'77CR250 racer resto

Ill text you.

So I came across a very inexpensive set of 40MM forks, same length as the 35MM forks that are on this bike. Complete with triple clamps. Will a 1977 Hub work with the 40MM set up, and if so I assume I need a different axle and spacer set up for the 40MM forks?

I think the axle is the same and if you have the tapered bearing cups installed the 40mm clamps slide right in. Again, this will bump you up into the 78-'83 class in AHRMA and most other vintage racing.

Local club not that strict on mods but would like to stay "legal" so I may have to save those 40mm for a wr250 i picked up. Good to know on the axles.

Our series is not all that strict. Hell we encourage heavily modified bikes. As long as it's something like a 77 maybe frame motor, rider... who cares.

Modified bikes are cool, I've got no problem with a modified bike as long as it is using period correct parts, which 40mm forks on a '77 is definitely not. Many people never race so all they want is better forks, they dont care about racing rules which is also fine. The only reason I mentioned it is he may some day enter an AHRMA event and I wanted to make sure he understood the forks would force him to the next newer age class in AHRMA.

I've never races an AHrma race. Have to try next year to make a couple.

Got my clutch cover and rear brake plate back from Rick H in Ohio. He re-sleeved the shift shaft hole and brake cam hole, they were as loose as a $2 h##ker. I then pressed in a new bronze bush to the brake plate with a threaded rod, good as new. Some paint on the side cover and the engine should be done....onto frame.

Back to this project... Frame is back from powder coat, but very pissed that I overlooked a missing bracket for the rear brake pedal. The brake lever is held on by two tabs through which a bolts goes and sandwiches it all together. I had been chasing a sloppy brake pedal and thought it was all the loose bushings. I was repairing the frame on another bike and noticed the extra tab on it....of course this is AFTER the powder coat was done on this frame. Upon close inspection, the PO had cut the inside bracket clean off. Since it is in a remote area, I'm hoping I can weld on the bracket without disturbing much of the PC, and then just hit the area with etch primer and rattle can silver.

'77 CR250 frame powdercoated:


Picture of '78WR/OR frame with inside bracket that is missing on my '77 frame":

I hate when that happens... happens to me a bit
Anyways nice build thread. You are in New England. Where are you racing?
Any races near eastern/central NY?

Eurofreak - I race the NETRA enduro series on modern bikes and a few NETRA vintage hare scrambles throughout New England. I do a few ECEA events in the PA area, but have not been to NY event for a few years.

K thanks- the only vintage events I know of are near Ithaca.

Ran into an issue with the centering of the rear wheel. For background, this wheel was rebuilt. I used the spokes that were on there (they were Buchanans) and I had Buchanans lace on a new rim to the hub. I'm using the same spacers, and the re-laced wheel assembly slips into the swingarm without any forcing or without any extra space. But it looks as if the tire/rim is not centered in the swingarm, center of tire/rim is moved to the right a bit. I do not know if this wheel was off center prior to the tear down. So:

1. How do I tell what the correct spacers should be? Wheel came with a 58MM spacer that seats into oil seal, then a "seal holder" that sits between brake plate and swingwarm. Since these two spacers provide the correct overall width for the wheel assembly to fit in the swingarm, I assume they are matched to each other correctly, but perhaps not the correct set for my wheel and brake plate?

2. If the spacers are correct, then would this have to be a case of an incorrectly spoked/laced wheel?

You have to know the reference side to side offset before you remove the rim to be replaced. At this point you need to find the distance you need to find the distance you need to shift to the left. Dismount the tire and tube and install the wheel in the swingarm again. First thing to check is whether or not your wheel spacers are correct by installing the chain and checking that the hub is centered first, You should be able to sight down the chain gun barrel to make sure the countershaft sprocket and rear sprocket are truly aligned. This will tell you if the spacers are correct or not. You can not fault Buchanan if the wheel matches the offset you gave them to start with.

If the chain looks good and straight with no side to side curves then that will show you have the correct centering of the hub. Center the hub if needed first before trying to shift the rim.

To shift the rim is going to be a somewhat daunting task. This of course is why you went to Buchanans to start with. At least you have a nice round and true rim to start with. You have to loosen all the spokes to shift the wheel to the left. Then check for runout radially and you can use a carpenter bubble level to check to make sure the rim is plumbed (make sure level across swingarm shows level first, correct is needed). Yes it is a lot of messing about but unless you can give Buchanans a solid reference to shift to

jimspac, I gave Buchanans just the disassembled hub and the year and model, I did not provide an old rim, but I see what you are saying - I need to determine where the rim should ride in relation to the hub and then measure the distance from the edge of the rim to the edge of the brake drum. The wheel would then be assembled to those specs. Hopefully the same spokes can be used to shift the rim over, but that would be too convenient.

You could also try placing 2 long straight edges from the rear wheel to the front wheel and see if or how much it is to one side .

So after checking the alignment as jimspac suggested, the hub is where she needs to be, chain lines up great, so it is definitely the offset, and not a spacer issue. I made sure the axle was perfectly parallel to the swingarm axle, and using straightedges along the side of the rim, I could see how it lined up with the center of the swingarm. The rim is off center 10MM. Does not sound like much, but when the tire is mounted it looked even worse. I don't trust that these are the correct spokes, so rather than trying to re-true I'm going to send back to Buchanans to have them take a look.

Pic does not show it well, but might as well post it. This is before I went back and removed tire and checked per jimspac instructions.


Slight step backward, but I learned something about wheels, and I am now up to speed on mid-70s HVA wheel spacer configurations. To lift my spirits, I'm bolting on the new ohlins tonight for some instant gratification.

Well Buchanan's is pricey, but the service is great. Just talked to them about the wheel and they are sending a shipping label and will fix it at no cost. They were pretty sure they set it at "stock" but they also acknowledged that this era of Husky had a lot of combinations with the 17 and 18 inch wheels and model years not really meaning too much.

If they have put a new rim on it, chances are it is not as wide as the original.

I thought that might be throwing it out too, but when I talked to Buchanans, they said they measure from sprocket mounting surface to the rim center so as not to have to deal with differences in rim width.

This is my first time with Sun Rims, they seem like excellent quality, way more robust than an Excel I had laying around. But the anodizing does not seem to penetrate too deeply, these will scratch easily. I'll enjoy the gold while it lasts but silver would have been a more sensible choice.