Xl250 parked for 30 years
- Thread starter schonc
- Start date
I love XL250s. Looks in good nick outside of the dents. I make those clutch adjustor plugs that fit into the left side case, so let me know if you need one.
I was thinking I'd 3d print a new plug and put an o-ring on it but wasn't sure how well abs would hold up. I think I'll give it a try just as an experiment. I'll likely be ordering a plug from you shortly after haha
One thing I've been trying to find is a shop manual. Is there any chance one is floating around on the net in pdf form?
Now for some background I was promising
This bike is/was my father's first bike. It was used to drive cattle to/from the farm to the pasture in the spring/fall. From what I gathered from the disassembly, he and his buddies trashed it pretty good too haha.
The bike developed a "timing issue" and dad upgraded to an 87ish xl250r. The bike has sat in a storage building on the farm since.
The reason for the disassembly was that the farm is about a 13 hr drive away from where I now live. My original plan was to drive out there with the 95 f150 but quick fuel mileage calculations had this free bike costing a couple grand in fuel. (The old 351w is a great block but is lacking some efficiency)
The vw golf on the other hand is much nicer for road trips and better on fuel... just lacking a bit in storage vs the Ford... A princess auto (Canadian harbor Freight) roof basket solved that problem.
Anyways... back to the bike.
The obvious thing from the photos is the tank dents... which are numerous and I doubt will ever be removed. On the plus side, there is surprisingly little rust in the tank. A few spots of surface rust but mostly bare shiny metal.
The engine spins over very nicely and valve seem to just need a tune up. I haven't got the side covers off yet... I'll post photos when I do.
The wheels are a nice surprise. Damn near perfect shape. A clean up and maybe some spoke adjustments.
The exhaust from the headerpipe back is done. The first can was still on the bike but rusted and poorly repaired (and packed with acorns)
There's a few other small items I've noticed but we'll get to that in time.
My build plan is to get this thing up and running. I'd like to ride it a bit and then see where I'd like to take it from there.
Two things I'm considering are
1 Big bore/hp upgrades.
2 give it a more tracker look while maintaining its functionality.
I'd like to use the bike around the city (Calgary) and be able to take it on the highway for short distances to access some trails/dirt.
I've still haven't got the whole bike unloaded from the car. I'll post more photos with the unpacking and assessing what needs attention.
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One thing I've been trying to find is a shop manual. Is there any chance one is floating around on the net in pdf form?
Now for some background I was promising
This bike is/was my father's first bike. It was used to drive cattle to/from the farm to the pasture in the spring/fall. From what I gathered from the disassembly, he and his buddies trashed it pretty good too haha.
The bike developed a "timing issue" and dad upgraded to an 87ish xl250r. The bike has sat in a storage building on the farm since.
The reason for the disassembly was that the farm is about a 13 hr drive away from where I now live. My original plan was to drive out there with the 95 f150 but quick fuel mileage calculations had this free bike costing a couple grand in fuel. (The old 351w is a great block but is lacking some efficiency)
The vw golf on the other hand is much nicer for road trips and better on fuel... just lacking a bit in storage vs the Ford... A princess auto (Canadian harbor Freight) roof basket solved that problem.
Anyways... back to the bike.
The obvious thing from the photos is the tank dents... which are numerous and I doubt will ever be removed. On the plus side, there is surprisingly little rust in the tank. A few spots of surface rust but mostly bare shiny metal.
The engine spins over very nicely and valve seem to just need a tune up. I haven't got the side covers off yet... I'll post photos when I do.
The wheels are a nice surprise. Damn near perfect shape. A clean up and maybe some spoke adjustments.
The exhaust from the headerpipe back is done. The first can was still on the bike but rusted and poorly repaired (and packed with acorns)
There's a few other small items I've noticed but we'll get to that in time.
My build plan is to get this thing up and running. I'd like to ride it a bit and then see where I'd like to take it from there.
Two things I'm considering are
1 Big bore/hp upgrades.
2 give it a more tracker look while maintaining its functionality.
I'd like to use the bike around the city (Calgary) and be able to take it on the highway for short distances to access some trails/dirt.
I've still haven't got the whole bike unloaded from the car. I'll post more photos with the unpacking and assessing what needs attention.
Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk
Awesome. Lucky thing on those side covers. They are like hen's teeth and will cost you no less than $50 each to replace if you're lucky. When you make the the plug, be sure to put an angle on the head. You may have noticed, but just in case you didn't I thought I'd mention. The case cover has angle to it as it orients to the plug hole.
Had a hour to put towards the engine. Good news... Got the side cover off and it was pretty packed with gunk that came in from the adjuster hole but only minor corrosion on the front outside of the case.
While I was there I noticed that the sprocket cover had a bolt hole busted off. Should still do the trick but I'll keep an eye out for a new one.
Unpacked some more parts and got the forks out. Noticed this damage while disassembling but didn't have a chance to take a photo. Not sure of the cause but the other side has similar wear. They definitely won't keep a seal in that shape. Anyone have any suggestions on repairing?
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While I was there I noticed that the sprocket cover had a bolt hole busted off. Should still do the trick but I'll keep an eye out for a new one.
Unpacked some more parts and got the forks out. Noticed this damage while disassembling but didn't have a chance to take a photo. Not sure of the cause but the other side has similar wear. They definitely won't keep a seal in that shape. Anyone have any suggestions on repairing?
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Those forks look like they may be bent. Check and see. It's an easy fix, if you have a press and a vee block.
Check out xlintperformance for performance upgrades, a Mikuni VM carb will be a good upgrade as the stock carbs can be a pain in the arse.
I'm pretty sure I have the XL250/350 manual in PDF that I can send you. PM me with your e-mail and I'll send it over.
I'm pretty sure I have the XL250/350 manual in PDF that I can send you. PM me with your e-mail and I'll send it over.
I've checked out xlint's website. Theres a surprising amount of upgrades there. I put together a list of parts which could make this a pretty expensive build... I'll have to get this thing running in stock form and decide how much I like it/how much I want to spend on it.advCo said:
PM on it's way
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Another day, another cover off the engine. This time the valve cover, and it don't look so good. At this time I think I'll just reassemble and run it like it is, at least for now.
Looks to me that someone has been in there before. The "gasket" looks to be rtv or similar and seems like it was leaking.
Irk,
Checked out the forks with a straight edge, they seem to be good. They also have good movement in the sliders. Checked the sliders for cracks or signs that they took an impact and didn't see anything obvious.
Have you seen this kind of damage before? I had a thought... could it have been from the forks being misaligned in the triples?
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Looks to me that someone has been in there before. The "gasket" looks to be rtv or similar and seems like it was leaking.
Irk,
Checked out the forks with a straight edge, they seem to be good. They also have good movement in the sliders. Checked the sliders for cracks or signs that they took an impact and didn't see anything obvious.
Have you seen this kind of damage before? I had a thought... could it have been from the forks being misaligned in the triples?
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Update on the project.
Got the engine back together. Carb cleaned up and rebuilt. As far as I know, everything on the engine side should be good to go now.
I'm attempting an epoxy fix on the forks. I've heard of this fix a few times but this is the first I've attempted. I think its probably better suited to fixing pits but gave it a go anyway. I don't have high expectations for it but it should be enough to get the bike on the trails a few times.
On the forks... it would seem the damage was from binding since there is a matching wear on the bottom opposite the other wear (see photos). As best as I can see the forks aren't bent but obviously there is something twisting/binding the assembly. In my mind I see it as the sliders (legs) being too close together at the axle, which forces the upper portion of the leg against the inside of tube at the top of the slider and at the outside of the tube at the bottom.
Thoughts?
Just ordered a bunch of parts to get this thing rolling again. Bearings, tires, breaks, sprockets & chain, etc. Biggest challenge I see now is getting the throttle cables unstuck... may just be ordering new ones from motion pro.
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Got the engine back together. Carb cleaned up and rebuilt. As far as I know, everything on the engine side should be good to go now.
I'm attempting an epoxy fix on the forks. I've heard of this fix a few times but this is the first I've attempted. I think its probably better suited to fixing pits but gave it a go anyway. I don't have high expectations for it but it should be enough to get the bike on the trails a few times.
On the forks... it would seem the damage was from binding since there is a matching wear on the bottom opposite the other wear (see photos). As best as I can see the forks aren't bent but obviously there is something twisting/binding the assembly. In my mind I see it as the sliders (legs) being too close together at the axle, which forces the upper portion of the leg against the inside of tube at the top of the slider and at the outside of the tube at the bottom.
Thoughts?
Just ordered a bunch of parts to get this thing rolling again. Bearings, tires, breaks, sprockets & chain, etc. Biggest challenge I see now is getting the throttle cables unstuck... may just be ordering new ones from motion pro.
Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk
Re: Xl250 parked for 30 years
So... not dead... just been a very busy year. Started a new job in a completely new industry to the old job. Small start up tech company and we've been running wfo. But I have found time here and there to work on the bike. This weekend I finally got it to a point were I thought it safe to ride. Pretty happy with the results so far but still has some work to go before I can put a plate on it.
Got an oil leak on the engine somewhere unseen so will need to take it apart some. Got to get the lights cleaned up and back on, then likely fix some electrical issues.
Dropped some coin on a supertrapp and happy about that too. May still add a couple more discs to it. The pipe from the original rusty header to the supertrapp is my first welding project ever. My welding skills are very basic but I'm getting really good with the grinder Haha!
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So... not dead... just been a very busy year. Started a new job in a completely new industry to the old job. Small start up tech company and we've been running wfo. But I have found time here and there to work on the bike. This weekend I finally got it to a point were I thought it safe to ride. Pretty happy with the results so far but still has some work to go before I can put a plate on it.
Got an oil leak on the engine somewhere unseen so will need to take it apart some. Got to get the lights cleaned up and back on, then likely fix some electrical issues.
Dropped some coin on a supertrapp and happy about that too. May still add a couple more discs to it. The pipe from the original rusty header to the supertrapp is my first welding project ever. My welding skills are very basic but I'm getting really good with the grinder Haha!
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Looks good!