97 cr250 questions

[turbophein]

i just bought this bike 2 weeks ago

265cc big bore kit, ported and polished, boyseen rad valve and carbon fiber reeds, pro circuit pipe and silencer, c-cycle front and rear suspension, pro taper bars and lots of little other stuff.

her's my questions?

bike is slow top end, i'm assuming it the 13/54 sprocket sizes. the bike feels faster than my 88 cr500. its a little to much for me. i am trying to tame it for the woods, its already decent, i kinda like being in 2nd through the trails and not bogging out, but i need more top speed. my chain is longer from the bigger sprocket, so instead of changing the rear sprocket which is more money and time consuming to change, i was thinking going up one in the front 14/54? would that be good or more like stock?

where can i get aftermarket parts for the cr250 online for decent prices? i know i need a stering stabalizer and a flywheel weight!

what do you think of the colored tires? i went to a mx stunt show last night and 3 riders had them!

my front forks are very very stiff and wont compress easily, the screws are turned all the way out. is it time for a rebuild? are they bent maybe?

thanks matt
aka Turbophein

 

[dirt bike dave]

FWIW, I think stock gearing on your bike was 13/49.

Factory Connection does a great job on older CR suspension. They can make it quite plush if you want.

Steering stabilizers are awesome but pricey. They all work great, IMO.

 

[oldfrt613]

Changing to the 14t counter spocket should help spread the power. Really surprized it had a 54 t rear. The '97 had pretty good power, I would suspect a fat main jet that hurting your top end, may try dropping one size or two see if it helps. '97 CR suspension from the factory sucked big time - especially the forks. Factory Connection does great work. Double check that the axle clamps aren't causing fork binding - this will really make them stick ( hard on internals too ). You didn't indicate what pipe, the SST actually works pretty good on that model year. I ran offset clamps to tighten up the steering. I think you'll find the countershaft change the best bang for the buck. Boyeson Rad valve is the hot ticket for bottom end response, but will require major jetting changes from stock.

Good luck with the new ride - I loved my '97

 

[NO HAND]

...I ran offset clamps to tighten up the steering....

Do you remember what was the stock offset on the 97? I have a few clamps wasting space in my basement and I don't know what year cr they fit on. One is a 22mm offset, I wonder what year it is because all recent cr comes stock with 24mm offset clamps.

 

[trevor9a]

I had my 95 CR250 bored to 265 and ported for mid to low. Running 13/50 sprockets. There was a noticeable drop off on the top end but it is much better for the trails and hills now. I weight 230 feel much faster in general. My GPS tells me that my average top speed is still about 50mph without topping out. I think if you change the gear ration you'll like the results. A 14t front sprocket is only $25. What's to lose?

 

[oldfrt613]

Stock offset on the '97 CR is 24mm - 22mm make a noticable diference, especially on flat corners. I'm pretty sure I ran the set off my '97 on my '01, and I checked, they fit my '05 ( you do have to make provisions for the front number plate, but no biggie )

 

[+30]

you mentioned aftermarket suppliers, I have had very good luck with mxsouth and with motosportoutlet.com and they have oem parts now for hondas too. Others like rockymountain and bikebandit and chaparral and bto sports have all been very reliable imho

 

[NO HAND]

Stock offset on the '97 CR is 24mm - 22mm make a noticable diference, especially on flat corners. I'm pretty sure I ran the set off my '97 on my '01, and I checked, they fit my '05 ( you do have to make provisions for the front number plate, but no biggie )

Thanks for the reply, I noticed you have quite a few nice bikes for 05. It must have been a good year for your dealer :) . I have this clamp that is stock honda between 97 and 99 but I can't find exactly what bike it was on. It is a 22mm offset. I found on the microfiche the 98cr125 has a different part number. Maybe it is the one with the 22mm.

 

[oldfrt613]

If memory serves me correctly, the 125 did use a 22mm clamp. The 250's use 24mm.

 

[NO HAND]

If memory serves me correctly, the 125 did use a 22mm clamp. The 250's use 24mm.

I spent some time researching this, and found my info on a clamp site. You're right, the only year honda produced a 22mm offset clamp in the last years is on the 1998 cr125. Strange it only lasted one year.

 

[turbophein]

First of all i want to say thanks for all your reply's!

The front suspension ended up being more or less blown! i took the forks off to check them and only one would compress normally. the other was very very stiff, and when it was tipped over back and forth, you can hear all the oil inside dripping throughout the fork. the other one is fine. Now i never seen a blown seal cause a stiff suspension, can anyone enlighten me on how this happens!

now i brought them to a local Good! motorcycle mechanic, he wants $200 to just rebuild them. i called factory connection in NH, i live in MA. they said $90 to rebuild plus parts and they will do some other fancy things that they have learned over the years, and he said he could tell me the spring rate, and hopefully it will be in my weight range 175-185 lbs. so this is what i will eventually do. but i already brought them to the local guy and he has one apart already, i know he is going to charge me. it sucks. this is my first time rebuilding a set of forks, i thought "factory connection" "c cycle" etc. charged alot more than they really do, like $500+. so thats my first horror story for one my best bikes yet.


i think i am going to try test out the 14T sprocket and see if i like it. i also just bought a used fmf polished pipe and silencer on **** for $40 Item number: 4599174793, i was reading that the fmf's are better for trails. the pro circuit is so rusty and is dented more or less the same. it wasn't much money and it polished up pretty good, i'll test them both and with both different sprockets. anyone have any input on the 2 exhausts. i am not sure of the exact model pro circuit i have, but it was polished at one time, not like others i have seen, not sure if that wasn't for different types and models. i kind of like pro circuit sound better as well.

As far as jetting, the guy i bought it from said the motorsports place he sent it to (i have the receipt) sent him everything he needed with the "Big Bore Kit" came with everything recomended, Ngk br7ev plug, the jets in the carb, air filter, replated cylinder (his own), piston, gaskets, etc. the guy said it had maybe 15 - 20 hrs on it, i've ridden the bike for maybe 2-3 hours now, and i noticed the other day when taking the forks off that my cylinder had a chalkie residue on it that i could wipe off. WHATS THAT?

thanks for everything.
matt