Jerry's Follies

Rider52 said:
It helps to stretch the swingarm 2-3". I built a similar CL350 twin many years ago following an idea seen in an old Iron Horse magazine. It was one of the Paladin plans originally for a Triumph twin. Didn't have a Triumph but I did have a neglected CL350! Stretching the swingarm provides more room for the battery/electronics and seat.
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I think my favorite engine/bike of all time was my SL350 twin. I SO WISH the China Manufacturers would clone THAT motor instead of just the Honda Cub Singles, etc.... can you imagine? That would be a Whole New Thing for folks in this forum! The Savage 650 single would also be the bomb.
 
One of Honda's mistakes was replacing the 350 series with the 360s in their rush to compete against Yamaha and Suzuki. The 350s were a proven design and Honda could have added the 6 speed transmission and then increased displacement to 400cc for the win.
 
Rider52 said:
One of Honda's mistakes was replacing the 350 series with the 360s in their rush to compete against Yamaha and Suzuki. The 350s were a proven design and Honda could have added the 6 speed transmission and then increased displacement to 400cc for the win.
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Even great companies like Honda can misread the market! Seriously, though.... if I was an Asian manufacturing plant, I would clone other designs besides the small engines that they have so far. To me, the Suzuki DR650 or Savage motors would be a good choice, and of course, Honda's 350 twin, and while I'm wishing...... Suzuki's GS500 air-cooled motor would make a sweet cafe/bobber base motor. The cloning of Honda's CG125 was SHEER GENIUS. That was a motor developed to be No-Muss/No fuss bulletproof.
 
I think logistics-wise, it's going to be how far I can get away with lowering the front forks (raising them in the triple-tree) and then leveling out the tail-end to suit. According to CycleWorld, front travel is 5.5 inches so I'm going to fiddle around with forks first. (Under my *ahem* ample ballast, the front shocks don't have much travel left anyway...)
Either way, I just got a $35 seat from Ebay, and it is FAR NICER than anything I could cobble together and it's exactly what I'm looking for. Compared to what my current "Iron Steed" (picture) rides like, a hardtail saggy forks SR250 is going ride like a Cadillac.
IMG_20210303_120614055.jpg
 
Got my wife's scooter running finally. Still has jetting issues, but least it moves under it's own power. P.O. had lost the piston, so I (stupidly) thought a new cylinder/piston/head kit will make it good as new. Somehow the P.O. managed to ALSO ingest some pea-gravel into the intake reeds. Sad, because it's only got about 400 miles on it.
I mention this because this moves me one step closer to monkeying with the SR250. Can't wait!
 
Wife's Scooter.... kicking my butt. Starts, idles, good for between idle and 1/2 throttle. Will take off down the street like all is good and then peter out about 10 seconds later. I'm thinking fuel delivery and/or float level of the new carb I bought. So that's this weekend's project.

In the meantime, it's no secret I'm a fan of red motorcycles, but I just received my fenders which are a too-nice-to-paint-over gloss black. With memories of the mid-80's Yamaha Specials, and a fan of the Vincent Black Shadow, I'm toying with painting the gas-tank black to match the fenders and then shining up the chrome bits as best I can.

Black Yamaha Specials were a Lust Thing back in the day.... but I will NOT do the Gold Bling stuff. Nope.
 
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WEIRD QUESTION: Has anyone ever attempted a cast-rim swap on an SR250? Just to get tubeless tires, no spoke cleaning, etc.
 
I much prefer spokes. No real reason why.

If you wanted to look into doing this something like the XS250 might be a good place to start. Similar era and size.
 
Oh wow! Thank you for the replies!
porcellanowy... yeah, after seeing it with the cast wheels, I like spokes better.
 
Brodie said:
I much prefer spokes. No real reason why.

If you wanted to look into doing this something like the XS250 might be a good place to start. Similar era and size.
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Hah! I just got a look at the XS250... not my cup of tea! You are so right about the spokes. Much better. Thank you for the heads up.
 
My project creeps glacially forward...
Decided to get a look at how bad the gas tank is- it's in almost perfect shape; save the missing tank badges. I am so lucky. I did a precautionary vinegar rinse inside, and then swished around some ATF in it to coat it with something. So, I was going to get some Bondo and cover over the stubs that the badges mount to. Walmart had NO Bondo that wasn't missing the hardener, so I regrouped and decided to try JB Weld... I reasoned, "It should stick- it's sand-able... why not?" So that's where I am. A SR250 gas tank with two dark grey smeary blobs on it. For me, that's progress.

I'm thinking the next step is to flush the crappy oil out of the motor and get some good stuff in it, and then start in on the hard-tail part.
 
This was a Big "Weekend" for me. My wife wanted to tag along with my grandson and I, when we go ooogling at motorcycles (very few) in the local dealerships. While we were there, she kept saying, "Gino! Come sit on this one", or, "what do you think of this one?", etc... which was MY tip off that she was working on getting her fat dumpy husband off of his rickety motor bicycles. So when we got home, I wheeled out "Ugly Betty" for her to see.
"You're going to make THAT run?..."
Challenge accepted, and now that's one less thing for her to worry about. Bye bye motorized bicycles.

So I guess the first step (after cleaning it up), is to figure out how it's going to "sit" for the hardtail conversion and then start assembly.
THIS
042022.png

is where I think I'm going with it, based on the fenders and seat that I have for it. The bobbed rear fender was cheap, but it's giving me fits on how to do the tail-light and license plate. This is the fender I got.
rearfender.jpg

and THIS is the tail-light. Might have to change things up a bit.
sr250taillite.jpg

and THIS is the seat...
sr250seat.jpg

...I'll figure that out when I get to it, I guess.
 
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Hello
Check this light closer: it is quite wide and chunky.
I was considering to buy it, but made a mockup and went with this:
shin-yo-tail-light-texas-red-black-e-mark.jpg

But still seeking someting smaller :)
 
Did you receive the fender yet? I bought a similar one that took close to three months to arrive (Chinapost Speedpak). It was packed in two plastic bags, no padding. Arrived with several dents as expected. Was listed as dilver, so I figured painted silver. I believe it is actually plated (probably nickel).
 
pidjones said:
Did you receive the fender yet? I bought a similar one that took close to three months to arrive (Chinapost Speedpak). It was packed in two plastic bags, no padding. Arrived with several dents as expected. Was listed as dilver, so I figured painted silver. I believe it is actually plated (probably nickel).
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It took a bit, but it's gloss black and plastic. They packed mine really well. The black on it is so nice. I'm going to feel shame when I attempt to paint it red to match the tank!
 
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