Beater Big Red Project! Updated!

[MudBug]

there's a guy I know just up the road from me who bought two big red 250's both 1985's. he realized he didnt want 2 and is selling this one.

this poor girl needs a choke cable, seat recovered and the electric start or reverse isnt working. the motor runs very strong. good compression and power. I drove it today for about 20 mins and found out everything I ned to know. when i shake the bike the back left tire kinda shakes. Im thinking the hub is loose or the bearing is gone. it has a plow hook up and a skidplate underneath. Its a rust bucket but im willing to take it on if my parents buy it for me for an early xmas gift :P so anyway, heres some pics of what she looks like now. BTW he is charging 500 because that is what he paid and he dont want to lose money. its a fair price IMO.

[MudBug]

also forgot to mention that the battery does not work but the headlight do. The front tire is as bald as bologna skin , but he is giving two decent tires with the bike. I know a guy who recovers seats for 50 bucks. The fenders arent even bolted to the rack so that makes her look droopy FYI

[MudBug]

well I bought it today! the main problem with her is that there is a custom - crappy made header on it. the flange is tight to the head with no leaks, but the header itself is broken free of the flange! so he has been running this for a while. thank god he didnt ruin the valves. I done a few things to it today. adjusted valves, cleaned carb and air filter. still makes the ticking noise but i know it is just from the header being broke. a few things need to be tightened up. and she will be a good woods bike. oil change tommorow also. I will have more pics up.

[MonroeMike]

Congrats on the new (to you) bike.

[daniel_250r]

nice bike but holy rust! better get you self a decent sandblaster

[AutoXer]

sweet buy congrats

[MudBug]

I have a pretty good sandblaster already and a paint gun, so when I get the front rack straightened out and painted and all that it will look much better. there is one spot on the rear frame where it is rusted out, another weld job I guess. I will have more pics with progress. thanks for the good feedback guys!

[harryredtrike]

decent pick up,you guys pay a little more up there but fair.clean her up and show us more.

[MudBug]

some more work done to the big red today. I realized that the exhaust studs on the engines are shot. the threads go about half way, and from the header being loose it must have vibrated and wore the threads down closer to the engine. so even if they are tight they will only go half way. so we are working on getting that out. going to take the head off tommorow to drill them out and re-thread them. I checked the hubs, suspension and brakes. The rear brakes are in great shape. those two phillips head screws came out without a problem. she just neds brake shoes now. One more thing I noticed is that the swimgarm is loose when I shake the bike. is this a real bad sign? can you just tighten it up without replacing bearings etc? switched the rims around to the correct way, and rust checked a bunch of stuff. here is where I'm at. also a pic of my garage/workshop. check out what this guy done for the footpeg mount. I never thought of doing it this way.

[MonroeMike]

Good size shop, looks like a quonset hut.

[MudBug]

its a steel dome garage. me and my dad built that loft ourselves, its now 16 X 16 and it doesnt take up any room on th bottom. it sure is a good place to work, tons of tools also.

[ATC4ever!]

Nice " Man Cave" MudBug! I'm known for taking pieces of crap and bringing them back to life but I think you certainly got your work cut out for you on that Big Red I guess it's worth it though cause it's a HONDA and its a Big Red Good Luck!

[MudBug]

its actually not that much to get running smooth again. the engine is good and has better compression than my other one. but she leaks a bit and we already have gaskets for it and we are working at that today. frame needs one weld near the back. might replace that small section with new pipe. after some cleaning and paint you'll be suprised what she will look like. I'm sure as hell not going to let another trike go to waste, she's in good hands now!

[MudBug]

Got the top end of the motor off today. putting new gaskets in and fixing the exhaust studs. anyone know much about the swingarm. it has some play where it pivots on the frame. can you just tighten it? take a look at the rust on the rear frame! going to replace that section I guess. took a pic of the shed from the outside. any feedback is appreciated!

[MudBug]