The cafe' build begins!r

77SuzukiTS250

77SuzukiTS250

Active Member
I'm finally ready to turn my 77 Suzuki ts250 into a cafe' racer. For a while now I've just been fishing for answer and other stuff but now its time to just start doing.
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I'll be watching this one. I have a TS125 in the garage that I'm going to start transforming in a few weeks.

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Cool project.

Look around for steering stem bearing sizes. Suzuki used the same bearings on a lot of bikes for years. But be cautious about fork length - go too short and your steering geometry can go out of whack.
 
It's a two stroke, so the crank seals need to be checked.. if they are leaky, you will grenade the little engine from sucking air into the case and running lean.

google: leak down test.

You will need to put the head on and find creative ways to plug the exhaust and intake while allowing for a valve to pump in about 6 psi and measure with a gauge later. This test ensures your crank seals ( and case ) does not leak, is simple and good piece of mind.
 
I'm confused, why would you leave one of the chain tensioners on the frame when you painted it? Did you tape off the triple trees, forks, etc too prior? Also, if you are making a cafe racer, it may be in your best interest to figure out which of those excessive amounts of tabs you have are worth cutting off and grinding down prior to paint. I'm also doing a ts250 cafe build and I removed a ton of those tabs you've left. Once you start stripping down the stock harness, a lot of the wiring is unnecessary and as such so will the tabs that housed them.
 
I couldn't get the tensioner off and I'm new to this stuff so any help would be awesome I didn't know most of the tabs could come off so if you cod give me pm and help me that would be great thanks. :)
 
Yeah, sorry if that came off as rude, figured you may have had a specific motive for leaving it as logic implies that the area behind it will obviously not get painted. I know this is a fun project, but I think it's good to get into good habits and use what you learn on this build to better your next. This means taking the time to ensure that all the little things are figured out prior to paint. You obviously have some good ideas, using the center stand to prop up the bike was a good idea (since I would suggest you then weld on a kick stand from another bike instead and remove the much heavier center stand). As far as tabs goes, I suggest that prior to painting the frame (basically the last thing I do in a build) you should do a mockup of how you want the bike to look. I assume that you plan on doing more than paint to the bike to make it a cafe racer and that will involve creating new tabs and removing old ones.

Beyond all that aesthetic mumbojumbo. You should look at more pertinent things like the condition of the drum brake pads (be careful when checking, the brake dust is most likely aesbestos), the wheel bearings, the swingarm bushings, the steering stem bearings, the lubrication of the cables, the condition of the front and rear sprocket teeth as well as the chain, the tread of the tires, etc, etc. You seem to be comfortable with the mechanical side of the build judging by your undertaking of an engine teardown but the maintenance i just mentioned is just as important.

I'm new to all of this stuff too, currently doing two builds a '76 KZ400 and a '75 Ts250 (this is just for fun, not necessarily meant to be road worthy). The plan for the ts250 is to create a monoshock so I have removed the subframe.

http://oi41.tinypic.com/34rt4dl.jpg

To date I have rebuilt the forks, all new oil, seals, etc, Added tapered steering stem bearings, new wheel bearings, tires, tubes front and back, wheels re-trued and balanced, new gasket kit throughout, simplified wiring harness, new brake pads front and back (really easy to do), re-sealed the tank with Red Kote, new petcocks, new tank mounts, etc. Still lots left to do but as I stated above, really got to leave the final painting and shit like that till the end after you've done a good shakedown of the build.
 
Thanks for the advise man I love that people are so nice on this website an so helpful how far along are you on your build ? And do you know what tanks fit this frame that's more cafe like because the tank I have us a piece of shit plastic Yamaha with a big crack in it that I plastic wielded
 
Your best bet is to start networking with likeminded people around you. Bring your frame with you and check out local shops, scrappers, swap meets and ask them what tanks they have and test them out in person. Nothing is as simple as you'd like but thats half the fun. Figuring out how to make something fit and having something no one else has.

In regards to this post:

http://www.dotheton.com/forum/index.php?topic=52404.msg586356#msg586356

I have that exact tracker seat in black if you want it. I paid $60 for it at a swap meet, its yours for $60 + the ride (costs ~$180 new with pad). Just let me know.

UPDATE:

http://oi43.tinypic.com/jhepmc.jpg

Quick photo in the garage.
 
77SuzukiTS250 said:
So I'm trying to find out what the stick compression is and I keep finding this (7.0:1) what does this mean ?
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Didn't see where you got an answer to this.
7.0:1 is a ratio , read "7 to 1" meaning the cylinders full volume is compressed 7 times. Or in other words, the volume of the cylinder with the piston at the top of it's stroke or TDC (top dead center) is 1/7th the volume of when it's at the bottom of it's stroke or BDC (bottom dead center). The higher the number the more compression you have.
So to make the math easy lets say you have a 200cc engine with a 10:1 compression ratio. The volume of the cylinder at BDC is 200 but when the piston is at TDC it only has 20cc of volume. So you are literally squeezing 200cc of air into 20cc of space. Get it?
 
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