Yet another project

[Shawn36]

A little back story for my project bike.  Grew up riding and racing 2-strokes like any kid born in the 80s.  I did decently and worked my way up to local expert, then wasn't fast enough so it turned into a hobby about 19.  Like everyone else I got caught up in the 4-stroke hype when the '02 CRF450 came along and from then until now I primarily rode CRF450s.  But about a year ago I got the 2-stroke itch again so I did like any dumb guy in that situation, I went out and bought a clapped out turd of a bike for cheap. 

My purchase?  A 2002 CR250 for $1100.  It had stickers ALL OVER IT and was in really sad shape, but it ran.  I bought it on a Friday and started fixing it up.  Obviously de-stickered it and replaced the essential parts that were wasted.  Then I did something really stupid, instead of actually tearing it down further I packed it up and went racing at a local Vet series where it ran long enough to win the +25A. 

Pics from that race day:




The next weekend I shined on it a little more and took it out.  It promptly exploded, grenading everything from the crank up.  So I put a couple hundred into a complete motor rebuild and rode it a couple more times, then parked it for the better part of a year.  It simply needed too much from suspension to all the usual wear items.  I know all the bearings were original and the bike really felt it's age.  With a new baby and me working 65 hours a week I just didn't have the time or money to deal with it. 

Random pic from the 1 ride I put on it after the last rebuild:



And how it sat right before I gave up on it for the time being:



But now my 30th birthday rolls around and my wife wanted to get me something special.  I told her let me buy what I want for the 250 so I can make it my full-time ride.  Amazingly she went for it!  And for the last week I've been buying up everything I could think of while trying to keep costs within reason.  So far I've spent about $1500 extra but that's bought me the following:

New Kiehin carb from JD Jetting, Excel A60 wheels and spokes, Motion Pro rim locks, Pivot Works complete set of bearings for the entire bike, new sub-frame (former owner bent the last one bad enough it couldn't really be straightened), new cycra plastics, powder coated hubs and triple clamps, new riding gear, and a host of other new normal wear items. 

I've got the bike town down to the frame right now to be throughly cleaned.  I drop the suspension off early next week to be completely refreshed and re-sprung.  Then comes a graphics kit and some motor work.  For now it's going to stay stock just so I can completely readjust and because the top end literally has maybe 2 hours on it.  Might as well get some mileage out of it before sending the motor to Gorr.  I'll take pictures as I get on with putting it all back together.  I'm pretty pumped to say the least, it should be like a brand new bike by next weekend.

[TMKIWI]

Fun times ahead.

[SachsGS]

How would you compare the CR250R to the CRF450?

[Shawn36]

Originally I didn't like the 450s in '02.  I had an '01 CR I loved but my Father and the shop i rode out of cut me a deal I couldn't refuse on an '02 CRF.  At the time I convinced myself I was faster on the 450 even though it felt and handled like a pig.  Since then I've had an '04, '08, and finally my current normal ride an '09.  

To actually answer your question now that I've ridden a late model CR in anger at my current speed the only bike that comes close is the new generation '09-'12 CRFs.  All the others before it were a significant step back from the 250.  The hit was violent, the weight increase was tremendous, and the cornering capability for me at least was poor on the '02-'08s.  The newer '09+ cut a lot of weight and most of all they sharpened the steering angle to where its almost dangerous.  Most mags allude to this as a bad quirk of the bike but its also what allows it to carve so well in turns.  It's by far the most 2-stroke-like handling 450 on the market.  Other brands have a lot of power but they still turn poorly for me.  That being said the CR is a ginsu knife compared to all of them.  If I can get roughly the same horsepower as my stock 450 out of the CR I will never look back..  

[Shawn36]

I couldn't resist some early pics.  Most of my stuff will arrive next week but here's what I have so far!

The current state of the CR.. ready to be cleaned and prepped for a rebuild:



New sub-frame and pretty sprocket set:



The new carb:



My favorite so far, the heavy-duty U-shaped A60 Excel rims and Motion Pro 1-piece rim locks.  Local tracks have a lot of big gaps so I wanted something that could withstand casing a big jump:



Spokes and rim lock nuts:



Everyone loves a new gas can:



The surprise find in all this was an almost brand new pipe and silencer on craigslist for 50 bucks:

[Scooter T]

Great read and thanks for the motivation to work on my project.

[MetalMike1982]

Good luck man ! it's gonna be fun bringing it back to life.

[Super Trucker]

Cool project,Look forward to the mod test. Are you changing the reed block ? I know a local expert that has 2 06 cr250,s  he said the rad valve has a good low to mid improvment,comes out of corners better. The vforce is a improvment over stock,but soesn,t have the low to mid like the r.v.

[Shawn36]

Cool project,Look forward to the mod test. Are you changing the reed block ? I know a local expert that has 2 06 cr250,s  he said the rad valve has a good low to mid improvment,comes out of corners better. The vforce is a improvment over stock,but soesn,t have the low to mid like the r.v.

The previous owner had put a seal kit on the air boot and a V-Force reed block, so for now I'm going to stick with that.  It also had a PC pipe and silencer but they were both trash. 

[eprovenzano]

There is nothing like the satisfaction of bringing a clapped out bike back to life.  The biggest issues you will have is kicking yourself for waiting so long to make the switch back to a smoker...  Don't get me wrong the 450's are nice bikes, but I ride for the grin factor.  Nothing gives me more grins than riding a smoker (well ok there are other things but let?s keep this from going into the gutter ).  I  enjoy wrenching on my bike and making sure it preforms as I expect it too, but I enjoy blowing by strokers even more.  Especially when they find out my bike is now 12 years old...  The look on their faces are priceless.  

The $ spent on the CR after all is added up may seem a little steep, but some of those $ would have been spent even if you were preparing the CRF for battle.  I'm referring to the suspension, riding gear, etc.  The money spent bringing back the ol girl will be money well spent.  It looks as though you?re spending the money in the correct places.  Just replacing the worn bearing will really make her feel "tight" almost like a new bike.  I'm looking forward to watching the progress.

[Recovered]

You just look like a bad ass when 30 bikes come around the corner and up the hill at Budds Creek and you're in front, on a two stroke. That makes it all worth it.

[Shawn36]

There is nothing like the satisfaction of bringing a clapped out bike back to life.  The biggest issues you will have is kicking yourself for waiting so long to make the switch back to a smoker...  Don't get me wrong the 450's are nice bikes, but I ride for the grin factor.  Nothing gives me more grins than riding a smoker (well ok there are other things but let?s keep this from going into the gutter ).  I  enjoy wrenching on my bike and making sure it preforms as I expect it too, but I enjoy blowing by strokers even more.  Especially when they find out my bike is now 12 years old...  The look on their faces are priceless.  

The $ spent on the CR after all is added up may seem a little steep, but some of those $ would have been spent even if you were preparing the CRF for battle.  I'm referring to the suspension, riding gear, etc.  The money spent bringing back the ol girl will be money well spent.  It looks as though you?re spending the money in the correct places.  Just replacing the worn bearing will really make her feel "tight" almost like a new bike.  I'm looking forward to watching the progress.

I completely agree.  I kept riding a 450 because I still felt like it was needed to be competitive around here.  Locally I race against a lot of retired pros who can still really move, but even they are switching back to 2-strokes.  But I hardly race anymore and this is all suppose to be for fun, and frankly abusing a 2-stroke is exactly that. 

So far the overall cost of this bike from purchase to hopefully finished product will be right around $3000.  That's less than I can buy a high hour probably poorly maintained late model 450.  So the money I'm spending in bulk right now doesn't bother me a bit.  Unfortunately I had my birthday party this past weekend so I made no progress on the bike.  I should get the bearings and suspension parts today or tomorrow then things really start rolling downhill.  More excited about this project than I have been for anything else in the last several years when it comes to MX. 

[Recovered]

Im hoping to be around 2500 for mine, and considering the 200 dollar price i paid for it, I should be able to get my money back...it's a KTM.  those things hold their value like toyota trucks.

what tracks do you ride at?

[citabjockey]

this thread is great! looking forward to the updates. Any chance for race video when you take it out to use in anger after the rebuild? Thanks for sharing!

[Shawn36]

Im hoping to be around 2500 for mine, and considering the 200 dollar price i paid for it, I should be able to get my money back...it's a KTM.  those things hold their value like toyota trucks.

what tracks do you ride at?

I'm smack in the middle of the DFW area so there are a lot of great tracks within a few hours drive.  Personal favorites are Underground MX (Kyle Regal's compound), Oak Hill, Swan, and 3 Palms.  The 105 degree heat in the summer really sucks but the dirt around here is top notch. 

I'll post some GoPro videos once I'm happy and up to speed.