Posts
34
Joined
10/4/2012
Location
DTC
NL
Edited Date/Time
10/18/2013 2:01am
Hi,
At first, a little introduction:
My name is Bart, 24 years old and currently living in The Netherlands. After riding on KTM bikes for a few years now i thought it was time to buy something new... started looking for a 2011/12 KTM SX 250 but couldn't find one to fit my budget. Then a friend asked me to come and visit a ''dutch twinshock'' race where they raced vintage MX bikes from 60,70 and 80's and thats where this idea came from....
I went looking on the Internet for a few weeks, but couldn't find something special... Honda's are nice, but the complete ''pre90'' class is about CR250's... untill one day this Kawasaki KX250 came along. Called the owner and before i knew there was a KX250 sitting in the garage. At first i didn't know that to think of it... friends said to me that is was on old piece of shit and even my dad didn't see any good future for it (and thats bad....). But i got the bigger picture in mind...
what i did before:
KTM SXS 250 (sold it)
and for the weekends still have this baby:
KX250 2006 (will be a project after this one is finished...or both at the same time
, dont know that for sure)
so thats enough modern bike pics...lets go old school!
this is what it looked like when i bought it:
the engine was a complete mess...the previous owner didn't used any gaskets at all:
the frame was pretty crusty at the bottom...
but that wasn't such a problem:
all shiny and new power coat:
sandblasted some brackets and some other parts
and yesterday i screwed on the new alloy radiators
At first, a little introduction:
My name is Bart, 24 years old and currently living in The Netherlands. After riding on KTM bikes for a few years now i thought it was time to buy something new... started looking for a 2011/12 KTM SX 250 but couldn't find one to fit my budget. Then a friend asked me to come and visit a ''dutch twinshock'' race where they raced vintage MX bikes from 60,70 and 80's and thats where this idea came from....
I went looking on the Internet for a few weeks, but couldn't find something special... Honda's are nice, but the complete ''pre90'' class is about CR250's... untill one day this Kawasaki KX250 came along. Called the owner and before i knew there was a KX250 sitting in the garage. At first i didn't know that to think of it... friends said to me that is was on old piece of shit and even my dad didn't see any good future for it (and thats bad....). But i got the bigger picture in mind...
what i did before:
KTM SXS 250 (sold it)
and for the weekends still have this baby:
KX250 2006 (will be a project after this one is finished...or both at the same time
, dont know that for sure)
so thats enough modern bike pics...lets go old school!
this is what it looked like when i bought it:
the engine was a complete mess...the previous owner didn't used any gaskets at all:
the frame was pretty crusty at the bottom...
but that wasn't such a problem:
all shiny and new power coat:
sandblasted some brackets and some other parts
and yesterday i screwed on the new alloy radiators
The Shop
But i found a WP 4048 fork,clamps and matching WP shock... thinking about buying them. Some people told me that WP made the best forks at the time...
I must get around to doing a better forum/blog on my build it in here but not like yours,its great...
Keep the updates comin .........
I have a suggestion for you: Galvoned in Ulft can rezinc (and regolden) all your nuts, bolts, axles and spokes for only 30 euros. I have done the same twice before. I really recommend it because the finish on the bolt is way better than the original. It also works perfectly for stainless steel.
If you want I can send you some pictures of my old bike. I have rezinced all of the nuts, bolts, spokes and axles of the bike. They came out perfect. This way you can keep the look of the bike original.
Nobody wants to see allen (imbus
So lets hope that this 89 baby doesn't suffer the same problems...
I owned and raced 1989 KX250. It was at the height of my racing days where I raced every single weekend and practiced almost daily.
It held up extremely well, and that bike was one of my favorites that I've ever owned. Of course I was on the bandwagon to get the radical new perimeter frame 1990 KX250 when it came out, and the 1989 was quickly tossed aside.
But with the advantage of being able to look back, I'd say that the 1989 was probably better in my opinion.
I remember it was mellow and more tractor-like compared to the other offerings at the time. And I agree that the forks were awesome on that thing despite everyone else running USD forks.
Have fun and enjoy it!
PS- my avatar is actually me roosting it on my 1989 KX250
Pit Row
Those 89 KX250s are the Shit
I have one myself that rips http://www.onthepiperacing.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadI…
The funny thing after all is, that i bought this cylinder in the US because it was cheaper to buy a ''as good as new one'' then to just replate my old cylinder. But with the extra tax and shippings costs i was probably better off by replating the old damn thing :p
on the upside, i now got a Eric Gorr ''big bore'' cylinder with a Wiseco piston... probably no one else has such a thing.
Not that i have any idea who exactly Eric Gorr is... i did some digging on Google and that name popped up a few times. But not all the things i read where that good...? Seems like he is some sort of 2 stroke guru or something?
anyway, this is the actual new cylinder...
Other then that not much happened. Decided to rebuild me other KX250... made it my priority project so this one will remain untouched till next year i guess. Might buy some small parts in the meantime but its not going to be ready to race within a few weeks. Finding the right parts turned out quite difficult
Got my cylinder today... looks mint!
new UFO plastics:
new stem bearings:
chassis still looking a bit poor for now...
and some custom made decals... think they will look nice!
oh en btw, just to look good on the bike... a 2012 JT Racing gear combo:
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