Lifan 200

Hi, this is my first post on here so just to say hello and a few facts about my situation. I'm retired and go to the island of Crete for 3 months every year. Last August i bought a Lifan {LF200GY} with just over 1,ooo kms on the clock. I must admit i had never heard of the bike or 'Crow Motors' the sign/emblem on the tank, nor have i been able to find anything aboutthem since. The test ride did it for me though,nice upright position, attractive in green & white with brass effect looking forks,excellent sounding motor. It seemed a bargain at 1500 euros. and a huge improvement on my previous Daytona Sprinter,though the seat was a bit hard after 30 mins or so, and i have invested in 2 foam cushions that i plan to strap on.It also has a very handy rack and box for shopping. I changed the oil but was unable to find any filter. I put a further 1,000 trouble free kms on the bike before disconnecting the battery and storing it away for the past 8 months. i'm going out there in 2 weeks, with my wife this time and i'm hoping it will be able to carry us both around, though i think it may struggle a bit with some of the steeper hills as Crete is a mountainous island. I'd be grateful for any tips/advice on that to expect. Regards Ged

LOL, the green ones are rare, most are red or blue.
http://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/Gal...%20gy%2004.jpg

The bike is geared tall, so it climbs hills in low gears. Lifan sold these in the USA and it was the most popular model.

Thanks for the photo, mine is very similar but with brass looking forks,when i can figure out how, i will post a photo of it.

Welcome to here!

There is not an oil filter with most, if not all, of the Lifan or Zongshen CG200 engines (they are very similar despite being two completely different companies). There is a oil drain bolt all the way underneath, and a side oil bolt. If you take off the side bolt to change the oil, there will be a replaceable screen cone-ish shaped, and a spring. Watch out that you don't lose either. If you already changed your oil this way, you already know. If you changed the oil from the bottom of the engine, it is recommended to change from the side. I get lazy and change my oil from the side every other or every third time, but that was after about 3 changes and realizing I don't find anything of interest when I check the mesh cone-ish screen thingy. I just changed my 7th oil at 6200 miles, and did use the side drain, and still have not found anything of interest.

Great bike. I've put 53,000 miles on mine and it's still running strong. There is also a centrifugal oil filter under the right side engine cover but it doesn't need to be cleaned very often. I'd say maybe every 10,000 miles or so. The main thing to keep an eye on is chain tension because the engine is mounted slightly too low in the frame. If you adjust it to the recommended 10mm to 20mm free play with no load on the bike it will be WAY TOO TIGHT when you ride over a bump. This can damage the chain, bearings, etc.. I found mine needed to have a good 3" of free play with no load in order to not be too tight when riding.

I will take that advice regarding the oil change and chain tension.A concern is the battery {12v-7Ah}, and i am hoping it will take a charge,after standing for 8 months, as the bike is about 5 years old despite it's low mileage,the previous owner hardly seems to have used it. I was a bit uneasy at first when i discovered the bike was chinese in origin,though i'm not sure if it was actually built in the USA.{Crow Motors?} and imported to Crete from there,my greek isn't good and i was unable to determine the provenance of the bike. Since returning to the U.K. i read some bad stuff about chinese bikes generally, but the reality seems to be that a lot of it is from people who havn't actually owned one. I'm glad i had already had a month of ownership before going on the internet as it was enough to convince me that this is a solid motorcycle. The post from C moto is very reassuring, 53,000 miles is impressive by anyone's standards.

One god thing about the Lifan electical system is that everything except the electric starter will still work with a dead battery or no battery at all.

That's good to know,havn't had to use the kick start but i guess it would be handy in such a situation as a dead battery.I didn't put any 'an ti rust agent' as advised by the manual so i'm hoping that hasn't caused any problems also. The engine is 163FML, and the bike has CM200GY-2 on the side panels. I wonder if anyone has ever heard of 'Crow Motors', or is this the only motorcycle they ever made?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Crete Lifan

That's good to know,havn't had to use the kick start but i guess it would be handy in such a situation as a dead battery.I didn't put any 'an ti rust agent' as advised by the manual so i'm hoping that hasn't caused any problems also. The engine is 163FML, and the bike has CM200GY-2 on the side panels. I wonder if anyone has ever heard of 'Crow Motors', or is this the only motorcycle they ever made?

---

I thought i would give some feedback from my 2 weeks in Crete on my Lifan 200GY-2.{Chongqing/163FML-2} The bike was great and coped really well with the mountains and our combined weight of 270 lbs. It was a bit reluctant to start and i think this may be as i left some fuel in which had gone off but once it got going it was fine and we added another 700 kms, and did a 3rd oil change. Overall impression is of a solid machine that offers very good value for money. A few questions i would be grateful if anyone could answer, is it possible to get parts for this bike in the U.K., so far i just need a fork seal but parts are not proving easy to find in Crete and a few places in the U.K. have not helped so far.Secondly reading the manual on the plane back suggests i should have sprayed an 'anti rust agent' into the empty tank as will not be using it for another 3-4 months, am i likely to encounter any problems by this omission. thanks Ged

I do not know if that model was ever offered in the UK, it’s unfortunately not listed on http://www.chinesemotorcyclepartsonl...rers_Lifan.php
I suspect that bike is about 120kg, not particularly heavy, so “our combined weight” would be a bit more then 270lbs.
I think you would need to take the fork apart and then see what size the seals are?
http://www.china-parts.co.uk/acatalog/Fork_Seals.html
These people sell the fork, they may be able to tell you what size the seal is?
http://www.hooperimports.com/product...200GY-2-P09-12
another long shot would be this one time dealer for Lifan in the USA, you only need to know the size of the fork seal for the USD type fork on a LF200GY-5, if in fact that is the bike you have.

Thanks for reply will contact those people about the fork seal, i have the 200GY-2 but it looks very similar to the 200GY-5. The 270 lbs was combined weight of wife and myself with the bike that's another 118kgs {260lbs}

http://www.hooperimports.com/popup_z...0GY-2&imgidx=1

is this what you have?

Yes, that is the exact bike,but in green, ta for the photo.

Fork Seals GY Series 41 / 54 / 11 Ref: OS001006
Fork Seals GY Series
USD S Spec Forks 41mm
41 / 54 / 11

I would guess these are your seals.

Thanks C-moto, i'm grateful for that information about the fork seals, will order a pair. Would yourself, or another, advise ordering anything else while in the U.K. to take out to Crete with me on my next visit there in September. As i have said previously i was impressed by the bike {Lifan 200GY-2/chongqing/163fml-2}} but obtaining parts out there is clearly a problem and i would sooner have them available to take with me than be stuck up a mountain there without hope of rescue. Basically ,i am asking if someone with knowledge of this bike is aware of any inherent weaknesses that i can be ready for? Ged