OzVMX Forum
Clubroom => Bike Talk => Topic started by: Husk72 on July 13, 2012, 07:22:37 am
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G'day.
I own a Honda CR250 1989 model.After months of getting it ready,I took it out for a ride,it certainly flies,and handles pretty well too.
Just as matter of curiosity,could you guys who know,or raced in that era,tell me which models in the Pre-90 class, would be the one to own,and race?
Thanks.
Cheers,Mark.
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If you get the standard front end sorted out on your 89 CR250 then the bike you own is perfect.
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I would go with 88 Honda just because the forks were much better the first upside down. With a good rear shock and a few mods they were the gun bike.
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All the '88 '89 250's are good, I've got a'89 cr250 and have revalved the forks and shock and love it.
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I would go with 88 Honda just because the forks were much better the first upside down. With a good rear shock and a few mods they were the gun bike.
Slakewell has a point the 88 was a great bike. I believe that some in 89 were running conventional 88 forks in their 89 CR's. I also believe that this was such a problem (the first upside forks on the 89 CR) that Honda in the US retrofitted all CR's sold with Mugen front end kits. That is what I have heard, not definate on that though.
That's why I said sort out the front end and you've got a brilliant bike.
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Which is the better Pre 90 bike to own?
How long is a piece of string? One man's dream bike is another's worst nightmare so my answer to the question is....'the bike that sets off a positive emotional response when you see or ride one'.
That goes for every era. If we all bought and raced the best bike according to the magazine tests or race results we would never see the great variety that sets vintage racing apart from its modern counterpart.
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Possibly the best post I have ever seen on this forum Firko. You have wrapped up VMX in a few short sentences.
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Right on Firko
One mans Junk anothers Treasure
Thats VMX
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Crap. '88, '89 YZ 250......
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Crap. '88, '89 YZ 250......
Are you saying that 88 and 89 YZ250's are crap Mont?
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Yeah that's right mate. You're wastin' your time working in a pizza shop. You should be on the telly.
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Best [pre 90] i ever had was an "86 KX125" was thrashed by me & the kids when they grew into it. Bought it new & never had the bottom end apart, ran it for a few years & put semi-regular piston kits in it whenever it was due for rings. Funny thing is the original piston lasted very well, & from then on--every piston got rattly & was always due to the gudgeon eye getting elongated [took me a while to figure that one out--till i rocked the piston & found it, could stand over the top & pull it up & down--albeit only a small amount like about i dunno, 10 thou. [not small]. Used to put the original back in if i was stuck for parts for the weekend & never rattled. What's that tell us--not sure--replacement pistons were made of cheese?. Thanks.
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Yeah that's right mate. You're wastin' your time working in a pizza shop. You should be on the telly.
I don't really work in the pizza shops (yes that's Plural Ross) .. I own them. I also have a full time day job as a Financial Analyst Ross so life is busy. Do you want to be my agent?? ;D
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Those early USD forks are rubbish. They can be improved, but will never be as good as the better RWU forks.
The "best" bike is probably any of the '89 250s, fitted with a US-spec KX 46mm RWU front end.
I love my '88 KXes. About as fast on either, and I enjoy riding the 125 more, but it gets hosed off the starts.
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For me 88 RM 250J :) would love another one ;D i raced it in MX and enduros best modern bike i ever owned 8) 88 and 89 KXs were good to but everything fell to bits on them or wore out even when you were at work thinking about riding them ::)
Every thread stripped in the subframe the 2nd time you removed the side covers , the bearing in the bottom of the crankcase for the clutch actuator broke up , the factory must have coated the cylinder with teflon before the nickasil because the nickasil peeled off quicker than a $10.00 hookers knickers and many other things . They were great bikes but very expensive to maintain ::) i sold the 89 (read gave away ::) )and rode my 88 rm again rather than take out another morgage ;D
85 CR 500 another personal favorite , dont know how different the 86,87,89 CRs are but the 85 was a rocketship ;D my first open classer , caused a bowel evacution every time i rode it ;D
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'87 CR250...it has the best pre 90 forks, and is the last of the classic Honda red and blue.
As Ned Flanders would say Scrum-diddley-umptios.
(http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o82/evo550/039.jpg)
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Sorry mate. You let us know every week. My bad.
Yep you sure are funny. That story about the tm left me in stitches...... :D
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For me 88 RM 250J :) would love another one ;D i raced it in MX and enduros best modern bike i ever owned 8) 88 and 89 KXs were good to but everything fell to bits on them or wore out even when you were at work thinking about riding them ::)
Every thread stripped in the subframe the 2nd time you removed the side covers , the bearing in the bottom of the crankcase for the clutch actuator broke up , the factory must have coated the cylinder with teflon before the nickasil because the nickasil peeled off quicker than a $10.00 hookers knickers and many other things . They were great bikes but very expensive to maintain ::) i sold the 89 (read gave away ::) )and rode my 88 rm again rather than take out another morgage ;D
85 CR 500 another personal favorite , dont know how different the 86,87,89 CRs are but the 85 was a rocketship ;D my first open classer , caused a bowel evacution every time i rode it ;D
Your riding style back then must have been even more ... unconventional... than it is now Bill.
Most other people talk of how poorly made that era Suzukis are.
The inserts in the KX subframe only seem to f$&k out when halfwits put in too-long bolts, or over-tighten them.
The other advantage is the similarity with the KX500s meaning that most bits are easy to get.
'87 CR250 is also a fantastic bike. Shame about the water-pump corrosion issues...
'88 YZ250 was way behind the others due to an unimpressive power delivery.
The '89 had a better motor, but is blighted by those early USDs.
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Getting away from 'best', I would love an 85 Maico 500. They look like a Honda works bike.
I don't mind my old 85 cr500 though. It goes okay.
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Lovin my 89 CR500 at the moment, has pretty good handling couldve been heaps better though
if honda had stuck with the conventional forks for another year.
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Sorry mate. .....
...... That story about the tm left me in stitches...... :D
Oh dear .. have you forgotten to take your medication??
And by the way ... don't refer to me as mate. I've never met you and I'm not your mate but with a personality like yours I'm not surprised you don't know the difference.
Now can you stop distorting this post in a vain attempt to push your own little agenda and give yourself a hard on??
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all the 88 89 250s are good I have a 89 CR250 its a bullet one of the fastest bikes ive ridden even compared to my 2011 CRF450 remapped with a pipe, the 89 forks took some work but with the help of frank pons & researching fork oils got them pretty good, Dean Burts 89 KX250 is pretty quick, they all have their pros & cons just like the current bikes id be happy with any of them so it depends what colour you like cheers middo
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Getting away from 'best', I would love an 85 Maico 500. They look like a Honda works bike.
I had an '84 for a lot of years Brad and it's up right there as the best Maico I've ever ridden and the fastest 2 stroke dirt bike period I've owned including the CR500 and YZ465. I really regret selling that bike.
To answer the question without being as philosophical as I was in my last post......'84/85 Maico SC500 if I was man enough to ride one to its full potential, or....an 1987 CR250 Honda.
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Sorry........ mate. :D
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all the 88 89 250s are good I have a 89 CR250 its a bullet one of the fastest bikes ive ridden even compared to my 2011 CRF450 remapped with a pipe, the 89 forks took some work but with the help of frank pons & researching fork oils got them pretty good, Dean Burts 89 KX250 is pretty quick, they all have their pros & cons just like the current bikes id be happy with any of them so it depends what colour you like cheers middo
Yeah contrary to some people's belief the '89 CR250 upside down forks can be made to work well with a revalve and a change in oil height.
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Time for dumbgeon me thinks!!! :)
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Time for dumbgeon me thinks!!! :)
You got a better thread going?
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Time for dumbgeon me thinks!!! :)
If folks slinging shit at each other is categorised as a "good" thread then i dont i'll ever be able to compete with this ??? ::)
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For me 88 RM 250J :) would love another one ;D i raced it in MX and enduros best modern bike i ever owned 8) 88 and 89 KXs were good to but everything fell to bits on them or wore out even when you were at work thinking about riding them ::)
Every thread stripped in the subframe the 2nd time you removed the side covers , the bearing in the bottom of the crankcase for the clutch actuator broke up , the factory must have coated the cylinder with teflon before the nickasil because the nickasil peeled off quicker than a $10.00 hookers knickers and many other things . They were great bikes but very expensive to maintain ::) i sold the 89 (read gave away ::) )and rode my 88 rm again rather than take out another morgage ;D
85 CR 500 another personal favorite , dont know how different the 86,87,89 CRs are but the 85 was a rocketship ;D my first open classer , caused a bowel evacution every time i rode it ;D
[/color]
I was talking to Ray Vandenberg when I was down in Victoria & he reckoned they were the fastest of them all! The 85 CR500
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all the 88 89 250s are good I have a 89 CR250 its a bullet one of the fastest bikes ive ridden even compared to my 2011 CRF450 remapped with a pipe, the 89 forks took some work but with the help of frank pons & researching fork oils got them pretty good, Dean Burts 89 KX250 is pretty quick, they all have their pros & cons just like the current bikes id be happy with any of them so it depends what colour you like cheers middo
Hey Muddo, what about my 89 KX still on original piston rings! Mine will beat deans in a straight line ;D ;D
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I guess I am biased, but like TMBill,the 1988 RM 250J is my pick.
It was acknowledged as the best bike by all the magazines that year -except MXA who were on Hondas payroll.
It looks unique and more importantly is easy to get parts for in 2012.
(http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/uu317/suzuki43/1988.jpg)
(http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/uu317/suzuki43/167179_10150126853182125_718257124_7685426_4805526_n.jpg)
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1988 was the year of the KX250.was a sweet bike.Brother had the 500.Where are they now. Cheers S
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There's a guy that was on MXTV (Can't remember the name) with a heap of CR's who's a regular at Parwan. He punches out about 30 solid laps at a time on his '89 CR 250 at a good pace. Told me he had made minimal changes to the forks.
Probably comes down to which brands shop is closest to you.....
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Thanks for all the replies,guys.
I have spent a bit too much money on the CR250 to get it up to almost race spec,and I put the question out there about "better bike for Pre 90"hoping I'd get some feed back on wether or not the Honda would be up to standard in its class.Having typed that, I appreciate all the comments,and some real nice pics that made there way to the thread.
Thanks to Johnny O,and the others who made comments about the forks not being the best,will get onto that problem,and sort it out.
Thanks to Brad ,and Firko,re-the Maicos. I own a CR500 1988 mod,and it goes really hard,would be awesome to hop on a Maico to see how it performs.
Also thanks to TM Bill, for another fab story,always enjoy your posts! :D
Cheers,Mark.
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Yeah, the down side of owning a pre '85/90 is all that techno gizmo (power valve, watercooling, linkage suspension, disc brakes) is flogged to within an inch of it's life, and costs an arm and a leg to revive back to former glory...
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Brad that old 85 500 of yours that I rode at cd7 is when I fell in love with them freakin awesome bike to ride and as I told you back then there will always be a place in my shed if you run out of room.
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I was lucky evo550,in that the motor had previously been rebuilt,it sounds strong,and pulls extremely well through the gears.
On the bad side; rear hub was broken,along with missing spokes,front and back brake pads were shot,steering head bearings were worn,fork seals needed replacing,new tyres,air filter,crack in the header of the exhaust pipe. Just normal wear and tear to the expected parts.
Cheers,Mark.
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88/89 I was on KTM350, you know the proper one where you mix fuel, best Enduro bike/off road bike, my bike was well used as had won the 4 day at Kalgoorlie under Scott Staines, but with Schletchen pipe it was missile.