Vintage Dirt Bike Q & A

hello..i am thinking about buying a honda mr 250..would i be able to make it street legal if i have the title?..also do you know if this bike is suppose to have a battery? do you know where i can get a carb rebuild kit? please respond because i dont know if i should buy it..thanks

The MR250 does not have a battery. Its lights are powered directly from the magneto thru a rectifier. When the engine is running you will have the headlight and taillight (if it is still there). In some states that is good enough to make it street legal. Carb rebuild kits are very hard to find but usually are not needed if the inside of the carb did not get corroded. Just clean out the jets and it will probably work OKay. Jerry mailto:elsinorestuff@qwest.net

could i put turn signals on it? the guy is wanting $400 for it..it has been sitting for a number of years..do you guys think it is worth that much..it is not running at the moment..please respond..thanks

Call your DMV and probably your local Highway Patrol first. The DMV is needed for the paper work and the Highway Patrol to do a safety check for the DMV.

Reason I say this is because some states, like California in particular, have a vendetta against anything that isn't new. If things like engine and frame numbers aren't matching they claim it is a now a NEW motorcycle made up from salvaged parts that hasn't passed current state smog tests mandated for all manufacturers. In other words they will *NEVER* let you get it registered.

There are requirements in California that a motorcycle must be able to have lights with the engine off. Adding a battery/lighting to do this is almost trivial. There are several after market kits to do this.

I'd guess the worst case you'd have is to get the wiring harness, stator, and flywheel, off an MT. Actually if you can find those parts, it would probably be cheaper then buying an after market lighting kit.

ok guys..i bought it...do you know how many gears this bike has? how much oil do i put in to this motor? please respond because i really want to get this bike running..thanks for the replies

its a 5 speed wide ratio gearbox with the shift pattern 1 down and 4 up.the transmission holds just short of one quart of oil and i recomend straight 30 weight oil in the trans.i used regular 30 weight oil in my mt and cr 250's for years without trouble.another interesting thing is some early cr and mt parts will interchange.have fun with your mr

thanks..do you know how much motor oil to put in it?

does anyone know how much motor oil to put in this bike? also do you know what kind of turn signals would work for this bike? please respond..thanks

Basically it will take just a hair under a quart. On the CR the screw on oil cap had a dip stick on it. Not sure about the MR. I use Castrol 10W40 and it works great.

thanks..i found a carb off a 1976 mt 250..does anyone know if a mt carb will fit on a mr if they are the same year?

The MT250 carb is too small for the MR. The MT had a 28mm the MR250 had a 34mm. A 75 or 76 CR250 carb might fit if you found the right jets.

thanks..well do you know where i can find a carb kit for it then? or a new carb altogether

http://www.elsinores.com/productCat81421.ctlg , http://www.elsinores.com/


Here are some good sites for carbs and those types of parts.