Vintage Dirt Bike Q & A

I noticed a part on call the "engine splash guard" when looking at an exploded parts view of the frame for the 1973 CR250M. The bike I am restoring is all original and this part is not on my bike and I have not been able to find any pictures of the part on any other restorations.

It looks like the part is still available though Honda, does anyone know what this actually is and why dont I see any on other restorations? Hopefully I am not totally missing something, any help would be great!

The Splash Guard is # 18 in the picture.

The guard and work stand have been long depleated from Honda. I had them do a critical search waaaay back in 1993 for them. I had at least 6 of them.
I rarely used them even in heavy mud races simply because I wanted as much air flow to the head as possible.
Here is a pic of one on one of my bikes (bottom pic):
viewtopic.php?f=21&t=3921

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1994 AHRMA National Champion Sportsman 125 Intermediate.
1996 AHRMA National Champion Classic 125 Expert.

Thank you again! From what I can tell the splash guard was an optional part, is that correct? If that is the case I dont think I will bother with it unless people think it is important when doing a full restoration. I do believe they are still available through Honda and are listed for sale on ServiceHonda.com

Thanks!

Yes the splash guard, work stand among many other items with the last 3 digits of 810 to 820 were Honda "optional" items. Other items were things such as fork springs, rear shock springs, handlebars, chainwheels etc, anything that could be used to modify the machine as an option to stock.

Again I would say I have done a critical search of 99% of the "810" numbers from the 125 which has "360" as the middle part number code. Example 50500-360-810 the work stand for the 125.
The number code for the 250 is 50500-357-811, so if you happen to visit an old Honda dealer that has a ton of parts in a pile and you find a cache of "360" parts in bags you know you just found parts for a 125.
Sweet items such as the mud guard or work stands are gone, other optional items like cables, handlebars and other things of that nature were probably scrapped by dealers and I know Honda destroyed those long ago.

BUT............older Honda dealers MAY have some items STILL on their shelves because back in the day they stocked more parts, especially sponsoring dealers to local motocross tracks or riders.
Back in 1994 I called all the dealers in Ohio and the smaller Mom and Pop ones still had things sitting around, I even scored NOS Webco head for a 125 and a DG aluminum radial head for a 250 at a dealer not 40 miles from me.
A Yamaha dealer I knew really well stil had Noguchi pipes, cylinders and engine kits still in his attic up until a few years ago when I told a Yamaha friend of mine about it.
BUT with all the interest of "Vintage" since then and dealers closing or E-Baying things I would say give it a try calling them but it will be slim pickings.

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1994 AHRMA National Champion Sportsman 125 Intermediate.
1996 AHRMA National Champion Classic 125 Expert.

The splash guard was indeed an optional part and is definitely not going to score you any additional points
for your restoration. I would concentrate my parts search on finding the "big ticket" items that define the
"Green Striper" - fuel tank, pipe and silencer, seat, shocks, plastic. Once you have those, start working on
the next level of specific "357" parts - kill switch, perch covers, clutch and rear brake cables, coil, wire
harness. That should keep you busy for a while.

I turned my restoration hobby into a very low volume business a while back and that has enabled me to
cultivate useful contacts and learn a great deal about how things work. One of the useful tidbits was the
replacement parts conundrum. Honda, like many other manufacturers, manufactures all replacement parts
at the same time the specific model bike is being produced. Some bean counter determines the useful service
life of the bike, then decides how many of each part needs to be produced. When all of that particular part
has been purchased, that's it. In rare instances, parts demand is great enough where Honda will take the
extraordinary step of producing a second batch (the 89-01 CR500 engine). As part of the franchise agreement,
Honda offers a buy back program to it's dealers. All dealers are required by Honda to purchase and stock a
certain amount of parts. At some point, Honda will offer the dealer pennys on the dollar to buy those parts back.
Knowing this, there are some vintage leaning dealers that have capitalized on this by contacting these same
dealers and offering nickels on the dollar for certain desirable model parts. These vintage leaning dealers then
turn around and sell these parts for a substantial mark up. At some point in your restoration, you will probably
have to deal with this.

Keep us posted on your progress. I'm not a regular on here anymore, but I try to check in weekly.

dogger

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1973 CR250M
1979 CR250R
1993 CR250R
2008 CR500R
2009 CR250R

Great information guys! Thank you!

Looking at the website servicehonda.com it appears the splash guards are still available... Hmmm, might have to pick one up.