Time to see what all the Tecate hype is about?

[Red Rider]

You can sand off the heat marks that you don’t like with say 600 grit paper and some WD-40 and if you want to replace or any you can just take a torch and add them back on. It takes a little bit of playing with, but if you get it wrong you can just sand the marks off and start again.Gotcha. Sounds like the same process used, when one restores an old, hand-coned pipe.

[Red Rider]

March was a busy month for me, so I didn't have much time to work on the Tecate. Yesterday, I finally decided to tackle the pipe fitment issue, and spent a few hours out in the garage, getting that ironed out. As usual, fixing one problem, created another. When I would get the stinger portion of the pipe, tucked in closer to the frame, and a safe distance away from the rear fenders, the expansion chamber portion of the pipe would then be making contact with the back corner of the cylinder head. Even though I hated to do it, the only remedy I could come up with, was to slightly dent the pipe, where it was hitting the cylinder head. About 8, well placed, controlled blows, with a ball pean hammer produced a dent, about 1/2" in diameter, and 1/8" deep, providing the necessary clearance, to get the pipe routed, right where I wanted it.

Now, with the stinger portion of the pipe, so close to the frame, the silencer wouldn't mount properly. To remedy this, I drilled out the rivets, attaching the silencer can onto the silencer inlet flange, and rotated the can of the silencer a few degrees, in relation to inlet flange, until everything lined up properly again. Then, using the existing holes in the silencer can, I drilled new holes into the silencer inlet flange. In the pic, the pipe is mounted up properly in it's new position, and the new, TM Designworks "No Leak Exhaust Collar" is installed as well. The silencer still needs to be riveted back together, as I didn't have any 3/16" rivets.

[oldskool83]

I ran into that PIPE issue on a YZ250. It pained me to try and bash in a flat spot to clear a cylinder but not sure why no one didn't figure that out in 1986 with FMF's

[knappyfeet]

Everytime I see your updates I feel like throwing my 200X in the garbage.

It's looking fabulous!

I had to grind a little spot on the swingarm on my XR1200 to make the shock relocators fit with the V&H exhaust.....it made me sick doing it.

I figured $300-$400 (all day long) for a used swingarm on eBay vs. $1000-$1500+ for a used V&H exhaust (if you could find one).....the math said grind the swingarm and leave the exhaust alone.

[Red Rider]

...the math said grind the swingarm and leave the exhaust alone.Yes, trust the math! I ran a similar math problem through my head, except it was a ratio of melted rear fenders to dented pipe. And please don't throw away your 200X. I don't want that on my conscience.

[86T3]

It's been a long time since I've seen such a thorough build thread. Thanks for keeping us updated, great work

[El Camexican]

It's been a long time since I've seen such a thorough build thread. Thanks for keeping us updated, great work

What you said.

[Red Rider]

It's been a long time since I've seen such a thorough build thread. Thanks for keeping us updated, great work


What you said.Thanks guys! I hate it when I’m reading through an old build thread, and when you get to the last post, there is no conclusion. Either, they ran out of money, lost interest, or something else. In any case you’re left hanging, wondering what ever became of it. So I strive not to do that.

[vegas250rr]

Looks absolutely sick!

Nice work!

[Red Rider]

Looks absolutely sick!

Nice work!Thanks vegas! It's good to see you on here again.

[Red Rider]

I got together with mr tecate last night for dinner, and to watch a Lakers game, followed by a Clippers game. I brought him some of his parts, off of his Tecate, that he wants to get polished (footpeg wideners, rear grab bar, airbox vent, & gas cap). In exchange, he had some freshly powder-coated parts for me, for his Tecate, as well as some 3/16" rivets to put the silencer back together. All of his Tecate parts were powder-coated years ago, when this adventure first began, so this small batch was for things that had changed or were modified during the build. The main item, which was the headlight mounting bracket, needed to be re-powder-coated, because it was modified (welded on) to work with the BVC, inverted fork kit. Then it was modified yet again (welded on) to add a bracket to it for a key switch. Also in the parts lot were, the footpegs, BVC front fender, adapter bracket, and an aftermarket KX250 shift lever, which was lengthened to work on the Tecate.

[Red Rider]

A little more progress as of late, as well as a slight setback. All of the powder-coated parts (footpegs, modified shifter, headlight bracket, & front fender adapter) have been re-installed, and the silencer was riveted back together. The polisher swung by and dropped off all of the freshly polished parts (rear grab bar, footpeg wideners, airbox vent, counter-shaft sprocket guard, & billet gas cap) that he had for a few weeks, and then he left with the silencer, so it could be polished as well. The new airbox lid was cut, to accept the airbox vent, and the vent was riveted to the lid. A front brake line guide was added, and the front brake was bled. A Blue Line decal kit was purchased, and a few of the decals have been installed, as well as some decals for the front fork protectors. And with any luck, the new seat cover will be ready on Monday.

And now for the setback. As I began adding anti-freeze to the radiators, I started to see some drips on the floor. At first it appeared to be coming from the front, cylinder head nut, but then (much to my relief) I noticed it dripping off of the radiator hose, going from the cylinder head, to the left radiator. The clamp is tight, so it must be a hole in the radiator hose. No biggie, just another expense.

[Red Rider]

We got the new seat cover back from CEET Racing Products. We sent CEET, the original seat pan/foam, and had them install the new seat cover on it. The green portion of the seat is a typical vinyl, while the remaining black portion is "gripper" style vinyl. We are very pleased with the looks of the new seat cover, and have nothing but good things to say about CEET Racing Products work, craftsmanship, and attention to detail.

Because the carburetor/airbox is such a pain to install even 1 time, we didn't want to take it on & off multiple times, while jetting the carburetor on this thing, so we decided to get a UNI clamp on air-filter for the jetting process. And hopefully (fingers crossed), the jetting specs will transfer over, and work nicely with the airbox setup. While we await the arrival of the new radiator hoses, hopefully I will be able to button up a few little details, such as the fuel line routing, inline fuel filter placement, & a few other odds & ends.

[Red Rider]

Mr Tecate stopped by tonight, and we got a some work done on his Tecate. To protect the new rear fender plastics, from the hot exhaust pipe, we added some reflective heat tape, to the underside of the fenders. After test fitting the rear fenders with the new seat cover installed, of course we had to take a few glamour shots. We also got the fuel line routing & fuel filter location figured out.

Mostly though, we stood around, drank beer, and admired how she is turning out. :beer Oooohhh she is gonna be sexy!

[Footy]

Awesomeness!

[Red Rider]

We received the new, aftermarket, '85 KX250 radiator hoses a few days ago. Most of the hoses needed some trimming on 1, or both ends, to fit properly, as is usually the case with aftermarket, silicone hoses. The new hoses are installed, all of the clamps are tight, and the radiators have been topped off with coolant, and so far, there are no leaks. Mr Tecate also picked up a new silicone hose for the radiator-to-overflow tank line, as the original one was a bit short for how we wanted it routed.

[Red Rider]

We finally had our first start attempt last night. Needless to say, I've been worrying about all of the things, that could go wrong, after such an extensive rebuild, on an unfamiliar bike. I've never worried like this after rebuilding my 250R, but it has never been apart for as long as this Tecate has. After adding fuel to the new tank for the first time, there was a little seepage from the petcock-to-gasket-to-fuel tank, that was remedied by tightening the petcock bolts a bit. I'm worried about tightening them too much, and pulling the brass inserts out of the tank.

After that hurdle, we turned on the gas, and had a little fuel leak from the fuel line-to-fuel filter joints. This fuel line fits the petcock, and carburetor inlet nicely, but is a tad loose on the inline fuel filter. That was easily remedied, by eliminating the inline fuel filter temporarily. We will most likely end up replacing the inline fuel filter with a different one.

It took several kicks, but she finally fired up, and came to life! She ran for about 15 minutes total. So far there are no issues. All of the wiring is correct, with lights/kill switches functioning properly, and no coolant/oil leaks noted. The jetting (pilot) seems pretty close as well, but some fine tuning will still need to be done. So far though, she is idling nicely, and responds fairly crisply, when blipping the throttle. :Bounce


https://vimeo.com/949722920?share=copy

[Red Rider]

Another video. She's alive!


https://vimeo.com/949724550?share=copy

[86T3]

That sounds awesome. Great job!

[rpeters]

Mr Tecate stopped by tonight... ...we stood around, drank beer, and admired how she is turning out. :beer Oooohhh she is gonna be sexy!

Did you forget it's not a Honda you are talking about?

[Red Rider]

Did you forget it's not a Honda you are talking about?Nope, not at all. I know sexy when I see it.

[Red Rider]

Had some custom Uni-Trak swingarm decals made up by Bruce @ Blue Line graphics. Not only do they look good, but they should increase hp about 1%.

[rpeters]

Nope, not at all. I know sexy when I see it.

Xlnt! Your not as bad as I thought. The prototype that I went to Japan to develop was butt ugly.

[Mr. Sandman]

Looks and sounds great!

[Red Rider]

We finally have some more progress to report! Not much has been done to the Tecate after the previous videos of the initial startup, and getting the idle dialed in. That happened way back in May 2024, and Summer was ramping up here in Las Vegas. The next step was to get the rest of the jetting worked out, but we were waiting for the weather to cool down, before tackling that job. Unfortunately, the summer temps dragged on well into late October.

After it finally cooled down here, we couldn't get our days off work to align, until mid-November. Mr tecate picked up the Tecate, and transported it to his storage facility, where we can test ride it, and not have to worry about disturbing anybody, or any police hassles. The first day of testing was basically a bust. First off, mr tecate bruised his foot, trying to kickstart the Tecate in some weak-ass tennis shoes. He did a couple laps around the storage facility, and it sounded a bit sluggish. When he came back, and performed the first plug chop, he said there was a noticeable hesitation in the mid-range transition. So, after reading the plug, we decided to bump up the main jet, from a 170, to a 175, and drop the clip on the needle 1 groove. With a Tecate, this is all easier said than done. To do this, the rear fenders need to come off, and we should have removed the tank as well, but there was just enough room to get to the carburetor, so we decided to save some time, and leave it on. I was able to get the cap unscrewed, and the slide removed from the carburetor. Adjusting the needle clip, and changing the main jet were accomplished easily, but getting the slide re-installed, proved a bit more difficult. I finally got the slide back in, but it just didn't seem right. Note to self, TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS! The twist-throttle action was smooth, and it sounded like the slide was fully closing, but it turns out, it wasn't. The rear fenders were then bolted back on. On start up, the bike revved to the moon, and neither the kill-switch, nor the key switch, would kill it. I quickly turned off the fuel and hoped it would run out of gas & die, before it blew up. Luckily it did. Tired, hungry, and dejected, we quit for the night, got some dinner, and watched some basketball.

Fast forward to 12/8/24, we finally pulled off the fenders & tank to see what was going on with the throttle slide. We removed the clamp-on air-filter as well, and could clearly see the slide was not closing completely with the throttle closed. As it turns out, when I re-installed the carburetor cap, with the tank still installed, the throttle cable became unseated from the top of the carburetor cap, which prevented the slide from closing completely. Once the cable was slid back into the carburetor cap, the slide was able to close completely once again. For a main jet change, we can rotate the carburetor sideways and get access to the float bowl plug. But, if we need to do a needle clip change, the tank needs to come off. This time, we decided to leave the rear fenders off for the test-rides, and mr tecate wore some better shoes to kickstart it. After startup, the key switch & kill switches were tested, and they function properly. With the main jet & clip changes made, it ran & sounded much better. After multiple laps, plug chops, and a few more main jet/needle clip changes, we are pretty pleased with how she is running now.


https://vimeo.com/1037364996

[Red Rider]

Video #2


https://vimeo.com/1037365704

[Red Rider]

Now that we are happy with where the jetting is, we decided to finally install the airbox, otherwise, the airbox would have needed to come off as well, to gain access to the carburetor. All of the jetting was done with a UNI, clamp on air filter. With the airbox & rear fenders installed, this bike is getting very close to being complete now.

[mr tecate]

Now that we are happy with where the jetting is, we decided to finally install the airbox, otherwise, the airbox would have needed to come off as well, to gain access to the carburetor. All of the jetting was done with a UNI, clamp on air filter. With the airbox & rear fenders installed, this bike is getting very close to being complete now.

looks so good i think the cleanest tecate on the planet hahahah

[ATC King]

Nearly eight years from the project's beginning. It's always nice to see them in a finished state and to be able to go back through the tread to revisit the progression. A project like that shows the dedication. Well done and thanks for sharing.

Builds like yours bring up the question of what would've trikes become if they had been produced for another 10-20 years, or longer. Jut like modern bikes as far as performance, there's no comparison to vintage or classic machines, the progress is amazing.

[Red Rider]

Nearly eight years from the project's beginning. It's always nice to see them in a finished state and to be able to go back through the tread to revisit the progression. A project like that shows the dedication. Well done and thanks for sharing.Man, where did the time go? Doing the math, you are absolutely correct, nearly 8 years working on this, but from memory, it seems like it's only been 4-5 years. :wondering It will definitely be over 8 years when it is finally complete. Seeing how little traffic this site seems to get lately, I was tempted to not take the time to write up the details of the latest progress, and maybe just post the videos. But, this thread, like the Tecate build, must come to completion. I always hated reading someone's build thread, and then the story just stops, and we are all left hanging wondering what ever became of it. Thank you for the motivation to keep on going!

[oldskool83]

I'm still here. The forums are the real place for know how. However I know there no traffic here when no one comments on my full suspension and modified motor for a 83 chain driven bigred. WTF? I'd think mens pants would drop and droll over how to's.....cnc machined parts designed in 3D with drawings to mass produce. Nope, a few cools looks good and the catch all...nice!

To us who really know the struggles behind a build lets keep the forum alive. If not lets me up and go ride what we built and drink corona premier and grill hot dogs......

[Red Rider]

I know I’ve been guilty of the “thumbs up.” We would all probably prefer a gushing, written response to validate our hard work, but that “thumbs up” button is just so much quicker and easier.

[HondaRidr]

I'm very guilty of the thumbs up. I enjoy checking the progress on builds without throwing my 2 cents in. Hope to see footage of this in the sand!

[Red Rider]

Hope to see footage of this in the sand!Me too. Mr tecate is already joking about it being "too nice to get dirty." At least, I think he's joking. :wondering

[Red Rider]

I was doing some aluminum work in the garage the other day, and since it was already a mess, with aluminum shavings everywhere, I suggested to mr tecate, that the BVC, front brake rotor adapter, needed to be jazzed up somehow. There wasn't a whole lot of material to work with, as it is a small adapter, but we felt this looked better than the basic, boring circle it was before.

[oldskool83]

YOU need to spice up the rear wheels and weld 1/4" water jet cut rings on the rims so they look better ad keep them self round....just saying!

[Red Rider]

YOU need to spice up the rear wheels and weld 1/4" water jet cut rings on the rims so they look better ad keep them self round....just saying!Those wheels/tires are just temporary, and some OMF beadlocks are planned, but mr tecate needs to quit f’n around, and order them.