1998 YZ250 budget build (my first smoker)

I have no idea. I plan on taking the rest of the linkage apart and finding out.


Also I noticed this small crack on the cylinder head. Does anybody know if this is going to a problem that needs fixing or is it not that big of a deal?

Got the cylinder jug off. This is what the inside looks like. It’s a nice sized gouge



When I got the power valve out I noticed some scoring on it. Will this cause any major problems running the bike with it like that or does it need to be replaced? (Those things aren’t cheap lol)

Progress has been slow. I mailed the cylinder to Powerseal USA. They quoted me the same prices on their website for a weld and replate job. The turn around time is going to be 1-2 weeks. In the mean time I removed the subframe and rear fender. The air filter was completely eroded and turning to dust.

After removing the top end

How she’s looking right now

Yeah, my next step is to take the engine out and go through the bottom end. Ive never split cases before but that’s why I bought the bike.

Got the engine out yesterday along with the rear shock. Gonna need some bigger sockets for the swing arm linkage.


Also noticed this big ole glob of what I assume is jb weld or something.

Progress has been super slow.

My focus has mainly shifted to my new 2017 model. Due to the constant oil changes shes keeping me pretty busy.


Got some parts in the mail. I was able to snag the turbine core for $20 off eBay. Just needs some elbow grease.




Also got my cylinder back from Powerseal USA. It looks pretty great and the nikaseal(sp?) is silky smooth.




At first I thought it was just cleaned and blasted but upon further inspection it looks as if it’s been spray painted. Does anybody know if this is what they do? I actually plan on calling them tomarrow and finding out because If it is painted I want to know the name and color so I can match the rest of the engine.

Progress has been pretty slow. I paid all my family to sign up for MXA and dirtbike mag. So I can get the RMATVMC giftcards. ($200 in giftcards for like $72) I’ve been waiting forever for the rest of the giftcards to come in. I plan on picking up some black tusk rims, crank bearings, seals and some random little parts.

I’ve taken out the flywheel and stator.
And I removed the compound the P.O. used to seal up the chunk of case the chain took out. My uncle is a welder by trade so I’ll see what he can do. The bike shifted fine before.




Chunk missing

Sup everybody. I know I haven't posted anything in this thread in hella long. As I mentioned many times before with a newborn progress was very slow. The last couple of months we've gotten into a grove and I've actually had some regular time to work on the bike. I've always taken pics along the way.

First off for fathers day my wife surprised me with a HF tool cart and shop cart. I've been amassing plenty of specialty tools during this rebuild and had nowhere to put them. I also had all the parts spread around on my garage floor.



I got the bike down to the bare frame


I then washed it, hit it with airplane paint stripper, the took a wire wheel to the whole frame.




As you can see I built a little spray booth inside of my garage. After stripping the entire frame I hit it with 3 coats a self etching primer, a whole can of Duplicolor Dark Blue Metallic and half a can of clear (All light coats of coarse)




I went with rattlecan over powder coat because I'm a cheap mofo.

I also split the cases cleaned everything inside. Replaced the bearings and seals and got the hole in the left case welded over.



So that's basically everything so far. I got the crank and transmission back in but before I seal the cases I wanted to run something by you guys.

The manual says to make sure the transmission is in neutral before putting the cases back together. How does neutral look in the shift drum. Everything shifts smoothly. If I have the two left side forks hitting their stops is that first gear?

Basically how should the transmission be aligned for it to be in neutral?

That's actually a pic of when I first split the case.

Right now I have everything in on the other side as per the manuals instructions.

All of the gears and forks shift smoothly and move as they should I just dont know where they should be lined up to be in neutral.

I took a bunch of pictures on my old phone. I gotta look for it and charge it because I know i took pics of how the transmission looked.

Update: Ive been steady working on the bike since my last post but since the holidays came I havent done much.

I got the motor back together and in the frame

Then I got to work on the swingarm, taking the old decals off and using a scotchbrite pad to bring some shine back to it




Got some new decals for the swingarm and got it back on the bike


The old steel subframe was still good but I wanted an aluminum one. I was able to snag this one off ebay for $25 shipped. I stripped the old paint off and hit it with some silver

I know I originally said it was going to be a budget build but with everything looking clean and new those old bent up rads looks out of place so I had to get some new ones



I shouldve taken a picture of the pipe before I cleaned it up and hit it with WD40 and a scotchbrite


I also cleaned up the triples and bars, got a new barpad, grips, and hoses




I bought a cheap gripper off ebay and replaced the old motoworld one.


Picked up some new shrouds and evo graphics while I was at it


Its starting to actually look like a bike now. Next I plan on cleaning up the carb and replacing the linkage bearings. Still needs a chain, sprockets, rims, etc. but those will all come in time.