvbilly]

The 267 has been very reliable ,it has pulled my 33 ft. trailer I live in ( 8000 lbs. park model ) I get 24 mpg on the highway with this truck , 4:10 gears , 33" tires , I will never go anything smaller than a 350 again ,I like PoWeR !!
On a side note I got the front sprocket today ,it doesn`t fit so tomorrow it goes back ..

[Weldangrind]

I was looking at your mock-up pics again, and it would be a good idea to fab an upper motor mount, in addition to the front and rear mounts.