I've looked for a nice late model RM250 to build in '86 colors (complete with blue engine), but couldn't find a good candidate at a nice price.
Last weekend met someone selling a 2007 KX250 for a price I couldn't refuse. Bike was clean and thankfully, PO had not installed Renthal swingarm stickers (pet peeve!). Bike looked good, felt good, and ran well.
I grew up in the 80s, my favourite riders were Ward, Lechein and Matiasevich (and Bailey but that's for another build). I have a soft spot in my heart for the 88 KX's, so that's where this build is heading. Maybe. Hat tip to BobPA for his '03 KX125 old-school build, which helped inspire me today.
A few years ago I restored a 1989 KX125 and frequently ran into NLA parts, so I'm looking forward to working with a machine with better parts availability.
Here's the bike as I bought it. Still has OEM linkage and triple clamps. Suspension has "JO Suspension" decals but I'm not able to find a shop under that name.
Dissembly pics to follow.
Will probably shelve the R304 and opt for a quieter Turbinecore II silencer. Loud Pipes Close Trails!
PPO had a chain break which then broke the center case. The welds look good, but the PO used a little patch of JB weld to fill a spot the previous repair missed. I've ordered new center cases from Kawasaki.
Sticker on the back side of the front numberplate. Is this anyone here?
* OEM centercase set
* New UFO plastic kit
* Pro Circuit linkage
The plastic kit comes with white side number plates. Anyone know where I can get green side numberplates?
The Shop
Will be a neat bike when your done. So you going for the 88-89 era look?
Stash is comin' in
In any case, I have new cases. Need to order new crank seals just in case. Plan to use OEM Kawasaki for anything in the bottom end. Heard enough horror stories about aftermarket connecting rods and cranks.
If you are replacing cases, surely at least your doing all seals, crank bearings at least, right?
On making sure its all oem, you might find theres not alot of oprions for seals/ gaskets oit there anyway for that bike. But if you do need a rod, pro x make quality stuff. Nothing wrong there. The hot rods brand have been cheese since they sold to another in mid 2000s.
Where was your cases cracked? If trans oil was getting into piston area, it would have been smoking white, even if just a little. Those cases use semi drying gasket to seal to eachother, like all kawis, wonder if they split it to repair, and didnt seal it up good when going back together,
Drain the oil out of trans and measure it out. If you mesured it in, that will get you an idea of what was lost.
You painting frame green? Or leaving silver?
Its finny you mentioned an 85 125. That was my first 125 i ever had. Still have. I thought i was hot shit back in the day, grafted a disc brake rear from a 86 kx250 onto it. Maybe in a few years i'll be ready to bring it back to life, lots of good times on that thing.
I ripped mine off and put them back on with super glue after my frame was powder coated.
Pit Row
Pairing OEM rims up to these:
Stay away from china stuff.
I can discount most parts off Rocky Mountain
570-606-7687
OEM Kawasaki: 13095-0048 - $282.79
Hinson: 151-1013 - $259.99
Wiseco: WPP3048 - $169.95
Barnett: 321-45-01014 - $233.10
And if not done, would be a good thing to drill the inner hub. Helps with oil flow thru the clutch. If you could buy a better inner hub, main difference other than coating would be that its drilled.
Waiting on a couple special tools to arrive for continued engine disassembly. Stuff I know I'm replacing with OEM part numbers:
* Connecting rod & big end bearing
* Main bearings and seals
* Shift and kicker seals
* Clutch cover (for aesthetics)
* Ignition cover (for aesthetics)
Will either use a v-force, rad valve or just get a new rubber intake boot. One on the bike is starting to show signs of dry rot.
I think that Hinson stuff is overrated, especially now there are so many more options. I'd go the wiseco straight up, I copy and pasted this directly off their website "We will stand behind all Clutch Baskets, Inner Hubs, and Pressure Plates by offering a LIFETIME WARRANTY if they were purchased after 1/1/2009. This warranty covers breakage and notching and covers the original purchaser when proof of purchase is presented directly to Wiseco Piston Inc.". Plus it's a 250 and sounds like your a trails/woods rider if you're taking off the R304 shorty, so your not really going to be giving the clutch a massive flogging to start with.
Mitaka and Pro-X are also good options, only thing with Mitaka is I've seen some of their baskets have sharp 90 degree edges on the inside of the fingers which can break the tabs off clutch discs and ruin a gearbox.
Probably go ahead with the Wiseco basket since the warranty is so freaking good.
Who makes inner hubs for the '07 KX250? Searched around and all I could find was a listing for Vertex hubs but those are in Italy with $$$$ shipping.
Meanwhile, more build inspiration:
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