redwillissuperman
Keep it simple- engine, wheels, bars
Zinc plate your own bolts:
http://www.caswellplating.com/electroplating-anodizing/zinc-plating-kits.html
http://www.caswellplating.com/electroplating-anodizing/zinc-plating-kits.html
SR250 Urban Leisure Scrambler by a noob
- Thread starter sincerelyadam
- Start date
sincerelyadam
Active Member
redwillissuperman said:
Very cool. If I can find an extra $180 I may consider that. Thanks for the tip.
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sincerelyadam
Active Member
cosworth said:Digging this. Nice and clean. Glad to see the SR250 getting more love on here. Regrettably, I only have one.
It's such a great little bike. I catch myself thinking about the next one already. Loved your build
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sincerelyadam
Active Member
I find myself in the shop listening to Rage Against the Machine and some new parts to rebuild the risers and forks.
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sincerelyadam
Active Member
Last night I was able to get the dust seals and spring clips out of the forks. The dust seal was pretty straight forward. Just used a heavy duty bicycle tire lever to pry it out.
The spring clips came out fairly easy as well. At first I couldn't even see them because of dirt and rust but I sprayed some PB Blaster in there and scrubbed a bit and I could find the ends. Then I just pried them out with a small flathead screwdriver.
I got new hardware for the risers. I was even planning on replacing the bushings that the risers mount into. A while back I had an issue with a bad ground from the starter button and tracked it down to between the handlebar and tree. I figured I would replace these bushings just in case. But I underestimated their installation. I sprayed them and used a 19mm socket to give one a few whacks. These things are in there! A pressure fit that's over an inch long. There's no way I'm getting these out without damaging the tree. So I'll forgo this. Thankfully they weren't very expensive.
I really had a hard time getting the oil seals out in my little workspace. Using the tire lever proved fruitless. So I decided to take the legs to work today where we have a heat gun and more tools (and more knowledgable guys). Two of my dudes told me I could drive screws into the seal and then use them to pry it out. So after work I tried it. I warmed the tube with the heat gun then used a crowbar to pry these 4 screws a little bit at a time working in a circle and the seal pulled right outta there.
We have a bead blaster at work. I stuffed the legs with brown paper and taped off the seal race (?) and went to town. Before and after:
Still debating if I want to paint these black or polish and clear coat.
Lastly, pro tip: if you have your new fork springs shipped to work and they're too long to fit in your pannier, just zip tie them to your top tube.
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The spring clips came out fairly easy as well. At first I couldn't even see them because of dirt and rust but I sprayed some PB Blaster in there and scrubbed a bit and I could find the ends. Then I just pried them out with a small flathead screwdriver.
I got new hardware for the risers. I was even planning on replacing the bushings that the risers mount into. A while back I had an issue with a bad ground from the starter button and tracked it down to between the handlebar and tree. I figured I would replace these bushings just in case. But I underestimated their installation. I sprayed them and used a 19mm socket to give one a few whacks. These things are in there! A pressure fit that's over an inch long. There's no way I'm getting these out without damaging the tree. So I'll forgo this. Thankfully they weren't very expensive.
I really had a hard time getting the oil seals out in my little workspace. Using the tire lever proved fruitless. So I decided to take the legs to work today where we have a heat gun and more tools (and more knowledgable guys). Two of my dudes told me I could drive screws into the seal and then use them to pry it out. So after work I tried it. I warmed the tube with the heat gun then used a crowbar to pry these 4 screws a little bit at a time working in a circle and the seal pulled right outta there.
We have a bead blaster at work. I stuffed the legs with brown paper and taped off the seal race (?) and went to town. Before and after:
Still debating if I want to paint these black or polish and clear coat.
Lastly, pro tip: if you have your new fork springs shipped to work and they're too long to fit in your pannier, just zip tie them to your top tube.
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NoRiders
Over 1,000 Posts
Nice work on the forks, just done the same on mine. Polished fork legs will need sealing or they'll look crap instantly I reckon, which is a shame as they look so nice blasted.
The yoke bushes need a hydraulic or screw press to shift them, you could use the new ones to push out the old in one go. Ask at your local workshop, normally a quick job done for beer tokens.
Zip ties are one of the most important tools in your box....fact!
The yoke bushes need a hydraulic or screw press to shift them, you could use the new ones to push out the old in one go. Ask at your local workshop, normally a quick job done for beer tokens.
Zip ties are one of the most important tools in your box....fact!
sincerelyadam
Active Member
Thanks NoRiders. I will likely end up painting the forks black. Mostly because it's faster than polishing and I can spend that valuable time doing something else.
We have both a hydraulic and screw press at work and I could probably get those bushing out with either. I'm concerned about pressing in slightly off square and damaging the tree. Maybe I'll take another look at this over the weekend tho.
Can never have enough zip ties!
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We have both a hydraulic and screw press at work and I could probably get those bushing out with either. I'm concerned about pressing in slightly off square and damaging the tree. Maybe I'll take another look at this over the weekend tho.
Can never have enough zip ties!
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sincerelyadam
Active Member
I've been on the US west coast for a week visiting friends, so progress has been on hold but I was able to get in and work on the bike for a couple hours today.
First, news about the spare motor. I found one for $50! with the kick start mechanism! So I'll be able to make the bike kickstart. I picked it up right before I went out of town but I opened it up today and the parts look good. Should have drained the oil first. The window read empty but there was still some in there. Hence the sawdust.
This engine didn't have a starter motor on it and the hole for the driveshaft is actually plugged. It almost looks homemade. But it makes me wonder if it's from an XT. Did they have electric start?
My original plan was to run the bike with the original engine while I work on this new one, for the sake of getting the bike riding again for nice weather. Now I'm wondering if I should run this one while I pimp out the original. It would probably be better to keep the serials matching on the frame and motor once the build is fully complete.
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First, news about the spare motor. I found one for $50! with the kick start mechanism! So I'll be able to make the bike kickstart. I picked it up right before I went out of town but I opened it up today and the parts look good. Should have drained the oil first. The window read empty but there was still some in there. Hence the sawdust.
This engine didn't have a starter motor on it and the hole for the driveshaft is actually plugged. It almost looks homemade. But it makes me wonder if it's from an XT. Did they have electric start?
My original plan was to run the bike with the original engine while I work on this new one, for the sake of getting the bike riding again for nice weather. Now I'm wondering if I should run this one while I pimp out the original. It would probably be better to keep the serials matching on the frame and motor once the build is fully complete.
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sincerelyadam
Active Member
Another newbie DIY lesson learned today. I was able to get the shocks reassembled. I've gotten a lot of small parts painted, including these guys. I took my time to mask everything so I'd have a nice detailed look. I want a mix of black and silver on the bike.
Compressing the springs to install the retention ring was a bigger challenge here than disassembling them. The hooks on the ratchet straps are so big and chunky that you can't hook them to the spring because they prevent the top of the rod to pass through. So I rigged up this interesting spring compressor. My shop mate's vice is luckily mounted to a car wheel so I was able to lace the strap through the spring and down around a wheel spoke and back up to create a loop. I put one on each side and gradually ratcheted each one, focusing on keeping everything balanced.
Once the tension was high I ratcheted one at a time while gripping the spring and strap with my other hand to prevent any slippage. I was able to get the spring low enough that the retention ring slipped right in.
Make sure the shock's top and bottom mounting rings are aligned and release the tension on one strap and the spring popped right up. The whole thing gets pulled toward the other strap but it just swiveled in the towel in the vice. No problem. I'm pretty happy with how these turned out. I'll probably replace them with modern shocks eventually but this should last a while.
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Compressing the springs to install the retention ring was a bigger challenge here than disassembling them. The hooks on the ratchet straps are so big and chunky that you can't hook them to the spring because they prevent the top of the rod to pass through. So I rigged up this interesting spring compressor. My shop mate's vice is luckily mounted to a car wheel so I was able to lace the strap through the spring and down around a wheel spoke and back up to create a loop. I put one on each side and gradually ratcheted each one, focusing on keeping everything balanced.
Once the tension was high I ratcheted one at a time while gripping the spring and strap with my other hand to prevent any slippage. I was able to get the spring low enough that the retention ring slipped right in.
Make sure the shock's top and bottom mounting rings are aligned and release the tension on one strap and the spring popped right up. The whole thing gets pulled toward the other strap but it just swiveled in the towel in the vice. No problem. I'm pretty happy with how these turned out. I'll probably replace them with modern shocks eventually but this should last a while.
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sincerelyadam
Active Member
grcamna5 said:
Actually that's just clear coat over bead blasted surface. I sort of like the way they darkened with the clear coat. Here's what they looked like before and after blasting:
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sincerelyadam
Active Member
zap2504 said:
will definitely have to remember that one. Thanks. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
sincerelyadam said:will definitely have to remember that one. Thanks.
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I haven't been living in this area long enough to find someone who does glass bead blasting.. so i just brought my pr. of springs over to a PC shop to have them sand blasted and then PC'd w/ Bengal Silver which has a light metallic to it.I like the PC clearcoat also
sincerelyadam
Active Member
el barto said:
Thanks! Yea we have a ramp here. It's bittersweet because this bike is taking all my time and my board is missing me. How's a grownup to balance his hobbies?
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sincerelyadam
Active Member
grcamna5 said:
That's cool. I like PC just fine. But I plan to replace these shocks down the line so I'm balancing maintenance and cosmetics with my budget.
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sincerelyadam
Active Member
I got the forks reassembled tonight! I wasn't able to take many pictures because I was in mental focus mode. But to get the spring cap back in I clamped the tube in the top tree and rested that in the vise.
Then I used a prying lever long enough to brace on my shoulder so I could press the cap down and hold it with one hand with I installed the circlip with the other. It was not easy, and I might have cursed. One thing I learned is you can't clamp the tree too tight or it will actually pinch the tube and the cap won't go in easily. But the forks are assembled and I think they look pretty sharp.
I'm using this paint on a lot of parts. It was recommended to me by a couple friends.
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Then I used a prying lever long enough to brace on my shoulder so I could press the cap down and hold it with one hand with I installed the circlip with the other. It was not easy, and I might have cursed. One thing I learned is you can't clamp the tree too tight or it will actually pinch the tube and the cap won't go in easily. But the forks are assembled and I think they look pretty sharp.
I'm using this paint on a lot of parts. It was recommended to me by a couple friends.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk