Vintage Dirt Bike Q & A

will my stock 79 cr250 wheel work with 480 forks, I read that triple clamps need stem pressed out from 79 then into 480 triple is this right? thanks and merry christmas everyone, Craig

Craig,
Yes on the stem but you'll need to run a 83 CR480 wheel. Your 79 will bolt up using the 83 axle but it will be offset to the righthand side by 1/2". Found this out the hard way. Terry

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Terry@Sodaworks Restorations

73 Honda CR250M
72 Honda QA50
74 Honda XR75
86 Yamaha XT350
86 Suzuki 100
98 Kawasaki KX250
01 Yamaha YZ250F
03 Yamaha TR125
05 Yamaha TR125
05 Honda CRF50
05 Honda CRF250

Did you try the the 1979 axle? I remember someone running the older front wheel with the newer forks at CalVMX some years back... It is not required to transfer the steerer (although I did). You can use a spacer - a very large washer - under the top triple clamp to make up for the longer steerer.

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

the 480 forks are an after thought on my 79cr250 resto I still have not gotten them yet and was looking to see what is involved in this swap I was hoping to use stock 250 wheel as the hub has allready been powdercoated also the triple clamps I guess they can be sold on e-bay or something I do plan on racing this occasinaly and that the suspension is 1 of this bikes weak points I was hoping that someone knew for sure that the 250 wheel will or will not work, these restos get expensive fast and I still need to rebuild top and bottom of my regular race bike (yz450f) thanks everybody for your input and happy new year 3 months till 1st race weather permitting

Well if you stick with the stock forks, there's a mod for the damping I posted over in the Reference section of the site. Also I have a Simons after-market kit for the stock forks too.

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

I looked for damping mod still have not found it yet,the simons kit is that similar to a race tech emulator valve ? if you are selling this send me pm or e-mail thanks, Craig

If you have the stock 37mm Showa forks and want to make them more supple, consider this. Drill a hole with a #54 bit exactly two inches up from the base of the damping rod - the opposite of the end that screws into the fork cap. When put back together run 275 cc 5-weight fork oil. This is a recommendation from Al Baker "back in the day"...

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

i swap back and forth on my 80' with the stock wheel and the 82 cr480 wheel. Ive never noticed the offset durring a race.

do you use the 250 axle? does the brake stop on the 250 fit into the 480 forks? or do you change the brake hub

i swap the complete wheel and brake back and forth. The lug on the 480 forks works fine with the 80' 250 brake hub, the cables dont swap though, i leave the cable on the wheel when i take it off. I use the 480 axle for both wheels as well