Yea i am still stoked every time i ride it. Im 38 yrs old and still fast as hell on it. Im always kickin 4 strokes in the azz at the track.
In 07 I raced the 250 am. B class at Budds Creek Pro Nationals and was one of two oil burners and pulled a huge whole shot. Yea i must admit I was a lil surprised. Only a few turns later my piston desintigrated thankfully before the first table top. I sold my surf board and a few other things to make it to that one. I went into depression and it sat up for three years with the Budds mud still on it. I figured it was completly destroyed.
A friend sold me an 06 crf 450 that was three years old and still had the stock tires and sprockets on it ..yea hardly any hours on it. I rode that till i got used to it then got bored and started missing the smell and scream of the old cr. So i tore down the ol'96er and it wasn't that bad at all. A piece of the piston got wedged between the flywheel and case. Got lucky and it wedged at one of the spots where the case bolts hold it together. All i needed was top end... but i had been running the same stock cylider since 96.Yea those 2 strokes are tough as nails. So i freshened it all back to new.
As soon as i fired it up for the first time in years i knew it was time to sell the crf.
I still havent raced again but plan to soon and a year from this weekend I plan to go back to Budds and redeem myself!
So now that i have your attention or you have fallen asleep...heres where this is all going.
I want to buy new model forks off ebay or somewhere like for the ol'96er.
Do u know what year model forks and triple clamps would fit my bike?

and if the shock could be used also.
I wish I would have tried the set up off the 06 crf i had but wasnt thinking about it before i sold it.
I have heard of people doing this with forks but hate to buy the set up not knowing if it will work.