Posts
71
Joined
3/17/2017
Location
Mount Sterling, KY
US
Fantasy
932nd
Edited Date/Time
4/26/2017 7:04am
Vital,
Long time lurker, first time poster. I've logged plenty of hours in the build section over the past few months and borrowed inpsiriation from some killer builds. I thought I would offer mine up to hopefully inspire some "middle ground" builds, halfway between fresh barn finds and a replica race bike.
I've been without a dirtbike for about 10 years now, spending most of that time on streetbikes and woodworking. I had an undisclosed amount of money (less than 5k) saved to buy my "dream" table saw, which coincidentally is about the same price of my dream dirtbike. What can I say, I guess I have expensive taste when it comes to power tools, and too easily satisfied when it comes to dirtbikes.
My last real/new bike was a shiny, loud mouth, fire breathing (completely stock) 2006 CRF250R. For whatever reason, I completely fell in love with that bike from the front fender to the dual exhaust. I shimmed the valves once, but after a few years of wrestling with it, I decided my next dirtbike would be a more frugal yet equally obnoxious two stroke. I wanted to find something from that same era, and happened to be in the right place at the right time.
Enter, the crustiest bucket of bolts I have ever seen... so far:
Purchased exactly like this (I had to provide my own box) for $400 off craigslist. Rode hard, put up wet, and the only fluids this poor bike had ever seen were cheap gas and cheap beer.
All it "needed" was "replating the head", which was true if I wanted a very greasy boat anchor. The motor needed a new cylinder, full clutch, BOTH side cases, crank, bearings, and reed cage. The only thing usable was the stator, which was still marginal at best. Every piece of rubber or plastic was dry rotted or broken, bearings hadn't spun in years, no oil in the forks or shock, and such a large amount of rust that made me question whether or not this was an aluminum frame dirtbike at all.
(Note: Who spray paints a swingarm? Me and my knuckles are still salty about that.)
Long time lurker, first time poster. I've logged plenty of hours in the build section over the past few months and borrowed inpsiriation from some killer builds. I thought I would offer mine up to hopefully inspire some "middle ground" builds, halfway between fresh barn finds and a replica race bike.
I've been without a dirtbike for about 10 years now, spending most of that time on streetbikes and woodworking. I had an undisclosed amount of money (less than 5k) saved to buy my "dream" table saw, which coincidentally is about the same price of my dream dirtbike. What can I say, I guess I have expensive taste when it comes to power tools, and too easily satisfied when it comes to dirtbikes.
My last real/new bike was a shiny, loud mouth, fire breathing (completely stock) 2006 CRF250R. For whatever reason, I completely fell in love with that bike from the front fender to the dual exhaust. I shimmed the valves once, but after a few years of wrestling with it, I decided my next dirtbike would be a more frugal yet equally obnoxious two stroke. I wanted to find something from that same era, and happened to be in the right place at the right time.
Enter, the crustiest bucket of bolts I have ever seen... so far:
Purchased exactly like this (I had to provide my own box) for $400 off craigslist. Rode hard, put up wet, and the only fluids this poor bike had ever seen were cheap gas and cheap beer.
All it "needed" was "replating the head", which was true if I wanted a very greasy boat anchor. The motor needed a new cylinder, full clutch, BOTH side cases, crank, bearings, and reed cage. The only thing usable was the stator, which was still marginal at best. Every piece of rubber or plastic was dry rotted or broken, bearings hadn't spun in years, no oil in the forks or shock, and such a large amount of rust that made me question whether or not this was an aluminum frame dirtbike at all.
(Note: Who spray paints a swingarm? Me and my knuckles are still salty about that.)
Scraped off the rest of the red spray paint, acid washed the frame, and finished with some green scotch brite pads and aluminum polish. It ended up a little too "chrome" for my taste, so I eventually redid the process but left out the aluminum polish.
Linkage was a nightmare. Every piece was seized, and took every trick in the book to get them out. Overall about a week's worth of evenings but nothing was damaged so I sandblasted and acid washed it along with the frame.
The wheels were probably my biggest concern other than the motor for keeping this thing under budget. The stock wheels were just as badly neglected as the rest of the bike. Instead of prepping and rebuilding them, I went with the Tusk Impact wheel set. I'm not that concerned with weight, and the price was just too good to pass up. Threw on some matching Tusk disks ($60) and finally had a roller.
Tore down both master cylinders/calipers, acid washed, and rebuild with new springs, seals, and hardware.
Cleaned/sanded the brake pedal and added a few holes for a "little better than stock" look.
The Shop
I know this particular dirtbike is considered just a glorified pitbike to some, but I am completely satisfied with it. It's loud, fast (enough), and has all the bells and whistles I wanted while I was growing up but couldn't afford. In all honesty, I could have just as much fun on an old XR100 as a new 450. Maybe I'm an idiot, or maybe I just really love anything with a motor and wheels. My first trip down the street on this I was grinning from ear to ear. I plan on riding it exactly as hard as it's meant to be ridden for a few years, then parking it in the workshop until it's a pretty cool VMXer.
very nice bike!
Not sure I'd call this a " budget" build- you definitely stuck some coin into this build, but well worth it!
Almost everything is how I would have done it. It looks like a 125 version of my 250f.
I spent somewhere between $3-4k on bike, motor, parts, and some gear. It's alot for a 125 but literally everything was replaced except the gas tank, brake pedal, and killswitch. I knew I wouldn't sell it and I already had the money set aside for something else so it made it worth it to me.
Also, I bought everything that I could from Rocky Mountain, since I'm just about 20 minutes from the KY warehouse. Overall I got probably $600 or more in RM cash so that really helped too.
Really didn't want to spend money rebuilding the shock that came on it since it was from an older 450 and about 10mm too short. Would have been about 400 for everything, but instead found a sweet deal on a CR250 shock already revalved by FC for 180 shipped. Already setup close enough to my weight/riding so I'm going to try it out this summer.
Forks look okay (fingers crossed) so I've got new springs and SKF seals to rebuild them after the PO's setup.
Pit Row
I would like to swap the forks but honestly for the money, these will be plenty for me. I'll rebuild them with correct springs and try them out this summer. If for some reason they're just terrible, I may try to find a more modern set to throw in there.
I'm in the process of selling my CB750 in hopes to start a XR650 scrambler build so this bike will be ridden as is for a little while.
For the forks, have you tried different oil weight and height? I set my height to 100ml and ran 2.5wt (I believe, I'll have to double check). Try messing with the clickers as well.
Nice bike!
Disclaimer: That could all just be in my head and make no practical sense at all
Post a reply to: 2006 CR125 Budget Frame Up Rebuild