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Love the project. I wish I'd done a story with pictures when I built my 1986 CR250 David Bailey replica.
How did you get the engine and frame number tags off clean? I always manage to wreck mine!
Glad you splashed out on the HRC clutch and ignition covers, they make the engine. Don't forget to plate or replace the engine bolts with silver (or titanium!).
Great job.
Keith
Looks really nice!
at the engine i will think you need to heat up inside case and use wood chessle or a knife to bend the nail out I guess
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I used PJ1 satin black paint. It is high temp, a pretty close match to the original and seems pretty tough. I thought about getting dogger315 to powder coat the clutch and ignition covers and still may. He has all these Honda colors matched in powder. You could probably do the whole engine but I worry that powder coat would insulate and make the engine run hot. I don't know for sure about that.
Keith, I wish you would have taken some progress pics of your Bailey replica too! Amazing attention to detail! You could really fool some folks into thinking that is the real thing with the rear disc. Did you go all out with the Ti on yours? Did you ever get any more of those fork/disk guards?
What do you guys think I should do about the rear wheel? I am leaning towards a 19" like Vino did with his 87, but maybe I should stay with an 18" since that is what the factory bikes had in 87? I've got matching Excel gold 21/19" rims/spokes ready but I could re-anodize a set of 21/18" stockers and stick with the old school 18". Bothers me that the 18" would be heavier.
Yes I nearly fooled a couple of people at Farleigh castle last year. One or two asked if it was new!
Stay with the 18" rear the tyres look better with the higher side wall. Depends if you want to race it I guess. Problem is getting the light gold rims. On my 1986 CR125 I was lucky and found 2 NOS rims. On my CR250 DB I used SM Pro rims from a company in the UK,a little darker but not much choice.
I'm looking at shelling out for some Ti bolts but it gets a bit frightening when I add them all up.
Yes I have some sets of Fork, Disc and Reservoir guards in my garage. Let me know if you're interested.
Check out my Facebook photo page for more pictures of my DB replica. Link below.
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.197223590313809.37864.10000078…
Keep it coming I love these articles. I'm doing one for my CR250 1996 McGrath but there seems to be a lot of MC reps at the mo'.
Honda no longer carries the 1987 water pump cover that is made of magnesium.
What a bargain! I'm going to the Latvia MXGP, are you going?
I have a lot of 86 CR little bits if you need anything let me know.
The right side case is the 89 version. I lucked out and found an original 87 right side case that is sand cast magnesium and planned on using that one until I found out how much they are worth. I decided to use the 89 aluminum one since it does fit. Shown below is the old corroded 87 case and the new 89 case installed (note the inspection cover)
There is a caveat to using the 89 though. The HPP Power valve is notoriously hard to adjust and maintain. I imagine there are a lot of these CR's around that run poorly because the power valves are not adjusted correctly. When you use an 89 right side case with the 87 water pump and center cases you lose the ability to disengage the power valve governor mechanism externally (which is why there is a access cap on the 89 and a threaded hole on the 87). The only way to reinstall the cylinder with the power valve actuation arm is to remove the right side case, drop the cylinder into place and match up the power valve actuator arm and then reinstall the right side case. I spent many hours getting the power valve adjusted correctly and then had to remove the right side case to install the cylinder because of this issue.
Here is a shot of the new bore:
However you are able to do it on yours, great, but at the end of the day, make sure the e-clips bottom out on the valve guides and when you manually open them they measure 20.5 - 21mm open.
In the Frame:
I found a new OEM silencer on Ebay. I also bought an 87 CR125 top clamp which is solid mounted whereas the 250 version is rubber mounted. It is lighter and best of all, it moves the bars up and forward so this old relic won't feel so goofy with the bars way back in your lap.
Next on the agenda is to start building some wheels.
Great job, nice bike !...
jps
Pit Row
Killer resto's by the way gentlemen and nice attention to detail!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm saving quite a bit of weight by using a newer rear hub and axle, aluminum axle carriers, spoke nipples and bead lock. I also turned the hubs down on a lathe and removed the casting marks then painted them satin black. I had to machine the wheel spacers and the axle carriers.
I took the following picture before I machined the carriers. Stock 87 on left:
I used a 19" rim and I'll use the lightest tires/tubes I can find. I weighed several models and the MX31 is the lightest around. I'm going to go with the next lightest, the Dunlop K952 because it looks just like the 752 from back in the day and it is available in 110/90/19 size whereas the MX31 is only available in 110/80/19. I saved nearly three pounds of unsprung weight from the rear wheel alone.
Great job so far! I am just starting my own '87 CR250 restoration and your posts have been a huge help. I have one of Mickey Dymond's '87 250s with very low hours that I am begining to restore. I have a question on the right side case swap ('87 to '89). Does this alter the powervalve preload on the spring when switching to the '89" it appears the '89 left side case would lessen the preload as the spring boss is slightly deeper? I know the difference in spring tension would change the power characteristics. Thanks in advance!
I'm with you on the spring preload as there isn't any way of adjusting it when you swap to the 89' version. I think we should remedy that. The 87 version uses a set screw to compress the spring retainer and spring. The 89 just has a cap so we could tap it and add a set screw or machine a aluminum cap that incorporates that. I will say that there is a lot of pressure on the power valve as mine is now. I will test it out when I finish and maybe get into that if you haven't already worked something out for us!
My 87 is a rolling chassis now. I had to spring for new radiators from Myler's. I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to get all the cores cleared out in the old ones. These were a lot cheaper than OEM and they look like they could be works units with the shape and welds. They fit well except for how the hose outlets on the bottom are aligned. I had to twist on them to make them line up the same as the original radiators, luckily the spouts were really malleable and didn't break.
Next I am going to build the forks. I am going to Chromic Acid Anodize the lower sliders so they look like the works Mg units.
I couldnt believe how much of a difference I noticed with the lighter wheel. I actually weighed it after I got home because it was such an improvement. I was shocked how much lighter it was so I weighed it (3 lbs)
Have you guys seen the trick work this guy does?
He puts out some amazing stuff
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