Outfitting my 85 250es for a big man.

[SamT]

Hey guys, I have a 85 250es big red that I use for lots of stuff. Spraying weeds, yard work, trail riding, chasing pigs, playing in the river, ect. Its pretty rough looking, but it always runs. I'm a big guy 6'4" 300 and I want to lift the big red to help it offroad and also make me look more appropriate on it!

I see all the theads where everyone builds a 2.5-3.5 inch front lift (I have a pretty shot 200 big red i will cut up for that) and the 1.5-2" spacer for the rear shock. But I'm wondering id there is a bigger shock I can get. Mine is worn out and I'm heavy so Id really like to just upgrade it. And if I could upgrade and lift at the same time thats even better (maybe gain an inch or 2 of travel instead of just lifting)

I plan to eventualy strip my machine down and do some painting, lift, build new back rack, and do something with the seat and plastics. I bought some 25x12r9 dirt devil at's for the rear (it has 26" tires now and I cant imagine giving up any more power, so i think 25 is good. ) I havent decided what to run up front but Im thinking of something that looks more like a steering tire than a mudder. I have trouble turning some when I have my 15gal spraytank on the back.
This photo definetly makes it look nicer than it is!


And here is one with me on it for size reference:

[ironchop]

I don't think you look too big for that at all but maybe I'm biased at 6'6" and 230.

As for a better steer tire, the gain would probably be minimal. I would add weight to the front since your sprayer tank will tend to lift the already light frontend no matter what tread you run making it push steer when you turn. Maybe throw a second tank on the front with a line into the rear to add more balance

As for suspension, there are much more knowledgeable guys than me on that subject who could tell you if there's a proven shock/ shock travel upgrade.

Sent from my Z998 using Tapatalk

[Buck Snort]

You don't look too big on that Big Red. In fact you remind me of me. lol

[3 Wheel Drive]

http://www.atv.com/blog/2010/03/andr...e-wheeler.html

If he can ride one anyone can.

[DohcBikes]

The only way to change the aspect ratio between you and the bike would be to stretch the frame, add a larger tank, etc. Lots of engineering involved.

The only real lift is larger tires. Put some light weight 27's on it, Maybe a tad wider offset wheels, then lift the suspension just enough to clear the tires at full compression. K.I.S.S. method, in full effect.

[SamT]

Thanks guys. I will do some looking for a shock.
I also need to rewire this bad boy. Its a mess.

[SamT]

Getting to work on this. Here is a quick teaser!
[URL=http://s593.photobucket.com/user/sabraturner/media/1EBA0E11-CE6A-4113-ADCE-2EB8396FBA12_zps0yvttfip.jpg.html][/

Going 3" up front, 2" lift rear.
1.5" wheel spacers
Tires are 25x12.

[SamT]

I got my wheels stripped and powder coated after church. I also got about 3/4 of the front lift built. I hope It heavy duty enough. I just took some 1.5" roll cage tube 3 1/4" and split it down one side. Then drove a piece of smaller tube that fit in the fork hole in it about 3/8 inch and welded it in. I added some strap Iron down the split on each side and drilled 2 bolt holes to suck it tight. I will drive it into the tree and tighten the bolts and then weld it up good. And install the forks like normal.
I may add a piece of 1" strap iron down the back side for additional strength since that's how most of the force will be applied. I don't do anything crazy, but don't want anything to fold up on me.

Has anyone built their own rear plastics? I'm pretty good with fiberglass, I'm trying to decide what to do. I need to rebuild my rear rack and my fenders are shot. So I may lay some glass and see what I end up with.

[SamT]

Does anyone know about aftermarket plastics? Seems they are all a little different and most don't have good pics.
I'd like some that don't use the mud flaps or tail lights.

[ps2fixer]

I agree with the others, the big red looks about right sided for you. Weight in the front does amazing things, back when I was using my 200cc big red like a tractor pulling stuff, I had a ~100lb block of cement strapped to the front rack, heavy to steer but I could steer! Low range was really useful on that thing lol.

I was going to suggest 26in tires, but I see you already have them and are down sizing to 25in, you will loose 1/2in ground clearance and height from that, just a FYI.

The rear shock is kind of a strange setup, the bottom (maybe both) eyelets are really skinny vs most other models I see. I rarely see the honda shocks blown out so I never had to change one yet, ironically every Yamaha I have bought had the rear shocks blown out (tri-z and a 87 warrior). If you don't mind the fab work, you can open up the options a lot more. Since you use it for work, and weigh a bit, I'd target a shock from a larger quad, maybe a 450 foreman if it runs a single rear shock. I don't know the measurements, but it seems the quads run a longer swing arm and they moved the shock back further, so the shock travels further for the same wheel travel.

There are some people on this board that have access to good shock info, such as bolt to bolt length, travel, etc, but I don't know where they get the info from .

[SamT]

Yea, I really wanted some 26 or 27" tires, but I tried some 27's and they stole too much power. It had 26" when I got it and the 24s on it now are better. Maybe in the future I will do gear reduction. These 25's look a little oversized, maybe 26 actual.
In the pics it has 24x10 off a Honda 420 rancher. And a 26x12 up front.

I'm thinking about using the stock seat off my VN2000 motorcycle. That raises me up an inch. I will have to do some tank work to make it look right too. I've just about got everything forward of the tank fixed up. (Tire, wheel, Lift, paint, rhino line rack, front brake.)
Now I need to take these dirtbike handle bars off and put some off a 200 big red on.

[ps2fixer]

Oh yea, I was going to mention some handle bars that come up higher, but I don't know what a good match up would be.

Based on the description, the 26 vs 25 shouldn't be enough to really effect the power much unless you are in some nasty mud. Just for the sake of checking, have you, or do you have access to do a compression test? If it is low on compression, nothing much will help it except bringing it back to factory specs.

Here are a couple of pics of two of my 250es big reds (same tires though) I ran at trike fest. I drove though some of the nastiest clay I could find and didn't have any power issues. Tires are 25in and were burried 20+ inches in some spots, one I got stuck in the rear rack was under the water line. I know I'm a skinny guy at around 150lb, but I really don't think another 150lb would be a deal breaker with it. The white seat machine does have a Cobra exhaust, other is all factory that I know of.

[SamT]

Everything is slow with me on it! I haven't checked the compression, but I can. It's no problem. What should it be?

It seems to have lots of power, I pull a small plow and a 13x7 trailer all the time. But I also spray a lot of weeds and with me, spray boom, car battery, and 15 gallons water on it you can sure tell it's loaded when you pull a long hill and your in high gear. It's not bad or anything, I just don't want to give up any. I've never had an issue with power in the mud or anything.

[SamT]

Oh yea, I was going to mention some handle bars that come up higher, but I don't know what a good match up would be. of.

I have some on a junk 200 big red. The ones on here are off a dirtbike. The big red bars have atleast 2" more rise. Than what's on here now. I guess someone wrecked this think lots of times.

[ps2fixer]

Service manual specs is 170-185psi.

Here is the whole engine specs list from the manual.

https://gyazo.com/4558b28c959ba6a7177a6d58cec23003

Kind of hate to say it, but you probably would love a 200es big red for its low range =). I don't have much for hills around in Michigan, so I'm a bit of a flat lander. I don't think there are too many options for gear reduction on the 250es. I do seem to recall something about a trx300 gear set (primary clutch and clutch basket) could give a reduction, but I don't remember if that was for a 250es engine or not. Looking at the torque peak (13.7 ft-lb @ 6000rpm), it seems the engine isn't the greatest for bottom end grunt, but I never seen the torque curve and generally am looking at car/truck engines to compare to.

There was a top end swap to up the engine to a 300cc, I think it was from a trx300 but research it out first. I sort of recall it being possible to swap a 350x or a trx350d (similar design) with some extra work. Might be a good option if you're into working on engines and such.

Anyway, just throwing some ideas out there for ya. At least it isn't a 125cc you're using as a tractor =), my uncle did that for ~10 years before he sold it.