Tecate 250 with a Suzuki LT250 engine, Kawazuki?

[kristofrogers]

So I just bought a 1985 Kawasaki KXT 250r Tecate minus the KXT engine and plus a LT250r from an '85 quadrunner. The guy i bought it from seemed fairly knowledgeable about the bike and said he had swapped the engines himself. I was just curious, is this a decent engine to have in the Tecate or is the original engine better? The bike runs greaaaaat and feels very peppy and fast. Can't wait to get it in some dirt!

[cattle-dog]

ride it as is for now and look for a tecate engine if you want to feel fast its the way to go, it looks to be a nice tecate to me worth looking for a good engine and then sell the 250r motor recoup some cash.

[Rm250RF900R]

Thats a crazy looking expansion chamber.

[kristofrogers]

haha yea...the previous owner had to trim the front fender to accompany that beast pipe lol...

oh and does anyone else find it kind of ironic that the guy decided to replace the trike's engine with a suzuki, the only company to not make a three wheeler? haha, sounded kind of unique to me

[nd4speed]

I have seen one of these for sale before and made a post about it. Not sure if it was the same trike you now own but no one here had any info about the swap.

Most would want the Tecate engine, but those LT250R motors are plentiful and cheap.

I bet the pipe is for a 85-86 LT250R and unmodfied.

I have found from owning a LT250R and a couple Tecates that a lot of the parts and geometry are very similar.

Some good close pics of the motor mounts, shock mounts, engine area /electrical would be nice.

[scooterroo]

wow thats cool. me and a friend are doing the opposite, putting an 85 t3 motor in an 85 quadracer.

[3Razors]

Does the tire hit the pipe when the suspension compresses? 1985 LT250R motor isn't so hot a setup, that year was very problematic with the case-reed design.87-92 LT250 were much better. But even still I would have stuck with the Tecate motor myself.

[kristofrogers]

Well, according to the previous owner, the original Tecate engine went bad and he had the LT250r to replace it with. He said they basically were shapped the same except it looks as though he had some custom engine mounts made. The pipe is about and inch away from the front tire when the front suspension is fully compressed (that went through my mind too when i noticed how far the pipe stuck out). It looks like they shaved the front fender down so that it wouldn't hit the pipe when you steered hard left or right. After leaving this bike in my garage for one night i came out to find a small puddle of what i think is trans fluid under it. I think the seal on the shifter may be leaking (kinda strange i know...). I would MUCH rather have the original Kawi Tecate 250 in there just for authenticity reasons but this one seems pretty peppy, needs a little work though but it seems to run like a beast for the time being. As far as being the one you saw online ND4SPEED, i found this one on Craigslist in Pasadena for $800, came with two extra rims with paddles on em and an extra set of front forks. If this engine ever takes a dump on me you better bet i'm keepin' it and throwin something even more badass into it :]

[rdlsz24]

I saw something on CraigsList a while back that was the opposite of this. LTR250 quad with a Tecate engine

Rob

[code200k]

haha yea...the previous owner had to trim the front fender to accompany that beast pipe lol...

oh and does anyone else find it kind of ironic that the guy decided to replace the trike's engine with a suzuki, the only company to not make a three wheeler? haha, sounded kind of unique to me

suzuki made a trike

[kristofrogers]

suzuki made a trike

oh your totally right... guess i shouldn't believe everything i read on the internet without researching it myself ><

[scooterroo]

yes yes, cant forget the "A"LT's!!!

[nd4speed]

Suzuki and Kawasaki have had a long relationship and that is why I looked to popular zuki quads for tecate parts.

If the sprocket alignment is good I would call it a good swap for a budget build. The reed in case design on the LT does suck though, but it should still be peppy with good porting job.

I saw one on Craigs but dont remember where and the picture was small and poor.

[kristofrogers]

if worse came to worse and I needed a new engine, what would fit into the 85 T3? I heard the KX engines would fit but i've never done a trasnplant myself.

[nd4speed]

83-84 kx250