Hi guys! This is my second "build" thread, though a good chunk of the project was complete prior to me purchasing it. Here is how the bike arrived to me:
Elliott Cook of SharpMoto pieced together this RM250 AF by mating a 2006 RM250 motor with a 2022 RMZ-250 chassis from JGR. The frame doesn't have a serial number, just an AMA tech inspection sticker.
When I got it, I put it it next to the Husky in my storage unit that's currently doubling as a garage.
I'll go through the build here in a second, but first, it's story time. Ignoring the scoop tire on the Suzuki, I took it out to Pala a few days after delivery to shake it down. Having not been on a two-stroke in almost 20 years, I was pleasantly surprised that I acclimated to it pretty quickly and loved it! It's so light, flickable, and handled like a dream. Elliot and I are similar weights and speeds, so the suspension was setup perfect for me once I set the sag.
I was impressed that there was no noticeable vibration, but I did notice the clutch felt notchy and the power fell flat on top. I also think the jetting was a bit off as it didn't run as crisp as I wanted it to off the bottom. I was told there was a fresh top-end installed right before sale and the bike felt tight otherwise, but I really wanted to give it a once over and make sure everything was greased, torqued to spec, etc. At a minimum, I figured I should take a look at the clutch, plug, and give her an oil change while I was there.
As soon as I pulled the oil plug, I noticed it was pretty milky. When I pulled the clutch cover off and removed the clutch, I noticed the the plates looked a little burnt and the basket definitely had some grooves in it. It seemed like some coolant had gotten in there, so I drained the system and pulled the water pump cover. Turns out that when the bike was put back together, there was a shim missing between the water pump shaft and the impeller. The impeller had been grinding away at the R side case cover a bit and some coolant had been leaking into the engine oil.
So, I replaced the water pump shaft, put the shim in, and smoothed out the inside of the R case cover from where the impeller had been rubbing. Then I put in a Hinson basket, OEM hub and pressure plate (Hinson's are discontinued) and installed a Boyesen supercooler along with a mix match of different years' cv4 hoses Pro Circuit had lying around. Speaking of Pro Circuit, I sent a new cylinder and head to them for their full mod treatment. They also recommended switching from a double-ring piston to a single-ring racer elite piston from Wiseco. Out with the old, in with the new.
I also noticed that the nut to the top shock bolt was missing so I replaced that with a RaceTech ti nut I had, put on fresh plastic and rubber, and buttoned her all up. I took her out to Pala today to spin some laps and break it in. Of course, I had to take some pics (next post).
So, here's a 2022 RM 250 AF. I'll go through the mod list bit-by-bit accompanied with pictures.
Below you can see the Hinson cover over the top of a new Hinson basket, OEM hub, OEM friction plates, etc. Behind is a cerakoted R side engine cover, Boyesen super cooler, and CV 4 hoses. Every bolt on the bike is ti. Eagle-eyed viewers will note the ti brake tip, ti rear brake bolt, and pipe bolts.
The pipe is a little beat up right now, but it is stamped "03 RC T3" and "12.23". We think it's from RC's RM 250 in 05, but I don't know the provenance exactly.
The foot pegs and brake pedal are works and the Pro Circuit linkage rides on ti hardware.
The hubs are works (billet) and hard anodized champagne color. The spacers on the inside are billet and engraved with "JS7". The rear axle, caliper bolts, chain adjuster bolts, sprocket bolts and nuts are all ti. The axle nut is also works.
There drivetrain is all Renthal and the chain guide is carbon fiber from lightspeed, also mounted with ti bolts.
The engine has a modified crank from Crankworx, full ceramic bearing kit, Hinson clutch, PC ported cylinder and head (setup for T2 or better), and JD electronics CDI. The ignition cover is carbon fiber from DSP.
The front rotor is oversized, axle nut is works, and caliper mounting bolts are ti. Notice the billet lugs on these works Showa forks.
A PC shorty silencer, of course and MX33 rear, MX53 front tires.
The triple clamps are works billet items from RC's barn. though I believe the top clamp is magnesium. The tank is stock minus the 3d printed fuel pump block off plate and carbon fiber light speed cover. The forks are works 49mm Showa units from JGR. I put MC-bend twinwalls on the bike as well.
The clutch lever and perch are works from RC's barn. The front brake lever is also works. Hope I don't crash and break one!
The rear shock is. Show A-kit stuff from PC with a works billet body. You can spy the RaceTech ti catch can mounted behind the shrouds.
So there you have it! The bike is about 90% done. I'm waiting on a carbon fiber PC silencer to replace the standard one I have now. When I swap that out, I'll also get the pipe repaired + re paint the pro circuit badge on it. I also have a carbon fiber skid plate from JGR that's on it's way and am planning to swap the yellow Excel Takasago rims for some black A-60 rims.
Compared to when I first took delivery of the previous version of the bike, the current motor absolutely screams. It is crisp of the bottom and pulls hard to its quasar top end. The clutch is also smooth and solid, just as it should be. The last thing I'll say on this post is that the sound and smell of this thing (currently running T2) might be the sweetest part about it. It has a distinct, throaty note that - according to my dad- is unmistakable on the track. As for the smell, you'll have to take a whiff yourself if you're at any of the tracks in SoCal.
Yeah WOW
Beautiful bike
Any photos or info on the frame engine fitment would be appreciated.
The Shop
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Very nice, the bike turned out great and the details/parts are impressive. Like above if you have any pictures and info on the frame and air box mods that would be sweet. I have a new RM 125 AF build that has been dragging along, hoping to have together before the 2-Stroke Championships in April.
Killer build and a welcome edition to the RM-Army!
Nihilo Concepts made the engine mounts that bolted up to the stock frame location. The frame has some mods in the way of reinforcements, but was otherwise not cut. The subframe was chopped 5mm and the silencer's mounting bracket had to be fabbed to fit the subframe.
I'll get some up close pics of the engine mounts this week. Just washed it and pulled apart the wheels to swap the rims.
Thanks dude. I'm planning on being there as well!
That’s a nice bike! If I see it at the track I’ll for sure come have a look! Many trick parts!
i love the yellow wheels myself, I would keep them on! Haha
The absolute dream of all 2 stroke fans, regardless of what brand of bike you like. Badass sir.
Beautiful bike! Keep an eye on the hours on that single ring piston. I also tested one in my 250sx and it only went 8 hrs and was time for a ring change. Spot on with what the directions that came with the piston said. I switch back to a double ring. The seat of the pants change wasn’t enough for me justify the extra money and time of maintenance.
For sure. Mitch mentioned he'd replace the piston at no more than 10 hours. That jibes with my preferred service interval.
Got the front wheel laced up and mounted!
A beautiful bike, especially with the 'yellow' wheels.
Blackwheels : it's your bike, but I'm far from enamoured of the black wheel look.
As others have said here, and on innumerable threads : if Suzuki would do such a bike ( Not including all the bling and real upgrades the OP has included here) they'd have hit on their hands, for absolutely bugger all development expense. Provided they still have the tooling for engine parts. "AF ing" is far from rocket science - thousands have done them in their garages : most of them wonderful things.
Dang, that bike’s sik!
Holy moly. Did not expect to see you posting on Vital. I listen to your podcasts, and knew you rode, but didn’t expect to see this. Awesome.
Enjoy your RM, doc.
Ha! Glad to see someone familiar with Barbell Medicine here. Let's ride if I get out that way this year!
WOW!!!!!
My god, how in the world would you have the time. But if you do travel this way, let’s ride. Hell if it’s for a seminar, I’ll be there, then we ride.
Wow what a build! Selling the yellow rims off of it?
Pit Row
Yep, PM me or send an email to jordan@barbellmedicine.com
This is a serious build! Very well done, love the level of detail and the factory parts, bet it’s insane to ride. Excited to see it with the A60s even though i’m a yellow rim fan.
Finished lacing up the rear wheel, put on some fresh rubber, and snapped this in the crummy garage lighting:
I am happy with how it came out!
A few updates, I sent the pipe off to Front Range Pipe Repair to get the dents pulled out of it because they were bugging me. I told them "this was RC's old pipe so please be careful"
. When I was removing the pipe, I noticed the silencer's mount had cracked, so I re-welded that. Turned out pretty good if I do say so myself:
As far as the rest of the project goes, I'm still waiting on the Pro Circuit carbon fiber silencer to come in. I'm pretty sure the mounting is going to require a bit of fab to get it to fit, but we'll see when it comes in. Also waiting on the carbon fiber case guards and glide plate. After that, I am considering upgrading the front master cylinder with the motomaster "works" unit. Other than that, I plan on racing the bike. We'll see if anything else comes to mind. Once I get the pipe back, I'll snap some better pics of the bike and the motor mounts for those asking above. Thanks for following along!
Just got the pipe back from Front Range Pipe Repair to remove some of the dents in it. Great service, quick turnaround, and the pipe turned out great!
I'll button it back up tomorrow and hope to ride it Sunday at Barona or Pala after the San Diego SX.
Pipe is on and the bike is clean! Just waiting on the carbon silencer and skid plate now...
Any updates? Have you been riding it more?
have you weight it ?
It's a cool project and we all like to tinker on what we own but is there a real performance upgrade going to an aluminum frame? Handling? The 06 RM250 was a pretty good bike in stock trim. Not judging, just curious. A project like this is out of my skillset and price range.
I will judge the rim selection, gold rims are the best RM rims.
Yea! I've been traveling a lot and we've had some whacky weather here in SoCal, but the bike has 4 hours on it since I finished putting it back together. Provided the weather stops acting up, I should be getting out 1-2x/wk going forward.
I'll be doing a top end @ 8 hours as advised by PC. Also have a vented number plate being built by Moto Envy and still waiting on my carbon fiber silencer...
Also ordered a spare set of wheels from Dubya with yellow rims and magnesium-colored Haan hubs. I'll be mounting a Dunlop MX 14 on the rear and MX3S on the front for the 2-stroke World Championships at GH in a few weeks.
Haven't had a chance to weigh it yet, but I'm also interested to know what it comes in at. From my understanding, most of the RMZ's excess weight is in the motor, but the two-stroke motor should cut down on that in addition to all the titanium. We'll see if I can find a scale.
Hard to directly compare due to the length of time I took off riding (10 years) and the modifications to this new chassis, e.g. 10mm off the subframe, works suspension, etc. That said, I've ridden a few RM250's in the 04-06 era back when they were new and this bike seems to track straighter at speed while still turning as tight as I remember the old RM's. I also like the modern ergos more. Could be all in my head, of course.
Do you have any pictures of the rear upper head to frame mount? I'm currently doing a similar build but with a different engine and have yet to see a decent design for the head mount.
Thanks in advance.
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