1987 Kawasaki KX250 low-key restore

Kidkawie
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ქუთაისი, GE
Kidkawie 10/13/2020 5:02pm
10/13/2020 5:02pm
For the forks Id get custom springs made, the springs you refer to are over 3" shorter, you will have compression issues.

In my experience the carb holders have some sort of coating on them that cracks, not the actual rubber. Look inside for cracks. Otherwise you can remove that coating with brake clean and a rag.
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queen of spodes 10/20/2020 8:59am
10/20/2020 8:59am Edited Date/Time 10/22/2020 1:08pm
88 forks installed. yes, know about the 89s being far superior (even to that era's USD forks), I restored a 89 KX125 with those forks and can attest to them being very, very good. Couldn't find a set cheap enough, so 88s it is. The 87s were non-cartridge, 88s were much better in that regard.

Looking for a reasonably priced rear wheel. The rear wheel hub is missing one of the sprocket mounting tabs.
queen of spodes 12/1/2020 8:31pm
12/1/2020 8:31pm
Must have inadvertently thrown my top motor mounts out. Not paying $100 for the pair on ebay right now.

So I'll fab some up in the shop using plate aluminium.




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The Shop

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queen of spodes 12/27/2020 7:26am
12/27/2020 7:26am
Cleaned out my truck and found these little guys.


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sandman768
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Saratoga Springs, NY, USA
sandman768 12/27/2020 11:45am
12/27/2020 11:45am
queen of spodes wrote:
Cleaned out my truck and found these little guys. [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2020/12/27/468295/s1200_133477571_691406681520127_4759769425631317967_n.jpg[/img]
Cleaned out my truck and found these little guys.


Awesome, did you have new ones made?
queen of spodes 12/27/2020 2:56pm
12/27/2020 2:56pm
sandman768 wrote:
Awesome, did you have new ones made?
Nah, I was gonna make some custom ones in my shop but not anymore. I wish I had a nice CNC machine for making parts like this.
queen of spodes 1/17/2021 6:13am
1/17/2021 6:13am Edited Date/Time 1/17/2021 6:16am
Getting a little closer now. Dropped off the set of good wheels to have fresh tires installed.

I was a little worried about tank fitment with the aftermarket radiators but everything lines up (just).

The 1987 Pro Circuit KX250 pipe someone sold me is basically a paperweight. It's clearly stamped 1987 KX250 on the tag, but the pipe won't fit over the KIPS cover on the right side of the cylinder. I could try to heat it up and push in an indent for the KIPS cover.




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queen of spodes 1/17/2021 6:16am
1/17/2021 6:16am
I'd almost forgotten how narrow the 87 KX250/500 was at the seat/tank. It's noticeably thinner than my last gen 07 KX250.




2
bugnboo
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bugnboo 1/17/2021 11:46am
1/17/2021 11:46am
Hi
What type of kickstarter are you using?
queen of spodes 1/17/2021 1:30pm
1/17/2021 1:30pm
It's the stock 87 kx 250 kickstarter far as I know
bugnboo
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bugnboo 1/17/2021 4:38pm
1/17/2021 4:38pm
Ok,I'm looking for a stock tank,come across anything or any bike wreckers?
queen of spodes 1/17/2021 5:33pm
1/17/2021 5:33pm Edited Date/Time 1/18/2021 7:07am
Nope. We picked a bad year for resto, friend. Not many of these were sold and there wasn't and isn't much aftermarket support either.
queen of spodes 1/22/2021 4:47pm
1/22/2021 4:47pm
anybody make a case saver for an 87 KX250?




Starting to look like a motorcycle again

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queen of spodes 1/22/2021 7:50pm
1/22/2021 7:50pm
Looks like Topar made one. Found one of the few remaining pieces on ebay and checked out.


2
Chance1216
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Chance1216 1/22/2021 11:55pm
1/22/2021 11:55pm
Looking good Queen.
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queen of spodes 2/7/2021 8:49am
2/7/2021 8:49am
A little weekend inspiration due to not being able to work in the shop for a while


On This Day in Motocross: February 7, 1987, Team Kawasaki's Jeff Ward topped the 250 main event at the Houston Astrodome while Suzuki-backed Keith Turpin topped the 125 main event.


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Pit Row

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Chance1216
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Chance1216 2/14/2021 10:17pm
2/14/2021 10:17pm
queen of spodes wrote:
Waiting on number plate backgrounds [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2021/02/14/478630/s1200_20210214_194111.jpg[/img] [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2021/02/14/478631/s1200_20210214_194120.jpg[/img] [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2021/02/14/478632/s1200_20210214_194132.jpg[/img]
Waiting on number plate backgrounds




I thought you hated swing arm decals ?😉
Joking aside, your bike looks great.
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queen of spodes 2/15/2021 6:41am
2/15/2021 6:41am
Chance1216 wrote:
I thought you hated swing arm decals ?😉
Joking aside, your bike looks great.
haha, I'm into OEM swingarm stickers, but pretty much all of them stopped putting their suspension name (uni-trak, pro-link, etc) on the swingarm by the mid 90s.
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queen of spodes 2/22/2021 10:18am
2/22/2021 10:18am
Tried to start it up this weekend, but the $25 chinese PWK38 unfortunately caused the engine to start revving uncontrollably. Did not feel any binding just twisting the throttle with the bike off. I could pull the tip of the cable with my fingers it is very smooth.

So I'm going to clean and rebuild the old Mikuni round slide for the time being.

As mentioned, low-key build here. It was worth taking a chance on the chinesium PWK, but time to go another direction.
queen of spodes 2/22/2021 10:19am
2/22/2021 10:19am
Got a lot of people stopping by the truck at the track Sunday asking about the bike. Folks love looking at vintage moto, especially the rare Kawasaki stuff.
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queen of spodes 2/24/2021 6:32pm
2/24/2021 6:32pm
Step one of cleaning the original VM38SS Mikuni carburetor. Gonna dunk it in the carb cleaner for a day or so, then clean again with the ultrasonic. Have a rebuild kit coming with fresh gaskets and float valve.


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queen of spodes 2/27/2021 5:05pm
2/27/2021 5:05pm
Got the bikes loaded up, but figured out the track was closed today due to rain before I made the trip.

Real cool seeing both 1987 and 2007 KX250's side by side in the pickup.





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queen of spodes 2/27/2021 5:08pm
2/27/2021 5:08pm
Got the 87 started today after installing a '94 KX250 PWK38 carb.

May be stating the obvious here, but dang the 87 KX250 is so freaking slow compared to the '07. I mean it's not even close. 20 years of development sure paid off.
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mpeters
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mpeters 2/27/2021 7:33pm
2/27/2021 7:33pm
Watched your story with amazement. Many would not have done that. Was curious about the end game. Now what? It's not ride it's the rider. Nice job
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Chance1216
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Chance1216 2/28/2021 10:16am
2/28/2021 10:16am
Pretty cool seeing two different generations of bikes side by side.
1

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