2001 CR250 $pecial Restoration Part II - Recreation of a 1999-2000 Japan Honda Factory RC250M

Many thanks William.. I have some additional updates coming soon. No it wasn't James, it was a different guy, but I found out later that it was the oversized sand tank, which is a little bulbous and not the tank I would like to find which is the regular capacity tank like that find on the Carmichael 2001 MXdN bike that was never raced. The Japan team ran translucent white plastic tanks to keep a better eye on fuel level at a time Honda lost a few races when their riders where running out of fuel. Hard to forget the time that Tortelli passed everyone, built up a big lead and then ran out of gas just one turn from the checkered flag.. it was on a hill and he futily tried to drag his bike up the little hill to the checkers.

Regarding the foot peg mounts, I am sure if Corne sees enough demand he will make another run eventually and I know a few other guys that are interested. He really had a headache getting the last machinist to finish the job and he wants to make share he has a good reliable machinist next time. The titanium really takes longer to machine and the next batch may be stainless which would also bring the price down. Those titanium foot pegs did come out beautiful though.

The key to finding the rare parts is being patient and persistent. Sometimes I found a part from someone who I had already asked a few time before, but the 3rd time was a charm. Lots of timing and luck involved, as well as money.

Do you have any pics to share of your build?

William,

Here are pics of the HRC sand tank that sold last March.





I have only seen one pic of the sand tank on Bolley's bike in 1999. Only the Europe team used the aluminum tanks for the 2nd gens and they painted them white.

here the Bolley pic with the sand tank..

Just sent you the part # by PM for the Toyo radiator cap.

One of the last HRC parts I was searching for was the same pipe that the Japan factory team used. I did find an E7HM pipe but it was not in good enough condition. I just acquired a E7HP HRC pipe (same style as the E7HM, but with extra armor plating where the pipe exits the cylinder) in good usable condition. Many thanks to Claudio from Mastercross for hooking me up with this pipe. Several of the parts on this build have come from Claudio such as the wheel hubs and front wheel spacer.

Here is the pipe on the bike before I started reconditioning it. HRC had several different pipes for the riders and this one used by the Japan and MXGP factory teams has quite a different shape than the OEM pipe.


Getting it back down to the raw metal took a few days and I have a little more work to do on it before adding the "blueing" along the welded seams with a chef's torch.


I was also able to find a complete HRC seat used by the Japan factory team in 2000. The seat looks new and is an incredible find for this build.


Here is the same seat on the 2000 Japan RC250M..

I finally found the same HRC pipe used by the Japan factory team. Many thanks to Claudio from Mastercross who hooked me up. It was the last major HRC part on my search list. This pipe has a very different shape from the OEM pipe.

It took me years, William. The game is persistence and patience. You have to keep asking around until one comes around.

Thanks, I may have to redo the bluing.. it was windy out and it didn't come out as straight as I wanted. I may sand it off and redo with a bigger MAP torch.

About a year ago, I tried to find a tip that provided a more focused flame for my MAP torch, but could only find tips that did the opposite and provided a wider flame.

There are lots of little details on the HRC engines that easily might not be noticed. One is that HRC Japan and Europe replaced the OEM head nuts with a thick copper washer and cap nut off of the Honda CRF150 and 230 trail bikes. I have never had a problem with the OEM nuts and it makes you wonder why HRC did this. I can only guess that it was extra insurance against head leaks and the cap nut also prevent dirt getting on the threads in case they had to pull the head quickly between races and retorque. The US Honda team didn't always do this in the pics I have seen for some reason, however, if you look at the 2007 HRC 2 stroke engine that Cole Seeley just got from Honda for the Straight Rhythm, they have this copper washer and cap nut set up.




Among the pipes HRC provided from 1999-2001, in addition to different designs, they also equipped them with different types of armor plating. Some had no armor like the E7HM pipe below, some had armor around head pipe, which I can only assume was to prevent that part of the pipe from getting crushed and preventing the engine from running, and I have seen some HRC pipes with the OEM armor welded on. This armor is not placed in the areas where the pipe most likely to see the most normal abuse from rocks thrown or hard landings in which the pipe might hit the ground, for some reason, but concern over protecting just that first few inches of pipe.

E7HP


E7HM


OEM armor/reinforcement

A factory bike is all about the details and that includes all the special hardware and safety wiring. Stevie Denton from PDE made me this nice HRC titanium hardware to make that add that detail to the bike included the drilled heads for the safety wire and the special HRC exhaust valve stopper bolt which can be adjusted to change the exhaust valve timing and power characteristics. Stevie was kind enough to explain how the HRC adjuster works and how to adjust it.



If you look closely at the HRC exhaust valve stopper bolt on the right, you will notice that it has an offset pin at the bottom. As you turn the bolt, it allows the exhaust valve to close slightly at lower rpm/power which improves low end power at the expense of acceleration and top end power. If you put the offset in at its highest point, it is the same as stock exhaust value timing. So you can play with it and lock it down where you like the power best. The OEM stopper bolt has a straight pin inline with the center of the bolt so it is not adjustable.






I wired the safety wire the same way the Honda factory mechanics did on these RC250Ms back in the day. The HRC banjo bolts, brake pad pins, kickstarter bolt, etc. came predrilled for the safety wire. I only had to drill a 5/32" hole in the kickstarter boss so the other end of the wire had something to attach to.

Thanks Guys... just an old guy with too much time since I had to semi-retire earlier than expected.

I used 100 grit on a rubber drum bit and a scotch Brite drum to remove the casting lines from the rear suspension linkage. The Japan factory team used a billet linkage and this makes the linkage look like CNC billet. The US factory usually used the oem linkage.

Yes I did ride it for quite a few years with that suspension. This 2001 was bought in Japan around May of 2000 and was one of the first out of the factory warehouse. The chassis is very good with only a slight tingle in the bars compared to a steel frame. The only problem was the severe mid stroke harshness of the stock fork valving which disappeared with the Showa works kit and the valving provided by the Showa Japan technician who happened to be there setting up the Honda factory bikes for the next Japan national when I picked the kit up. He nailed the settings on the first try and I call them my "magic forks". I have a very trick 218 pound 2012 CRF450 also and that chassis doesn't have much over the 2001 once the suspension is set up on both bikes.