'99 KX250 Rehab (Budget Rebuild)

[Foxx4Beaver]

I was thinking, will i severely weaken or damage the rim if I drilled a hole for a rim lock? Or should I not chance it?

Ed

if it were me...I wouldn't....but...
you could try contacting Takasago and see what their thoughts are on drilling a rim lock hole.

[ecdeyzel]

if it were me...I wouldn't....but...
you could try contacting Takasago and see what their thoughts are on drilling a rim lock hole.

Thanks Fox. I have sent D.I.D a mail asking for advice, Takasago did not seem to have an email address. Maybe I should rather leave it than stuffing around with a good thing and messing it up.

Ed

[ecdeyzel]

Hi guys, I have been off the grid a bit. Had to take a break from the bike build in terms of spending money. But have completely stripped, cleaned and reassembled the front master cylinder and started stripping the engine. I found very helpful videos on line about the engine so it gave me a little confidence. Since I dont have the tools to completely take the bottom end apart, I am tackling the top end then will send bottom end away for inspection. The top end seems in good shape besides for lots of carb buildup in the power valve system and loads of that red silicone everywhere. The cylinder is really smooth with no scores. I was very happy to discover this.

I have disassembled the whole power valve system and cleaned all the parts. No broken gears or any lost pars. I am now trying to clean the cylinder block, but it's super difficult doing it by hand and it takes for ever trying to get into all the power valve porst to get the gunk out.

Are there any other DIY methods anybody can suggest? Can I boil the cylinder block to remove the wors of the oil and gunked up carbon or will it affect the cylinder in a negative way?

I will post some pics soon of my progress.

[Foxx4Beaver]

Are there any other DIY methods anybody can suggest? Can I boil the cylinder block to remove the wors of the oil and gunked up carbon or will it affect the cylinder in a negative way?

I will post some pics soon of my progress.

pipe cleaning brushes and degreaser work great for DIY...

[Actionman]

Hey guys, while I was at home for lunch I quickly counted the spokes and both are 36. So thats good, and they are both 1.60, should work alright.

I pondered about the rim lock a bit and thought of this...I've been riding my DR650 pretty hard off road and run it at 1 bar. It doesn't have a rim lock and never had issues with tearing the tubes, so I am actually not to phased about the rim not having a spot for a rim lock.

I drilled a 8mm hole opposite the rimlock on my 97 rm250. Instead of a rimlock i put a bolt through and added washers that were the same weight as my rimlock to balance out my wheel. It smoothed out my ride a lot (i ride about six miles on the highway to get to my trails). Before i did that the bars would move up and down like a jackhammer from imbalance. Just be sure to chamfer the new hole and drill it the same distance from both adjacent spokes and i think itll be fine as long as the rim isnt cracked anywhere else.

[ecdeyzel]

Are there any other DIY methods anybody can suggest? Can I boil the cylinder block to remove the wors of the oil and gunked up carbon or will it affect the cylinder in a negative way?

I will post some pics soon of my progress.

pipe cleaning brushes and degreaser work great for DIY...

Yea, thats a great idea, thanks Foxx! And any suggestions for the other areas? Like this...



I managed to get the cover nice and clean, but doing it in the actual block is another story. Took me almost 2 hours just to get the cover nice and clean like that.

A shot before removing everything



Before cleaning



After on cylinder head





Shot of the cylinder




Can anybody tell me what this nut is for? I tried to remove it. It screws out, but the get tighter the more I remove it. I didn't want to force it, so just left it.

[ecdeyzel]

Hey guys, while I was at home for lunch I quickly counted the spokes and both are 36. So thats good, and they are both 1.60, should work alright.

I pondered about the rim lock a bit and thought of this...I've been riding my DR650 pretty hard off road and run it at 1 bar. It doesn't have a rim lock and never had issues with tearing the tubes, so I am actually not to phased about the rim not having a spot for a rim lock.

I drilled a 8mm hole opposite the rimlock on my 97 rm250. Instead of a rimlock i put a bolt through and added washers that were the same weight as my rimlock to balance out my wheel. It smoothed out my ride a lot (i ride about six miles on the highway to get to my trails). Before i did that the bars would move up and down like a jackhammer from imbalance. Just be sure to chamfer the new hole and drill it the same distance from both adjacent spokes and i think itll be fine as long as the rim isnt cracked anywhere else.

Hey Actionman! Thanks for the advice on the rim. For now, I will try and run the front without a rim lock when the bike is up and running. If something goes wrong and I see that I definitely need a rim lock I will attempt drilling a hole. Figured a problem without running rim lock might be cheaper than if I have a problem after drilling a hole, so will try the cheaper option first. 

[sandblaster]

I run light weight rim locks from Motion Pro



Then, I balance my wheels....  

Cleaning?
There are many methods discussed on this forum.
Boiling, baking, oven cleaner, soda blasting, sand blasting, acid washing, hot water pressure washing, scotch brite... ect...
I use vapor blasting

[umberto]

Showoff.   

[Foxx4Beaver]

Yea, thats a great idea, thanks Foxx! And any suggestions for the other areas? Like this...

I use my buddies solvent tank down the street for the internals.

[Foxx4Beaver]

the bolt on the side of cylinder is a drain plug, so you can drain the cylinder before you remove it.

[ecdeyzel]

I run light weight rim locks from Motion Pro

Then, I balance my wheels....  

Cleaning?
There are many methods discussed on this forum.
Boiling, baking, oven cleaner, soda blasting, sand blasting, acid washing, hot water pressure washing, scotch brite... ect...
I use vapor blasting

My concern is with the rim lock is drilling a hole myself since the rim I got doesn't have one. So will try riding without one.

Haha! Total showoff Really wish I can get my engine cases to look like that. Can you elaborate more on boiling or anything I can do at home for the internals? Will anything be really bad for the cylinder? I am rather new to the engine side of things so have lots of questions.

[ecdeyzel]

I use my buddies solvent tank down the street for the internals.

Do you think boiling will help? Will it be bad for the cylinder? And how do I do it?

the bolt on the side of cylinder is a drain plug, so you can drain the cylinder before you remove it.

Cool thanks Foxx. The bolt was very stiff! Maybe I'll loosen it a bit and spray some penetrating oil to maybe loosen up the chalk stuff. Sure thats what is keeping it from coming out.

[Foxx4Beaver]

Do you think boiling will help? Will it be bad for the cylinder? And how do I do it?

Cool thanks Foxx. The bolt was very stiff! Maybe I'll loosen it a bit and spray some penetrating oil to maybe loosen up the chalk stuff. Sure thats what is keeping it from coming out.

I've never had to try boiling...I either use my buddies solvent tank, or the company I send my cylinders to...PowerSeal, to get re-plated....and they clean them up incredibly.

PB Blaster penetrating oil and a little heat...it'll come out.

[ecdeyzel]

Hey guys! Here is a small victory update. The rear wheel is done and ready to go. New bearings, seals and grease, sprocket, stainless steel hardware, rim tape I made from bicycle tube and rim lock.



Getting a top end gasket kit soon and will probably be able to send motor bottom end off next month.

Ed