Vintage Dirt Bike Q & A

I'm pretty much done with my '73 Elsinore resto. Except for fixing some small dents in the pipe, locating
a front brake cable guide and frabricating a replica Honda work stand, this one is finished.

Next up, 1979 CR250R. I'm also posting a couple of "before" pictures of it.

dogger

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1973 CR250M
1979 CR250R
1993 CR250R
2008 CR500R
2009 CR250R

Super!!! Heck the '79 already looks like an "after" picture to me!!

Dogger very nice work on that CR250M! Looks nice!

Thanks for the kudos. It means a lot coming from other enthusiast, people who understand and appreciate what it took to get here.

The '79 is what is known in automobile parlance as a "fifty footer". I guess in motorcycle circles, we'll call it a "twenty footer". It looks
pretty good from a distance, but as you get closer, it really shows it's age with a lot of rust and corrosion. Also the paint is faded a
bunch, I found an area under the tank where the paint has been protected from the sun and elements and it is about three shades different.

I just started the resto on it a few days ago and have already restored the seat. A few weeks ago, I ordered replacements for every bolt, nut,
washer, collar, thrust washer, circlip, spring (not suspension) bearing, seal, race and clamp on the bike. I got close to ten pounds of hardware
by the time it all arrived. Looks like I will have to replate some of the NOS nuts (axle and swingarm) because they are corroded from years of
sitting on the shelf but everything else is in new condition.

First order of business is to dismantle the bike then soda blast the frame and swingarm. I ordered a pound of RAL 3020 powder to do some
testing for color match. If it's a match, I'm golden. If not, I found a place that will do custom powder for a price.

So far, the only parts that are proving hard to find are a set of NOS rims - the rims on the bike are cracked and bent.

I'll post some pics of my progress when I have something worthy to show.

dogger

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1973 CR250M
1979 CR250R
1993 CR250R
2008 CR500R
2009 CR250R

Sweet! Where'd you find the original looking grips?

You can still buy the grips from Honda (and eBay).

MX317 is right, it's amazing how many parts are still available from Honda. Everything on the handlebars is OEM. The grips, throttle housing and bolts came from Bike Bandit and the levers, lever covers, perch, kill switch, throttle tube, bands and cables came from CMS. The clutch perch was the only part I was able to salvage and restore from the original parts. Typical to Honda, when you
order levers, they don't come with the protective rubber end cap - they are available seperately. I believe CMS still carries them as well.

dogger

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1973 CR250M
1979 CR250R
1993 CR250R
2008 CR500R
2009 CR250R

hi
im from australia, i have a cr 125 elsinore 74 model and was wondering what it would be worth and where i would get an oversize piston and rings for it and new conrod. the bike is in very good condition other than needing those parts.
regards Harley

Check out the "Resources" icon at the top of the page for websites where you can order the piston and rings.
I don't know much about the 125 but on the 250, replacement OE conrods are very rare and the work has to
be done by a knowledgeable shop if you are lucky enough to find one.

As far as the worth of your "tiddler", that all depends on how original it is and how good a shape it's in.
There is a shop in OZ called Red Devil Racing (also listed in the Resources section), you should call them and
ask what your bike is worth locally. RDR can be a big help in a lot of ways as you bring your bike up to speed.

dogger

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1973 CR250M
1979 CR250R
1993 CR250R
2008 CR500R
2009 CR250R

AMS lists a rod kit for the CR125 of that year. It requires some machine work they state.

Real nice work! I have one on eaby (spedboat) right now. It amazing how some of the parts on these bikes changed in mid year. They came with two different silencers. One, like yours has the nut welded in place the bolt onto the carrier arm. Some had a through hole. Some came with a buldge in the mag cover and some flat like yours. Have you ever looked at the crank end (point side) on the micro fish? It doesn't match any crank i've come across in 18 bikes.

Again, nice work!

Dan

thanks guys for the information that will be a great help

Hey Dan,
The microfisch show a picture of the 75 model crank and side cover. The bulge in the mag cover was to clear the different crank which used a nut to hold the rotor on instead of a bolt. As far as I know the mag cover with the bulge only came on 75/76 models with the different crank.

That would make sence. But I have seen magazines with the 73-74 mag cover with the buldge in it.

Thanks Dan. I've noticed a fairly steady stream of your restored Elsies on Ebay. How many have you done so far?
Have you run into any parts supply problems yet? Are you keeping any for yourself?

You're right about all the changes Honda makes all through a production run. Service Honda has a nice deal where
you can access the actual Honda microfiche using a remote desktop connection. It is amazing how many different
part numbers and vendors are used for a single part. That's why your local dealer wants the serial numbers from
something like your carburetor before ordering parts. Case in point, take a look at the fuel line inlet fitting on my
carb and compare that to the fitting you see on most other Elsinores. Just like the silencer mounting bracket you
mentioned, there are a lot of variations.

dogger

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1973 CR250M
1979 CR250R
1993 CR250R
2008 CR500R
2009 CR250R