1988 Honda CR250 upgrades, race bike build

Felt like I got the steering stop lined up pretty good, rebuilt the shock last night and set in place before getting chased out of the garage for this weekend

A little back ground on the engine, built it last season, 1mm over bore, all ports matched and polished, topend wore so nice this season, just did a topend rebuild for 2017

Nice....I have a complete 08 crf 450 front end on my 96 Cr 250, the caliper brct had different mount points, so I used the complete 08 front brake assy too, best upgrade you can do for these older Honda"s. My 96 came with Applied clamps already, the 08 forks slid right in, I just had to make wheel spacers to make sure wheel was centered & forks were not binding. My 08 forks are setup by FC also, work very good with the correct rear shock spring for my weight. I even ran the 08 forks on my 13 crf450 back to back against the air forks, hands down better than the air forks. What's funny is, when I had a brand new 08 crf 450 I did not think the forks were all that good...but they were stock forks..

One of my favorite CR250's of all time
I have owned all the different CR250 models
from 1979-2007

1996- 1st
1993-2nd
1988-3rd- great engine/ handling

Thanks, oh Ya the 88 CR turns on the dime, with the fork upgrade it's amazing, sandman just as you said the braking from a CRF makes a huge difference

Looks like a sweet bike. I am working on 2 of them right now. I loved my 88' I had back in the day and found it made a great hare scramble bike. I am close to assembling my first one as I have collected pretty much all I need. It will be fairly original stock. My second bike will be a little more trick. Would love to find an aluminum tank and rear subframe like that. Those are cool. Probably out of my budget though. I am using 97' RM forks on bike 2. I will be watching your build. Look forward to the finished product.
Greg

look




Finally got the front wheel built, reusing side cover can still get some use out of the, went with a modern front end .


Not bragging, however I have not lost an overall yet racing this bike, vintage or modern

That Bike is sweet. So jealous.

The criticism of the 88 was that it crapped up the 87's great suspension, right? Otherwise, the two bike are essentially the same but for the introduction of the lowboy pipe.

Curious because there generally are more 88's and 89's available around my area than the 87's

Nice build!I restored a 86 PW

Awesome build!! Love the alloy tank! How's it work with the modern front end? I've always wondered how the older frames react with newer stiffer suspension components.

FreshTopEnd wrote:

The criticism of the 88 was that it crapped up the 87's great suspension, right? Otherwise, the two bike are essentially the same but for the introduction of the lowboy pipe.

Curious because there generally are more 88's and 89's available around my area than the 87's

Back in the day there was criticism of the suspension for sure. The 88' fork was the same as the 87' just bad settings as delivered. The rear suspension was all new and pretty good overall. Once valved and sprung to the particular rider the 88' was a much better bike in my opinion. It was much lighter feeling and handled better. The flat narrow layout was really the first of what is now a common modern layout and rider positioning. The 88' engine was known for not much of a hit but made great power and out performed the 87' everywhere. 89' had more hit and is often the favourite of the first gen HPP engines. The 87' bike feels much bigger and heavier in the rider layout. If you have an interest in a resto mod bike of this generation then I say go for it. They are great bikes. The 88' forks can be revalved and very good. The 89,90,91 forks should likely be chucked in the brush. A modern fork upgrade will work well on all models. I am working on restoring two 88 bikes bike #1 has stock forks and bike #2 will have 97' RM250 Showa 49mm conventionals. I had a 88' CR250R back in the day that I used for trail riding, hare scrambles and some moto. I had Noleen revalved suspension that worked amazing. With a flywheel weight it was a woods weapon. I intend to resto mod my current projects to relive that youth. LOL. I would love to see more of these bikes here.
Cheers.
Greg

^ Thanks, great info!

I really like that build. Great job! I have been thinking of getting a vintage bike to race at unadilla mx rewind. Can a 88 set up like that still be raced in the promoter class?

Looks great

Nice, that tank really sets it off.

What offset clamps are needed to run a modern front end on the 89-91 chassis? I know Honda fooled around with the axle and tripple clamp offset so it would be good to know what works on what bikes.

Cool build as always and I'm sure it rips!

Actually, the 87/88!forks have some differences, I've installed gold valves in both, the valve pistons control oil differently. I have not measured the offsets with the 08 front stem and fork setup, it interest me so I will and post, I will tell u it works so good, the modern forks allow for scrubbing lift, the shock was done by Paul Therd back in 88 with Showa internals, work so good not about to change it.

Watch the Chinese radiators, lost a radiator shroud looking into it found both radiator supports had cracked and were flexing, good stickers are hard to find but so much stronger


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Just about completed the 125 with some new suspension pieces, need to mount up a front tire and were ready for the season.

Very nice. What year is the 125?

1989

Nice. It looks like a pretty cool bike too. What have you done to it?

144 cylinder and head kit, 60degree high flow intake cage, carb mod, 07 forks, revalved shock, springs, several different exhausts, HD spokes wheels and billet hub

Have any of you tried the MSV exhaust flange? Just curious if it is noticeable, supposed to be worth a couple hp I think?

mark_swart wrote:

Have any of you tried the MSV exhaust flange? Just curious if it is noticeable, supposed to be worth a couple hp I think?

Not sure on any hp gains. I had one on my 86 Cr 500 and it was very well made, it was easy to install and worked well, no more spooge leaks and a very good seal. I would definitely recommend it. As for the hp gains it was smoothed inside and tapered for a better transition so I could see some better flow and resonance, either way it was a good purchase.

Ive never heard of a 60 degree reed cage. Who makes that?
Im guessing it refers to the angle the "V" of the reed block
What is its advantage?

Yep, most of your current models run I believe 35 degrees for a little more throttle response, velocity, less volume, best to test what work best for your riding preference wasn't it Mugen who went from the stock 6 pedal reed to a high volume 4 reed setup in say 81

I blended my exhaust flange, no issues here, with different exhausts, all of them have a bit of a different mounting setup, may ave to look at this product see if it helps with my Dyno Port pipe mounting. I am working on something else with the exhaust drum and volume.

Can anyone recommend a replacement kickstarter for the 88-91 year CR250? My 91 is super floppy and I'm starting to build the engine up for our vintage series starting this May!

Many thanks
Tom