Rm250 1988 low budget rebuild

RM250 Tear down. Nikon image space I uploaded 90 pics or so... Most of them are so I remember where things go.

Issues so far:
Pitted cylinder head ( got a used one on eBay for $24 bucks )
Melted spark arrestor insert
No break pads on front breaks
The bolt that holds the clutch basket in was not even hand tight and caused some damage to the washer and bolt but hadn't failed completely ( thanks sandman768 ) that would have been a mess I think.
The bearing for the little shaft on the clutch basket face plate was coming apart I found ten and a half pins out of twelve so far.
My swing arm is cracked ( seems to be a weak point )
My piston is grooved a bit but my cylinder seems fine ( Ii will get it honed ) I'm at 67.3 mm
Front rotor Might be salvageable... it isn't grooved just ugly. Might be warped though.
Fork seals
Front tire has some side wall splitting from age.
Front and rear wheel bearings
Steering stem bearings

Things I want but don't need yet :
Seat cover
all plastic
Radiators are rougher than I would like but still function.
Back tire.

How about this....RM250 Rebuild Photos

I tried laying it on a piece of glass and it's close but if you push on one side or the other you can feel it rock a little. I ordered a bunch of parts and a MANUAL. Hopefully the manual has some guidance. It's rusty and looks bad but it was worn uniformly and has no ridge. It's measures .115"(thickness) all the way around. I'll look for a used one and see what I can find. Dealer price is about $80 bucks.

Thanks for the glass idea at least let me know it might be worth cleaning up.

I have no idea on if they were plated or not. I'm guessing "not" looking at the uniformity of the rust. It may get refurbished or I will have to change the name of my thread. I'm spending cash pretty fast and that is on the broken stuff.

So far one lesson I have learned is to make sure you are ordering everything you need at once ! Shipping adds up quick if your breaking up your order! $15 dollar rookie mistake. The company I'm ordering from has lots of parts and gives me a discount but their shipping prices are out of line if you order one or two items.

My broken pile keeps getting bigger.

So tonight I decided to break down the swing arm and rear suspension linkage . I'm going to need a lot of bearings ! Apparently dust , rust and water where the only lubricants added to the original Suzuki grease in the last 20 odd years !

I also was looking at the head and am guessing it has been sleeved ? I haven't got the manual yet ... But I thought they where plated cylinders and shouldn't look like mine.

I also got my $24 dollar cylinder head from eBay today " in condition good " , I would say "ok" or "fair condition" but it's usable and seems even ( not warped )

I will keep track of all purchases and post them when they arrive. At this point I ordered all the lower end bearings except the crankshaft bearings ,and one other left side bearing that was $68 dollars (mine seemed good still). I probably could have been cheap and left them all (except one that felt funky), but they where pretty cheap $12-20 bucks each . It will add about a hundred to my overall cost.

Fliker RM250 rebuild Photos

I like the Flickr layout better ... hope this helps. Flickr gave me 1 TB of space FREE!

Crank seems like it was already done. Looking at my old head a lot of damage happened when this bike came apart last time. I think this crank is fresh looking at it and the hot rod. It also had very little play ( rod , the crank had none). A new crank bearing kit is only $50 but I don't want to replace "like new parts". I thought I would see what the book/ caliper says before rebuilding the crank.

I can see how these re- builds get out of control, there is always one more part you should replace. Logically it makes sense to spend $50 more. Water pump $50 , new crank bearings $50 , new rod bearings $50, and pretty soon $50 more is $500 more. It all seems logical until you get the bill, and it's more than the bike is worth.

Yeah ,I'm rebuilding the top end , I used my finger nail and could feel a couple gouges in the cylinder wall. I might hone it and see what it looks like. I'm trying to keep it "cheap" but I won't cut corners. one scratch feels deeper than the rest and is the only one I'm worried about. I'm thinking it's going to need to be bored. I have a cylinder hone sitting on the shelf so I might as well use it! I'm having a little trouble sourcing a piston kit though (I'm going to have to call the dealer ). So I read that I should have the new piston before I get it bored, but how do I know how big to go on the piston. Guess I'll find a shop and ask how they do it or have them look at my cylinder ( I'm sure they could tell just by looking at it).

The new cylinder head has a ding but it's pretty shallow and shouldn't be an issue to clean up. The gasket surface is smooth and hasn't been shaved as far as I can tell.

I'm on the lookout for a donor bike as I have too many parts that need replacing on the frame and buying a rolling chassis might pay off. I also am taking a drive over to a local motorcycle salvage yard ( never been ) I'm hoping it will be a wonderland of discounts ,and buried treasures. At this point I need a miracle to save my "Low Budget" title.

On a side note if you have access to Aafes online mall ( military ) they have a motorcycle parts vendor that is not to bad (price wise) you get a discount applied at checkout. The bad news is ,you can use your Star card for motorcycle parts ! Watch out for shipping though.

It could have been worse .... acid ... or melted and fused ... I still haven't been able to drive the bearing seats out. I don't think I have a salvageable bearing on the frame so far. I would have liked a photo of the look on my face when that dust cover came off and that bearing and dirt dumped on my workbench. I'm going to watch some youtube videos of finished project bikes and see if I can't ret back the spirit that bearing broke.