Air Fooled 250R Questions

[ATCR250R]

Hey guys, first off I would like to say sorry if this has been covered in earlier threads. Anyways, I had a couple questions about the air foolers as I may be getting a project real soon and I am excited about it! :w00t:

1. What were the overall better years? I told the guy I am getting the project from I wanted a 1983 or 1984 for the frame as the base of the project. Reason I said this first thing is I like the tank and the overall look to it better then I will have a disk and I am sure honda must have improved on something in the later years.

2. What are the engine differences between a 1981-1982 and a 1983-1984 besides the color which i believe early ones were orange and later ones were black. The reason I am wondering is I think I will have to use the 1981 bottom end because it is in really nice shape. Are these pretty fast top speed and decent down low?

3. How hard are parts to find for this? (OEM and Aftermarket) On Ebay do they go pretty cheap? I would like to find any OEM parts I need plus I plan on modding it out throughout the whole project.

4. What are some good mods people have been using for these trikes? (Any suggestion is welcome)

5. Please let me know any other comments you have on these early R's, good or bad. Thanks, cant wait to get started! :beer

[madblocky]

That makes two of us as i've decided too keep the 83 250r's and i'm keen too hear peoples recommendations and i'm chasing a +2 or close swing arm and carrier (double row) also durablue axle or equivalent
cheers

[ATCR250R]

Nice, as far as your swinger, have you considered having yours lengthened instead of a full new one? Would be cheaper and easier to do I would think. Good luck man!

[madblocky]

can i still use original shock ?

[ATCR250R]

I believe you can and if not you should be able to fab up a mount or have a machine shop do it for real cheap. Please someone correct me if I am wrong.

[El'Capitan]

On my 350X the swing arm was extended by a machine shop, it was very sturdy, and im sure quite a bit cheaper than buying a new one.

[Chevy200s]

Hey man, some good questions. I personally love the air foolers (and no I'm not biased in any way at all:lol: ) I have an 83, and its a blast.

As far as differences, I think the 83-84 R's had a bigger carb than the 81-82 but I'm not certain. Then theres the obvious suspension improvements in the front and rear. 83-84 uses Pro-Link suspension, the link gives you about 8 inches of travel rear as opposed to 4 on the early ones without a link. Thicker and better forks too give more travel on the 83-84 R. The frame is totally different too, I think it is better set up to handle jumps and such. Keep in mind I've never actually ridden an 81-82 R I'm just spewing out what I have read on here.

As far as top speed and low end torque, I find that my R has plenty of both. It really screams in low end, a big part of this is gearing but still you can really feel the motor pull hard in 1st 2nd and 3rd. Its not like it loses power at all in 4th and 5th it still goes hard, but I have just noticed that I can beat just about anyone I ride with (400ex, warrior, blaster, 200x) off the line easy. Lots of top end power too, all around great power band. Never once had issues with over heating which is something that I hear people say a lot on here. And I've ridden mine on 90 degree days in summer, freezing days in winter, and through a ton of mud, she still keeps going strong

Parts arent too hard to find, I have found quite a few members on this board with 83-84 parts trikes that have helped/are helping me out now

As for the mods, there is the obvious Hondaline 300 kit, and I've heard of Mugen 360 kit but never actually seen one. DG made a custom gold head for it, theres the usual carb upgrades, air filter, gearing. One of the best things I ever did was remove my air box cover. Just keep checkin your plug to make sure your not running lean, but I was ok, you can really feel a differnce when the cover is off. Another thing you can do and its something I'm working on now is dropping in the 82-83 CR 480 motor. Its also air cooled, lines up fairly well, and is double the horsepower. I am actually getting another 250R to put this motor in to make a drag racer for Trike Fest:) I will post up about this project as I go

Well I hope that is of some help, and Im sorry to write so much, I just love the air foolers!:w00t:

[TtownJoeShow]

the 84 has a higher comp ratio 6.6;1(81) 6.7;1(82-83) to 7.3;1(84)

[don250r]

83-4 also has a longer wheelbase than 81-2

[madblocky]

hey chevy 200s
i hear what your saying about the cr480 conversion and i'm looking at that frame and i know where there is a cr480 donk .Man that would go.What do you do with the swing arm and sprocket being different sides to the cr480 and what exhaust ?
cheers

[ATCR250R]

No problem on the "long" post, I am loving the info. Sounds like I made the right choice with the year. As far as compression gos I will probally do more of a performance build-up on the motor than stock so I am not too worried about it. Its great to know the upgrades and stuff. Keep the posts coming!

[atctim]

One down fall to these trikes are the swing arm pivot bolt. They are normally a real bear to get out when it comes time to replace the bearings / bushings.

[ATCR250R]

Thanks, that is good for me to keep in mind. Lucky for me I am pieceing this one together so i wont have that problem. Is there anything to do to prevent it from happening again?

[erectordale]

grease zirks and keep it greased

[ATCR250R]

Alright so if I understand right you just drill and tap the swinger, put in a fitting, and pump grease in it? Sounds good to me if so!

[don250r]

about the swinger bolt........:idea:
either somebody here, or on .org makes,has, or can get, a stainless steel bolt for it.

[88 Turbo Coupe]

Use polyurathane bushings. I belive X System makes them.

[atctim]

I had a local machine shop make me brass bushings. Seems to be pretty good - and it was relatively cheap