2017 KX250F - 2004 KX250

[umberto]

Bike looks great! The ding in the pipe hurts my feelings though.

I grew up playing and working in my father's garage.  He built hot rods and street rods (still does) for a hobby, and taught me a lot of what I know about cars and motorcycles.  Unfortunately, he did infect me with his perfectionism.  That old tatty pipe has been driving me nuts, but I needed it for mock up and "hammer adjustments".  The new pipe will be ordered as soon as everything is in its place.  Maybe then I can stop seeing the big dents and cruddy finish in my nightmares.   

[umberto]

This is one of his more recent cars.  It's a 1932 two door sedan with a Buick Nailhead, Turbo 350 transmission, and nine inch Ford rear end.  It's been channeled and chopped slightly, and has a 50 Oldsmobile dash.  The car fought him like crazy, so he nicknamed it, "The Witch". 

[kxpegger]

Working on a "71" Camaro restomod right now. Installed a 12 bolt Moser and Wilwood disc conversion. I ordered the brake kit about 8 years ago and explained to Wilwood at the time that 2nd Generation Camaros' never came with a 12 bolt rear end and that 2nd Generation had staggered shocks. One shock in front of the axle and one shock mounted to the rear. They assured me at the time that they would send the correct brake kit...not! 2nd Generation Camaro the brake caliper has to face rearward on the passenger side and forward on the driver side to avoid interference between the rear shock and caliper. The correct mounting brackets are on the way to the tune of an additional $90.00. I can only imagine what your father went through on his car build as I have only mentioned this one issue of mine!

Just kidding about your pipe ding. Can't remember where I read the article but they did testing on a pristine pipe and a smashed pipe. The smashed pipe made more horsepower over a broader range of RPM. I'm thinking it may have been MXA magazine quite a few years ago?  

Found the article:

https://motocrossactionmag.com/this-much-we-know-the-truth-about-speed-dents-rock-dings-and-pipe-catastrophies/

[umberto]

Working on a "71" Camaro restomod right now. Installed a 12 bolt Moser and Wilwood disc conversion. I ordered the brake kit about 8 years ago and explained to Wilwood at the time that 2nd Generation Camaros' never came with a 12 bolt rear end and that 2nd Generation had staggered shocks. One shock in front of the axle and one shock mounted to the rear. They assured me at the time that they would send the correct brake kit...not! 2nd Generation Camaro the brake caliper has to face rearward on the passenger side and forward on the driver side to avoid interference between the rear shock and caliper. The correct mounting brackets are on the way to the tune of an additional $90.00. I can only imagine what your father went through on his car build as I have only mentioned this one issue of mine!

Just kidding about your pipe ding. Can't remember where I read the article but they did testing on a pristine pipe and a smashed pipe. The smashed pipe made more horsepower over a broader range of RPM. I'm thinking it may have been MXA magazine quite a few years ago?  

Found the article:

https://motocrossactionmag.com/this-much-we-know-the-truth-about-speed-dents-rock-dings-and-pipe-catastrophies/

On this car it was a lot of electrical, and strange mechanical gremlins that were hard to get to.  I think the car must be haunted.     I'd love to see some pictures of your Camaro if you get a chance.  I sometimes miss working on cars, so it would be nice to see someone else's project.

I figured you were kidding on the pipe, but it is pretty nasty.  The guy that had the bike before me evidently was not aware that you could wash a pipe.     I may try a Pro Circuit combo or switch to the Fatty to try to change things up a bit.  I'm just trying to make mine as pretty as Sandblaster's KTM/KX combo, but he keeps adding bling.   

[sandblaster]

I'm just trying to make mine as pretty as Sandblaster's KTM/KX combo, but he keeps adding bling.   

All show... no go..  Seriously... I have no engine for it

[umberto]

I'm just trying to make mine as pretty as Sandblaster's KTM/KX combo, but he keeps adding bling.   

All show... no go..  Seriously... I have no engine for it

You want me to call MXA for you?  They'll probably just hang up on me, but I'll totally do it...   

[sandblaster]

No, I'm good lol...
I still have some engine mods to test first so this is giving me the time I need.
One of the mods we know does not work (KX500 turbo crank)... But I am still working on that one.
I think I know what's wrong but it will take some effort to fix it.
Time will tell on that one.
It sure works good on the 250..

https://www.facebook.com/oemcycle.quality/videos/1839938506052587/

This thing has over rev for days..
Not bad for a worn out top end on a otherwise stock bike...

Another mod is the Guru valves.
Mechanically they are ready to try... I need to get a cylinder bored and a head made to try them...
I finished the porting so I'm sending it off along with the crank to get some work done..

[umberto]

I was able to get my headstay painted and mounted today.  It is definitely stout; I stood on it with my 215 pounds, and it didn't flex a bit.  When I have it tightened up, I can remove the bolt that goes through the cylinder head without threading it out, so it has a bit of tension on it which is what I wanted.  All in all, I'm pleased with it.

I checked the capacity of the stock tank, and it checks in at 1.875 gallons without the fuel pump in the tank, which is pretty slim.  Once I get the radiators mounted, I am going to check in to the IMS tank.  I don't feel like pushing if I don't have to.  My cousin that I ride with had to push his KTM once, and I gave him way too much crap to have to push my bike.   

I got a petcock mounting bracket done, but it didn't work out like I wanted so I'll be on to version 2.0.  Let's just hope I don't have to go all the way to 4.0 like the head stay.  Once that is done, I just need to do the new coil mount, make new radiator mounts and shroud mounts, get two little brackets welded on the frame, and I should be able to ride this dude.

[sandblaster]

Sweet... Keep it up...

[umberto]

Sweet... Keep it up...

Thank you sir.  I came to the realization yesterday that I should have it done about the time it gets surface of the sun hot in Oklahoma.   

[umberto]

Brett at ICW got my radiators modified, tested, and shipped back to me in a matter of hours.  I can't say enough good things about his service.  The radiators should be here Friday, along with some new Devol radiator guards.  I am hoping the new guards are going to be about an inch to an inch and a half shorter than the stock ones, which should help with triple clamp clearance.



I should have all the missing parts by Friday, and hope to have this dude running this weekend.

[umberto]

I got my radiators back Friday, after UPS missed a scan and gave me heart failure for a few days.     I made some new brackets that moved them up 1/2" (instead of the previous 1"), and back 1/2" (instead of the previous mounts which were straight up on the stock mounts).  I had to make a hammer adjustment to the pipe, but it's pretty minor.  The best news of the day is that I was able to use my Acerbis three gallon tank (well 3.2 once you've removed the fuel pump). 



All I had to do was make a 1/4" spacer at the front, and all the hoses and fittings suddenly got happy.  I used the Devol guards, and now I have plenty of room to swing my triple clamps around.  I got my braces made, and called it a day.  I'll be back at it tomorrow, and hopefully I can post some video of it running.  Here are a few pictures of the radiators mounted up.

[sandblaster]

Sweet!

[umberto]

I'm getting pretty close with this dude.  Today I finished the crossover hoses and wrapped the bottom radiator tanks in heat shield.  The radiators are done and ready for fluid.  I got the throttle housing replaced (it had some mysterious orange paint on it  ), and the new rubber cover installed.  I also added the handguards, frame tape, and the graphics.  All in all, I am very pleased with the look and feel of the bike.   I added a couple of pictures below.

I did hit one snag.  The remote petcock I am using is just not going to work.  It has a weird mounting angle that kinks the fuel hose at the angle it comes out of the tank.  I am looking for another one that I can use.  Anyone have any suggestions on what to use?  The one I currently have is a KX450F from 2008.

[cmotodad]

Check out a shutoff valve off a CRF450. They are usually an easy mount.