82 250 XC Refresh / dwarf build

Got the pipe done with a bit of effort, with the weather below freezing and sporadic breezes it made painting somewhat of a challenge in dashing in and out of the garage trying to catch the moments when there was no wind. This time around trying out VHT header paint with a coat of the high temp engine enamel over it to get a bit of gloss…..We’ll have to see how it’ll hold up.

Chain showed up and fitted along with the pipe and all was looking good for a near finishing up….. Then tragedy struck my small husky world when I went to do the muffler/spark arrestor……. WHAT! NO END CAP for the muffler!! Oh no! Not now!.. ......Yes it seems after searching in vain my ineptitude has stymied my plans once again. Near as I figure last Monday when taking the muffler apart, cleaning and digging out the old packing, the end cap ended up in the tray with the old packing and now is buried deep in the Fox Hole land fill south of Charlotte….

So now regretfully I’m in search of a muffler / spark arrestor or end cap for a 82 WR / XC

Distressing to say the least....

Pushed the XC out of the garage today, poured in a bit of fuel and took a couple of stabs at the kicker…..NOTHING …. Repositioned and had at it again….NO Joy….Then noticed a fuel leak, Rats! scurry back in the garage grab the pliers and give the zip-tie a tug at the inline filter which halted the leak momentarily, yet still a drip persisted. So it was drain the tank, and down to the out building to rummage through the jar and can collection of odd fixings to seek a more robust hose clamp.

Fixed on the inline filter better with a scavenged pipe clamp, mixed up a bit more pre-mix, got all serious with a milk crate to stand on to give the leverage for a proper stab at the starter and mercy ! The MAGIC HAPPENED with spark and combustion…. Gave it a bit of warm-up, and a light run up and down the street to satisfactory results mechanically, however the paint did lift immediately in a place or two on the pipe, the oil was foaming up the breathing tube and the clutch wasn’t feeling consistent, so it seems a bit more expected fiddling yet is due.

Great job Dave.....great to hear it's running. Mine foams up the breather pipe too if I rev it high. Always did....figured it was normal or over filled. I would love to hear from the experts on this.

I’m like you wasn’t sure if it was normal or if I’d used the incorrect oil (Castro GTX SAE 20W-50), perhaps we’ll hear some insight on this from the folks in the know.

Thanks all for the notes of encouragement.

Dave

i used to have this with bel ray gearsaver..quit using it and used atf or mc motor oil ever since. havent had either anywhere foaming up at any temp..atf shifted the best but i lately have been using amsoil or mobil one full syn jaso-ma engine oil to ensure the bearings and gears perhaps have better protection. the manual always usually calls for 20w oil

What seat height did you end up with?

Free standing the seat height is down to just under 36" (910mm) ...... Have dropped the suspension to about 10" of travel, WR territory which is about as much as want to go if possible....It's down to where I can in least throw a leg over it without topping over here in the driveway and figure if need-be I'll start trimming on the seat. Still lack due to weather getting it out for a light shake down ride as to get a idea of how the suspension is going to act, imagine it too will need some tweaking.

I don't see it being ready for the ahrma Chester CC, so it looks like we'll be sporting on a non-husky product next month.

Dave

Justin, thanks for the tips / info on the gear box…… Drained and refilled with ATF “F”, so far it’s looking golden with no sign of over flow from the gear box.

Here the other week went to have some side cover ovals done in white, off hand ask if they could do me up a set with trim and crown…. They came up with a rite fair example.

one nice thing about atf is that its so cheap you can change every ride and smile! it definitely improves shifting..

Nice job! I set up my '82 250XC last year for a 5'2" woman. I used some '83 175WR forks (9" of travel) and a '79 WR swing arm with 14.5" shocks (also about 9" of travel). This resulted in about a 34-35" seat height and the bike worked very well for both CC and MX. If you are going to race AHRMA the number plate backgrounds need to be yellow.

Yes I understand … post vintage ahrma ….school bus yellow with black numbers, however I’m pleading vanity and fancy the esthetics of the white on the side covers for now.

Planning on having a go this coming weekend at the ahrma CC over in Chester SC. It’s been quite some time since doing any type of racing so figure on contenting on a bike that I’ve got a bit more time on as to fare a better chance of keeping out of the way. The Husky needs in the very least narrower bars, and riding time before we go careening through the thickets with it…

Thanks all for the encouragement and kind evaluations

Really enjoyed this thread. I have the same height challenge issue as you and I've been sort of on the hunt for a '82 250XC or WR. Seeing as how it wouldn't be too difficult to lower an XC opens the search a little. I just finished a '76 MR250 Honda for AHRMA CC, but I like projects.

Any year Husky is easy to lower since so many years parts will swap back and forth. I could have put internal spacers in the stock '82 Ohlins shocks but it was easier for me to get an '79-'80 swing arm since I already had a set of Works Performance shocks the correct length. It took me all of about 30 minutes to swap the swing arm and shocks, and another 15 to swap the forks.