ADB reader Darcy Ott shows off his rebuild on a 1994 Honda CR250 he bought in Brisbane from Gumtree for $400!
WHY DID YOU BUY IT? Dad bought the bike for the electronics for an 1984 Honda CR500 he was doing up, and due to the issues Dad saw whilst going through the parts, he really wasn’t interested in taking the time to restore it. However, Tim, the now proud owner of this cracker, bought the 1994 Honda 1994 CR250 so he could go riding with Dad and his friends, each year at the Conondale Classic Weekend just for fun. Tim wanted a nice bike to ride at Conondale and a bike that could go into the Show and Shine, at least once. For those interested in this event, it’s early June each year and it’s tucked in behind the nearby towns of Maleny, Montville in the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. The Sunshine Coast Motorcycle Club host and the school P&C cater for this awesome event.
WHERE DID YOU BUY IT? It was bought off Brisbane Gumtree, after some discussion in the shed and a rum or two, the decision to tackle the rebuild was made and the planning started.
WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO IT? The 1994 Honda CR250 required a full nut and bolt restoration, and Dad and I try to do everything we can ourselves. A 2005 CRF450 front end steering stem was machined by Steve Carey, and the fork tubes were re-anodised whilst at Charlie Costanzo of Costanzo Racing Tuned. He also rebuilt and tuned the suspension and boy, did he work his magic!
We installed 2020 YZ foot pegs which were a direct fit and did a full engine rebuild. The subframe was rusted out, so Dad machined new rails and TIG welded them in place. The frame rails were repaired, and the frame and subframe were sent to be powder coated the same as the foot pegs. The wheels were re-spoked and assembled by Dad.
The engine cases, triple clamps, head, barrel, radiators, swingarm linkages and swing arm were wet blasted, and the rear brake pedal was machined out and re-bushed. A later model genuine crank without tin coating was fitted, we sourced a genuine gasket kit, and Dad machined new collets because the OEM’s did not fit the UFO plastics properly.
HOW DOES IT GO? I’m very impressed with the power that this bike makes, it sounds very crisp and thanks to Charlie Costanzo’s suspension rebuild it handles as well as it looks. It looks so good in fact that Tim put the bike in the ‘Show and Shine’ at Conondale this year.
WHAT DID YOU LEARN WHEN RESTORING THE BIKE? OEM parts are getting harder and harder to find, for example the rear brake return spring was bought from England. You need to do your research on the parts, as Dad always says “nothing fits like OEM”. It’s also handy if you can fabricate or machine small parts like spacers or collets, that may not necessarily fit perfectly, especially if you are using newer frames or aluminum frames and putting older motors in or if the plastics differ slightly.
WHO DID YOU USE/RECOMMEND FOR PARTS AND HELP?
My thanks to everyone listed below for helping to get the bike to where it is today!
- Steve Hammermeister – Mini Motors Chinchilla
- Charlie Costanzo – Costanzo Racing Tuned
- Steve Carey
- Jamie Flew – Bean Industries (The Guru)
- MXStore
- JTR ( John Titman Racing) supplied the rims and spokes
- Shane – Linear Graphics Toowoomba
- Dare Decals