Posts
78
Joined
12/16/2020
Location
Montreal, CA
Edited Date/Time
6/30/2021 11:58am
Hey all, so I just picked up this 2005 CR250 that was allegedly a BooKoo/Holigan race bike from the 2006 season. Prior to watching all the 'Reality of Speed' videos right before I went to pick it up, I was not super familiar with the former team and the significance of this bike. In essence it is one of the last two strokes to race supercross, period.
While some might already be familiar with the team's story, he's a brief synopsis.
- DV12 started the season still believing in the two-stroke program while most of the field had already made the change to 450s. He did a few races on it but quickly saw that the thumpers had an edge on him- so he made the switch as well.
- Without seeing much success in the Lites west coast series, team rider Justin Keeney #252 wanted to take a crack at the 250 class on the two-stroke. They 'considerably toned the motor down' for Justin. I think he took part in something like 4 races on it, and that was that.
Now, I've imported many bikes from the US to Canada before, but stuck to looking in the East coast. I bought this bike local to me, already having long been imported and legally registered in my province. Never would I have thought that a former race bike from California would've made it to almost the opposite end of North America; in Montreal. Bizarre.... but someone went through the trouble.
"that's probably not DV's bike, bro..."
Well, I am quite convinced it is. We all know that DV is active on instagram and posts a lot about his builds- which is awesome. I reached out to him the other night and he seemed skeptical, understandably. He put a lot of emphasis on the fact that his parts were no longer on it, and the fact that the AMA inspection sticker wasn't there didn't help. I reached out to Justin as well, and he confirmed to me that it appeared to be the bike that they both raced. He also confirmed that there was only one of them.
I figured well of course, whoever at some point in this bike's post-race history stripped it of most of its goodies. That being said, not everything was removed.
What remained was:
-Hinson clutch cover, seems to be the team-issued ones (possibly full clutch setup too, have yet to check)
-custom billet RC valve cover
-modified CDI/ignition box with map switch.
-FMF titanium II silencer which appeared to have been shortened for racing.
-quite possibly engine work, like porting perhaps, have also yet to check.
But yeah. Bought this bike on a whim. Despite the team's grim endings I figured it would be a cool piece of SX history to own. I already removed the suspension and am going to bring the forks & shock to be completely rebuilt tomorrow. Beyond that, it seems to run fine but definitely needs some maintenance. Looks like it hadn't had much in the past dozen years.
If anyone has additional info on it or know someone who does, please feel free to chime in!
I know there's no concrete proof that this was -the- bike. But I want to say that I'm 90% certain that it was.
While some might already be familiar with the team's story, he's a brief synopsis.
- DV12 started the season still believing in the two-stroke program while most of the field had already made the change to 450s. He did a few races on it but quickly saw that the thumpers had an edge on him- so he made the switch as well.
- Without seeing much success in the Lites west coast series, team rider Justin Keeney #252 wanted to take a crack at the 250 class on the two-stroke. They 'considerably toned the motor down' for Justin. I think he took part in something like 4 races on it, and that was that.
Now, I've imported many bikes from the US to Canada before, but stuck to looking in the East coast. I bought this bike local to me, already having long been imported and legally registered in my province. Never would I have thought that a former race bike from California would've made it to almost the opposite end of North America; in Montreal. Bizarre.... but someone went through the trouble.
"that's probably not DV's bike, bro..."
Well, I am quite convinced it is. We all know that DV is active on instagram and posts a lot about his builds- which is awesome. I reached out to him the other night and he seemed skeptical, understandably. He put a lot of emphasis on the fact that his parts were no longer on it, and the fact that the AMA inspection sticker wasn't there didn't help. I reached out to Justin as well, and he confirmed to me that it appeared to be the bike that they both raced. He also confirmed that there was only one of them.
I figured well of course, whoever at some point in this bike's post-race history stripped it of most of its goodies. That being said, not everything was removed.
What remained was:
-Hinson clutch cover, seems to be the team-issued ones (possibly full clutch setup too, have yet to check)
-custom billet RC valve cover
-modified CDI/ignition box with map switch.
-FMF titanium II silencer which appeared to have been shortened for racing.
-quite possibly engine work, like porting perhaps, have also yet to check.
But yeah. Bought this bike on a whim. Despite the team's grim endings I figured it would be a cool piece of SX history to own. I already removed the suspension and am going to bring the forks & shock to be completely rebuilt tomorrow. Beyond that, it seems to run fine but definitely needs some maintenance. Looks like it hadn't had much in the past dozen years.
If anyone has additional info on it or know someone who does, please feel free to chime in!
I know there's no concrete proof that this was -the- bike. But I want to say that I'm 90% certain that it was.
This sucker was STUCK on Map 2. Didn't wanna budge.
I guess it must be thinking :
"Think we're good for one more ride day, brah?"
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The guy before him owned it since 2011, and I was shown a picture. The bike was literally in the same condition with all the same parts. This dude confirmed to me that he bought it off "the mechanic who worked for that team".
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Boom. Just the news I wanted to hear. I reach out to JP Savard, who had long since moved back to Quebec. He was super cool and answered most of my questions. He confirmed that it was he who imported the bike over a decade ago, and most of the parts were left on it with the exception of the A-kit suspension. He too noticed how other distinguishing parts were removed off it, but also said that the engine was the full get-up mod race engine- but he encouraged me to take a took to see if anything's been messed with.
This is awesome news...! Limited budget at the moment given that I have many projects ongoing at the same time, but I already sent out the suspension to be completely rebuilt and found a new set of NOS Tag T2 bars that will look more correct with this build.
Also plan to get one of those replica AMA tech inspection stickers from eBay, as well as the Honda model/year black and silver frame tag.
Lightspeed should have the pegs still in stock , applied clamps shouldn't be a problem. There's some guys on here that should be able to help out with the a kit suspension.
GL !
Still yet to ride a faster 250 2t in 4 decades to this day than a 3rd gen AF CR with mods.. That’s including modern 17 sx & tc models (orange & white KTM’s).
edit: it is in fact a JD ignition box.
Man, it's gonna hard to decide whether I keep this or my '08 RM250 that is being restored to near-new. genuinely undecided at the moment. 😐
"These yellow hoses are gonna be a no from me, boss...."
Ironically enough, took the carb apart to clean, and it was spick & span. Nice little surprise!
In the name of everything that is good & holy, WTF is this s*%# ?
The left side rad was a little tweaked, thanks to Cameron Niemela's video on fixing radiators I was able to get it 90% straight again. Could no longer notice once I remounted it
Spent quite a while cleaning the air box, subframe, and frame (didn't remove the engine however).
Finally cleaned, maintained, and replaced everything that immediately needed it, and buttoned everything back up. Put some of my old # plates on it just for a track day.
Notable work:
-Suspension front & back completely rebuilt by my boss (had his own suspension company up until a few years ago)
-New OEM kickstarter assembly (old part was very floppy)
-New MX33 tires
-Full greasing of chassis components (including axle adjuster bolts: can't forget those!)
-New wheel bearings
-Inspection / adjustment of the RC valve componentry (all was functioning well)
New OEM-style carb lines from Helix racing. Cannot go wrong with this look.
Freshly repacked, the sound was absolutely mean.
forgot to order a proper breather hose (oops!)
A big thank you to Bench Racer (@benchracerofficial on Insta) for the reproduction AMA tech inspection sticker. I actually ordered two other ones that were bigger/wider, and he threw this extra small one into my order. It turns out this one fit the style of sticker that was on the bike 15+ years ago.
Also ordered a replica frame model sticker from an eBay user based in the UK for this bike and my '07 125 (build thread coming soon). The quality is excellent, very very close to original. I know the race bike back in the day did not have this frame tag, but I found it was just appropriate for this bike.... it deserved it.
While everything was apart, I ended up figuring out that the Map switch was not seized, it oddly needed its back removed and the switch to be manually switched if you wanted to change Maps. Knowing this engine wasn't stock, I didn't bother to try Map 1 (which I assume was probably a race/more aggressive map setting). Map 2 a.k.a 'Practice' was wild enough.
The bike pulled like crazy and had a hard hit. It was quite a shock considering it was the first ride of the season for me, but it was fun. One of the only things I didn't appreciate was the immense vibration. I can only assume the engine probably wasn't touched for the past 10+ years, and probably not the crank either. It definitely vibrated way more than my two other CR's which nearly had none.
After this, I decided that I should continue putting more emphasis on my 2008 RM250 project and keep that one as my main 250. I kept the twinwalls, installed the brand new 'nos' Tag T2 Carmichael High bend bars on the bike, and kept the Renthal intellilevers for my 125.
In short, I listed it for 'a very high price' and it took a week to sell. I got just under my asking price for it, and after the gross investment I netted nearly a grand (Canadian $). Can't complain.
Well actually, the only sad part is the 50-something dude that bought had nearly no 'modern' knowledge of bikes. He said he rode years ago in his twenties and wanted a "good old two stroke", yet he asked me if it was fuel injected........ maybe I should've hung up then and there. :'/
It's too bad, I can safely assume this bike will just be thrashed and beat on. It was clear to me he was not a person who maintained his stuff and he didn't seem to care about the bike's history too much when I spoke about it.
Who knows, maybe I'll come across it again in the future. Best of luck to you, BooKoo CR250!
Nearly three years later, it's time to revive this thread.... Yesterday I re-acquired the infamous BooKoo CR250 race bike.
I sold this bike in May 2021 because it spooked me, and was building another 250 at the time that I thought I'd be keeping long-term. Well I didn't, and felt bad that I let this former race bike go to someone who clearly wouldn't care for it.
It is ultimately in the same condition as to when I sold it, apparently the guy only used it 3 times in as many years. The only discernable difference is that the JD Ignition was removed, it went bad and he had a new OEM unit installed.
Quite the story ... the guy who sold it to me was the boss of the guy I sold it to years ago- apparently the dude owed the boss money and he took it as collateral. The boss decided to sell it.... it's back in my hands! Very excited to give this bike another chance. I plan to give it the maintenance it needs, a fresh set of graphic re-prints from N-style, Fmf factory fatty, applied triple clamps, modernizing a few more things.
Right on!
Rad!
Cool story!
Good work mate !
Pit Row
Glad to see that this bike ended up back in good hands. I remember following your post initially and was kind of bummed that it was cut short. This is one of the few bikes that I would have liked to own. Can't wait to see where you take it from here.
Hehe nice job refreshing her!
bitch'n you got it back! Get a deal on the second purchase by chance?
Hall of Fame post here!
Thanks for sharing this pic! I haven't seen it before on the web, did you happen to take it yourself? ** I meant to quote the photo of bike with the #252
I messaged Justin Keeney on instagram asking if he wanted me to send him the number plates as a memento, he said he already kept plastic from that year.
Wouldn't say I got a crazy deal, but I definitely paid it less than how much I sold it for a few years ago.
The project is under way. The bike is in overall good shape and just needs a good servicing and a deep cleaning.
Pulled the engine from the frame for vapor blasting (motor as a whole, properly plugging crucial openings). The frame will be stripped bare as well, I will be taking my time to clean every nook and cranny. Aluminum brightener will be my friend here.
-I have acquired red Applied triple clamps from a fellow member; the anodizing will be stripped and replica 'A' Applied stickers will be made. With the finished product maybe I will have them anodized clear? I think that's a thing, I'll have to do some research.
-Anything that could use refreshing will get the required attention. Probably going to disassemble both brake systems and have the master cylinders vapor blasted as well. 'BRAKING' rotors as well.
-For the time being I'll take this FMF pipe and bring it to a local plating shop to strip the nickel plating and make my own 'factory fatty'.
I believe one can still order new TAG handlebars, I can't do a fatbar.... absolutely need a crossbar.
Hell yeah! Glad to see that thing back in good hands!
No i have not taken the photo, however i do have plenty of photos from that era on one of my old drives.
That would be really cool of him if he would give you the plastic from racebike.
Might be a good idea to get some Velcro strips under the shrouds to protect the frame from getting gouged. It’s cheap and, works well.
You can buy a raw metal fatty from FMF. People say that the nickel plated pipes crack easier. I don't know if it's true but stripping plating is a PITA.
Congrats on getting it back. I have some trick Showa A kit shocks for that bike I gotta list for sale again.
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