1979 WR 250

I've been picking away with the little bit of time I have available (Work is busy, steelhead are running, wife feels ignored, etc. etc)


It hit me that the frame is pretty wrecked. I can make it functional as a rider, but if someone was looking to do a garage queen job on it, they'd either pass on the bike entirely, or at-least swap the frame. With that in mind, I was considering going "off color" with the bike.

Would that lose the respect of all of the CafeHusky elite (i.e. regulars), or would you all be interested to see what I come up with?

go for it

i have a powdercoated 79 wr250 frame hanging in my rafters...i never ran it..good shape before the powdercoat too. let me know if its something you can use.

It's your bike, so do whatever your want, as long as it doesn't end up on this thread:


http://www.cafehusky.com/threads/hu...-tansformed-poor-conditions-and-others.41978/

I haven't reviewed that full thread, can we be sure that it wasn't in that thread before I got it?

Finally split the engine. Not the best of news.
First this fell out:

I'm guessing it's a circlip that came loose and has been shortened a bit by kicking around in the gearbox. No big deal, should probably pick up a few circlips and thrust washers before putting it back together anyway. Any suggested sources for those?

Then I noticed these cracks:



So, right side center case is rough. Anyone have suggestions for fixing it (there are some good welders around here), or just find a replacement? I would want to strip the paint from both cases to check for added cracks first. That just a matter of sandblasting, or any other recommended methods?

What is the correct tourqe specs for cylinder and head bolts and nuts on that model?

Screws 20 Nm, Nuts 25 Nm.

Back to my questions:
So engine cases, mag alloy, right? Weldable or not? Anyone know the alloy designation?
Any recommendations for stripping the paint from the engine halves? Hand sand, sand blast, any chemical strippers that work on the factory paint?
Source for the various circlips and thrust washers, can these just be picked up dimensionally?

All right, I finally gave in and sourced a better looking case. It will still need paint though. Any tips for stripping/painting or the transmission stuff?

Well looks like you don't need a welder. The right welder can weld these. I have to send out to be done. Now a local
Husky owner here tried another he basically set the cases on fire. Guess what fireworks are made from?

I had hard time sourcing, but circlips are easy to source. Those internal bushings would go husky , try HVA

Any good stripper should work. Blasting Mag you can gouge it. You will find whatever Husky used is tough Please look up Dartyppyt in the restore section here for some info on KBS coatings primer coat. As primer nothing like it. tough. You need to finish cost this as no UV protection here. Just some ideas. Oh the KBS will take the heat when you put bearings in

Thanks, I was thinking that sandblasting would be off the table (not that I have a cabinet anyway). The left case of the pair I picked up does have some damage as well, so maybe when I'm done using the two good halves on this project I can get the damaged halves welded and assemble a second engine in case a rolling frame comes available (I know I have a problem).

The cases are magnesium they burn if not in a welding gas shield. I crank up the argon gas on the TIG welder and use a cardboard box to weld the part in. I run the gas to flood the box with argon first before welding. I tried every new welding process while at work just to learn it. Different materials. It was fun.

I could design, fabricate by bolting, but learning how to weld opened up a whole new world for me over 25 years ago.

I weld on a acorn welding table. The cardboard box is open on the table side. I had one magnesium droplet fall through the square holes in the welding table and catch fire. I didn't think when I stepped on it to put it out I have many Richard Pryor s going in all directions on fire. Mini droplets. Lmao.

I'm far from worrying too much about welding the cases, and while I do have a MIG welder, and use it occasionally, in no way do I think I'm ready to weld Magnesium. That's one worth hiring out (for me).
For now, my main focus is on building one engine. The transmission looked pretty good overall on the inside once I tore it apart. Third gear dogs (main shaft side) are somewhat worn, the other gears look downright good. I think that it looks serviceable (looks better than the image in the service manual of a dog needing replacement), and willing to take the informed risk and keep using the existing gear. Hopefully I do not regret that later.
Looks like I don't need to replace thrust washers or circlips, almost wonder if a PO replaced them at some point, they are all in decent shape. I'm also not sure where the remnant of a circlip came from (pic from 7/26), as there were no readily apparent missing circlips when I pulled everything apart. Guess I better sit down with the parts manual and account for everything.
The engine center case needs painting, no getting around that. I really hate painting....
Cylinder studs have surface corrosion but no pitting. The threads are good. Wire wheel, oil and install, or replace?

Circlips are actually stamped. There is a round side and a flat side(more square corners) the square corners go to the out side there's more holding power. The round side can pop off under force, the square side can't. It mates exactly to the square corner in the groove.

Food for thought,.

Bill, I appreciate that info! It had never crossed my mind and makes a lot of sense.
Am I allowed to mention again not looking forward to painting the case?
Question along those lines. Paint first or bearings first? On one side, don't want to potentially get paint onto/into new bearings and the heat could benefit the paint curing. On the other, the bearing work could damage the fresh paint job....

snap rings are the same way

Making slow progress. The swingarm that came with the bike is questionable to me and I've gotten my hands on a '79 CR swingarm that's in decent shape. The arm is, of course, a bit longer and the lower shock mount is a little bit further back.

Has anyone successfully swapped a CR swingarm onto a WR frame? In looking at the Race Tech book, the angle of the shock absorber itself doesn't really make much of a difference in ride geometry, more the angle of the swingarm and the angle of the forks and center of gravity (which will always be high when my fat butt is on the bike). Is going that route ill-advised? I'm assuming I'd want to find a slightly longer set of shocks and load them up with slightly heavier springs (maybe even do some math to figure out which ones).

go to a suspension guru like drew at wer, he will solve those issues

The bike will turn slightly different cuz your adding to the wheel base and it wont be as quick and nimble in the woods.

I may have a line on a sound WR swing arm.
In all honesty, the difference in length of the arms isn't very large (like 30 mm), a change in geometry, but not much of one. The bigger headache is the change in mounting point for the shock (which doesn't affect geometry, just the spring rates, etc).