Toying with building/modifying my own bike

[ZMC888]

have you had a look at Honda CB400SS

also look for a honda VRX400 thats a retro roadster vtwin with big brakes alloy rimed spoked wheels

Some very good ideas. I think it would be great to find a dirty old basket-case Honda like one of these, there are loads under old tarps at mechanics shops around here, preferably with a ruined engine that a Chinese dude is selling off cheap and recycle the wheels, brakes, gauges and as many other Honda bits as possible onto a legal plated Chinese based CB250 clone, thus the frame and engine numbers all match up.

I do worry though, things like chain-line and stuff, many hours of Chinese mechanics grumbling 'ai-yo hen mafan' making spacers and back-plates for me. Enough money, san-bian jiu and prodding would get the job done eventually.

As far I know, only Lifeng makes parallel twins with more than quarter of a liter displacement, so I think you're limited to 253 FMM, 233 cc engine. But it does not have to be a limiting factor - you can always reach out for tuning and if it fails, you can easily go back to stock condition engine.

http://goldenmotor.en.alibaba.com/pr...racer_new.html

Seems like this thing has an aircooled over 250cc engine, could be an error though. Yes, most likely they are all Lifeng engines.