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

Heer is a pic of Roczen's straight rhythm build which is actually McGraths' old 2005 factory Honda.. You can see the HRC ti knuckle clearly.. the outward facing boss that acts as the stop when the lever folds out is ever so slightly different form the 1997-99 and 2000-01 knuckles and the easiest way to identify the different knuckles.

I think it is probably more the fact that CNC machining titanium parts was just becoming more practical around this period.  I have weighed my bike and it only weighs a few pounds less than a production CR250 and that is with a titanium shock spring instead of the HRC steel spring, so I don't know how the factory bikes got down to the magic numbers that were reported in magazines back in the day. Yeah, the kevlar silencer is super light and the titanium bolts only add up to a little savings, even with the titanium axles, foot pegs and steering stem.  The HRC steel shift lever is a boat anchor and the bigger tubed works forks weigh more even with the magnesium fork caps and some titanium fork internals. The factory bikes also have a lot of added parts like skid plates, engine guards, heavier spokes, etc.  I am beginning to think the crazy weight numbers for the factory bikes that we used to hear about was mostly hype,

One HRC part I was not really looking for, not only because it was rarer than the average HRC part, but also because if I ever found one, I expected the condition to not be so great is the HRC fuel tank used by the Japan team in 1999-2001.  Knowing how hard it is to find 1999-2001 HRC parts like shifters, pegs and brake pedals used across all 3 Honda Factories teams, it is even hard to find an HRC part used by only one team.  The US factory team used black oem fuel tanks, the MXGP team used fabricated aluminum tanks painted white, while the Japan team used special translucent white plastic fuel tanks with a bolt on front mount like the 2002-2008 CRF450's. The reason for the Japan fuel tank is that around 1999-2000, a championship contending Honda factory rider ran out of gas twice. I believe it was Tortelli... one time just 1 turn away from winning the moto.  The Japan team wanted a translucent tank so they could more easily see how well it was topped off.  The Japan factory tank also has a little extra volume as the tank extends down farther on the left side where the petcock is.

There were 3 Japan factory riders in 1999 using this tank, 2 in 2000 and only 1 rider in 2001, and figuring each rider had 2-3 fuel tanks, there can't be many of these HRC fuel tanks left around.

Here is a Japan HRC fuel tank I just received. Not in too bad condition but the translucent white plastic has yellowed a bit, as you would expect after 22 years.  I plan to try a YouTube trick to whiten the yellow plastic by coating it with a 50% hydrogen peroxide cream developer used in hair salons, put it in a clear, giant 10-gallon Ziploc bag, and leave it in the sun for a few days. Hopefully I can get it bright white again.

I dunno Richard, if you have all the same parts that comprised a factory machine, the I only things I can think of could be the super secret helium filled frames and tires .

I have been working on the HRC fuel tank to get it close to its original glory, but the yellowing of the translucent white plastic cannot be reversed.  I first washed it thoroughly in hot bleach, then tried hydrogen peroxide crème 50% leaving it in the sun for 3.5 days and under UV lights for 3 nights with no change whatsoever. I also tried 12% Hydrogen peroxide liquid inside and outside the tank for another 3 days with again zero success. I do have the tank very clean inside and out though. There are so many things on the internet/ Youtube that are not true or even fake. I also tried sanding it a bit and it was the first time it showed some promise, but you would have to sand quite a thick layer off, at the least and probably, not practical. These HRC tanks were bright translucent white originally just like the picture of the Risk racing fuel jug. The best way to replicate the bright white is with PlastiDip.

If you flip the fuel tank over, it has all the markings you would find on an oem tank. It is manufactured by Takagi, the Japanese company that makes fuel tanks for the car and motorcycle industry. They also make the OEM fuel tanks. It was manufactured on March 2001, so the tank must have come from Yoshi Atsuta's factory bike since he was the only Japanese factory rider running the 2nd gen RC250M in 2001, as the other 2 team riders where on the prototype 2002 CR250 and CRF450 bikes.  As closely as I have been following these bikes, some things you dont notice until you start working with a factory part.  While the fuel petcock and gas cap were OEM parts, the Japan and MXGP were using these low profile flat socket head bolts to secure the petcock (see pic below).  I can only imagine that they did this to free up every millimeter of space in case they needed to get a wrench in there for something. The petcock hangs down lower and more in the way of the cylinder than the OEM set up.

The front tank mount was black plastic painted white. In the pic below, you can see the paint peeling in a few spots on the mount.  This mount is similar to what would be later found on the future CRFs, except that the mount is much longer where it bolts to the tank.

I thought of that, but more realistically it might be a possibility if I requested 100 fuel tanks and 100 front mounts, but I only need one. I dont know of many other people in the world who are looking for a specific works tank for their 23 year old dirt bike . It is a big company and Honda probably owns the molds so you would have to negotiate with both companies.  The Honda KZ4 part number for 2nd gen CR's is embossed on the bottom of these HRC tanks.

That said, I did talk to and have the company that was making the HRC carbon fiber gas tanks for CRF's make me one to my specifications for my 2012 CRF, some years ago. It was a company in the Czech Republic that made parts for concept cars and motorcycles for the industry. They were easy to work with and still making them for HRC at the time I talked to them. In fact, many of the HRC parts are not made by Honda at all, but by these small specialty companies.  I know the names of many of them.  These parts are so expensive to buy from collectors, if someone could convince them to do a small run, that would be interesting, but I am sure there would be legal issues and such a small number of interested buyers.

Anyway, the tank I am working with will look great by the time I finish with it.

The weight was mentioned somewhere in this thread a few years ago. it was about 213 or 214 pounds if I recall correctly, a few pounds lighted than the oem claimed weight. But I also noted that I am using more titanium than was actually on most of the factory rider's bikes. I am using all the HRC titanium parts available, whereas many of the actual bikes, the riders preferred the steel oem parts for their swingarm pivot and shock linkage parts. One major weight saver is I am using a titanium shock spring, although I also have the HRC lightweight steel alloy spring, too.  In 1999-2001, I would occasionally see the titanium shock springs on the factory rider's practice bikes, but never on their race bikes. The quality of the titanium wire was not as reliable in those days and breakage was common. Moreover, the factory frames had a ton of bracing added to the frames as Honda was still not sure how the aluminum frames would hold up to professional MX racing.. in hindsight, it was total overkill. So my build should be lighter than the actual RC250M's raced in the day.

 Building this bike taught me a lot about what HRC prioritized, and while they tried to optimize everything, I believe their priority was as follows, 1. Reliability, 2. Performance, 3. Weight. While the Kevlar silencer was crazy light, along with the titanium steering stem and footpegs, the above mentioned frame bracing, a steel shift lever that was crazy heavy, extra skid plate and clutch cover guards. and the heavier works forks, quickly negated the lightweight parts so overall weight saving was a wash at best.

I also learned a lot about the cost/ benefits of pursing weight savings with the 218lb CRF450 that I built many years back, You have seen that bike.. it is a no expense spared build. The several thousands of dollars in titanium bolts and axles lost little weight, and the titanium front axle and swingarm pivot will compromise feel/ stability a noticable amount. Today's works bikes are faster and heavier than ever with 4 stroke engines, hydraulic clutches, electronic monitoring devices, batteries and starter motors adding a lot of weight.  While we all appreciate a lighter motocycle, it is become apparent that weight is not as important as the 60's, 70's and 80's when power to weight ratio's were more critical.

It looks like this very rainy 4th of July is keeping us at the keyboards when we should be outside manning the BBQ .

Yes, I did consult with a professional MX plastic restorer who has lots of experience making very battered old colored tanks look better than new again. The red, green, blue and yellow colored plastic can go from unsightly to beautifully pristine with sandpaper and a torch. Such is not the case for the translucent white plastic. He is very familiar with this problem as the KTM and aftermarket IMS and Clarke have used such plastic in the past for enduro tanks.  He has also been trying the different "tricks" claimed by the many instragram and youtube videos, but we have not been able to replicate what the video's claim, using high concentration hydrogen peroxide and UV light.

Also, the very rare HRC tank I have is in decent shape except for some moderate yellowing. It is in good enough shape that I could install it as is, and it wouldn't look too bad, but just not up to the level of the many NOS and nearly new HRC parts on the bike, like the HRC seat.  You have seen in-person the white plastidipped tank on the bike now. It is really hard to tell it is painted, even up close and looks great, doesn't it? It still looks like a plastic finish.  The best part about it, is that it can be peeled off in seconds w/o compromising the original part. HRC, themselves, even painted the plastic front mount for these tanks as the plastic mount is black. I think this is the best compromise of originality and making for a beautiful to look at display bike. I will try mounting it as is, though, before I make a final decision to go this route.

Finally got the special HRC fuel tank used by the Japanese factory team from 1999 to 2001 finished and on the bike. This HRC fuel tank differed from the oem fuel tank in that is was a translucent white plastic and held slightly more volume after Honda lost a couple of races after running out of gas while leading at the end of the moto. The HRC fuel tank also had a bolt on front mount and the left side of the tank hung down lower than the frame rail. This tank carries the fuel lower than the oem tank, so much that it practically sits on the radiator hose coming from the cylinder head and the fuel petcock is moved lower and very close to the cylinder. This surprised me as the fuel petcock is a big aluminum heat sink and I would imagine would heat up the fuel.

Here is the tank after application of Duplicolor spray "custom wrap". This rubbery/ plastic finish is tricky to spray, but can be wet sanded to fix the inevitable blemishes and provide a super smooth finish.

Also notice the low profile titanium bolts that the factory team used to mount the fuel petcock.

Here is the tank after sanding, but what I had was a nice blem free, shiny creme color.. not the original bight white the plastic used to be.

Here is the original bright white color on the tanks when they were new.

While refinishing the fuel tank, I got comfortable sanding and polishing plastic so I tried refinishing the lower part of a used HRC front number that I had but didn’t use because the lower part was pockmarked from rock roost and the Plastiwerks plates were so similar. You can see the HRC plate cleaned up like new. The only distinguishing difference on the HRC front plates is the large ridge at the base of the strap that attaches to the handlebars.

More parts gradually coming in to keep as spares..

Hi Damien, yes it is pretty rare since only the Japan team used this tank with 3 riders in 1999, but only 2 riders in 2000 and 1 rider in 2001 as the prototype 2002 CR250 and CRF450 started replacing the RC250M in the factory team line up, while the US team used the oem tank and MXGP used an aluminum tank painted white. Probably the only other tanks still existing can only be found in the Honda museum in Motegi, Japan.  I didn't even try searching for it, but one popped up many years into the build.

mike

Hi Richard, I would even think about trying to build another complete works bike.. too much effort and money. These 2 stroke HRC parts have gotten so rare, you have to snap up what you can when you find them. Plenty of 4 stroke HRC parts around though. More than there ever were for the 2 strokes.

Thanks Crutcher.. the details may be boring for some, but others seem like the intricacies of getting into what HRC did.  I see one person who doesn't agree with your message, though.  I have found it useful to document the build and find myself referring to my own posts sometimes when I forget info.

Thank you, but we need to see more of your fabulous CRF450 works bike build. Your bike is a real beauty!

Hi Chuck,

The problem is finding a decal shop that both has that old skinny font and has the template for the HRC and Plastiwerks front number plates. To get that skinny old for the number plate backgrounds for my 1979 CR250R, I had to go to the UK for the backgrounds.  I usually use Throttle Jockey or DecalWorks as they have the templates for the front number plates, but they dont do the really old style skinny fonts. The font that I am using on the green background was used by the Honda teams back in 1999-2001, just not by the Japan team.  And the font on my red plates (I have 2 sets of number plates for this bike; 1999 and 2000) is very close to what the Japan team used in 2000.

Can anyone explain what these cannisters do on this HRC works carb? My understanding is that the choke mechanism is no longer effective on these carbs with the mods.