Kurlon has a dirt project

[Kurlon]

I picked up the 1994 WR250 this evening. It's a roach, but it runs. : )

Bike has been hammered, plastics have been painted (badly) and it's obviously sat in the weather based on the seat cover and rusty rotors. Motor has good compression, starts, and seems to run ok, although I suspect jetting is off or the exhaust valve isn't functioning 100% as it doesn't have the note change I was expecting when on the pipe, pulled decently though?

The must dos:
rear wheel bearings
rear brake system torn down, cleaned, new pads
grips
all sorts of bolts missing on the bodywork...
chain rollers
rear bushing for the muffler mount
throttle sticks, suspect it's something in the throttle itself (cleaning time)
flush all fluids and grease/lube everything
swingarm axle needs to be tightened down

The things I'd like to do but can wait for now:
new radiators
new plastics
new seat
new tank
new chain
fork and shock oil
fix headlight wiring
new rear brake lever
new tires
learn wtf I'm doing

So, it'll be a project, not quite as cheap as I would have liked but I'm comfortable with the work required. I'll snag pics later as I start to tear into it.

[Kurlon]

Oh, how could I forget for the 'must do' section: Sticker up with '771'

["Dangerous" Dan K]

Sweet! Good stuff man. Don't go overboard (aka new plastics) and interfere with the 'tard though - we want you back @ LRRS!

[6 Fingered Man]

hmmm... WR250, $600?

Will this be dirt only
or dirt and street??

[R7]

Is it a Yammy or a Husky? Both made WR250 Guessing a Yammy.
I don't beleive the exhaust note on that model will be the same "on the pipe" as the MX version of a similar year

[Kurlon]

Dirt only, and ghetto fantabulous for now. I don't wanna sink the cash needed to street it into it when I've got the Katoom waiting for me.

And it's a Yammy.

[breakdirt916]

finally!

sounds like a fun project

was it one from the ad that was posted earlier?

were you able to haggle him down?

[Kurlon]

That's the one, and I was only able to get him to come down to $700. Bit high, but most of what's needed is elbow grease, and I can't make my Katoom dirtable for that price so...

[Kurlon]

Hrmm... chain rollers are nice and cheap, chain guides not as much... and I can't find any listed as fitting the WR250...

Edit: Nevermind, Moose to the rescue.

[FTMS]

Congrats on the bike!! If you need a hand give me a call.

[Paul_E_D]

I did that whole route with a KDX. I got the bike for free and had about 900 in it when I finished. One thing I discovered that I didn't expect were the entire swingarm assembly was shot, bearings, axle and all. that wasn't cheap.

I would put fresh fork/shock oil at the top of the list though. On a dirtbike, it's pretty important and that's easy. I would also take the swingarm off and at least repack everything with grease before you do more damage to it.

I had a great bike when I was done, and sold it for 800. I regret selling it to this day.

[gregp]

That WR doesn't look that bad. My brother had a WR of the same vintage. It had a killer motor! In fact, the whole bike was pretty good. It vibrated a little more than my '94 CR250, but the power was comparable. The big tank prevented me from getting up over the front end, but it wasn't too bad. The suspension was not plush enough for Eastern trail junk, but that is easily fixed.
Nice bike!

[typeone]

congrats! looking forward to the tear-down pics

[Pittenger5]

So are you going with the busa or zx14 motor?

[Paul_E_D]

Oh, I just saw that "swingarm axle needs to be tightened" part.

Ya, That is likely tight, it's just that the bearings have turned to dust. The axle is likely shot. Same exact thing I found on the KDX.

It's pretty easy to get all this sorted and you will have a nice woods bike when you're done. Have fun.

[Kurlon]

Suspension work is definitely my weak area on this project. The most complicated fork I've gotten into is a simple damping rod setup on my GS500E, and I've never been into a shock. I may hand that portion of the project over to Factory Connection (based on the stickers they've been into this bike before) or GMD?

On the swingarm, when I say the axle needs to be tightened, I say it as I can see about 1/2" worth of threads left to go on one side. : ) The nut is just kinda hanging out doing nothing of value on the end of the shaft. So the axle is coming out one way or another for inspection/de-rusting on those threads before I try to crank it down again. It along with the chain and a bunch of other components are going to be introduced to a CLR bath once I'm done cleaning my CB650 tank with the stuff.

I'll try to get some pics tonight, as well as get my wife to retrieve my plastic stand from the shop so I can drop the rear wheel and start tearing down the rear brake.

[typeone]

some inspiration great looking bikes

[Kurlon]

So, it has a full FMF exhaust system, fatty pipe, powercore silencer. Does FMF reuse the OEM silencer bushings or did it ship with it's own? I need to know so I can pester Yamaha OEM or FMF for the bits. : )

[Paul_E_D]

Looks like you have an aftermarket tank and a different seat. The combo looks much better than stock as far as getting to the front of the bike goes. That was one downside on the KDX as well. Just makes aggressive cornering tougher. Yours should work better.

[Kurlon]

I'm hoping the seat and shrouds are YZ250 units, that'll make sourcing replacements easier. There is at least one wrecked captive nut on the tank so I'm not sure how to deal with that short of tank replacement?

[seth399]

yaaay! My first brand new bike ever was a 94 yz80. all white with those funky purple/yellow graphics like above.

[lrrs313]

Wirelessly posted (BB Tour: BlackBerry9630/5.0.0.591 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/105)

Way to go! Now hurry up and get that thing running and ride it!

[SSearchVT]

The WR is set up with a wider ratio tranny and heavier flywheel than the MX bikes - it won't jump up on the pipe as hard. BUT - you can almost bet an older dirt bike needs the air filter cleaned (mouses evicted), a new plug, the gas in the tank is not to be trusted, the carb is full of crud (or so far off with the jetting it isn't even funny), there's a chance the expansion chamber has a bunch of water in it, and the silencer needs to be repacked... This should all take about an hour or so to clear up - and run you less than $25.

[breakdirt916]

Be careful outsourcing some of the work, because those costs can escalate quickly; especially since the bike wasn't in the sub $300 range.

ie. fork parts are only $110, but labor is an extra $150. Rear shock parts are only $54, but servicing (which includes a nitrogen recharge) is $95.

But while we're here...

put the bike on a stand (don't have a stand? make one, or get a solid or step/lifting stand from HF for $25), suspend the front wheel off the ground, and rotate the handlebars left to right. It should be smooth, but more often then not most people (myself included) don't lubricate the steering head bearings. Parts $40

while said bike is on the stand, lift the rear wheel and inspect every point the suspension pivots: are the seals still intact, and if not applicable, is there any play in any of the pivot locations? if not, you can still pull and inspect them; if they've never been lubed (or if applicable, the seal is gone) half the spinners will be rusty and frozen and subsequently worn down/warped. While you're inspecting the rear, check for free play in the upper shock bearing. Total parts rear: $120

As Paul said, the swing arm bearings can possibly be damaged. Luckily, they're not hard to get replace when the swing arm is off the bike. Parts $70.

One thing that was a pain for me is that chain tension bolts on the rear swing arm were frozen, the rear brake caliper brake pin was frozen in the caliper, and all 3 needed to get heli-coiled (which I don't have the tools for) in order to be usable. Hopefully yours are still in good enough shape.

I can't tell from the picture: are the wheels relatively straight and the tires in good shape?

And how was the clutch? no slip or drag? Pull off the clutch cover, or (if visible) take off the transmission oil filler cap and take a look at the clutch basket for grooves (it's debatable if mine is re-usable, but it was pretty grooved). Add $100-$175 for a basket, and the usual $50-70 for clutch parts.

How's the air filter? When I took my old one out, Eddie suggested that I might need a new one You couldn't even see my old filter under all the gunk! add $25

what did you mean, when you didn't notice the exhaust tone when getting on it?

and did you find after market chain rollers? If so where? I should buy some too...

[Kurlon]

Wheels are straight enough to not catch your eye as you walk by, I'll be looking them over more closely tonight. Tires are ok, knobs are starting to round but the rubber is still pliable.

Clutch is juuuuuust starting to drag a touch, I can easily get it into neutral while running but I can feel it trying to pull in gear. Friction zone is still nice and wide though. Feel at the lever is only ok, can't quite bar the lever as I'm at the end of the systems movement range and it's engaging right as you start to release.

On the exhaust note, two strokes normally sound like they switch from 4 stroke to 2 stroke when they come on the pipe to me. At low RPM they have a distinct staccato that turns to a continuous zing once on the pipe. Ra-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-taRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! I never hit the string of capital A's. It's winding up, pulling good, but the note sounds 'wrong' to me based on my VERY LIMITED 2 stroke experience.

Moose has rollers and guides for just about everything, a PU catalog should have a decent fitment chart.

Air filters, that's something I haven't looked up, back to the PU and TR catalogs! : )