My latest project: 1985 250R (((pictures fixed))

[Dammit!]

Picked this up a few days ago with a 225DX. It was one of those deals you just can't pass up. I didn't want the 225 but most of the buying price was for that one since it needed the least work. I brought them home, got the 225 running, recovered the seat and just sold it today. After selling the runner, the bottom line cost for this R was $100. After I find a buyer for the Mikuni carb (http://www.3wheelerworldforums.com/showthread.php?t=87779) and FMF pipe (http://www.3wheelerworldforums.com/showthread.php?t=87779) it came with it will be pretty much free (which is a good thing because it's in pretty sad shape :lol: ).

Here's how it looked when I brought it home.

http://www.3wheelerworldforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=69447&d=1222557246



The forks leak, sprockets and chain need to be replaced, seat cover ripped, rear plastics wasted, the remains of a rattle can paint job are everywhere, gas tank is super faded. The guy told me it got run lean and needed a top end. That was an understatement as you'll see in my next post.

Continued...

[Dammit!]

So I opened up the motor to see just how bad it is and yep! It was run lean alright. Somebody apparently put a brand new Mikuni carb on it without replacing the standard 200 main jet which is just about half the size it should be running. For the Keihin people, a 200 mikuni jet is probably about the same as running a 80 keihin jet. D'oh!

The piston got melted all the way through. Little bits of aluminum everywhere. Down inside the crankcase (it can't even be spun over there's so much of it down there), on the cylinder walls, all over the reeds. Just nasty. I should have taken some pics before I cleaned up some of what was sitting on the crank.

The good news, other than being bored out a couple times it's a virgin cylinder. Nobody has screwed it up trying to port it.

Continued...

[Dammit!]

More good news. Look how clean it is under the stator cover. Way cleaner than my 86 R inside there right now. Also, the head didn't get damaged as bad as you would think with all the metal flying around.

Today I decided to try recovering the seat and, much to my own surprise, it came out pretty damn good. :lol:

[250rfan]

Mmmmm,,,,looks like a costly restore Dammit, whats your plans for this one?.

[Dammit!]

Mmmmm,,,,looks like a costly restore Dammit, whats your plans for this one?.

It will be a slow one for sure. Gonna split the cases and install all new bearings and seals. Thinking about going with either the TRX long rod setup or maybe a 4mil stroker. The top end will get a good port and polish. Frame up resto-mod with lots of powder and polish.

Here's the way it sits right now. Probably won't change much for a little while. Gotta gather some funds. :lol:

Definitely planning to keep the old school Answer silencer on there. Just gotta repack it and polish it up.

[250rfan]

WOW,,,,,,,,,me likey!,,,,,look forward to seeing this project progress,,,,,am sure you'll soon have it on 2 wheels:naughty:


Are you building it for more or less dune use?

If your polishing the silencer, i have new repro decals if you want,,,,, but they are for the Answer s11 but its the same silencer i think, just depends on how picky you are Doug:lol:

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u275/250rfan/85flattracker008.jpg

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u275/250rfan/85flattracker005.jpg

[Dammit!]

Are you building it for more or less dune use?

No specific plans as for that right now. I might make it a dune trike if I just happen to score a +3 or longer westcoast for it somewhere along the way. More likely it will be an all around rider though.

[Eric250R]

Dude, great idea on the sticker, and the seat turned out pretty good. Hmmmm, you just gave me an idea....:shiftyeyes:

[Dammit!]

Can anybody guess what I'm going to name it based on the shroud decal?

[edog]

Iron maiden?????

[SeaBass8]

Can anybody guess what I'm going to name it based on the shroud decal?


Wifie :naughty:

[ChrisD]

It's fun to rebuild them from scratch, but definitely costly. Sweet sticker.

That reminds me of my friend Mike's bike. We call it "Christine"....it broke the neck of the first owner, then a compound fracture of the second owner, now Mike owns it. I refuse to ride it..............

Good Luck with the rebuild.

Gordon....once again you prove to be one of my heros. You have some sweet R's. Just beatiful!!!

[Dammit!]

It's not Iron Maiden (or wifie, lol). I'll save the next guy some trouble and say it's not Eddie either. :lol:

[dirtface]

Do I win a T-shirt if I guess it? Is it "Maiden Japan" ?

[Dammit!]

Not Maiden Japan but that's a good one.

[Daddio]

"The Grim Reaper"? I'm just guessing.

[Dammit!]

"The Grim Reaper"? I'm just guessing.

Nope. Gotta be an Iron Maiden fan or you'll never get it.

[250rfan]

Can anybody guess what I'm going to name it based on the shroud decal?


Mmmm,,,,,,SLAYER?

[Rex Karz]

I'm no Maiden fan and even I know that's EDDIE !!!!

[dirtface]

Well, I thought I had it.:lol: That is Eddie off the cover of Killers, so let's guess Wrathchild?

[atctim]

how about "Drifter"?

Doug - Maiden Japan is pure genius! Love it.

[dirtface]

Tim, are you digging through your Iron Maiden cassettes? I actually have sixteen of them.:lol: I have the "Maiden japan" one too.

[Dammit!]

so let's guess Wrathchild?

Winner! :beer

[Dammit!]

More decal progress. This part is fun because it isn't costing me any money yet. :lol:

http://www.triketrash.com/random/wrathchild.jpg

[Dammit!]

Finished up the tank. Now I'm thinking about changing my whole plan on what it was going to look like. To do what I was planning to do I would need all new black plastics, black tank etc. Right now I have good red shrouds, good front fender and a good red tank. Might as well make it red. :lol:

Check out the before and after on the tank though.

[krizo88]

very nice. Your arms have to be killing you after that. I will have a beer for you :beer

[edog]

Good job god damma!!!

[Dammit!]

I was asked via PM how it's done so here's the exact method I used.


I have a similar tank....could you tell me, step by step, how you got it looking like that? Also, will it last?

Thanks,
Kris


1. Take the blade out of a razor/utility knife and scrape the oxidized layer of plastic off. DO NOT try to "carve" the plastic. You'll gouge it. Hold the blade nearly straight up and down and scrape it with long quick strokes (make your own joke there :lol:).

2. Once it's completely scraped as far as you can get it (some areas you won't be able to reach), start wet sanding. Start with about a 400 grit. This is what you'll use to get rid of the remaining oxidization that you couldn't reach with the blade. This is also how you'll get rid of the lines the blade leaves. Keep using 400 until the lines are smooth and the white crap is completely gone.

3. Start moving up through as many grits as possible. 600, 800, 1000, 1500, 2000. I didn't have everything so I jumped from 400 to I think 800, then 1000 then 1500. I was out of 2000.

3. Use a polishing compound and start buffing the hell out of it. I cheated and used a small polishing wheel on an electric drill (don't use a dremel, the plastic smears). I tried Mothers aluminum polish then Turtle Wax brand polishing compound. The Turtle brand worked better for me.

4. Clean it up really good with a mix of laundry detergent (Wisk works great) and water. Scrub it with a wash rag.

5. After drying spray it down with WD40 and let it soak it in for a while. The longer it soaks the better.

6. Rub it down with a dry, clean cloth.

7. Soak it in armor all then use the dry cloth again.

8. Take pics!

If I had taken a little more time and used more different grits of sand paper it would look even better. I also should (and will) give it one more round of polishing by hand with the rubbing compound. The polishing wheel isn't as even as the finish you would get by hand so it's better to finish it up that way.

Will it last? I don't know I've never done this before. :lol: Seriously though, it should as long as it's properly maintained. If I were to leave it out in the sun for a long time it would oxidize again. Keep it covered and hit the plastics with WD40 on a regular basis to keep it from drying out and it should be fine. The occasional touch up with the polishing compound won't hurt either.

[devilman]

the tank is amazing. can i send you mine?:lol: thanks for the how to. i will start mine as soon as i get my X tank done.

[fabiodriven]

Holy crap, boys- I'm impressed with the tank polishing. Will that work on a discolored Tecate tank? Or is the discoloration on a Tecate tank unfixable because it's from within?

[Andrew_250R]

That's impressive, that tank turned out great. Can't wait to see the finished trike.

[Dammit!]

Yes it will.I started that on this tank.It was oxidized bad.

That's cool. I didn't know if it would work on a green one or not. Good to know.

More pics because I'm bored!

[schuhboy]

I did an entire YFM 80 like that a couple yrs back. It was the powder blue that looked white. The thing looked new when done.

Evidently had way too much time on my hands.........

[Dammit!]

I did an entire YFM 80 like that a couple yrs back. It was the powder blue that looked white. The thing looked new when done.

Evidently had way too much time on my hands.........

I wet sanded an entire 86 Tri-Z a couple summers ago. I feel your pain. :lol:

[3Razors]

Holy crap, boys- I'm impressed with the tank polishing. Will that work on a discolored Tecate tank? Or is the discoloration on a Tecate tank unfixable because it's from within?

I've tried it before on the tecate tanks and it will take off the white residue if the tank has been sitting out in the sun but it will not bring back the darker green color that it was when it was new. Most of the tecate tank discoloration comes from within because of the gas/oil mixture dyes and fumes venting through the plastic. If you look at the new oem kawasaki tanks for the kx series bike they are a much higher quality bolder green plastic than even a nos tecate tank, they hold the "green" much better and don't fade out. Kawasaki must have changed the plastic formula in the 90's to a better quality tank.

That tank looks awesome Doug. Night and day difference is a understatment..I need to give it a go on that scarecrow 250R I picked up.

[fabiodriven]

That's what I figured, Razors- Thanks

[devilman]

hows the WD holding up on the tank DAMMIT? i figured i would see what i could do with mine, a little tonight. instead of the WD, i used PLEXIS plastic clean and polish. i like the looks of it so far.

[Dammit!]

The WD40 is just to replinsh the oils in the plastic. Use Armor All to shine it up.

[saleen_n_around]

Looks great......def give me hope. Maybe we should nickname mine and yours the Wonder Twins, since they are both starting out their 3WW lives looking like hell!

[Blown 331]

I've tried it before on the tecate tanks and it will take off the white residue if the tank has been sitting out in the sun but it will not bring back the darker green color that it was when it was new. Most of the tecate tank discoloration comes from within because of the gas/oil mixture dyes and fumes venting through the plastic. If you look at the new oem kawasaki tanks for the kx series bike they are a much higher quality bolder green plastic than even a nos tecate tank, they hold the "green" much better and don't fade out. Kawasaki must have changed the plastic formula in the 90's to a better quality tank.

That tank looks awesome Doug. Night and day difference is a understatment..I need to give it a go on that scarecrow 250R I picked up.

My tecate tank has some minor oxidations but I honestly think it will come back to life just fine. I'm going to try using mothers polish like Billy did. Oh yeah, the tank is red not green. :welcome: The red seems to hold up quite well.