hapanese

Stuff is good
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Mar 25, 2001
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Bought a 1990 CR250 as a project bike. The bike had been sitting for a long time. I bought the bike for $50.00. The first thing I noticed that was wrong with the bike was that the fork seals were blown. I ordered new seals, and have yet to replace them. After further investigation, I noticed a tiny spot of rust on the fork sliders. Obviously this is the reason why the seals are blown. Is there a way to repair the slider? Would the slider itself need to be replaced? Pardon my spelling, but would hard anodizing fix the situation? I may have a simular problem with the rear shock. Is the Rod replaceable, or do I need a new rear shock?
 

RM_guy

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Damn Yankees
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Nov 21, 2000
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If it is rusted that means that the base metal (under the plating) is pitted. Depending on how deep the pitting is you might be able to polish it out and have the tube re-plated. It doesn’t take much of a pit to make the seals leak. I have polished out small scratches but you must not make the surface too smooth or oil won’t be trapped on the surface (to lubricate the seal lip as it slides along the tube).

Your best bet is to by new or good used tubes. They can be expensive but will save you lots of grief in the long run.

Good luck
 

hapanese

Stuff is good
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Mar 25, 2001
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Not anymore! The bike was in pieces when I bought it. The guy was moving and had to get rid of it. It was in really bad shape. He painted all of the plastic and the frame without removing anything. I actually had a 1991 CR 125 and used some of the parts off of it to rebuild the 250. Basically the bike had to be totally rebuilt. Ive put about $500 into it so far. Its still an ongoing project.
 

shockdoc

Member
May 3, 2001
327
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RM Guy's right, best bet is to replace. The '89 & '90 45MM Showas were prone to wearing the chrome off the tubes anyways as I replaced many over the years. Since you don't have much into it & if you want to keep it for awhile it might be worth it. Make sure to replace the bushings also.

If money is an issue you may be able to "rig" it for awhile by just replacing seals & bushings and sand the tubes good to make sure there are no sharp edges from pitting. Although it's not the right way I've seen them last several months this way. Good Luck


doc
 
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