1974 Husky 250 Restore

Hello all, I just discovered these forums after picking up what I’m told is a 1974 husky WR250. I’ve always loved the look of these old vintage dirt bikes, so when I saw this one pop up on Craigslist for a few hundred bucks, I couldn’t pass it up. I bought it from a gentleman in his 80s that purchased it used from a dealer back in the 70s. It seems to be mostly complete and is not in too bad of shape for its age. It has not run in 30 years. I may do a total restoration in the future, but for now I would like to clean it up as much as possible and get this thing running again. It appears to have an aftermarket Mikuni VM36 carb on it which I have cleaned up and purchased rebuild parts for. I pulled the top end off and the bore is in pretty good shape with no deep scratches or anything I can feel with my finger nail. I measured it at 70.06mm and purchased a .50 over piston from Wossner (waiting for it to arrive).. My plan is to lightly run a brush hone through it and install the new piston. I have a few questions that maybe you guys would know the answers to.

- Is there somewhere I can find manuals for working on this bike? Even if I have to purchase them that’s fine.
- the serial # on the frame is MK21001 and the number on the engine is 2043. From what I can tell by looking online, that makes it a 1975 engine? but I couldn’t verify the year of the frame. Any insight on this?
-the exhaust pictured below is kind of strange compared to anything I have seen in pictures of these bikes. It has baffles like a super trap style exhaust. Is this a diy mod or something that was available?

Thanks for your help. Looking forward to bringing this bike back to life!

1) Free manuals at:

http://www.3medesign.com/technical-data.html

2) Looks like a 75 250WR - has the LELU front hub and the larger tank. Engine is definitely 75. Frame is a MK series, used on the WRs through 75 - even though the frame number does not look right the frame itself does.

3) Pipe looks as you suspect - a welded on Supertrapp - maybe to have a spark arrestor.

Great Snag!! Great Price!!
Don't ya love finding these little gems in some garage!!
Great Luck!!

75 is a unique year for the 250WR. Last year for the MK frame. The black fork sliders are magnesium, about two pounds lighter than the previous gray forks and they have more travel. Came with the Mag swingarm. First year for magnesium engine in the 250WR. Newly designed air cleaner, which yours is missing. With a good rear suspension it'll be a great ride.

Those rear shocks (Curnutts) have got to go, they're way to long, causing the brake backing plate to be shoved towards the rear and bending the brake rod. I ran a set of 13" on my 73 450 because they were cheaper than a set of Works or Fox but they worked okay for cross county. People called them Cur-clunks because of the noise they make when topping out.

To bad the exhaust was mutilated with the Supertrap silencer, but it'll be quiet! The counter shaft sprocket cover may be an expensive item as they where destroyed regularly from broken chains and have become scarce in recent years.

I currently have a 75 frame with a 450 engine and its loads of fun.

Awesome thank you guys for your replies and information. I really appreciate it. Good to know that it is a 1975. The bike actually came with 2 plastics that mount around the filter to form and airbox. I would assume that is the air cleaner you are talking about. I'll take some pics when I get a chance. You are definitely right about the rear suspension. These springs just about bottom out when I sit on bike in the garage. Cant even imagine riding through the woods on these things. I did do some Ebay searching for a sprocket cover, but the only one i saw was listed at $300 or something crazy like that. Luckily, the previous owner did a decent job fabricating a plate to cover it. That will have to do for now.

I'm sure that 450 engine in this little frame is a beast!

Just got the carb back together with a few fresh parts. Received the piston from Wossner, but I am waiting on the base gasket before I can put the top end back together. I am currently not getting any spark, so that will be my next hurdle. I'll keep you posted as I get time to work on it and make some progress.