5
Ok, someone asked for a build thread, here ya go. Heckle away!
Premis - Convert a 1992 WR/YZ 250 chimera into a supermotard
FAQ:
- "1992 was a long time ago, why not start with something manufactured this millennium?" Answer - I actually have the perfect all around machine in my garage right now, all I have to do is write the check. Unfortunately that check would be printed on the finest Goodyear rubber, and I'm not going to tease the owner with a payment plan offer or other typical NESR lowball shenanigans. No budget, but I've at least got something that at one time moved under it's own power so that's what I'm starting with.
- "So, you really think you can be competitive on that badly polished turd?" Answer - Competitive is a relative term, to ask properly you have to mention what you think I'm trying to compete against. This machine is never going to see a podium short of a miracle. That's not the intent. The goal is a B bike that will allow me to circulate under a green flag and collect some points instead of a DNS/DNF should something happen to the A bike. In that way, it's competitive, relative to not going on track. In the mean time, I get to play on a motard again, yay!
- "It's going to blow up on the first lap, raining fire and brimestone over the entire track. Puppies may be killed as a result of the collateral damage." Answer - That's not a question meathead, but this is a totally foreseeable outcome. I'm dragging a 23+ year old two stroke motocrosser out of the grave and trying to convince it to be a GP machine instead, without a movie montage build and training sequence and a killer theme song banged out on a Casio keyboard the odds of failure are high. Don't care. The bike has pretty much sat since I got back into road racing so even a lap in which it goes boom is more use than it's seen so a win in my book. That said, I am doing my homework and will be jetting/mixing appropriately, the motor is pretty fresh despite the external appearances.
- "Do you EVER do things the normal way?!" Answer - Yes, I like my steak medium rare and as long as it's a good cut it doesn't need anything beyond a little salt and pepper before being served.
- "Is this a dumb idea?" Answer - Absolutely.
- "Couldn't you just buy a ready to go machine for less?" Answer - No, not without the new whip having some fatal, expensive to correct flaw at least. I'm gaming the system a little in that I've got a line on some of the bits at a good price, a good chunk of the bits used will also be directly usable on modern Yamahas giving me a means of bailing while reducing my losses or moving up to a newer unit without having to rebuild totally from scratch.
- "Wheels man, what about the wheels, man?" Answer - Sorted already. See the above question, they're part of that equation. 17 x 3.5 up front, 17 x 4.25 in back. Not the perfect setup for racing, but easy to live with and again, not aiming for this to be the king of the mountain, just able to look the part under a green flag.