Vintage Dirt Bike Q & A

I am new to this forum. Great to find it. I am hoping someone can give me some information on the Mugen 360 kits, such as installation, performance gains,reliability, history etc... I am preparing to buy a '79 CR 250, but would really like to find one with a Mugen 360 kit on it or install one myself in the future. Unfortunately, I know nothing about these cool kits. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Ken Gray

Hi Ken,

The ME360 kits came out in '78, providing power gain across the power band, a gain of 8 HP according to Mugen; IÌve never road one (though I have one in the works), so I canÌt say what they are like first hand, but if itÌs comparable with other Mugen kits IÌve road÷the 360 should be impressive. Kits came with a hard chrome cylinder, head, piston, rings, top-end bearing/pin, C-clips, intake manifold, clutch springs, top-end gasket kit, a pipe, Mugen tank/side panel decals and installation instructions. In late Ì79, there was and optional gear set offered. They require machining of the cases, crank balanced for the new ÏlargerÓ piston and all the parts in-between (case gasket, bearings, etc.). The hardest part is fining one for sale and being able to afford it÷good luck in your search.

Ken,

I have an old test article that states the ME360 had 34.6 HP @ 7500 RPM. I would imagine in Class you would be going up against YZ465's (42hp)and Maico 440's so you would probably be down on power. Hey at certain tracks 250s and even 125s could be faster than Open Class bikes, but don't expect a holeshot.

What the heck it's only money. I try to get rid of mine as fast as I can, because it's the root of all evil. LOL Good luck on your search.

J