restored 1974 CR250

wfoyz250
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wfoyz250
Edited Date/Time 8/26/2020 5:39pm
Thought i'd show-off my first "like new" restoration on this CR250. I've been restoring musclecars for years and thought I'd try my hand on the bikes.This project took about ten weeks to do, refurbishing parts and pieces, obtaining new where needed.I'm OCD on detail and went as far as replicating yellow painted "inspection markings" of specific fasteners. Aluminum tank had plenty of battle dents which are very difficult to straighten while retaining the natural brushed metal finish so I ended up preparing the tank, filling and block sanding , then sprayed OEM Honda silver and "competition green" paint finish. I'm using this bike as an example to kickoff my new business in restoring old bikes.



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Sully
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Sully 8/24/2020 6:21pm
8/24/2020 6:21pm Edited Date/Time 8/24/2020 6:22pm
Nice job, that thing is beautiful! Is it a rider or show bike?
wfoyz250
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wfoyz250 8/24/2020 6:29pm
8/24/2020 6:29pm
It started out to be a rider but it snowballed into this. The owner decided it was going to be too nice so it became an obsession to make it living room furniture.
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_X_
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_X_ 8/25/2020 2:03am
8/25/2020 2:03am
wfoyz250 wrote:
It started out to be a rider but it snowballed into this. The owner decided it was going to be too nice so it became an...
It started out to be a rider but it snowballed into this. The owner decided it was going to be too nice so it became an obsession to make it living room furniture.
Nice job, too bad the owner is a fool. Just can't justify not riding an old girl.
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sandman768
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sandman768 8/25/2020 4:46am
8/25/2020 4:46am
My first restore was a 74 CR250... Took me 3-4 years on/off... I must of had an easy 40hrs into the gas tank, body parts alone... I should have not ridden it... I did not reinforce the frame anywhere, after riding it a few hrs the frame started cracking and breaking everywhere....I had to strip it back down & redo the frame... great looking bikes, but painful to ride on anything but a grass track or ice.... Stellar job on this restore!
PK97
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PK97 8/25/2020 4:52am
8/25/2020 4:52am
Excellent work! It is really well done.
OldPro277
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OldPro277 8/25/2020 8:01am
8/25/2020 8:01am
_X_ wrote:
Nice job, too bad the owner is a fool. Just can't justify not riding an old girl.
Not sure the dude is a fool. Hopefully he's like me and a lot of other guys that ending building bikes that are just too damn nice to muck up. The easy answer is to have 2. One a perfect pretty show piece and the other is a racer. Its a win-win and not that hard to accomplish
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OldPro277
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OldPro277 8/25/2020 8:06am
8/25/2020 8:06am
Wfo-- by the way, EXCELLENT work. As a guy that has a few dozen of these "builds that got out of hand" I can really appreciate the time, effort and skill level to accomplish a restoration of that magnitude, particularly if it only took you 10 weeks !! Thats crazy . Anyway, great job and good luck in your new endeavor. You certainly do nice enough work, now the trick is to find enough guys willing to spend the necessary cashola to get a bike done that well.
_X_
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_X_ 8/25/2020 9:39am
8/25/2020 9:39am
_X_ wrote:
Nice job, too bad the owner is a fool. Just can't justify not riding an old girl.
OldPro277 wrote:
Not sure the dude is a fool. Hopefully he's like me and a lot of other guys that ending building bikes that are just too damn...
Not sure the dude is a fool. Hopefully he's like me and a lot of other guys that ending building bikes that are just too damn nice to muck up. The easy answer is to have 2. One a perfect pretty show piece and the other is a racer. Its a win-win and not that hard to accomplish
Well oldpro, we both have our opinions and the owner has his preferences.
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OldPro277
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OldPro277 8/25/2020 9:54am
8/25/2020 9:54am
True we all have our opinions- but I'd certainly stop short of calling someone I never met a "fool" for not wanting to muck up an 8-10k restoration bike. Most guys that spend big dollars on a perfect restoration also have a couple of grand laying around to build the "racer" version as well.
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_X_
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_X_ 8/25/2020 10:19am
8/25/2020 10:19am
OldPro277 wrote:
True we all have our opinions- but I'd certainly stop short of calling someone I never met a "fool" for not wanting to muck up an...
True we all have our opinions- but I'd certainly stop short of calling someone I never met a "fool" for not wanting to muck up an 8-10k restoration bike. Most guys that spend big dollars on a perfect restoration also have a couple of grand laying around to build the "racer" version as well.
Listen, I am not you old pro. My ways are not your ways. Let's move on.
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OldPro277
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OldPro277 8/25/2020 11:02am
8/25/2020 11:02am
Just a pet-peeve of mine when a keyboard warrior needs to call people degrading names just because they don't share the same opinions. I'm betting that if WFO's customer was at Unadilla this weekend ,you wouldn't have enough balls to call him a "fool" to his face. Just a hunch. But hey--anyway I still wish you good luck this weekend . Have fun.
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_X_
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_X_ 8/25/2020 11:07am
8/25/2020 11:07am
OldPro277 wrote:
Just a pet-peeve of mine when a keyboard warrior needs to call people degrading names just because they don't share the same opinions. I'm betting that...
Just a pet-peeve of mine when a keyboard warrior needs to call people degrading names just because they don't share the same opinions. I'm betting that if WFO's customer was at Unadilla this weekend ,you wouldn't have enough balls to call him a "fool" to his face. Just a hunch. But hey--anyway I still wish you good luck this weekend . Have fun.
Lol you're too much. Thanks, see you on the track someday oldpro.
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wfoyz250
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wfoyz250 8/25/2020 6:04pm
8/25/2020 6:04pm
Hey OldPro......as you noted, "have a bike to show and one to race", the owner acquired another CR when the resto got out of hand.This one has Noleen prepared suspension.
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skypig
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skypig 8/26/2020 4:25am
8/26/2020 4:25am
What a set of bikes!!
The perfect solution.

I intend to restore a bike when I have the time and money. (All money going into a new workshop ATM)
I’d be happy for it to be a display bike, if it turned out as good as the one in this thread!!

I have plenty of “riders”, and not enough opportunity.

Larry Navarro - Spring,TX. Damm glad to meetcha!

Sounds friendly! If I ever make it to Texas! - “Simon from Australia!”
OldPro277
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OldPro277 8/26/2020 5:18am
8/26/2020 5:18am
wfoyz250 wrote:
Hey OldPro......as you noted, "have a bike to show and one to race", the owner acquired another CR when the resto got out of hand.This one...
Hey OldPro......as you noted, "have a bike to show and one to race", the owner acquired another CR when the resto got out of hand.This one has Noleen prepared suspension.
Perfect !! Yep, thats the only way ,lol. Some guys don't realize the time and money that are involved in one of the resto projects that "get out of hand",until they've built one . You can get to 10k+ pretty easily even much more if you track down super rare parts. I have a 77 Rm125 Fox bike at home with all the correct pieces that has easily eclipsed that mark, but I built a semi-matching racer as a stable mate, as I've done with multiple other builds.

In my opinion, racing that Elsinore you just finished would be as silly as using a 55 Benz Gullwing as your daily driver . Having that other race prepped Elsie is the practical way to having your cake and eating it too !!

By the way, I really appreciate your attention to detail. Restoring one to OEM showroom definitely requires a bevy of skills. My specialty is building Team replica racers, but since those bikes were in a constant state of change and evolution in those days, I"m able to take a small amount of "artistic license" and still be period correct.

Anyway, good luck in your endeavor and feel free to compare notes at any time
wfoyz250
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wfoyz250 8/26/2020 6:53am
8/26/2020 6:53am
The pipe on the racer is of course an original but I plan to remove and have it repaired, getting the dents out, then adapt it to the resto bike for a TRUE and correct showroom example.

Once again, thanks for the compliments.



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YZ302
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YZ302 8/26/2020 4:58pm
8/26/2020 4:58pm
You can’t get a showroom restoration in ten weeks. It takes years. The bike looks real nice, but the devil is in the details.
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wfoyz250
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wfoyz250 8/26/2020 5:19pm
8/26/2020 5:19pm Edited Date/Time 8/26/2020 5:39pm
YZ302 wrote:
You can’t get a showroom restoration in ten weeks. It takes years. The bike looks real nice, but the devil is in the details.
LOL......you might not have the skills nor have the time. Nevertheless, my customer calls me Satan.
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OldPro277
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OldPro277 8/26/2020 5:49pm
8/26/2020 5:49pm
YZ302 wrote:
You can’t get a showroom restoration in ten weeks. It takes years. The bike looks real nice, but the devil is in the details.
Years ?? I have no idea what WFO's work situation is, but even if he was working a typical 40 work week and put in 3 hours a night on the Restore plus 10-15 hours on the weekend , it certainly can be done in 10 weeks, particularly if you do the majority of the work yourself as it sounds like he does, and only have the one project going. The biggest time delays are usually waiting for a third party finishing their end (plating, powder,etc ) or waiting to find the super tough pieces (like an NOS FMF porcupine head and cone pipe for my 78 RM 125 FMF Team replica).

And if by chance he's been off work due to this Covid19 shit then 10 weeks is DEFINITELY enough time, especially for an early Elsinore. Those parts are relatively easy to find
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wfoyz250
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wfoyz250 8/26/2020 7:22pm
8/26/2020 7:22pm
third party delays, i.e. - powder coating and rim sets. Other than that I did all the work.
Covid-19, along with oil & gas crash, sent me home June 1st, so I had alot of time on my hands.
The fuel tank alone had 40 hrs in prep work....filling, block sanding and more filling, sanding. Lay on the epoxy primer, sanding and spraying again until the tank was super straight with no waves, no high spots or low spots. I was restoring magazine feature musclecars back in the '80's and '90's so this isn't my first rodeo.
The tank was peppered bad along with dents on the sides.

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MaxPower
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MaxPower 8/27/2020 6:37pm
8/27/2020 6:37pm
For me. If Hannahs 85 Factory bike was in my garage I'd race it. The next guy can worry about restoring it again. When we are gone no one is going to care about the bikes we love as we do. But I do understand why someone wouldn't want to ride a restored bike. Wfoyz250 made that bike look better than showroom. I just have enough regrets in life. I don't want to add to my list
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