[DIY] 240cc Phantom Project

[wdwflash]

I've done a lot of research and found that almost all the parts of the Honda CRF230f are interchangeable with the 196cc TA200 Phantom. When I ordered parts to do a complete rebuild of my Phantom I wondered way the main bearings were so big. I now know that they are big because they are for a bigger CC bike. I checked a lot of parts numbers between the Thai TA200 parts and the OEM Honda parts and they come out as the same.

 

So far I've ported, polished and relieved a new head. I've ordered a 240cc big bore kit from CRFsonly which comes with a Westco 11-1 compression piston and a performance cam. I've ordered a new cylinder which I will have bored from 65.5mm to 67mm. I also ordered a CRF230 crankshaft and rod assembly. I had already done some carb and jetting tricks to go along with my Chiang Rai Saddlebags duel exhaust. And of course I have my English language TA200 shop manual or I wouldn't even attempt this project. This alone took me two+ years to find and $$$$. I was told for 2+ years it didn't exist, but with the application of time and $$$ I proved that wrong.

 

I will post progress reports as I go along. I should end up with a monster Phantom with 240cc and from the outside the engine looks stock.

 

I'm researching it now, but I believe that the CRF150F clutch kit will fit and CFRsonly has a race-ready heavy duty clutch kit for the CRF150F.

[wdwflash]

Well, I've ordered from America a complete Honda CRF230 Crank assembly, a stock bore 11to1 high compression piston rings, etc (240cc big bore kit would have been a back order 6 month wait.), a new Honda CRF230F cylinder, a BBR Motorsports performance cam with stronger valve springs, heavy duty cam chain and other assorted parts. I've decided since I've got the whole thing apart I'm going to completely rebuild the trans also. I've already ported and polished the new head for better flow. This and the duel exhaust should make some serious HP for a Phantom.

 

I had already done some tweeks to the stock carb, but its probably not enough for the new CCs. I've ordered bigger main and pilot jets as per specs from people on the internet that have hopped-up the stock CRF230F.

[wdwflash]

I did a bunch of research on clutch's and ordered a Barnett Kevlar clutch kit with springs. It seems that Honda built a number of bikes over the years that use the same clutch stock number. 1971 SL100,2002 XR200R, 1987 CMX250, 2012CRF80F, 2008 TRX250,1982 CR125, etc. #22201-166-000/301-35-10008. I also ordered a number of different size main and pilot jets to play around with when I get it running.

[zalk]

How many more HP are you expecting to get? 10?

[wdwflash]

I'd be happy with 5 or 6hp. On such a light bike that's a lot. Its mainly a monsoon season project. Something to keep me busy and out of the bars here in Cambodia. Last monsoon season I built a cat-sailboat out of a 12ft Feelfree fishing kayak.

[wdwflash]

Pictures to follow, as I figured out the upload size.

Edited May 8, 2015 by wdwflash

[wdwflash]

This is a new Phantom head that has been ported and polished. It and the 11to1 compression Wiseco domed piston (and BBC hot cam, 230cc bore/stroke) should wake the Phantom up.

 

Has anyone heard of anyone doing a project like this on the Phantom or is this the first?

Edited May 8, 2015 by wdwflash

[wdwflash]

Last years Monsoon project a 12 ft Feelfree Cat sailboat.

[wdwflash]

Chromed Phantom tank with flame decals and 10 coats of clear lacquer.

[Silent Hunter]

This is a new Phantom head that has been ported and polished. It and the 11to1 compression Wiseco domed piston (and BBC hot cam, 230cc bore/stroke) should wake the Phantom up.

 

Has anyone heard of anyone doing a project like this on the Phantom or is this the first?

 

Only in Thailand.

It's illegal in Singapore.

 

The most people do is get a piston that is 1 size bigger after overhauling and the engine is just up-ed from 197cc to 200cc.

 

The Phantom engine is able to go up to 230cc.

Honda just tweaked the engine to 200cc to satisfy the market for 200cc bikes due to motorcycle licence requirements.

[wdwflash]

It was Christmas from America today as a lot of my parts came in for my 230cc project.

 

Pictured is a Wiseco 11to1 piston/rings , New 230 barrel, BBR High performance camshaft, 230 Crankshaft and rod, Barnett Kevlar clutch with heavy duty springs, and cleanable fuel filters. Also not pictured were a bunch of gaskets/O-rings, assembly-lub, cam chain and bigger main/pilot jets. I've already got a ton of OEM Honda parts for the build from my source in Bangkok.

 

The Phantom can be taken out to 250cc with a big bore kit, but that would have been a 6 month back order wait so I went with the stock 230 barrel with high compression piston.

 

I'm still waiting for BBR heavy duty valve springs to come in.

[wdwflash]

Illegal in Singapore? When you take your bike in to be inspected they can check for increased CCs? After doing all the work, the outside of the engine looks stock. Even the hot cam is profiled to give a smooth idle. The new barrel does have CCs stamped on the side in small letters that can be filed off and 196cc easily stamped in the space. The carb tricks don't change the outside of the carb and since the Phantom has a cat and not a muffler, the cat should mask the enriched carb settings. A K&N air filter for the Phantom can be bought in Singapore. (I recommend it.)

[wdwflash]

Pictured is the carb during complete rebuild and finished carb. Also K&N air filter. The carb had already gotten the washer under the needle trick, now has #42 pilot jet and #130 main jet for the bigger 230cc engine upgrade and a ported/polished head for better flow. From America I just got the BBR motorsports heavy valve springs to go with the high performance BBR Motorsports camshaft.

[ber]

this is a keihin stock carb? where did you order the gasket and jets from?

[wdwflash]

Yes, its a stock carb for the Phantom, but I did the washer under the needle trick to raise the needle (more gas), drilled a bigger air-relief hole in the top of the slide for faster throttle response and new jets for the 230cc engine. Yos at Faddybike in Bangkok can get you jets and any other OEM part for the Phantom. He accepts paypal and ships with a tracking number. Very good to work with and I have bought a bunch of parts from them.

 

I got the aftermarket jets off of the Aliexpress web site. Make sure you measure your jet and know what to order. A set of vernier calipers is a must for this.

[wdwflash]

Yos at Faddybike in Bangkok can be reached at [email protected]. He's really great, takes paypal, and ships with a tracking number. OEM Honda parts only. I've bought all of my OEM Honda parts from him.

[wdwflash]

Pictured is installation of valves and BBR high-performance valve springs in new ported and polished Phantom head

[Metalfyre]

Wow nice!

 

I had been looking for stuff to do to my phantom a couple of years back..(even tried shoehorning a RS125 rear wheel onto a modified swingarm...which ended in failure), but I wasn't aware that engine work to this degree was an option.

I've since scrapped that phantom since it seemed like the furthest I could go performance mods-wise was slapping on a pair of Bitubos. Definitely something I would have wanted to try if I still had the bike. I'll be watching with interest. Thanks for the updates!

 

P.S. I think one of the main constraints for Singaporeans is space. Most of us live in flats and don't have a garage, or access to one. I've done most of my grunt work at the void deck of my block, and the main limitation of using public spaces like that is you can't leave your bike in pieces and come back the next day for part 2. Also, no access to power tools. This kinda limits most of us to DIY modifications we can complete within a day at the very most. To me, it's this constraint (rather than it being illegal) that's the biggest barrier to major work like this.

[wdwflash]

I'm lucky. I live in Sihanoukville Cambodia were the rents are cheap. I have a two bedroom one story house (3 min walk to beach), and I took a sheet of plywood, varnished it, put it in a corner of my front room and am able to work in aircon comfort. Makes it a lot easier to work on your bike with aircon and music. unfortunately I screwed up my shoulder and have to get surgery in Thailand so that puts my project on hold for a few weeks, but except for maybe new cases I have every part to build my hopped up 230cc Monster Phantom.

[Metalfyre]

Hope you're doing ok and your shoulder is recovering well. Looking forward to further updates!

[wdwflash]

Well, I'm healing enough from my shoulder surgery to work on my Phantom project. To rehash the project. I'm turning it into a 230cc Monster Phantom. I already have a BBR hot cam, Honda CRF230F-Crank/rod, 230 cylinder, Wiseco 11-1 comp piston, new head I've ported n' polished, new valves, high-pro valve springs, Barnett clutch, new complete transmission, I've rebuilt and jeted the carb/done some tricks to the carb all new bearings and almost all new parts. A lot of the parts for a Honda CRF230F fit the Phantom.

 

I've just ordered (from Amazon.com) a BBR Rev Box CDI and hotter coil. The BBR Rev Box eliminates the rev limiter and has a more aggressive electronic/power curve. This is an easy plug n' play module that fits the Phantom and should give better performance. For bang-for-the-buck this looks like the best/easiest performance upgrade for the phantom. It should be of interest to the guys in Singapore as it just takes a few minutes to swap your old one back if the new one won't pass emissions. Its located in front of the gas tank between the two frame down tubes. The gas tank was previously chromed and flamed.

 

Things I've previously installed on my Phantom is a windshield, tach and duel exhaust. I've got a set of Chiang Rai Saddlebags fiberglass boxes to install also.

 

Supposedly this motor was rebuilt four years ago (I've had the bike about 3 and a half years.) The idiot here in Sihanoukville that "rebuilt" the motor screwed everything up. He broke an exhaust pipe stud and had to drill out and put in an insert (thus the new head.) I have had to destroy a bunch of parts and/or drill them out as he didn't use a torque wrench and tightened everything down to the max! He left parts out of the clutch and I always wondered why when it was cold it grabbed. Cambodians are good fabricators, but they are what I call shade-tree mechanics. Until I brought an English language Phantom shop manual here, there wasn't one in the whole country. I've also recently gotten the parts book with exploded views and parts numbers/names in English. ( real score, but $$$)

[wdwflash]

 

I finally got the flywheel off after a few days of using every trick I knew. I got the trans out and have all new parts for it and took the crank/rod out. I test fitted the CRF230F crank/rod in the case and its a drop in.

[wdwflash]

I've got the engine completely torn down and am waiting for the last few parts from Faddybike in Bangkok. This included the right side engine case. I should have my BBR computer in a couple weeks. It gets rid of the rev limiter and has a hotter power curve (its for a Honda CRF230F, but they are the same engine in a lot of ways.)

[wdwflash]

Here are pictures of the trans gear assembly on the Monster Phantom. I'm waiting for a tool to take out the long cylinder studs on the right hand side engine case as the right hand side case is the only part I can't buy new and I can't get the old studs out. The new CRF230F studs are longer as it has a longer stroke and cylinder.

[wdwflash]

Changing the front wheel bearings on the Monster Phantom build