Dong Fang DF 250 RTB Bobber Information

**barnone** · 03-05-2014, 06:55 PM

My DF parked next to a MGA coupe being restored in a trailer. Sweet.
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**Jymrv** · 03-08-2014, 03:29 AM

Swapped sprockets today. Borrowed my dad's motorcycle jack. Worked really well. Man the manufacture torqued everything on so tight. It was a struggle to not round a bolt even with sockets. Everything comes off super easy after the bolts. The snap ring on the hub in front of the sprocket was tough to remove. Ran to store for snap ring plier that did not help. Had to improvise to remove snap ring. Removing the sprocket required a little pounding to remove from hub. Replaced with Honda studs and used a rubber mallet to seat sprocket on hub. Had to shorten chain. Ran to Honda dealer to do this. $20. I thought I had it right, but went a half link short. Back to dealer and bought new 520 chain. Service tech tells me they just grind off head of pin on link to remove them. Would have saved me $20 earlier. Got home and laid out old chain with new and identified links to remove. Broke out the dremmel and cut away. Everything went back together quickly. I will have to modify the rear fender slightly to allow for rear brake electrical wiring. Was able to make do for a test run. I went with a 38T rear. Noticeable difference in shift points. Could easily reach 50mph. I will run a GPS on next ride to verify speed. All in all it is not a hard process. Now that I have done it I think I could do it in 30 min. Going to ride the 38T for awhile. Might go to a 35T for just a little more speed.

**barnone** · 03-08-2014, 04:30 AM

Jymrv,
Sounds like you had fun with the sprocket swap. You will probably be fine with the 38T.

**Nick Papageorgio** · 03-18-2014, 02:30 AM

Board has been kind of quiet! Here are some pics from my last ride. I have a 38 tooth sprocket sitting on my workbench. I think I'll order an o-ring chain (saw in earlier post) so I can keep my original chain intact just in case I want to go back to the old sprocket. Other than that, bike is running GREAT! 685 miles so far, just putting around the back roads. Too much fun.

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**bowtiewagon** · 03-18-2014, 01:14 PM

Very cool scenic view. I have been putting around a bit as well. Between the good and bad weather days. Mornings around here at 6am.. 42 degrees, afternoon evenings 75 degrees. Gotta bundle in the morning on the way to work, and strip down on the way home. Thankfully I have my saddle bags to carry the goods. Got 10,585 miles on her now.

**barnone** · 03-18-2014, 01:22 PM

Originally Posted by bowtiewagon

Got 10,585 miles on her now.

You are the mileage king of the DFs. I am up to 1800 miles on my 2012 with no issues.

**barnone** · 03-18-2014, 01:27 PM

Anybody here have any thoughts on how much gain in power by the below mod?
By SSR22925 on the Heist thread

"The compression ratio on the 167FMM-M is 9-2.1 and will run fine with 87 grade Petrol. If the head is milled .025" it will raise it to 10.5, if there is enough clearance and it is milled .050" it will bump it up 2 full points. Anything above 10.5 and you should run 93 Octane Petrol. At that point you may also want to invest in a variable CDI one with a potentiometer so you can adjust the spark curve if need be to prevent the dreaded sound of engine knock""

**SR.MAILMAN** · 03-18-2014, 04:08 PM

On "paper" it would raise the engine output,maybe 5hp.and lower the cc amount. But in practice the push rod length would come into question as well as the valve clearance to the piston.

My Yamaha is 10.1 and about 21hp. Also 249cc's.and with 2 cam chain(s).

**GonzoX** · 03-19-2014, 05:38 AM

Not trying to be a downer but IMHO a 250 is a 250. It's not a HWY bike IMHO.

I have realized that my DF is a good starter bike. And that is exactly what I bought it for. It's light, cheap, and easy to handle and work on but I have reserved myself to buying a bigger bike early next year. In the meantime I will use my DF for what it's good at. A cheap, light no frills bike that puts a smile on your face as a first time MC owner. Im OK with that for now.

Again, not trying to burst anyones bubble. It's a good bike for the money. To me it's a niche bike that fills a purpose. I may even keep it for that purpose once I upgrade.