1989 CR250 rider/rebuild

sandman768
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Saratoga Springs, NY, USA
sandman768 12/5/2019 1:51pm
12/5/2019 1:51pm
Finished rebuilding the silencer....Cleaned up pretty good.


Left the old decal on until I can find a close repo...anyone know if period correct decals can be had?
4
SlowRide73
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Ballston Spa, NY, USA
SlowRide73 6/7/2021 5:11am
6/7/2021 5:11am
Sandman, do you still have this bike? Did you get the forks working any better than stock? I live in Ballston Spa and I'm restoring an '89 right now. Was hoping to have it ready for MX Rewind but didn't happen. Still waiting on a couple small parts before I reassemble. I'd like to hear your experiences with your '89 as I plan to ride mine also.
sandman768
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sandman768 6/7/2021 6:45am
6/7/2021 6:45am
SlowRide73 wrote:
Sandman, do you still have this bike? Did you get the forks working any better than stock? I live in Ballston Spa and I'm restoring an...
Sandman, do you still have this bike? Did you get the forks working any better than stock? I live in Ballston Spa and I'm restoring an '89 right now. Was hoping to have it ready for MX Rewind but didn't happen. Still waiting on a couple small parts before I reassemble. I'd like to hear your experiences with your '89 as I plan to ride mine also.
Hey SlowRide73, I still have the 89, was going to bring it to Rewind but made last minute decision to bring my 96 Cr250. I kept the stock forks, installed Race Tech stiffer springs, and used their recommended fork oil & settings. Much better than stock but still not up to modern forks. I have done front end conversions on older bikes, you need the complete front end, brake assy, wheel ect. The reworked forks actually have good bottoming resistance and feel decent, I”m sure a rough, square edged, choppy track would bring out the worst trait in these forks but, I”m ok with how they are working. These forks suffered from metal shaving contamination, that would clogged up the valving, best thing you could do is just service them and get them sprung right for your weight & ability. If you are going all out to make the bike the best it can be.... get a complete front end off a newer Cr/Crf 47mm ....
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SlowRide73
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Ballston Spa, NY, USA
SlowRide73 6/7/2021 6:56am
6/7/2021 6:56am
I've considered trying gold valves and sprung for my weight but at that point probably getting close to modern front end swap money. Any thoughts on the gold valves vs. easiest/best years to convert to?

The Shop

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sandman768
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sandman768 7/31/2021 5:31am
7/31/2021 5:31am
SlowRide73 wrote:
I've considered trying gold valves and sprung for my weight but at that point probably getting close to modern front end swap money. Any thoughts on...
I've considered trying gold valves and sprung for my weight but at that point probably getting close to modern front end swap money. Any thoughts on the gold valves vs. easiest/best years to convert to?
I believe there are some members who did a conversion to to newer 47 twin chamber forks, I would do a search on here to find the build thread.
Scrowtime 8/2/2021 11:24pm
8/2/2021 11:24pm
SlowRide73 wrote:
I've considered trying gold valves and sprung for my weight but at that point probably getting close to modern front end swap money. Any thoughts on...
I've considered trying gold valves and sprung for my weight but at that point probably getting close to modern front end swap money. Any thoughts on the gold valves vs. easiest/best years to convert to?
My 89 cr 250 has gold valves, Race Tech low friction fork bushes and springs to suit. I wish I could say this worked but I am still not real happy with it, maybe it still needs more tweaking?
Fine on a relatively smooth track but anything hard pack and rough it's just twitchy and harsh. Still a lot better than stock though!
I also own a 90 cr 500 that someone had already re valved and re sprung, all I did service the suspension. This set up works quite well !
From the out side the forks look very similar but internally are very different.
I have ridden two 89 cr 500's with the 47mm twin chambers, this makes the bike a lot more forgiving and makes the performance of the rear shock feel dull, not very responsive in comparison ..I wish I had just done the swap in the first place, I guess I just tried to keep it stock. I hope this helps?

Pit Row

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