YAMAHA RD250 Cafe Oz

[Clueless]

Hi Guys,

I recently bought myself a 1973 RD250 off ebay in Sydney Australia, I was told the bike has not run in over a decade, it has no registration papers or ignition key. I have wanted to re-build a bike as a cafe racer for a long time, bikes hold there value very well down under and I have been looking for something affordable. I paid $800 for it which was probably too much given it's condition but that's what they go for here and I finaly bit the bullet.
I have no experience regarding motorcycle mechanics, the point of this project is to teach myself how an engine works. When I bought it I new nothing about 2 strokes and expashion chambers etc but have done a lot of research and now know the general direction Im taking with the project.
I work in the Design Industry building prototypes. I have access to a well set up workshop with CNC milling machines a spray booth and all kinds of machiney/tools associated with the industry, so hopefully I can build something cool.

 

[Clueless]

A lot of the parts on the bike have serious rust, it's just as well most of it is not going back on as I want to build a clean stripped down bike running on pre-mix. As I began the tear down the seat pan just crumbled away and I began to worry, but my spirits lifted when I took the engine covers off. There was water sitting in the oil pump but as I said that part is surplus to requirement.

 

[Clueless]

I have torn the bike to bits and it is curently sitting in 5 boxes, it is now officially a basket case. I am yet to split the engine case but I took off the cylinder heads to find a stuck ring on one piston. I will replace the pistons and re-bore the cylinders.

 

[Clueless]

The AC Generator had a load of white crap around it and it has seen better days, Im looking into replacing this with an electronic ignition

 

[Clueless]

With the bike in bits I started to customise a few parts, I wanted to put larger holes in the front hub but was advised against this by the local bike shop due to the weakness of the cast ali. I set these parts up on a CNC mill and ran a simple toolpath.

 

[Clueless]

I then built myself a seat by building a 3d Model in pro-e and machining it in foam, I then made a fiber glass mould to fabricate the seat , here is a link to the tank and seats thread:

http://www.dotheton.com/forum/index.php?topic=26144.0

Having built the seat I did some work on the frame, I cut off all the unwanted tabs and added some of my own to hold down the seat, blinkers and brake lights. Then I took it to the spray booth and etch primed, primed then top coated in gloss black 2pac.

 

[Clueless]

At the moment I am working on re-building the wheels, I have had the rims powder coated in black and have bought new chromed spokes. I am going to paint the hubs and forks gloss black and stainless steel.

Pics bellow are a snapshot of the seat build.

http://www.dotheton.com/forum/index.php?topic=26144.0

 

[bikeboy]

you're going to have to change your nick fella. You ain't clueless by a long-shot. Oh, wait a minute. It's one of them "ironic" names isn't it

That's great work.

I may have missed it, but where did you get those cool tail light?

cheers
ian

 

[Clueless]

Cheers mate, Got the brake lights for $37 bucks a pair off ebay

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=370186165720

 

[VonYinzer]

Very nice work thus far man. Keep it up!

 

[teazer]

I hope you left teh tabs on for the oil tank and side covers.....

Pre-mix is a complete PIA on teh street. If you removed them you can always get a simple oil tank to sit in teh seat hump or under teh seat between the frame rails.

 

[Clueless]

All the tabs are gone, I did consider the pros and cons of running pre-mix but the bike will mostly do short trips so I will see how I go, it's going to be a case of form over function I reckon.
Did some painting today I was between 2 minds as to paint the forks black or Stainless steel. I went with stainless but may change my mind, will see how it looks when I get the wheels on. Im going to lace the wheels this week then have the local bike shop balance them and fit some rubber.

 

[Clueless]

It's starting to look like a bike again, Im very happy with the look of the clipon handlebars I picked up cheap off ebay

 

[Clueless]

Laced up the wheels last night.

 

[bluemitch]

I hope you left teh tabs on for the oil tank and side covers.....

Pre-mix is a complete PIA on teh street. If you removed them you can always get a simple oil tank to sit in teh seat hump or under teh seat between the frame rails.

Same advice I got on my little 2stroke- atm running on premix, but further down the track, once I get everything else sorted, will look to fit the pump back on.

 

[bluemitch]

BTW the build is looking real good so far

 

[bikeboy]

Wow! That's a great finish on those hubs! Paint + clear?

Cheers
Ian


Sent from my iPhone, in my shed, using Tapatalk

 

[Clueless]

Yeah I could not be bothered to polish the hubs and forks so I bead blasted then painted and cleared in 2pak, Im itching to get some tyres on the rims now and get it into a rolling chassis.
Regarding the pre-mix I will make some sort of holder under the seat to hold 2 stroke oil for when I fill up, if it annoys me too much I can hopefully fabricate an oil tank to fit under the seat. I just want to build a cool little stripped down 2 stroke.

 

[TheChild]

Paint looks great.

 

[50gary]

Pre-mix two stroke and leave the kick lever at home. Men kick start their bikes, heroes bump start them. Less is more.
Cheers, 50gary