The McGrath CR250 build that I promised

Tbteam wrote:

A bunch of you asked to be kept up to speed on the McGrath bike that I bought a couple weeks ago. If this needs to...

A bunch of you asked to be kept up to speed on the McGrath bike that I bought a couple weeks ago. If this needs to be moved to the bike build section by the moderators, I’m ok with that.

Let me start by saying that after a really unfortunate start to this project, I’m very pleased with how things evolved. Now that it’s nearly complete, I’m chomping at the bit to ride this thing.
Remember , I’m building this to ride, not look at or display. Please save the “you could have gotten that part way cheaper” comments for another build. The most important part of this build was correcting deficiencies, and getting it together quickly.

Here’s a summary of what needed attention:


New piston, top end kit $589
New crank bearing kit $55
New tranny bearing kit $75
Used tranny gears $80
Gasket kit $30
Head stud kit $40
New Scalvini pipe/silencer $576
Pipe hanger $20
New Tires (they were old and hard) $180
All new swingarm bearings, seals $111
New fork protectors $30
New brake parts $60
New air filter $28
New air filter cage $30
Used Relay Arm $40
Used CDI mount $14
Fuel Tank strap $16
Additional seals/bearings $35
Pin/O-ring $30
New front sprocket $35
Steering bearing kit $61
Rear brake rotor $82
Clutch Basket $201
Rear Brake line $37
Float Valve $30
New PWK 38mm $280
Various welding invoices $180
True Wheels $75
Weld, tap Broken crank cover bolt $150
New Shock shaft and service $250
Service forks $200

Total $3,621


Within a day of receiving the bike, the tear down began. The condition was well chronicled in the last thread, so moving forward ...




Lots of bolt on stuff made the redo easier.




I sent the bent, rigid shock and the forks off to my buddy who used to do suspension for factory Kawasaki. Three days later, he drove them up to us and they were done. He even had a replacement rod for the bent one.



Brake lines, tires, etc. Anything that didn’t seem just right was replaced.



We replaced the faux stock carbon fiber silencer with a Scalvini real deal. Along with the pipe.




I own a nice vapor honing machine, so pretty much everything that could benefit from blasting went through.




Mocking up the bike occurred regularly to see what would stay or be replaced.




Some creative welding was incorporated on the right engine case. A few cracks were found, and this one has caused the kick start mechanism to jam a bit. We’re working through that now.











Had to buy a new carb since the stocker just needed too much help.






Tomorrow is initial testing day. We think we have the Kickstarter binding problem resolved, but I bought a new crank case and kickstart assembly just in case.

Here she is. Funny, she pretty much looked this good when we received her. A little shiner now, and pretty much new everything (see list above), but I’m pretty happy with the result.

Tbteam wrote:

A bunch of you asked to be kept up to speed on the McGrath bike that I bought a couple weeks ago. If this needs to...

A bunch of you asked to be kept up to speed on the McGrath bike that I bought a couple weeks ago. If this needs to be moved to the bike build section by the moderators, I’m ok with that.

Let me start by saying that after a really unfortunate start to this project, I’m very pleased with how things evolved. Now that it’s nearly complete, I’m chomping at the bit to ride this thing.
Remember , I’m building this to ride, not look at or display. Please save the “you could have gotten that part way cheaper” comments for another build. The most important part of this build was correcting deficiencies, and getting it together quickly.

Here’s a summary of what needed attention:


New piston, top end kit $589
New crank bearing kit $55
New tranny bearing kit $75
Used tranny gears $80
Gasket kit $30
Head stud kit $40
New Scalvini pipe/silencer $576
Pipe hanger $20
New Tires (they were old and hard) $180
All new swingarm bearings, seals $111
New fork protectors $30
New brake parts $60
New air filter $28
New air filter cage $30
Used Relay Arm $40
Used CDI mount $14
Fuel Tank strap $16
Additional seals/bearings $35
Pin/O-ring $30
New front sprocket $35
Steering bearing kit $61
Rear brake rotor $82
Clutch Basket $201
Rear Brake line $37
Float Valve $30
New PWK 38mm $280
Various welding invoices $180
True Wheels $75
Weld, tap Broken crank cover bolt $150
New Shock shaft and service $250
Service forks $200

Total $3,621


Within a day of receiving the bike, the tear down began. The condition was well chronicled in the last thread, so moving forward ...




Lots of bolt on stuff made the redo easier.




I sent the bent, rigid shock and the forks off to my buddy who used to do suspension for factory Kawasaki. Three days later, he drove them up to us and they were done. He even had a replacement rod for the bent one.



Brake lines, tires, etc. Anything that didn’t seem just right was replaced.



We replaced the faux stock carbon fiber silencer with a Scalvini real deal. Along with the pipe.




I own a nice vapor honing machine, so pretty much everything that could benefit from blasting went through.




Mocking up the bike occurred regularly to see what would stay or be replaced.




Some creative welding was incorporated on the right engine case. A few cracks were found, and this one has caused the kick start mechanism to jam a bit. We’re working through that now.











Had to buy a new carb since the stocker just needed too much help.






Tomorrow is initial testing day. We think we have the Kickstarter binding problem resolved, but I bought a new crank case and kickstart assembly just in case.

Here she is. Funny, she pretty much looked this good when we received her. A little shiner now, and pretty much new everything (see list above), but I’m pretty happy with the result.