74 250MC frame pics needed

[Husky500evo]

The alloy rear hub came off the '74.5 250 . It is the narrow style to suit the 4 speed motor & Maico only made a short run of them in late '74 apparently . They are hard to find , but come up on US ebay occasionally & fetch reasonably big dollars. The rear wheel that came with the 400 when it was basket case had a steel hub. The shocks are Ohlins classics & they are outstanding. They would be the first thing that I put on any pre '75 race bike . If you are only going to have 4 inches of travel , they may as well be 4 quality inches. I did recently win a set of these shocks on US ebay for a friend to put on his '74 250 elsinore & he is very happy with them.
     Thank you for the kind words Wombat . I am very pleased with the way this bike looks.

[firko]

A situation that was overlooked when the factory first modified the '73 frames to LTR was to strengthen the steering head area. The increased rear travel put a previously unexpected load on the steering head causing some frames to break in half. Any cracks were often missed due to the tank hiding the stress area. I personally witnessed three or four situations where this happened including Bob Church's monumental crash right in front of me on the Amaroo Park main straight jump and A grader Graeme Aldridge in the '74 Mr Motocross also at Amaroo Park. 'Churchys' accident was especially horrific as he was tapped in top gear when it happened. It was serious enough to warrant three or four paragraphs in GEs column in Revs.

The fault must have shown up in other places too as it wasn't long before the factory was gussetting the steering head area. By the time the 74 1/2 frame came out the frame had been suitably strengthened. Unfortunately many backyard modifiers forgot, or didn't think it worthwhile to modify their bikes in this area and I've seen some nasty cracked frames over the years. One old frame I have is especially neatly modified at both ends. The photos below show the neat platework and good t.i.g. welding. It's very similar to the Wheelsmith kit plates that were available at the time. It may even be a genuine Wheelsmith. Compare the plated head on that '72 frame compared to the stock '72 version in the foreground and Husky 500 Evos 74 1/2 frame. Disregard the birdshit repairs that had obviously been done by a later owner however!