1985 cr 250

thomas mitchell
Edited Date/Time 1/23/2012 12:51pm
I know the 86 and 87 are the hot ones but can an 85 be a decent bike? Wasn't the hot set up was to disable the atac and pipe manufacturers gave you an extention to compensate. Some porting mods and you had a pretty good engine with no valve headaches. Was the frame geometry dramatically different from an 86? I would think a set of 86/87 cartridge forks and a rear shock revalve and you would have a decent bike.

In an old MXA from 92 or so they had the 85,86,87 and 90 as good used bikes. With the remark on the 85 being a slow motor with superior hop up potential with soft forks. On the flip side Super Hunky hated the 85.
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berniepiet
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berniepiet 2/3/2011 12:29pm
2/3/2011 12:29pm
thomas mitchell wrote:
I know the 86 and 87 are the hot ones but can an 85 be a decent bike? Wasn't the hot set up was to disable...
I know the 86 and 87 are the hot ones but can an 85 be a decent bike? Wasn't the hot set up was to disable the atac and pipe manufacturers gave you an extention to compensate. Some porting mods and you had a pretty good engine with no valve headaches. Was the frame geometry dramatically different from an 86? I would think a set of 86/87 cartridge forks and a rear shock revalve and you would have a decent bike.

In an old MXA from 92 or so they had the 85,86,87 and 90 as good used bikes. With the remark on the 85 being a slow motor with superior hop up potential with soft forks. On the flip side Super Hunky hated the 85.
You pretty much hit the nail on the head. Good job on your research.

I have an article in either DB or MXA about Bob Hannah's 1985 production practice bike. The article stated that it was a great bike in Hopped up form.

Another thought is to get ahold of a 1986,7 & possible 89 motor and drop it in. I have one of each and like the 89 eng the most followed by the 1986 engine.

I love the chassis on the 85,6&7

Are you planing on racing vintage?
thomas mitchell 2/3/2011 1:25pm
2/3/2011 1:25pm
Yes I plan on racing at some point in the ultima series. I was most into racing @83. I have a really nice 84 yz 250 but it is so nice I am thinking garage queen. I have an 85 yz 250 and I would describe it as a 84 with 15% more power and a disc brake up front. The disc even feel like the double shoe on my 84 so its not like going to a complete different bike when I switch. I have an extra 85 cylinder and head I was going to slip on the 84 if I did end up racing the 84 in the Ultima.

As far as the 85 CR I was thinking about getting one and seeing how much better it was than what I have. I assume everybody will be after the 86 cr 250 for the new class and most people know what they have and price accordingly. The 85's still can be bought right. As far as I can tell the frames are the same with the swingarm and link a little different and of course the forks. With e bay getting the needed items should be fairly inexpensive. I got a FMF fatty and silencer for the YZ for $36 the other day, so bargains are out there. The pipe had zero damage and the silencer had one tiny dent. I would think $200 -250 would get you the forks, swingarm, linkage, and shock. As far as the bike there is a decent one for $500 and then another for $700 but I haven't seen it. I am thinking hard about the $500 one.

If I were to go up a class and race the new class I just don't think my 85 could cut it against a 86 cr. The yz to me handles great and I couldn't imagine a better motor for my taste BUT it will exhibit some nasty Yamahop from time to time. In the Ultima class I think it would not be as big of a disadvantage but in the new class I'm not so sure. I haven't taken the Ohlins plunge to see if the hop can be tamed down.

Basically trying to figure out what class I would enjoy the most without getting a divorce.
berniepiet
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berniepiet 2/4/2011 2:18am
2/4/2011 2:18am Edited Date/Time 2/4/2011 2:20am
thomas mitchell wrote:
Yes I plan on racing at some point in the ultima series. I was most into racing @83. I have a really nice 84 yz 250...
Yes I plan on racing at some point in the ultima series. I was most into racing @83. I have a really nice 84 yz 250 but it is so nice I am thinking garage queen. I have an 85 yz 250 and I would describe it as a 84 with 15% more power and a disc brake up front. The disc even feel like the double shoe on my 84 so its not like going to a complete different bike when I switch. I have an extra 85 cylinder and head I was going to slip on the 84 if I did end up racing the 84 in the Ultima.

As far as the 85 CR I was thinking about getting one and seeing how much better it was than what I have. I assume everybody will be after the 86 cr 250 for the new class and most people know what they have and price accordingly. The 85's still can be bought right. As far as I can tell the frames are the same with the swingarm and link a little different and of course the forks. With e bay getting the needed items should be fairly inexpensive. I got a FMF fatty and silencer for the YZ for $36 the other day, so bargains are out there. The pipe had zero damage and the silencer had one tiny dent. I would think $200 -250 would get you the forks, swingarm, linkage, and shock. As far as the bike there is a decent one for $500 and then another for $700 but I haven't seen it. I am thinking hard about the $500 one.

If I were to go up a class and race the new class I just don't think my 85 could cut it against a 86 cr. The yz to me handles great and I couldn't imagine a better motor for my taste BUT it will exhibit some nasty Yamahop from time to time. In the Ultima class I think it would not be as big of a disadvantage but in the new class I'm not so sure. I haven't taken the Ohlins plunge to see if the hop can be tamed down.

Basically trying to figure out what class I would enjoy the most without getting a divorce.
I have been racing the front disc brake class as well as the "Ultima" class equivilant in the Midwest VMX series and the Southeast Vintage series for three years . I own an 85 YZ250 and five 86 CR250's. I also own two 1984's and three 1983's.

The factor of the 86 cr's superioirity to the 85 yz's is roughly equal to the ratio of my ownership ratio. I have owned one of my 86's since new, and one belonged to my best friend since new and I bought it directly from him. I think the 86 CR 250 is going to be "The Bike" To ride in that class.

On one of my bikes I run the WP 4041 USD forks that I bought new in 1988. They are less flexxy than the Showa 43 mm but inferior to the Showa cartridge forks in damping. I prefer the Showa's and ru them on all my race bikes. I just have the WP's on one bike because they look cool.

The Ohlins shock is a great option ($900), but I have all my bikes re-valved and they work much better than stock.

The 1984 CR 250 has a KILLER motor. It is Waaay fast and turns on a dime. Very fun bike to ride. I love mine.

What AHRMA races are you planning on making? You should come check out our club. http://www.midwestvmx.org. Most of our races are in Illinois. We are a little more laid back than AHRMA.

If you need any help, send me a P.M. I have been doing this a while and really love it.

Remember this as well, the rider is a much larger factor than the bike. If you are a good rider, the bike is not that much of a factor.

I think you could win on the 85 YZ. it's a good bike. I mean, Ricky Johnson won an outdoor title on one in 85.
thomas mitchell 2/5/2011 7:22pm
2/5/2011 7:22pm
I bought the 85 cr 250. It has a DG pipe on it that does away with the atac. Most will say you can fine tune the engine to do what you need but the geometry of a bike you are stuck with. With that said my first project will be to find the forks from a 86 or 87. I know MXA raves about 87 forks, but I thought 86 and 87 forks were the same. Any idea?

Also how much difference in preformance between 85 rear end and 86. Looks like the dogbone is different , swingarm, and shock. I don't know the correct term but the "C" that hooks into the dogbone is the same from both. Going to have shock revalved any way you slice it.. Should I switch to an identicle 86 set up or not? Like I said before, with ebay this isn't too costly. Since both years have the same frame it will not be that much of a Frankenbike.

What is a bend that was close to that years stock bar?

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