73 XL250 - My first build: College runner.

N

nolanremlinger

New Member
Parking at my college is a real bitch and it pissed me off that the motorcycle parking is front row and only a few kids ride bikes to school. So i decided it was time to build my first bike. I was cruising pipe burn and came across Jake73's 250 build (see photo below). I knew right then that was the bike I was going to build. I have ridden dirt bikes my whole life and that was the riding style I am accustomed to so a tracker style/brat build is right up my alley. I surfed craigslist for a few months until a 73 came up. It looked pretty haggard from the photos but I really wanted a 73 because of the tank shape and exhaust set up. Went and looked at the bike and the whole thing was covered in layers upon layers of spray paint and it didn't run. I just cared that all the parts were there and the motor turned over. I hassled him on the price and scored the bike for $300 bucks. Thought it was a bit much for the condition it was in but I wasn't leaving with out it...My parents had a shit fit when I brought it home but i was stoked...I put the bike on the side yard for a few weeks and let my parents relax..after about two weeks my dad asked me what my plans were with it and from then on i knew I was set. He helped me go through the wiring and get the thing running again. I ripped it down the street once, going through all the gears and then put it in the garage. It was time to tear this piece of shit down and make something out of it.



Here's Jakes bike and the model for my build..
 

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Re: 73 XL250 - My first bike build: College runner.

Next was usual tear down. I couldn't believe the amount of spray paint that one of the previous owners put to this thing. Also, I built a little table to make working on the bike easier.
 

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Re: 73 XL250 - My first bike build: College runner.

Went and sandblasted everything and got the 40 years of shit/spray paint off.
 

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Re: 73 XL250 - My first bike build: College runner.

Rock on man, keep the updates frequent! My 78 xl250s has come to a bit of a stand still due to a cylinder head bolt only turning a few times before stopping and now I've threaded the head, but it should be getting fixed up this weekend. Jakes 'xl285' is a sick bike and is inspiring a bit of my build too. What are your plans for the donk? Upgrading anything or just keeping it clean and simple?
 
Re: 73 XL250 - My first bike build: College runner.

The first thing I wanted to tackle was the front end. I really don't like the 21 inch front wheel and since this bike is going to be ridden 95% on the street, I wanted more of a proportional front and rear wheel. After seeing Jake's cb350 swap, I knew this was the ticket. An 18 inch wheel front and rear I think would be ideal and would have more of a super-moto feel to it while handling a hell of a lot better. Also, I wanted to run a disc brake up front to give it some real stopping power. I searched around and a member of the forum, iContango sold me a complete 73 cb350 front end.
 

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Re: 73 XL250 - My first bike build: College runner.

BoJordan said:
Rock on man, keep the updates frequent! My 78 xl250s has come to a bit of a stand still due to a cylinder head bolt only turning a few times before stopping and now I've threaded the head, but it should be getting fixed up this weekend. Jakes 'xl285' is a sick bike and is inspiring a bit of my build too. What are your plans for the donk? Upgrading anything or just keeping it clean and simple?
Click to expand...

Thanks dude I will do my best to keep everything updated! As of now as far as upgrades from stock it is just the front end and cutting the seat up. I haven't decided if i want to dig into the motor and bump up the compression.
 
Re: 73 XL250 - My first bike build: College runner.

The first thing to do for the front end swap was switch out both of the stems. Since the 250 has a smaller head tube, the 350 stem won't fit.

Sanded the welds flush and pressed out both stems.





Then machined a 3/4in tube to slip over the stem to make up for the size difference with the 350 tree.





Then welded it up

 
Re: 73 XL250 - My first bike build: College runner.

My buddy noticed the steering stop on the one side was messed up. So he made a new one for me and welded it up.

 
Re: 73 XL250 - My first bike build: College runner.

Started to rebuild the rear wheel. The spokes and nipples were so badly rusted that I had to cut them out. pulled all the bearings and stripped the hub. The bearings were actually in pretty good shape but I ordered new dust seals and brake shoes. Masked off the internal parts of the hub. Now off to blast and powder.
 

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nolanremlinger said:
Thanks dude I will do my best to keep everything updated! As of now as far as upgrades from stock it is just the front end and cutting the seat up. I haven't decided if i want to dig into the motor and bump up the compression.
Click to expand...
That is a beautiful weld man. Are you a welder?
 
That's a sweet bike there on pipeburn. I'd love to do something like this after my CX. Great start, looks like at this pace it'll be done for the Fall sem. What are you studying? I'm going into my Jr yr, renewable energy. Motorcycle parking is definitely the best.
 
McBrenner said:
That's a sweet bike there on pipeburn. I'd love to do something like this after my CX. Great start, looks like at this pace it'll be done for the Fall sem. What are you studying? I'm going into my Jr yr, renewable energy. Motorcycle parking is definitely the best.
Click to expand...

Thanks man i am pretty amped on the build. Wow renewable energy! that is gnarly! good for your dude! i am studying business management!
-Nolan
 
You could def get into renewable if you get into like a solar company or a wind company. Wind farms definitely need managers for on the ground, not just technicians. It's definitely a cool filed that is changing every day, thats for sure.

Mike
 
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