Vintage Dirt Bike Q & A

I am finishing up the plating on my '79 CR250 resto and I have yet another question
about the original finish. Does anyone know what the original finish was on the
kickstarter knuckle? I don't remember from back in the day and from the pictures
I see of the bikes now, it just looks discolored compared to the kickstart arm.

The part I have now is in good mechanical shape and while the finish is used up, it
has what looks like a little gold coloring to it.

I am wondering if the knuckle was originally gold CAD plated like so many other
components on the bike. Any of you '79 experts know definitively?

Thanks for any input.

dogger

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1973 CR250M
1979 CR250R
1993 CR250R
2008 CR500R
2009 CR250R

I put a NOS one on my bike. It was the same finish as the kick starter i.e. starts out fairly bright but dulls quickly. I would polish both parts to slightly less than high gloss. The pin is chrome plated.

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

Thanks Michael. I'll clean up the knuckle and clear (silver) CAD plate it and have the pin re-chromed.
Speaking of chrome, I need to have the kickstarter for my '73 chrome plated again. I ruined the
finish when I had to fill weld then redrill the pin hole in that knuckle and lever to get rid of the
"floppy lever" syndrome.

Since the local chromer charges by the job, I might as well take in a batch of work.

dogger

_________________
1973 CR250M
1979 CR250R
1993 CR250R
2008 CR500R
2009 CR250R

dogger,about your engine cases do you do your own powder coating. i was wondering how you masked it so good. i took my harley case to our only local powder coater and the job looked horrable. i really do'nt want to take my 125 cases there unless i mask them my self . i have been thinking about getting my own powder coating set up maybe i will just wait. i have been in the auto painting business for 25 years i may spray the cases with urathane and hi temp rattle can the cyl. and head. i need to get this thing done i have to many projects going. allso do you have a trick way to get the studs that hold the cyl. to the case out. there really in there i would hate to break one off. do you know if new ones are available thanks jay d

Jay,

I know what you mean about less-than-good work done by so called professionals.
I can count on one hand the number of shops I have sourced work to that returned
a good job. That is what motivated me to learn how to do these things and then
invest in the equipment to do it myself.

I do all of my own powdercoating. I started out with an Eastwood hobby gun kit
and a used oven I bought from an appliance store. I learned most through trial
and error and managed to get a pretty good grip on the basics.

As my work improved, my neighbors and friends started showing up with more and
more work which helped fund my Eastwood Pro gun and 64 cu ft oven which is
enough for me to do anything bike related.

As for masking your cases. I decided early on I wanted to paint the inside with
glyptal paint to seal the castings and promote better oil flow. This turned out to
be a big pain-in-the-butt. I masked every gasket surface, every bearing boss,
every surface that needed to stay bare. This was time consuming, tedious work
(several hours per case). Once I had the inside painted, I removed all the tape from
the inside surfaces and assembled the case halves, clutch cover, ignition cover and
powder coated. This insured I'd have good clean gasket surfaces and minimal to no
powder overspray. Once everything was cured, I took a razor and cut the coating
at the case center, cutch and ignition covers and took everything back apart.

I powder coated the cylinder and head seperately.

If you don't paint the inside of your cases, the job would be fairly simple. Bolt the bottom
together making sure you mask off the cylinder mounting flange amd plugging all holes, then
powder coat.

As for the cylinder studs. What works best for me is to spray some penetrant (I use Liquid
Wrench) in the wells around the studs and let sit overnight. Place the case in an oven at
250-300 degrees for half an hour. Remove the case and thread on a couple of flange nuts
with the flanges up against each other on each stud and tighten securely. Make sure to
leave a box wrench on the stud below the bottom flange nut before you tighten because an
open end wrench will almost certainly round off the flange nut. The heat causes the aluminum
case to expand at a higher rate than the steal stud. Use the box wrench to remove the stud.
One word of caution. These bolts are 30 years old so treat them accordingly. I would use
a mallet to wack the box wrench a couple of times to break it lose. If that doesn't work,
leave them in and work around them if they are in otherwise good shape. Same goes for the
cylinder head studs. Neither is still available from Honda.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Hope this helps.

dogger

_________________
1973 CR250M
1979 CR250R
1993 CR250R
2008 CR500R
2009 CR250R

dogger, you are right if you want a good job you probably need to do it yourself. i have been reading a lot on the caswell site powdercoating fourm, lots of very good info. there. if you hav'nt been there take a look. i will try the stud thing soaking for a few days thanks jay