Vintage Dirt Bike Q & A

Hey all, first post... I have been looking for a long-travel Elsinore for a while, and finally found one I think I am going to like. It is a 1978 CR250R, from the pics and talking with the owner it is mint and very original. I'm driving a couple hours one way to check it out tonight. Just a few questions...

- What is your opinion of the value? (I'm in Texas)
- What are the weak spots to look out for?
- What is a good compression value for the motor?

Any help appreciated. I look forward to participating in this nice forum.

Trace

The '78-'79 CR250R Elsinore is one of my all-time favorite Elsies. They are beautiful! The '78 was the first major re-design since the Elsinore's introduction back in '73.

The differences betweent he '78 and '79 are slight. One difference is the exhaust port. The '79 has a bridged port to help the piston slide past the opening without catching. You can find cylinders on eBay and the '79 cylinder is interchangable with the '78. The rear shocks on both years are junk. Most people replace them with new 17.5" Progressive shocks or vintage Fox Air Shox you can find on eBay. Another mod that is desirable is to replace the front forks and wheel with the front end off the '83 CR250R or '83 CR480R which is a beefier front end with double-pull brakes. You can find those on eBay as well.

Reproduction plastic, decals, chain sliders are available also to make it look like new if you so desire.

Good luck!

Thanks for all the info! They are my favorite look of the Elsies as well. I also like the fruity left kicker / right chain. I will probably keep this stock at least for a while, and continue to use my 00 KTM 380EXC as my trail beater.

Any ideas on a fair value?

Here are some pics from the ad.

Well, I bought it - pics in the link below. The guy also had a non-running complete 78 RM400, and a few boxes of parts. I bought it all.

Just finished uploading pics of all my loot here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tracetrimble

I'll probably be selling most of this stuff as I identify it. Most of the engine parts are for the RM as best I can tell. Let me know if you see anything you need.

Hey Trace, welcome to the Elsinore club you have a great looking bike! be careful I started with 79 bought an 80 shortly thereafter and now am looking at a 74.
Congrats and let me know if you have any parts questions as I have puchased a variety of items in the last year.

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Dino MX


1979 Honda 250 cr
Bultaco MK6 Pursang 250

I agree with Dino. What started out 6 years ago with a bit of fun doing up a 1979 CR250 has led to an addiction. I now have 2 1978 CRs (one bored out to 360) with a 1979 underway, a 1981 450, 1983 CR250, 1986 CR500, 1974 XR75 and the 1973 CR250M I picked up today. I think I need rehab.

Thanks for all the replies. Yeah, I kind of already have a thing for them. I had an 87 RM250 for a while. I had rebuilt it top to bottom, and have missed having it since I sold it last year.

I have already sold the RM400 and most of the parts for it, the two aluminum RM tanks, and the RM airbox. Made back about half of what I spent on everything, and still have a few parts to sell. Not bad.

I too picked up another bike today. I found a complete running and in great shape 79 KX250 in the local paper that I snagged for 275 bucks, It was from the original owner. Does anyone know much about this bike? I plan on racing it and my 74 CR250M.

_________________
Terry Moody #48f
3x 74 Honda CR250M Elsinore
74 Honda XR75
73 Honda QA50
78 Yamaha YZ125E
78 Yamaha YZ250E
78 Yamaha YZ400E
79 Kawasaki KX250
79 Honda CR250R
79 Suzuki RM400
80 Honda CR125
2x 83 Honda CR480R
98 Kawasaki KX250