STOLEN RECOVERY PROJECT 2003 RM250

I sold a 2003 RM250 a little over a year ago through the local Want-Ad Press.  I bought this bike off of E-bay from a Canadian dealer and had it shipped in the crate to Secaucus, NJ.

 About a month ago I got a phone call from the guy I sold it to.  The bike was stolen and recovered in Queens, NY.  They would not release it to him cause everything was under my name. After a couple trips to the DMV and the impound yard we finally got it back.

 The bike was really... really beat up.  The owner decided he wanted me to do the work to get it back up and running.  Over the next couple of weeks I will post progress.

As of 11/6/2006... 

I have made a lot of progress on the bike...

-The rear wheel spokes were loose and siezed.  I ended up going around the wheel breaking the nipples free then applied waterproof grease to the threads...

-The fork seals were leaking very bad.  I purchased the Factory Connection oversize seals because when the bike was mine the seals seemed to start leaking prematurely.  The bushings are in good shape...

-The brakes were metal to metal.  Luckily the discs were not too bad so I just replaced the pads...

-The bike looks to have been "stunted" on the mean streets of NYC and dropped... many times.  The aluminum throttle tube and other side of the bar are severly ground down.... The bars can be saved but the tubee will need replacement...

 I am now waiting on parts and will post more pics and updates later in the week...

As of 12/13/06... 

Well... I did end up finishing the bike and the owner came to pick it up.  Sorry for not posting more pictures.  I get too excited when parts arrive and I end up finishing the work before taking any pictures.

Anyway... the owner was really happy when it was finished.  It got a real facelift...

- New Tires

-New Plastic

-The subframe needed to be replaced

-A lot of hardware was missing that needed to be ordered from Suzuki... its the little stuff that kills you

- The bike was missing the complete air filter assembly... that was all replaced with new parts...

-Lots of other little odds and ends that I can't remember...

When it was all done I finially started it.  As much as I would liek to say that it ran like a champ.... I can't. The motor had been put through some serious strain.  I have a feeling the f*ckers that stole it sat there in the street doing burnouts.  The motor sounded like it could use a lower end rebuild. 

The owner was happy with the way it looked and didn't seem to concerned with the engine noise so I let it go.  He was going to bring it home and finish it off.  Graphics... grips... adjustments... etc...

In the end it must have cost the guy around $1300... but he was happy when it was all over and it was cool to see him smile after all that he had been through wit the bike.

 He is supposed to email me some pics after the graphics are on and the bike is totally done... I will them if I get them.

Now I am moving on to my buddy's 2005 CRF450 which is getting a real nice make-over and service....

Finally got a pic of it done....