Vintage Dirt Bike Q & A

Newbie to the Boards-

I picked up a 1983 CR480R at a garage sale last weekend for $ 300.00 and have decided I am going to bring the beast back to life. The engine runs, but I would prefer to do a complete refresh/rebuild. I was speaking to someone at Vintage Elsinores in Ventura,CA and they said they do rebuilds. Does anyone have any experience with them and the quality of their engine work? Any recommendations on good engine builders in Arizona?

Thanks,
Dan

http://www.vintagefactory.com, http://www.jastco.com and http://www.greatescapecycle.com/ are just some names that spring to mind that focus on vintage restorations. Personally I have sent my CR250R 1979 motors twice to http://www.racerstoystore.com for rebuilds; sleeving, bottom-end re-build, crank re- balance, mains and seals etc. Better advice could be provided if we knew what you are capable and interested in taking on yourself, and what budget you have. Before you drop lots on re-freshing a motor that may be just fine for the moment, I would consider working on your rear shock.

_________________
Michael Stiles
1979 Honda CR250R Elsinore | 2006 Husqvarna SM510R | 2007 Service Honda CR500R-AF

I am capable in most areas except the bottom end of the motor. After I bought the bike, I brought it home, put in some fuel, kicked forever, then finally push started the bike and it fired up. Rode it around my yard in 1st & 2nd gear, after I brought it back into the garage I tried shifting it through the gears and it would only go down into 1st and up into 2nd - would not go up into 3rd, 4th, or 5th - so I suspect some issues there. The bike leaks oil from the crankcase, so at this point I want to have the whole thing gone through and rebuilt. Keep in mind the bike is in pretty rough shape and has a lot of abuse and does not look like it was ever properly maintained. I have the bike torn down to the frame and am starting from the ground up on it. I would probably be better off buying one already restored at this point

As far as the rear shock, that is on the list and I have spoken with several people about rebuilding it - estimates anywhere from $ 175.00 - $ 750.00 so I am not quite sure why there is such a large spread in pricing.

Budget wise, I can afford doing whatever I choose with the bike - probably looking to keep my costs under $ 3000.00 for the project.

There are two good reasons to have someone else go inside the motor - balancing and truing the crank, and checking out the transmission. Mine leaked oil and it turned out to be a small crack round one of the bolts in the clutch cover and that was easily fixed with JB weld (until I found a replacement). The $175 estimate is probably for a simple re-build - same parts. For $300 or so you can get Tru Technologies re-valve it completely to overcome some design flaws and set it up specifically for you. If you are over 165lbs you will need a new shock spring - stock is way too soft. For $750 you can get a brand new Works Performance shock - maybe Ohlins even. Given your $300 starting point, $3,000 is more then plenty - transmission surprises aside.

http://cr480r.blogspot.com/

_________________
Michael Stiles
1979 Honda CR250R Elsinore | 2006 Husqvarna SM510R | 2007 Service Honda CR500R-AF

Beef up the clutch! The motor wil open your eyes WIDE but it had clutch issues out of the crate.I used to clutch springs from a CB 750 it helped but try to find plenty of plates

I've had no problems with mine so far - this bike has a ton of torque and I keep off the clutch. When the time comes I would do here http://www.barnettclutches.com/ for a clutch kit. I use Barnett stuff in my CR250R. Unless your are 145lbs or so, I am expecting you to find the front and rear ends short on spring and damping....

_________________
Michael Stiles
1979 Honda CR250R Elsinore | 2006 Husqvarna SM510R | 2007 Service Honda CR500R-AF