putt putt mt250s

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.
 
After getting my fill of fun on the bike I have decided its time to get "roadworthy". Originally I threw together the seat in a couple hours just to get by but after riding I decided it just didn't fit the function or form I was going for. It was too small for dirt riding and Ive been hosing off muddy clothes every other day from not having a rear fender (not to mention the fact that its just plain ugly). So I dug out some old metal scraps and decided to put something together that was "cool" enough for the street and still have the option to run the stock seat in the mud.





I still have a bit of work left but I'm a lot happier with this version than the previous. I chopped off the rear hoop that I previously cut too short and welded in a new one (keeping the factory turn signal mounts) and angling it up a touch more. This now gives me enough clearance to run the stock fender if I chose to do that. So far its all steel but will get a thin coat of body filler once I have the mounts worked out. After that I will be attempting to make my own expansion chamber low pipe and fitting some cr250m number plates.

Much of my inspiration comes from the nx650s built here http://nx650elsinore.blogspot.com.br/search?updated-max=2012-02-22T00:18:00-08:00&max-results=7&start=7&by-date=false

 
This is my first attempt ever at making an expansion chamber so the end result should be interesting. I used the aftermarket pipe as a template for the sections so hopefully Im not screwing it up too much. It is all bent by hand using pipe as a form for the ends to keep the cone sections round. A little hammering here and there and some straight pipe sectioned up for the initial bend and a small pipe for the baffle to be fitted.



 
Finished up the exhaust and getting close on the seat. I got some reproduction cr250m number plates mounted. I still have to sort out the electronics and battery mounting along with installing the rear turns and tail light.



It runs well with the pipe, only requiring some fine tuning of the air screw, so I'm very happy with the result.
 
Ive been spending more time doing home projects and lost interest in tinkering on these things for a little while but have some small updates.

The seat cowl and seat have been finished hopefully for the last time and needless to say it is no longer worthy of going off road. I took the hump to the rear one too many times and decided I needed another bike running so I could play in the field.



When I first purchased these bikes I quickly threw one together to get a taste and just as quickly I thought I popped the motor. Ripping out of a corner and "clank clank clank" it died and almost bucked me off but the dirt was loose and I was able to ride it out. Tried to kick it over and it wouldn't budge. So I pushed it back home and tore out that motor and just replaced it with one I had rebuilt.

Well as it turns out the motor I wrote off for dead wasn't ready to give up. Upon tearing it down months later I realized the woodruff key for the flywheel rotor snapped and then jammed everything. Turns out someone used the wrong key (much to short and a hair to tall) so the flywheel was never properly seated. Easy fix.

Having another good motor I decided to mess with another frame. So I cut the top tube and most of the bracing close to the neck and pulled the forks in a couple degrees. The rear frame chopped down and hoop welded back in so it hides under the seat. The rear fender was fubar so I chopped it down and will be using a much smaller tail light. The gas tank had to be cut open and the old liner and rust cleaned out and rewelded. This was the second attempt I have made at this sort of procedure and although not the prettiest it holds fuel. A little paint and wiring and she's running again. Just have to tear it down one more time to paint the frame, clean up some parts and final build with all the lighting installed.





I know its not a tracker but Im also not looking to create another thread. I hope nobody minds.
 
Nice looking rides!
I wondered if you could tell me where you got the repro CR250 side covers and what year are they?
Have fun with your projects!
Pat
 
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