generalunknown
New Member
Some time last year I picked up 3 Honda mt250 a 74, 75, and 76. Two were mostly complete but not running and the third had been torn down and used for parts but still enough to eventually return to road use.
The red tank bike had been stripped down to bare essentials and run as a teenagers dirt beater. The right side crank seal leaked and even after a carb rebuild it ran like a dog so I opted to refresh the entire bottom end. In the process I found the center bore in the right side case for the kickstart gear was split so I pieced together parts from the third bike. With 2 decent motors i decided to return the mostly complete bike back to "stock" and the second became a project.
Now Im starting this thread already pretty deep into the work on bike #2 so bear with me if I loose track or forget details on progress and work performed. To date I have replaced fork seals, repacked wheel and stem bearings and replaced brake shoes, chains and other commonly worn items.
Originaly the red tank bike bike converted back to original minus the fenders which need to be repainted and the bassani pipe (which will be used on the next one) and returned to stock.
This thread will mainly be on the progress of the non stock project. I started with the parts frame because it was already badly damaged (dented,cracked and dirty) so I didn't feel to bad about cutting it up even more. The rear end was cut down just after the shock mounts and the removable hoop that was originally bolted to the frame has been welded on the back. I welded and replaced any portion of the frame that had damage and painted it flat black. Ive been toying with the idea of using a sport bike mono shock setup but I underestimated the amount of space I needed to accommodate this 02 gsxr600 shock. If I could move it another 1.5in from the swing arm pivot I believe the spring would perform much like the stock setup but thats just not possible. Back to the drawing board with that idea.
The plan was to make a fun "around town" 2 stroke that my fiancé can learn to ride on and won't cost a lot to build. Now if you know anything about these old elsinores you may know the "MT" is a freaking dog. No matter what I tune or change, without going to a cr top end, it will always be slow hence then name "putt putt". Its running on a foam pod filter and bassani pipe which I made a new baffle for and It sounds and runs great (just slow). I stripped down the tank and painted it white but I still have a lot of work to do with that before it gets put on for good. Some super bike bars, gp levers, and aluminum headlight ears make up the front and give it a clean look. I also dropped the forks 1.25 in hopes to tame the raked out chopper look a little. The seat is just the stock pan and foam cut down and I cut up and hand stitched a pair of my grandfathers old chaps to cover it (complete in the next pic).
I put the silver tank on just to get it out for a ride and break things in a little/get a feel for the ride. The tires are shinko sr241, cheap and easy to mount, they don't look all that bad either. So far Im quite pleased with the results even if its not complete. We have about 10 acres behind our house of open undeveloped land so I got to tear around for a little while but I have yet to take it on the street. Still need the lights wired in and some other odds and ends.
I will be reexamining the mono shock in the near future and will keep updating as much as I can remember.
The red tank bike had been stripped down to bare essentials and run as a teenagers dirt beater. The right side crank seal leaked and even after a carb rebuild it ran like a dog so I opted to refresh the entire bottom end. In the process I found the center bore in the right side case for the kickstart gear was split so I pieced together parts from the third bike. With 2 decent motors i decided to return the mostly complete bike back to "stock" and the second became a project.
Now Im starting this thread already pretty deep into the work on bike #2 so bear with me if I loose track or forget details on progress and work performed. To date I have replaced fork seals, repacked wheel and stem bearings and replaced brake shoes, chains and other commonly worn items.
Originaly the red tank bike bike converted back to original minus the fenders which need to be repainted and the bassani pipe (which will be used on the next one) and returned to stock.
This thread will mainly be on the progress of the non stock project. I started with the parts frame because it was already badly damaged (dented,cracked and dirty) so I didn't feel to bad about cutting it up even more. The rear end was cut down just after the shock mounts and the removable hoop that was originally bolted to the frame has been welded on the back. I welded and replaced any portion of the frame that had damage and painted it flat black. Ive been toying with the idea of using a sport bike mono shock setup but I underestimated the amount of space I needed to accommodate this 02 gsxr600 shock. If I could move it another 1.5in from the swing arm pivot I believe the spring would perform much like the stock setup but thats just not possible. Back to the drawing board with that idea.
The plan was to make a fun "around town" 2 stroke that my fiancé can learn to ride on and won't cost a lot to build. Now if you know anything about these old elsinores you may know the "MT" is a freaking dog. No matter what I tune or change, without going to a cr top end, it will always be slow hence then name "putt putt". Its running on a foam pod filter and bassani pipe which I made a new baffle for and It sounds and runs great (just slow). I stripped down the tank and painted it white but I still have a lot of work to do with that before it gets put on for good. Some super bike bars, gp levers, and aluminum headlight ears make up the front and give it a clean look. I also dropped the forks 1.25 in hopes to tame the raked out chopper look a little. The seat is just the stock pan and foam cut down and I cut up and hand stitched a pair of my grandfathers old chaps to cover it (complete in the next pic).
I put the silver tank on just to get it out for a ride and break things in a little/get a feel for the ride. The tires are shinko sr241, cheap and easy to mount, they don't look all that bad either. So far Im quite pleased with the results even if its not complete. We have about 10 acres behind our house of open undeveloped land so I got to tear around for a little while but I have yet to take it on the street. Still need the lights wired in and some other odds and ends.
I will be reexamining the mono shock in the near future and will keep updating as much as I can remember.