1981 Yamaha SR250 Cafe Racer

Thomen,
The best I can find right now is this which doesn't have any proper measurements, just weight and specs, but I'll keep my eye out .. http://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/model/yamaha/yamaha_sr250%2078.htm

I'm 197cm (6'5) and when standard the bike felt pretty low but was reasonably comfortable once my feet were up on the pegs. It all depends on how you set it up once you cafe it .. rear sets etc .. if you can find an SR400 or 500, I would probably head that route because the extra cubes would be very nice and they have better brakes, but if you find a 250 .. try it, you may love it. Even 20hp is still a bit of fun in a bike this light .. especially when you start cutting things off! :) With the porting etc on mine I'm hoping for a couple more.

I like the key position too .. it just made sense to me to put it there. Thanks for the complement!
 
I'm guessing because the SR400/500's are oil-in-frames that the tunnel under the tank will be wider so the mounts will be wrong.. but you can make anything fit if you've got the skills.

Cheers,
Ben
 
I made some progress with the bike today as I got another set of fork legs to replace mine which appear to be out of round (seals won't press in after trying heat/etc etc) so I'll have to get onto cleaning those up and polishing them soon.

The wiring is coming along slowly and I'll be resheathing my cables soon ..

Cheers,
Ben
 
Wow, i have only just seen this thread!! Love your work mate. Any updates?? Looks so awsome so far, keep it up!
Ollie
 
Hey I've been busy finding a Ducati for my friend so no updates yet .. I did get most of the ignition wired up yesterday though .. so the wiring is coming along steadily.....
 
Just saw your page, I love it!! I've got a 1980 sr250, I am starting to tear it down in about 2 months after i get my full licence. I am on a budget and have limited knowledge and you page has been a great help for a starting point. I look forward to more posts.
 
Cheers ..
Sorry for the lack of process .. I'm back at uni so that's chewing up time, amongst other things..
 
ollie said:
Haha, so did I.
Click to expand...
OK, so I'm not much more original. I did too. I found the original posting of this project over on PerthRiders. Ben, your project is awesome, fasinating, clever, original, and HUGELY inspirational.
I bought one of these bikes back in the late 80's and built it up as a low budget cafe style ride. Dropped the front end a little, pre-loaded front forks with 18mm sockets inside the forks on top of the springs, put clubman style bars on it and finished off with a custom (air gun) paint job. Black with hot pink asymmetric strips. LOVED IT. For some stupid reason, I sold it to my friends sister that was learning to ride. Of course, she dropped it several times and it ended up collecting spider webs and bird’s nests in her back yard.
So, a few years later, I bought not just one, but two more SR250's real cheap. They sat for a few years and I have finally gotten around to cleaning/striping them for rebuild and customizing. For a few years now, I have been collecting parts for them that I thought I might need and/or just plain ole wanted to fix them up. Mostly off of evil-bay. I even went goofy and bought both an RZ350 quarter fairing assembly AND an SRX250 quarter fairing assembly to retro-fit onto the bikes. My intent is to build a pair of his and her bikes for me and my loving (read, VERY understanding) wife.
In addition to all of the above stuff, I have recently acquired an extra SRX250 complete front end to try and retro-fit it onto one of the bikes. The point is that it has a DISC brake on it and I can hopefully ditch the drum on the front. Of course, that means I loose the spoke rim. I'm hoping that it won't look too goofy. Also, it's probably clear by now that I'm going more for an updated sporty look on one of them, then the classic cafe style. Once I get the braking power, then I’ll see what I can do with motor rebuild/hop up.
If I can figure out this forum, I'll see if I can post some pics of the older SR that I had and then also of the current ones in progress.

Looking forward to more update build pics.
 
Ollie, first of all thank you for your wonderful comments and praise :)
I'd love to see some pics of your old SR's! Though I'm not so sure about the hot pink stripes .. but hey, it was the 80's .. :)
I think your idea's are fantastic .. and if any of mine appeal to you, go for it! .. after all, that's why I put up this build thread .. to collaborate, and to learn from others.
I'd be interested to see what size rim the SRX250 used on the rear .. if you're going to use the front, perhaps you could adapt the rear .. which would probably be a 17" ? It'd help with the stance of the bike to get rid of the 16" that comes on the SR250, plus your rims would match .. are they a commstar looking rim? That 80's-ness could play against the tube frame and smooth tank of the SR quite nicely.

At the moment I'm just plugging away at little bits of the wiring bit by bit in my spare time .. so not much worth photographing at the moment. Once that's done I will start on the seat .. then the fun begins!

Regards,
Ben
 
Dude
This bike has inspired me.
i own 2x sr250's and a sr125
am currently runing one sr250 stock
hopefully will cafe the other
 
Hello Ben,
Around page 4 or 5 of this string, you refer to a process "Ken's Electrolysis Setup". This looks like a method for cleaning or de-rusting a gas tank. When you get a chance, can you post either directions to or a link to a description of what this is and how it should be done? I get what you noted, but I would like to know more about it.
Also, when you were pulling out your old fork oil seals, did you use an actual seal/bearing puller tool arrangment? Or did you MacGyver a set up?
And it looks like I may have to use the heat application that has been mentioned a few times here. Did you use a blow torch or heat gun or ???? Read ya later.

Tweaking SR250's in New Mexico,
Ken
 
Well it's been a while between updates but I've slowly been plugging away at my bike in and around uni and other commitments (plus playing with my friends new Ducati.. which is very distracting) and have got a lot more of the wiring done as well as fabricating the inner guard. I've just got to paint it now.

Here's some pics :

n704951495_2120690_6078219.jpg


n704951495_2120689_3557878.jpg


More to come soon!

Regards,
Ben
 
Weedeater said:
Hello Ben,
Around page 4 or 5 of this string, you refer to a process "Ken's Electrolysis Setup". This looks like a method for cleaning or de-rusting a gas tank. When you get a chance, can you post either directions to or a link to a description of what this is and how it should be done? I get what you noted, but I would like to know more about it.
Also, when you were pulling out your old fork oil seals, did you use an actual seal/bearing puller tool arrangment? Or did you MacGyver a set up?
And it looks like I may have to use the heat application that has been mentioned a few times here. Did you use a blow torch or heat gun or ???? Read ya later.

Tweaking SR250's in New Mexico,
Ken
Click to expand...

G'day Ken .. When pulling fork seals I usually use a piece of round bar to pry it out .. failing that, if it's really stuck in you sometimes have to basically destroy it to remove it and knock it out of round with a punch or screwdriver so it'll let go. I wouldn't mind a puller.

Info on the electrolysis setup can be found here : http://www.altelco.net/~jacil/clay/motorcycle/KElecSetup.html

And finally I use electric welding processes so I don't have access to oxy/acetelene so I keep a small propane torch around for applying heat to stuck bolts / etc .. I use a bernz-o-matic (http://bernzomatic.com/) and they're inexpensive.

Cheers,
Ben
 
Hey, I'm no cafe racer but I own a road-going SR250, and I was wondering if anyone here knows where to get any parts or do any mods etc to get a bit more power out of it, I'm not expecting a miracle, maybe just 2-3hp more would be nice.

Is there anywhere to maybe get high compression pistons, larger carbs etc? or maybe even a bigger engine that would fit in the frame.

Thanks! Btw the project looks really nice, I'll be following
 
I've heard that an XT350 engine fits, but I can't verify that. It's worth researching what's been done to XT/TT250s for this also. I want to bore an SR250 as big as safely possible - maybe 290, 300cc? I came across, somewhere on the web, an XT250 bored and sleeved out to 318cc. I'm keen to hear more!

An freed-up pipe, free-flowing filter and a re-jet should give that little more you want.

Matt
 
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