Dong Fang DF 250 RTB Bobber Information

[birdmove]

Whoever Amazon's supplier is, they do not ship to Hawaii. I love Amazon, but??? I had 2 26" bicycle tires shipped to me in separate full size boxes with no freight charges. Many bike tires are shipped all folded up to save space, but these were shipped in full size boxes. Strange.

[axa]

got some new turn signals and hand levers this week...
first for the hand levers...

i wasnt at all comfortable with how far the hand levers sit out, especially the front brake.
In a game where milliseconds count, these levers sat way too far for my taste.

So after failing to find any info on drop in replacements, i used a little forensics to estimate the closest match i could measure from online pics... the CBR250r

My estimates were not entirely off, but they were no drop in replacement...
On the brake, the pivot hole needed to be relocated as both the hydraulic and light switch plungers fingers were too short.
Moving the lever pivot point further out would allow it to sit closer in...
Putting that in conjunction with a shoulder it could sit on.

I didnt take many pics while in the process, but turned this and milled off a side...
from the bottom after the hole was relocated.
brake lever 011 (Large).jpg

And from the top, after the hole also.
brake lever 001 (Large).jpg

brake lever 010 (Large).jpg
You can see the 2 main purposes.

Here is the installed brake... just needs a coat of paint...
brake lever 022 (Large).jpg


As for the clutch, it actually just about fit, i just needed to take down in thickness a few mil... But it didn't sit any closer than the stock lever, which was the point...
So another hole to be relocated, but in this case, not the lever pivot but the lever adjust pivot instead.

[GonzoX]

Thanks, GonzoX. I'll find the thread search feature. I had a 1984 Sportster XLX1000 that sprung a small pinhole leak in the bottom of the tank after only about 2 years. I had bought it new. Must have had a bad coating in the tank, or a bad section of metal. I was able to fix the leak with a rivet. I still think Dong and Sunny Motorsports were risking a big liability judging by the number of gas tank leaks. I'm sure they could have found a way to modify the old tank to make it safer. I would feel better buying the new model after what I read on this forum.

Yeah I kind of wish they had recalls on that issue like they do with cars. Every new car I ever bought had issues (Jeep Wranger, PT Cruiser etc) and it was fixed at the manufacturers expense.

[axa]

Yeah I kind of wish they had recalls on that issue like they do with cars. Every new car I ever bought had issues (Jeep Wranger, PT Cruiser etc) and it was fixed at the manufacturers expense.

can you imagine what regulation compliance would do to the price of these things...

[GonzoX]

can you imagine what regulation compliance would do to the price of these things...

Aye Aye Sir! Understood. And for the price I paid for it I should not complain even though human nature dictates I will LOL.

I imagine that even if I get the Royal Enfield bike I want it will have similar issues. No bike is perfect as I am seeing on this thread, even the hight dollar ones. Hell even the high end BMW bikes have issues from what I read.

Glad it's my Friday (Sunday for me). Looking forward to riding my bike this week.

[axa]

When i got the bike, i dumped the grayish looking concoction that was in the engine.

125 miles rolls in seems about time to dump that first batch...
Firstly, I only found 3 specs of metal in the screen, and only 1 shard large and jagged enough to be concerned with, almost a mm wide and long. But I didn't clean the screen when i got the bike so its plausible that the piece had been there since manufacture.
The other 2 were more like splinters...

Ive always rejected magnetic plugs as vehicles with paper filters would negate the value in purchasing a magnetic plug. And other things I've operated with transmissions such as my lathes and were built with such high specs and quality materials, that after first uses wear was negligible.

But to this bike, I did think it a good idea attach a strong neodymium magnet to bottom of the the stock plug, and I did found a notable amount of fine shavings that would have never been caught by the screen.

Only time will tell how long this keeps up, I do suspect even this engine will reach a point of mechanical equilibrium. But for me the conclusion is that it may be worthy to have a magnet plug from the get go, rather than adding one later. But if not, I do presume the loose tolerances on the engine may reduce the potential of wear. These pieces were were very fine.

[axa]

so when i received the bike i quickly went out to get the replacement oil, and having a rather limited selection locally, I went with Castrol 4T for no other reason than it was motorcycle rated, and that Castrol GTX has been treating my car well for the last 17 years.

At first i found rather hard shifting, but after 100 miles or so i found it worked out so well that not only could i find neutral when stopped, but i actually could float shift!! Not that i normally would do that, but its possibility I believe indicates an optimal transmission.
But unfortunatly at 5.99 + tax, i didn't plan to stay with the 4T...

So I found Castrol had another motorcycle oil thats was 'supposed' take into account higher temps, high revving ATV and off road engines. Sounded appropriate for our bikes, and i could buy in bulk on line.
And since it had the same specs as the 4T, thought id give it a go.
API SERVICE: Exceeds API SG

JASO (T903): JASO MA-2


Only it is also showing hard shifting at first, I really hope it smooths out as the previous did cuz i likely have enough oil for the life of the bike...

So, my quesiton for you all, do you guys also find a breaking period after an oil change??
And who else has found the ability to float shift, and what oil did you use?

[barnone]

I use Rotella T 15w40 conventional or synthetic in all my motorcycles with good success over the years.
IMG_2034.jpg
Also I use it in my diesel tractors, atvs, and utvs.

However, I have no proof that it is better than any other oil. Never have had an oil analysis done on a sample of the oil.

As an aside, my two cars and truck all call for 0w20 oil.

Also I use magnetic drain plugs in all my bikes,cars,tractors, and truck. Nice to see if any metal bits accumulate which usually never happens after a few oil changes. My Ural came with MDPs in the engine, transmission, and final drive from the factory.

Don't know if it is bad for the gears but no float shifting for me, I always use the clutch.

[4950cycle]

Can you say censorship ,Think I'm outta here. Free speech was cool. I guess that's all History now.

[axa]

I use Rotella T 15w40 conventional or synthetic in all my motorcycles with good success over the years.

Also I use it in my diesel tractors, atvs, and utvs.

However, I have no proof that it is better than any other oil. Never have had an oil analysis done on a sample of the oil.

As an aside, my two cars and truck all call for 0w20 oil.

Also I use magnetic drain plugs in all my bikes,cars,tractors, and truck. Nice to see if any metal bits accumulate which usually never happens after a few oil changes. My Ural came with MDPs in the engine, transmission, and final drive from the factory.

Don't know if it is bad for the gears but no float shifting for me, I always use the clutch.

Honestly I looked high and low for Rotella but didnt want to use 15w for a NY winter. They do also have the partly synthetic T5 which is 10w40 also, but by that time the Castrol was working so well I thought I should stick with it, likely a silly reason but that ship has sailed.

And as I mentioned, not that i would normally or recommend float shifting, it will surely shorten the life of the clutch, but I have found when my vehicle transmissions when working optimally, they tended to float shift more easily... And on this bike Ive found optimal shifting brings with it an easy shift to neutral when even stopped.
Thats the primary reason I was asking.

Really just trying to find the root cause for the neutral problem i suppose