1978 cr250 street tracker

[samp615]

Inspired by the old trackers, I play on taking my bike:

And turning it into a tracker, inspired by these:

This is my first build. I do not plan on doing any chopping at all, out of respect to the husky. Here's the plan:

Tear down
repaint frame, rims, trees, fork lowers
new tires, possibly some from coker
lower front forks (hard part for me)
lower back, possibly have to buy new shocks (hard part for me)
new handlebars, speedo, kill switch, headlight
Possibly build new seat


I will leave the tank as is. I like the patina. I hopefully will keep the cables and just clean them up. Hopefully I will just have to fix up the breaks and not buy new ones. I am unsure about the seat but that will be last.

Does anyone have any advice on lowering the bike?

Feel free to chime in and give me some constructive criticism.

I want the bike to be functional and have a timeless look. I am on a budget, so hopefully I can do everything under $100. The tires may be the most costly. If I work real hard I bet I can do it for 500.

 

[dartyppyt]

Sounds good! You can get suspension shops to go in and make spacers to lower it.

 

[samp615]

Day 1

Had a solid 4 hours today between class to start the tear down. I do not have a garage or shop so thankfully it was sunny.

First thing I did was print out the entire part list and pinned them to a bulletin board so I can bag every screw with the correct number.

I tried to keep the bags on top/near the right piece of paper.

The tear down went pretty well. This is my first build so I was very nervous and tried to take my time.

The motor was a pain in the butt to get out. The bottom mount screw took some time to get off. I had to place the bike on my weight lifting bench to get leverage but finally got it. I pray to god I wasn't too rough and screwed something up.

The back wheel came off nicely. I am a bit confused about the swing arm because it doesn't have a bolt going across the entire arm like I am use to.

I kept the motor, stator, coil, and carb all attached because the bike as running find before tear down and I am very nerous to screw anything up

The bolt on the top triple tree was a pain in the a ss. I didn't have a big enough socket to get it off so I tried a vise grip. After a few tries I realized I was being dumb and may ruin the thing, so just need to go buy the proper tool. I ended there in order to end the day relatively trouble free.

Because I am a poor college kid I am trying to save money anywhere I can on the build. The frame is nice with little rust. Would it be possible to just use an aircraft stipper, then prime and rattle can paint it? I may do the same with the rims, or just get them down to bare metal then clear coat them. Do you reckon I'll have to rebuild them or can I leave the spokes in there?

 

[jimspac]

If you want to do a nice job, strip everything off anything you plan to paint. Seems like more work until you deal with the consequences

 

[Wildebeest90210]

Astro look could be good...

http://sideburnmag.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/inaugural-bultaco-astro-cup-gas-city.html

 

[samp615]

Frame is stripped, primed, and getting ready for paint.

While it dries I am considering how I am going to lower the bike. I have thought about cutting the front spring and either buying xs650 back shocks or using 1976 ke125 back shocks. The ke125 is about 3 inches shorter. I could also use the ke125 forks, but I am nervous it may be too low.

This is the height I am going for.

What do you think I should do?

 

[mike328]

I think you should pull the triple trees, swing arm and paint them seperately. Give you a chance to inspect bearings, repack with grease etc...otherwise you are painting your steering head swing arm etc.."In Place"...

You dont need to pull the bottom race on your front stem, need tool, but tape it off to prevent paint from getting in

 

[firecrackerkid]

Don't trust me here, but I think the 73-74 forks might be 35mm. They should be at least 2 inches shorter than your current ones. If I get a chance I will measure my 76 250 but the forks were getting longer by then.

 

[samp615]

Got the frame painted and did a mock up.

I slid the forks up about 3 inches. I really like this height for the front end. For the back, I used some 1976 ke125 shocks. I think this may be a little too low. These back shocks are roughly 3-4 inches shorter than stock. The way the seat works I am not worried about the back wheel hitting, just not sure if I like the look.

Anyone have suggestions?


As for the rims and a few other items I cannot decide if I am going polish them clean or leave them rough and dirty looking. This project as turned into an art project for me. I am trying to have a few things rough looking just because the Husky was a famous dirt bike while also slightly changing the shape to make it look hip.

 

[Ron]

I believe those forks have 9-1/2" travel. You "DO NOT" want the front wheel to bottom into the fender.
You'll take a quick trip over the bars when it does.