THE BASICS
WHAT
2000 Honda CR250
WHO
Rocci Nardi
WHERE
some dude in Melbourne
HOW MUCH
$7500
WHY’D YA BUY ’IT?
I’ve always wanted a two-stroke because of the fun factor and idolising blokes that used to ride CR250s, but while racing, I always stuck to four-strokes. Then one day back in 2023, while I was servicing my last 450, I was just over it and thought, now’s the time! I’m kicking myself because I’m a Honda boy through and through, and a couple of my mates had some tidy ’07 CR250s that sold cheap pre-COVID that I missed out on. I started trolling Marketplace, initially looking for an ’02–’07 model, when this one popped up that looked pretty tidy. The previous owner had done kind of a soft resto on it, but as Marketplace goes, it’s never as tidy as you think.
WHAT YA DONE TO IT?
Not even five minutes off the trailer into my first ride, it did a head gasket, so I did a top end on it pretty much as soon as I got it. I threw some VForce reeds in it as well while I was in there. Being 25 years old, the jug is already sleeved, but the head will be getting swapped out next top end with a Phathead. The chrome on the pipe was flaking, and the previous owner hit it with the MAP gas bottle to make it look good, but it looked absolutely horrible, so we blasted it and turned it into a works pipe, which I bloody love! There aren’t a lot of options available for the ’00–’01 era CRs in the way of pipes.
Next was getting it to handle my weight, so John at EMP Moto in Wodonga took care of that. Once again, being 25 years old, it was in a pretty sad state and needed some parts from the States that took a while, so while I was saving pennies, we had the thought of Cerakoting the suspension that darker colour, and I’m really glad that we did that, it is the icing on the cake. The thing handles awesome, and he did an amazing job!
The final piece was getting it looking the part. Black and red Hondas have always looked trick in my mind, so that was always the look I was going for. I hit up Rach and the girls at Teencee for some custom stickers, and they absolutely killed it! The chrome numbers were a last-minute decision, but I’m so glad we went with them, it really makes it pop! Then just a heap of bling bits from footpegs to levers.
HOW DOES IT GO?
It is an animal! Nothing compares to old-school raw two-stroke power. For an overweight, washed-up C-class racer, it’s plenty of bike. It handles like it’s on rails, goes where I point it and soaks everything up. It is the most fun bike I have owned. Sometimes, if I’ve had a bad day, I’ll just go out in the shed and start it up, and just listening to it is enough to brighten my day, haha.
WOULD YOU RECOMMEND IT?
100%. They are just a really cool, fun bike. A bad day on an old two-stroke is better than a good day on a new four-stroke. The best part of it is getting it dirty, I can’t stand restored bikes sitting in lounge rooms.
5 THINGS WE DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT YOUR BIKE
- It’s my first two-stroke
- Only ever ran castor in it
- My first dirt bike was a 2000 XR70, so I’ve come full circle
- Previous “resto” was shocking
- It’s my daily ride
