Vintage Dirt Bike Q & A

Hey...
I am looking into getting into riding and I am a complete noob... I don't even have my permit yet. But I have lots of questions.. I really like the look of the Honda MT250's and elsinores... But I am considering on commuting 12 miles on surface streets with a good amount of traffic. I picked up a project elsinore for $100... is there hope in making it a commuter? How much would I have to put in it (any one have parts for sale)? How hard is it to register in cali? I don't have paperwork. I think it was a parts bike... Are there any engine swaps? Maybe something 4 stroke that is water cooled? Thanks!

It good to hear from people wanting to keep elsinores alive but I think you have your work cut out for you on this one.
It's missing a lot of parts and needs a lot of work!!
If this particular bike has some special significance for you then go for it. If not, I would try to find something more complete; maybe another MT-250 for which you can use your existing parts bike as a source of parts.
Good luck with your projects.

Looks like a good a place as any to start. This can be done for reasonable money. First off you need to blow it apart and make a list of what you have vs. what you need. Looks like the air box is gone and the front fender. If you have access to a sheet metal brake you can fab up an aluminum air box. As for a motor, stick with air cooled, maybe an XL 250 with complete electronics. Also look at XL175/185's. needs to run.

Next I'd clean what I have, blast the frame and paint it with automotive paint. Most autobody supply houses can make a spray can for under $20. Stick with black on the frame as it will be easy to touch up later.

I'd just add Honda wings on the tank and call it good. For a carb, run a Mikuni VM28, it's under $100 bucks.

Everything else can be found on this board, that auction site, or the vintagemx.us site. THis should be a neat build if you can stick with it. BTW - that engine should bring you a few bucks if you don't end up building it.

Jim
'80 CR250R Elsinore - pending sale
'79 XR80R
'84 CR125R
'85 CR125R - fully modded

Wow. This is exactly what I want to do. I think that it would be fun to put together. I am okay mechanically but have never worked on motorcycles. A few questions:
1) Would this set-up be good for a new rider? Could I use it to commute 12 miles on surface streets? I have heard air-cooled is a problem,,,
2) Could I put a larger engine in it? Or will I be happy with a 250. I found a guy with an xl250 engine for $175 and he has other parts. What about something watercooled? I can weld some and have friends that can weld well.
3) Registering it and making it street legal. How hard would this type of set up be to get on the road legally in CA?

bump... mostly curious about registering this in CA... how difficult and expensive is it?

bump again