Vintage Dirt Bike Q & A

Hey guys I just found this forum and hope you guys can help.

I have several TL 250's and the latest one I just picked up is to nice to ride in the woods and I want to make it street legal. All I need is the lighting kit for the TL. To bad for me it is impossible to find.

However by chance I discovered that the MR 175 and 250 of the same year has the same lights.

Not sure if any of my TL's have the plugs for the lights, I will check today but I would assume they do as I don't see optional wiring harnesses listed for the TL's. Does anyone have what I need or know what I need to have working lights on my TL?

I have found a guy 2 hours away from me that has 2 mint 1976 MR's. One is a 250 & the other is a 175. They both have the entire lighting kits. I can get both bike's for $1500 or just the 175 for $500 since that one he says is missing the carb slide. Which I have already found on ebay for $25 bucks.

Does anyone have the light kits I need? If I buy these bike's to get the light kits and they work does anyone want the bikes after I have removed the light kits? Any help in this area of the lighting situation would be of great help. Here are some pictures of my bike as I know everyone loves pictures. Thanks Mike form Portland Maine.



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Mike,

I don't know what the situation is in Maine, but the CT DMV didn't really inspect my MR or CR at all during registration; they checked the frame VIN number and odometer mileage to see that they matched what I wrote on the form, and that's it. Apparently this is the case for any pre-'81 motorcycle registered in CT.

I mention this because if you don't see yourself actually needing lights to ride, you may be able to get away with a non-functional lighting setup, as I did. You probably will need a working speedometer/odometer, though. If you need working lights to pass inspection, consider using a small gel-cell battery. If you need full-time-functioning lights, I don't know what to tell you. The MR and TL light assemblies appear to be the same, but the rest of the setup may or may not be 100% compatible. I think I would try to find MR/TL lighting components on the Web (don't forget Google!) before I bought two complete MR's, but that's just me. These parts come up fairly regularly, and be sure to check completed listings as sometimes these components don't sell, and aren't relisted.

I use the Acerbis Dual Sport taillight/license plate assembly on both the MR and CR - I think it's great. It looks much more like a street-type taillight than the tiny MR/TL units. Up front, the metal-body '76-'77 MR175/MR250 headlight is the way to go if you can find one, and the rock-guard grille is really cool.

Ray

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'74 CR125M (175cc), '75 MR175, '82 RM250Z, '08 YZ250F, '14 Zero FX electric, '14 Zero MX electric, '18 Alta MXR electric

Well I just bought the MR 175 and swapped the lights over. They are an exact match and the lights work beautifully. I am waiting for the guy to call me back so I can meet with him tomorrow to buy the other bike. If any of you want this bike minus the light kit you can have it for what I paid. $500 bucks. He assures me the motor runs fine. You just need a carb. he gave me an extra exhaust along with a bunch of other parts.

As far as registering goes. The mint red bike has no serial number on the frame as the power coating covered the serial number. There are numbers on the motor though. I hope this isn't going to be a problem for me. All the mysteries have be solved now that I was able to look at the wiring on the MR. Again if anyone wants this bike call me quick. other wise I am going to give this bike back to him as a $500 credit toward buying the other bike. I am so happy I can't sit still.

Well after I removed the lights from the MR175 The guy said he'd take back the 175 and for $500 more sell me the mint 250. He showed up after we both drove an hour to meet and the dam bike wouldn't start. So I didn't buy it and didn't get my second set of mint lights for my other TL. I was so depressed that I took the 175 bike to a used bike dealer and just dumped it for $300 bucks. So now the lights I have just cost me $200.00 and I am still searching for another headlight with ears, taillight, and control switch. To make matters worse the guy called me afterwards and told me hey the bike runs great as the problem was a simple fix. Anyway, if any of you have a set please contact me at Dishmee@aol.com Thanks Mike

Mike,



I think a lot of us here have been in the same situation(s)- I know I have. From the seller's point of view, there's nothing worse than having a working bike not start for the prospective buyer; sometimes the only thing that can save the day is a deep discount. Just chalk it up to experience, and the next time the bike you're looking at won't start, think of it as an opportunity to get the bike for next to nothing - especially if you're buying it for parts (no need to tell the seller that, of course).

If the MR175 didn't run, $300 wasn't really that terrible a price to get for it. I got mine (not running, no carb slide or throttle) for less than $200.

Ray

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'74 CR125M (175cc), '75 MR175, '82 RM250Z, '08 YZ250F, '14 Zero FX electric, '14 Zero MX electric, '18 Alta MXR electric

Can anyone tell me if the headlight bulb goes does it cause the tail light to go out as well? Thanks Mike.

Project completed. I have two street legal TL250's with working lights and brake lights. It was a piece of cake to get them registered. No one inspected the bikes at all.