Rebuilding my old friend - 2005 CR250

A few progress pics from the first day of the tear down process



The workstation:




The crack I found in my back rim... These are OEM wheels that I had anodized back in the day.

Haven't been able to find Blue rims aftermarket for the hondas... so may have to change it up.



Before and after of my pro-circuit pipe cleaning. Still has some dents in it, so I may try the old freezer trick to get those smoothed out. Overall happy with the finish though:

Awesome! Love this story!!

Great story.

Hey, I'm also in process of a FRAME UP restore. I'm actually going backwards to get it off the showroom floor condition. The bike was listed on here as being parted out. I lucked out and bought it with just the forks being sold. Got stock triples and forks from a 06 crf250. Got the stock reed cage from here as well. Bead blasted everything. Ordered all OEM incidentals like r brake hose and rotor guard and piston. Just slipped the top end up enough to see a Honda con rod. Great. Clutch basket has not one sign of being notched. Cut the spokes and blasted the hubs and rotors. Polished the rims with mothers alum polish. Relaced, true and threw new Dunlops on them. After blasting the cases, I need to put some 600 to 2000 wet sanding on them to take the matte finish off. So, I go to pull the cylinder off which is a off color to the cases and what do I find ? A locked up lower rod . Split the cases and see a water line and rust. Someone never plugged the silencer during a wash. Oh well. New OEM crank on the way with mains and seals. Plus the forks got serviced ,new swingarm/linkage bearings, chain slider and I could keep going. Best thing about the parts that came with it are the ORIGINAL OEM PLASTIC with all the original graphics and warning labels. Still in the Honda parts bags. I'm in no rush as it will be a mancave display other than heat cycling the motor and running thru the gears. Even ordered the factory owners manual. Lastly, the stock pipe was never ridden with. Sorry for hijacking the thread. I'll post my final outcome in pics. The 05 n 07 are basically the same. Keep updating your progress as I would be happy to see how your making out.

Freezer trick does a good job, good luck with your build mate gotta love nostalgia

tzmike wrote:

Hey, I'm also in process of a FRAME UP restore. I'm actually going backwards to get it off the showroom floor condition. The bike was listed on here as being parted out. I lucked out and bought it with just the forks being sold. Got stock triples and forks from a 06 crf250. Got the stock reed cage from here as well. Bead blasted everything. Ordered all OEM incidentals like r brake hose and rotor guard and piston. Just slipped the top end up enough to see a Honda con rod. Great. Clutch basket has not one sign of being notched. Cut the spokes and blasted the hubs and rotors. Polished the rims with mothers alum polish. Relaced, true and threw new Dunlops on them. After blasting the cases, I need to put some 600 to 2000 wet sanding on them to take the matte finish off. So, I go to pull the cylinder off which is a off color to the cases and what do I find ? A locked up lower rod . Split the cases and see a water line and rust. Someone never plugged the silencer during a wash. Oh well. New OEM crank on the way with mains and seals. Plus the forks got serviced ,new swingarm/linkage bearings, chain slider and I could keep going. Best thing about the parts that came with it are the ORIGINAL OEM PLASTIC with all the original graphics and warning labels. Still in the Honda parts bags. I'm in no rush as it will be a mancave display other than heat cycling the motor and running thru the gears. Even ordered the factory owners manual. Lastly, the stock pipe was never ridden with. Sorry for hijacking the thread. I'll post my final outcome in pics. The 05 n 07 are basically the same. Keep updating your progress as I would be happy to see how your making out.

Sounds like a fun project man! Always tough buying a bike that is already disassembled and no way of telling the true condition. Definitely post up some pics along the way, I'll be doing the same

Adam89 wrote:

Freezer trick does a good job, good luck with your build mate gotta love nostalgia

Do you have any recommendation for plugs to use on each end of the pipe? I heard a boat drain is a good option but curious if you have any thoughts. I assume both ends need to be fully plugged

Here is a 2006 I am finishing up
All NOS Honda plastic, NOS seat
NOS Dunlop’s

^^ Wish my trusty '05 still looked that good. Don't get me wrong, it's in great shape, but doesn't look brand new, right off the dealer's floor like yours. Congrats. Nice job.

Thank you
Was a nice bike to begin with.
Yours will look great. Yours has sentimental meaning to you, means a lot ..

Parts are beginning to roll in.
You can see a bit of damage in my factory cylinder. I am basically in part gathering mode and will begin tearing down the engine in a few weeks. Cleaning up parts and assessing damage as I go.

Pretty decent before/after shot of the pro circuit silencer I purchased ~10 years ago.

I have to say, it is so refreshing to work on this thing after being a car-guy for so long (also far cheaper!)

Great story, and great work!

p.s. riding a 250 2 stroke at 13? Bad ass bro!

pkiczuk wrote:

Great story, and great work!

p.s. riding a 250 2 stroke at 13? Bad ass bro!

Haha, thanks man!! Honestly I ran my first moto on the bike at age 14 which is totally crazy when I think about it today. I was the youngest person in the 250 novice class by a longshot. For the first year I always had the same issue... I would holeshot 80% of all races simply because I was about 135lbs wet, then I would get worn out after a couple laps and start falling behind.

Awesome story, welcome. I can relate, I’ve had similar experiences with bikes, glad you found yours again. Like the other guys said, a CR250 at that age, that’s crazy. At least we learn fast and heal fast at that age! Good luck, will be cool to see how it progresses.

Hey guys, thanks for the patience with my slow progress lately. It’s been a crazy couple of months, but looking to dive further into this thing soon. The motor is slowly getting reassembled, learning as I go. Next up is the clutch side of the motor and then top end/reinstall of the engine. I’ve been doing my best to avoid stupid mistakes along the way, but had my fair share so far. Patience is a virtue!

Heck, I even ended up getting some stitches in my wrist thanks to those nice sharp case edges!! My brother got me a Phathead for Christmas, custom etched with our last name in it “Hatem Built”. I have also been gathering some footage with plans to make a few videos documenting the build. The first intro video is linked here, not the most exciting since the bike was already apart but appreciate any views. More to come

Back in 89 or 90 I got an 87 CR250 at 13 as well but i was tall and ready for it ..... I guess it sounds crazy when you think about it but it fit me well.

Updates?

Hey guys - the pandemic has allowed me to have some extra free time recently, so I’ve been ordering up lots of parts for the build. Teaser below, also have a fresh scalvini pipe coming and getting some cosmetic things done. Going to finish buttoning up the engine and teach myself how to rebuild suspension in the week or two ahead. Stay tuned!

EastCoastMaico wrote:


Here is a 2006 I am finishing up
All NOS Honda plastic, NOS seat
NOS Dunlop’s

Are you preserving or going to ride it again? Tough decision when it looks like that!

Oh man you’re going all out! Nice! I just got done doing a 2006. Debating on spending more $$ on it or just riding it.

BToz wrote:

Oh man you’re going all out! Nice! I just got done doing a 2006. Debating on spending more $$ on it or just riding it.

Very nice! Honestly, I’m not planning to get back into racing, just some practice days and sand pits/trails. I will definitely put some seat time in, and try not to worry about it too much. This bike means a lot to me, so I felt OK giving it a healthy budget to make it stand out

EastCoastMaico wrote:


Here is a 2006 I am finishing up
All NOS Honda plastic, NOS seat
NOS Dunlop’s

Oh man loving this stock build! I was looking everywhere (northwest) for a stock clean bike. I ended up getting what I thought was a pretty clean bike -until I took it all apart. I tried getting all stock Honda parts like plastics/body parts but wasn’t able to find any. Ended up doing the restyle kit and then took it off a couple days ago (looks kinda funny).

sweet build man...I just picked up a 03 and doing a ground up restore on ...I'm from Tewksbury right next door too you..Where do you ride???We head to crow,101,wareham pretty much every weekend..Here's my 03 ..Headed to North Reading Honda tomorrow to have them throw my new tires on my rims tomorrow and it's basically done...

Hatem, can’t wait to see your final product! My bike was torn down for about a year and in late February of this year I decided I was going to work on it every free moment I had until it was done. I didn’t like the restyle kit very much so I ordered some plastics (couldn’t find factory Honda) it looks like this now..


Keep up with the updates as you go! PS I haven’t ridden mine yet, might ride like crap, who knows.

booma1218 wrote:

sweet build man...I just picked up a 03 and doing a ground up restore on ...I'm from Tewksbury right next door too you..Where do you ride???We head to crow,101,wareham pretty much every weekend..Here's my 03 ..Headed to North Reading Honda tomorrow to have them throw my new tires on my rims tomorrow and it's basically done...

Your bike is coming out great man. That's funny you are literally right next door! I honestly have been out of the game for eight years, I used to ride the methuen/dracut sand pits and powerlines growing up but they are mostly developed right now. There are some spots in New hampshire that I will be checking out (Plaistow/Kingston area) along with the local tracks you mentioned. Once I dust off the cobwebs, maybe we can meet up at a practice day for some laps.

BToz wrote:

Hatem, can’t wait to see your final product! My bike was torn down for about a year and in late February of this year I decided I was going to work on it every free moment I had until it was done. I didn’t like the restyle kit very much so I ordered some plastics (couldn’t find factory Honda) it looks like this now..


Keep up with the updates as you go! PS I haven’t ridden mine yet, might ride like crap, who knows.

I love the way yours came out. You need to get some hours on that thing! Appreciate the feedback, I am getting motivated during this quarantine so hopefully I can make some solid progress this month. The bike is at my brother's shop so I really only get to work on it during the weekends when I am free.


I am going back and forth on whether or not to order up a Lectron carb... so many mixed reviews out there.

booma1218 wrote:

sweet build man...I just picked up a 03 and doing a ground up restore on ...I'm from Tewksbury right next door too you..Where do you ride???We head to crow,101,wareham pretty much every weekend..Here's my 03 ..Headed to North Reading Honda tomorrow to have them throw my new tires on my rims tomorrow and it's basically done...

HatemOrLovem wrote:
Your bike is coming out great man. That's funny you are literally right next door! I honestly have been out of the game for eight years, I used to ride the methuen/dracut sand pits and powerlines growing up but they are mostly developed right now. There are some spots in New hampshire that I will be checking out (Plaistow/Kingston area) along with the local tracks you mentioned. Once I dust off the cobwebs, maybe we can meet up at a practice day for some laps.

definitely man..I also have a good practice spot here near my house you should come checkout too...

booma1218 wrote:

sweet build man...I just picked up a 03 and doing a ground up restore on ...I'm from Tewksbury right next door too you..Where do you ride???We head to crow,101,wareham pretty much every weekend..Here's my 03 ..Headed to North Reading Honda tomorrow to have them throw my new tires on my rims tomorrow and it's basically done...

HatemOrLovem wrote:
Your bike is coming out great man. That's funny you are literally right next door! I honestly have been out of the game for eight years, I used to ride the methuen/dracut sand pits and powerlines growing up but they are mostly developed right now. There are some spots in New hampshire that I will be checking out (Plaistow/Kingston area) along with the local tracks you mentioned. Once I dust off the cobwebs, maybe we can meet up at a practice day for some laps.

booma1218 wrote:

definitely man..I also have a good practice spot here near my house you should come checkout too...

Sounds awesome, we’ll be in touch