Hello everyone!

I want to share with you a pretty exciting news. One friend of mine has gotten this beast for absolutely free, but she will need a crazy amount of work.


This is Honda XL250 from '72. Off-road bike. Unfortunately she was totally abandoned for over 8 years.

We are planning on getting her up and running in some time. It's going to be our project just for fun.

These are the first steps we are going to take:
1. Get carb cleaned and try to crank the engine up. If successful...
2. Put everything apart, what doesn't brake in the process, clean and see what needs replacement.
3. Get the tank free from rust
4. ... we will see
Also, everything will be documented I might get some pics to show you guys the current state of her's.

Here I'm asking for your input guys. I know there are some great and full of knowledge mechanics. We are open to any suggestions since this is our first project in such scale.

Right now we really need something against all this rust. What would you suggest? Well, I repeat again, any suggestions and advices will be very appreciated!

P.S. Dear moderators. I wasn't sure what section I could use for this kind of thread. Feel free to move it where ever you think it will fit the best.

Thanks!

 

Looks like a good find and challenging project as well. Is the photo a stock photo you found or one of the actual cycle? jsut curious from the logo on the bottom right of pic. It looks cleaner than the one your describing. Cool nontheless

 

The old XL's, I reckon the the things would run underwater. Ist off, because its a single carb & motor, not to complicated it getting the thing running. Hopefully the internals are not blocked up. Dropping a small amount of engine into through the spark plug hole, before you try & start it, may free up the rings & coat the barrel (Old seized motor trick, just a small amount, let it sit for as long as you can).
Take everything off the frame, treat the rust & repaint it, as for the tank (inside), there are a few sites for vintage bikes that tackle that problem all the time, worth checking out. If its really bad, then you may actually have to open the tank up (from underneath) to fix it, or you can end up with great chunks of corrosion getting into the carbie.
I don't think to many of those bikes ever saw a dirt road, but they are a hoot to fang around on, have fun & good luck on the restore.

 

I used to have a old XL250 that I used to go over fields with. It had no 1st gear and I couldnt start it unless I lent it against a post as I wasnt tall enough to k/s it normally.

Loved it, Ill be following this thread.

 

Thats a collectors piece!

 

Thanks fellows!

We will prolly be gathering together over the upcoming weekend to see what we can do.

I will also take actual pictures, since the one I posted is just random to show what I was talking about.

 

That's gonna be a great project!

Here's a pretty good rust remover. http://www.missbelvedere.com/overview.asp - $100 for a 5 gal concentrate. But is very safe on plastics and stuff.

 

sweet, i used to drool over this bike when i was a kid. neat find, good luck

 

Looks fun. I'll be just polishing up and doing some little cleaning on my buddys CB175. Old school bikes are fun. Wait till you drive them haha..way different.

 

I'd make sure the internals are still OK. If it sat for 8 years, that's a long time, and I'm sure without proper storage. Treat all the rust, and try to get it to turn over. Great way to start.