Finally running!

Well folks, last weekend my dad and I were able to put some solid hours into Project Rebuild. In fact, we almost have it totally finished. The weekend started when I got home early Saturday afternoon. I changed into some grubby clothes and headed straight up to the shop. The first order of business was to re-torque my head (2 posts previous) and get my engine buttoned up.

After I finished that, I tore into my old school Answer Equalizer silencer (previous post). I spent most of the afternoon working on that little project, but I can't complain about how long it took seeing as how great it turned out!

We got the exhaust all sealed up with high-temp silicone and mounted with springs and brackets. Our next order of business was to deal with the radiator hoses. Unfortunately, the braided stainless steel hoses that my dad got me for Christmas were too small on the inner diameter. Oh well, only a minor setback. We were able to pick up some 3/4" hose the next morning... crisis averted!

I spent the rest of my Saturday night getting the carburetor ready to go and finishing up other odds and ends that needed to be taken care of before it could be started. Sunday was the big day. I headed back up to the shop after Church and mixed up some fuel.

Finally, after a little over a year, I'm ready to start my 250R again! Killswitch? Check. Gas on? Check. Choke? Check.

Here goes nothing!

First kick

Second kick

Third kick... BRAAAAAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Project Rebuild is a success! After a few high fives and hand shakes between my dad and I, it really started to sink in that my old R was up and running again. After a ton of personal and financial sacrifices I was really going to ride this beast again.

Video of the first (more like 3rd when the video was shot, but who's counting?) start of my BDT Pro-X 363 Honda TRX250R!

I still have a little work left to do before it's totally finished like: front fenders, braided radiator hose, and new foot pegs; but I was finally able to ride it again. It ran like a Honda usually does... flawlessly!

Before and after pictures of my new silencer

I had a vision for this silencer before I even sent my money through PayPal to pay for it. I knew that it was in rough shape, and pretty clapped-out. Heck, that's part of the reason I bought it; I enjoy the challenge! The core was in two pieces, two of the holes for the end cap were missing threads, and it was in dire need of new packing.

Here is how it looked before I started working on it:

Pretty rough right? This is how it turned out after about four hours of work, sanding, and polishing. Better than new!

 That shine!

 I'm really digging the Pumashine silencer hanger that I picked up. A very high quality piece!

I'm not sure why, but this became my favorite part on the whole bike. I was super stoked about how well it turned out.

As you may have noticed, my 250R is almost finished in these pictures. A few things remain such as: front fenders, new footpegs, and braided radiator hose; but other than that I was able to get it pretty much finished last weekend. Tomorrow's update will include pictures of how it currently sits; plus a video of the first fire of my BDT Pro-X 363!

Check out this fellow two-stroker's videos

FREZ Productions is one of the leading producers of two-stroke (type of engine in my 250R) media on the internet today. They have a keen eye for aesthetics and a great attention to detail.

One of their videos, dedicated to the legendary TRX250R, is the most viewed 250R video on YouTube.

Check them out!

Ripping some snow on a CR250R way up North!
(The Honda CR250R is the dirt bike brother of my TRX250R)

One of my all-time favorite videos... a tribute to the legendary TRX250R. This video never gets old!

The last few pieces have arrived!

I just received the last few parts I needed to finish my build! I had to send my dome/shell out to BDT Motorsports in California (the company that built my motor) to be re-cut for the type of fuel I'm going to be running. I can't say enough about BDT Motorsports and its owner, Carlos. I was treated well from the start, even before I was a paying customer. The work they do and their customer service simply cannot be matched!

Like I mentioned earlier, these were the last few parts I was waiting on to finish my build. I'm heading back home this weekend to work on the bike so stay tuned for more updates and a video of the finished product!

Picture of the parts from left to right: Dome/shell, o-rings/copper washers for the head, jets/needle for the carburetor, and new throttle cable.

Upgrading the front suspension

Many would argue that suspension is the most important component on any performance ATV. I for one, am not going to argue this point. You can have all the horse power in the world, but if you can't hang onto your machine it's completely worthless.

Unfortunately, suspension is also the most expensive component to upgrade. Because of this, and because of my financial situation (paying for college) I wasn't able to go with a top-of-the-line suspension setup like Custom Axis or PEP. Instead, I opted to go with a set of WORKS Performance triple rate front shocks. After I received them, I sent them to Evan at SRS Suspension in California to be re-sprung and re-valved for my weight and riding style. Needless to say, Evan does incredible work and I was very pleased with the shocks when I got them back.

Before getting my shocks setup, I upgraded my OEM a-arms to a set of +2" aftermarket arms. Being 2 inches wider on each side, these a-arms help  with cornering and stability issues that were present with the narrow OEM a-arms.

Here is how the bike looked with the old 400ex shocks and OEM a-arms. (This picture was taken a few months after I bought it)

And here is my stance with my upgraded front suspension.

Here is a closer picture of my WORKS triple rates. Evan did a great job on my shocks, and I would recommend him to anyone looking to get suspension work done.

Builds that inspired me

In this little update I'd like to take some time to pay homage to some of the 250R's that inspired me to move forward with my build. These builds are the epitome of craftsmanship; true works of art.

Higgy87TRX425's LRD Attitude build. 

Andy Lagzdins' Roll Design Lobo - look at those parts! One of my all-time favorite pictures.

k10seibel's 1987 OEM Restoration - This man's attention to detail is second to none. 

Burns350R's Laeger MX bike - Fellow Iowan, top notch build! My motor is very similar to the one in his machine, except I'm running a Pro-X cylinder and Burns is running a CPI Sphynx.

troybilt's Laeger 496cc two-stroke MX monster! This is one of my favorite 250R's ever built. His attention to detail, and the craftsmanship/ingenuity that went into building this machine would be tough to match. Troy designed and welded his own custom exhaust pipe, as well as other custom touches like an aluminum gas tank. Truly one of a kind!

Stay tuned as I keep this segment going with more 250R builds!

Reassembly - Part 1

While I've already shown you bits and pieces of the bike and it's current progress, I haven't really shown much of the reassembly process as a whole. Today I'd like to take some time to show you all a few pictures I took while I reassembled the bike.

Here is a VERY poor quality picture of the frame when I went to pick it up from the powder coaters. I remember how staked I was when I saw how well it turned out!

Here is a picture I snapped after only a few parts were installed... As you can see the frame is still pretty bare, only the steering stem, bars, and radiator have been installed.

This is a picture of me getting ready to install the left-side a-arms, hub and brakes. Flattering picture, I know :)

Fast forward a few steps and the bike was finally a rolling chassis! At this point my excitement was going through the roof because it was starting to look like a complete machine again.

In future updates I'll discuss the changes I made to the front suspension, my motor choice and more installments of "It's the little things that count"

Stay tuned!