Project CB250RS Restoration/Rebuild

CB250RS Parts Transplant – Indicators, Lights, Brakes and Finally the Muffler Arrives!
(Originally Posted on 20/03/2017)


This weekend, I continued transferring the lights, switches and clocks across to what used to be Bruiser as the muffler was still yet to arrive.

I started with the front indicators- they were removed from the frame and disassembled.



All parts were then sprayed with electrical contact cleaner and left to dry.



Meanwhile, I fitted the headlight mounting bracket.



With the bracket securely attached, the indicators went back on.



I called it a night and decided to get more done this evening after work.

When I got home, a parcel had arrived from Germany – my muffler had finally arrived!

As it was raining, I opened the parcel under the gazebo.



Not wanting to get the muffler wet already, I took it to the shed and unwrapped it fully.



It is definitely rated at only 12.5 KW, but anything is an improvement over just a header pipe and at least this one is a genuine part from this series.



I cleaned up the left muffler for comparison.



Next up, I decided it was past time to refill the master brake cylinder for the front brake.


The inner cover seal had warped a little from being exposed to air in an empty cylinder on one side and rust from the metal plate inside the lid on the other side.



I sprayed both parts with Inox and gave them both a good clean.



I filled the reservoir with fresh DOT3/J1703 brake fluid.



I placed the rubber seal under a magnetic parts dish to flatten it slightly.



Then I remembered the metal plate inside the lid, so I put the lid back under it.



I pumped the brake lever until brake fluid came through the tube to my brake bleeding kit, then pumped some more until it came out more blue than yellow.



I topped up the reservoir with more fresh DOT3/J1703 fluid to the high mark

The inner seal looked a bit less warped by then, so the cover went back on.





I got a phone call, so took a break at this stage and continued work until fairly late in the night. As this post is already a little late, more on that tomorrow!

(copied from my blog post of the same name)

 

CB250RS Parts Transplant – Headlight, Battery, Midsection Boxes, Choke and Carburetor
(Originally Posted on 21/03/2017)


After finishing the front brake, I moved on to the headlight assembly and clocks (instrument cluster, speedo and tacho).

First up, I placed the headlight housing and pulled all the wiring through.



I perched the clocks on top, then bolted them down.



I reconnected all the wiring inside the headlight housing, hopefully getting the loose plugs in the right places.



Popped the screws back into the headlight and moved on to the midsection.

The battery, battery box and airbox were removed from the “donor” bike (formerly Eric)…





…and transferred to the “patient” (formerly Bruiser)



Connected the wiring up on the patient, then a view of the donor for comparison.



I hung the mufflers up out of harm’s way, as I’ll need some more exhaust gaskets before I can install them.



I realised I’d forgotten to attach the front brand plate to the forks, so that was next.



The dask was looking incomplete, so I found the choke cable, threaded it through and fastened it.



Finally I fitted the carburetor and connected the choke and throttle cables.



Next I’ll be seeing if I can find any more spare exhaust gaskets, as I can only find one at the moment!

If I can’t find any more, I’ll order some and keep fitting parts towards the rear of the bike until the mufflers can be mounted.

(copied from my blog post of the same name)

 

Hmmm, not sure why that last one attached all the pics directly. Seems to have been a double post originally...

 

Something a long those lines. All will be revealed shortly!

I'll have a closer look and see if there are any obvious differences. Given that I couldn't find any other right hand mufflers I'll live with them if need be.

 

CB250RS Parts Transplant – Front Wheel Swap, Mufflers, Some Fiddly Bits, And Temporary Livery
Originally Posted on 27/03/2017)

I had a busy weekend reattaching things!

First up, I wanted to swap out the front wheel as the tyre was quite flat, the spokes are rusty, and the brake disc looks almost as grooved as a record from the same era as the bike!



Fortunately the donor bike had a front wheel with a nice firm front tyre, very little rust on the spokes, and a brake disc in much better condition.



After removing the castle nut and split pin from the left side of the axle, I was a little puzzled as to how to removed the axle, as I hadn’t looked at the right side closely before. The axle is held onto the right fork with a similar type of bracket to those used to to hold the the handlebar to the triple tree and the to hold the master brake cylinder in place on the handlebar.



Once the bolts had been removed, it was remarkably easy to remove the wheel and axle



I removed the brake pads, as I was planning to transfer them to the other set of calipers along with the wheel.



Next it was time to remove the sub-par wheel and put it aside to think about what it had done



The front brake pad retaining pins had other ideas about my plan to replace the front brake pads, so I gave up on that for now. I applied a fresh coating of grease to the axle on the good wheel, maneuvered it into place and loosely fitted the castle nut.



After tightening the axle clamp on the right side, I secured the castle nut and replaced the split pin.



I cleaned up the spare speedo cable gear and found the speedo cable. The retaining screw was missing from the one I had fitted with the wheel, so I used the one from the spare.



Speedo cable fitted at both ends!



While I was concentrating on the clocks, I fitted the tacho cable too.



It was getting somewhat late by this stage, so I left further work until the next day.

First order of business the next day was to make sure I put oil in, so I don’t forget before attempting to start the bike again! I opted for generic supermarket 10w50, as it’s cheap and doesn’t have come with fancy friction modifiers and additives that make most modern motor oils unsuitable for wet clutches. Regular readers may remember these as the “attachments” referred to in the CBF250 Shop Manual while troubleshooting Jack’s clutch slippage!



After filling up the oil enough for a cold engine, I popped the black tank and the red duck-tail and seat on, to remind myself how close I was to completion.



(continued below)
(copied from part of my blog post of the same name)

 

(Continued from above post)

I removed the chain from the donor bike and after a quick inspection and a shake I decided not to re-use it. The black crescents in the middle image areall the perished o-rings that fell out when I shook the chain gently a few times. The close-up on the right shows how few o-rings are left.



I decided to keep the clip-style master link as a spare in case of chain emergencies if I don’t have a chain riveter handy.



I figured even without a chain it would be useful to have a working rear brake again, so I started with the stay bar.



Moving further back, I saw the right side mounting plate was missing.



I realised the rear wheel stay bar wasn’t going to do much if the rear wheel wasn’t securely attached, so I removed the parts I needed from the donor bike.



I fitted the axle stopper plate, chain tensioning bolt and rear brake arm.



I fitted the rear brake rod – making sure all springs were in the right places – and reconnected the.rear wheel stay bar.



At last, it was time to fit the mufflers! First, I needed a pair of pillion pegs, as they also have retaining brackets for the mufflers. One was still attached to the donor bike, so off it came!



I placed the mufflers on either side of the bike, ready to fit. I opted not to fit new gaskets just yet, as I’ll need to remove the mufflers again in order to access the rear axle when I fit a new rear sprocket. I also fitted the rear brake lever and stopper plate.



Right muffler in place.



Connecting the muffler to the cylinder head was trickier than I expected, as one of the mounting bolts is significantly shorter than the other. It seems the mounting plate on this side has been replaced with one thinner one than the standard part at some stage to compensatate.



I reattached the cylinder head mounting bracket and tidied the cables through it while I had the socket wrench out.



Left muffler in place.



No problems with connecting the muffler on this side, as the threaded rods are standard length on this side of the cylinder head.



I decided to mount the rear indicators after straightening the mounting hardware. First up were the grommets.



The metal collars for the mounting screws went in next.



The mounting arms were screwed on and earth wires run through the holes in the rear fender/mudguard.



Indicators were attached and their cables run through the mounting arms and through the holes in the fender/mudguard.



Finally the cables were plugged in and the luggage compartment replaced on the rear fender.



Finally, I replaced the tank, duck-tail and seat and called it a day.



Not bad for a weekend’s work!.

All that remains now before finally getting a roadworthy check are swapping the front brake calipers so the pads match the disc, then replacing the mirrors, fuel line, front mudguard, front sprocket, front chain guards/covers, rear sprocket and chain!

I’ll also be re-fitting some side panels eventually , of course!

I’ve also been researching options for restoring the original colour scheme and livery – I’ll post more on that in a future update.

(copied from part of my blog post of the same name)

 

Hey Jo, although I don't have to remove the mufflers it makes it easier to get a torque wrench in to tighten the axle to specified torque.

I'll probably be replacing the threaded bolt on the cylinder head or the whole cylinder head, so not putting the gaskets in just yet anyway!

 

CB250RS Parts Transplant – Sprockets, Chain, Side Panels, Mudguard And A Fuel Line
Originally Posted on 03/04/2017)


This week, I started with removing the rear wheel from the donor bike and salvaging the sprocket from it.



The sprocket and the wheel it came from…



And the sprocket after cleaning up with degreaser.



Next was the rear wheel from the “recipient” bike



This sprocket looked a lot worse for wear.



Almost like a saw blade compared to the donor one!



One of the bolts from this wheel had a 13 mm nut on it. I cleaned all 12 mounting bolts and nuts up with some degreaser and picked the best-looking ones



While the wheel isn’t in the best shape, I figured I can put a new tyre and new sprocket on it ready for when the bike needs a new chain. I put the better sprocket on the wheel as it had the better tyre before taking a short break for lunch.



After lunch, I compared my three front sprockets. I opted to use the right-most one as it had the least wear.



I cleaned up the primary drive shaft before fitting the sprocket.



The sprocket and the locking plate in place, fixed in place with the mounting bolts.



I opted to re-use the spare chain for now, after a liberal coating of “rust buster” spray.



Adjusted the chain tension, tightened the axle nut and fitted a split pin.



I popped the side panels in place and re-fitted the front mudguard.



I removed the front brake caliper from the “donor” bike and placed it in my bench vice to have another crack at loosening the stiff screw on the rear cover.



It chose not to cooperate, so I brought in the heavies – a small sledgehammer and traditional impact driver of the style from the days before they were all motorised. The recalcitrant screw soon saw the error of its ways!



Getting back to the chain, I realised the rear chain guard was a bit warped, so I retrieved the one from the “donor” bike and gave it a once-over with Inox.



Fitted and looking good!



The lower front chain guard was next. I fitted the plastic one too but I must have been getting tired by this stage, as I seem to have forgotten to take a photo of that step!



The helmet holder that matches the ignition, fuel and steering locks went on next, but was only fitted loosely as I’ll probably switch all the locks with Scarlet’s later.



Finally, I cut a fresh length of fuel hose to replace the piece that had been broken off prior to the parts transplant.



I haven’t started the bike again yet, I’m saving that for next week!

(copied from my blog post of the same name)

 

CB250RS Parts Transplant – A New Fuel Tap, A Name, Kick-Starting, And Packing Up Parts
(Originally Posted on 10/04/2017)

Last week, my new fuel tap arrived!



While it fits perfectly, I didn’t fit the tank just yet, as I want to repaint it first.



I’ve also decided on a name for the resulting bike after the parts transplant.

As it contains parts from Eric and from Bruiser, I decided to smash the names together and came up with a few possibilities:

ERI-SER, BRU-RIC and ER-SER were all briefly considered before thought of ERIC-ER, as the bike’s working parts are more Eric than Bruiser.

This quickly became Erica, because the gender of inanimate objects is completely arbitrary anyway!

Heres a video of Erica’s first start after the surgery



After running Erica for a while, I decided to swap out the rear duck-tail fairing.

The original seat from Bruiser with the blue duck-tail fairing



Scarlet’s original duck-tail on Eric’s old seat.



I removed the very dodgy self-tapping wood screws I’d only ever intended to use temporarily on Eric’s seat



Bruiser’s old seat still had the original mounting screws, so off came the duck-tail.



Onto the better seat and a close-up of the mounting screws.



A couple of vanity shots of Erica with the black tank still fitted until the blue one is repainted.



With the obligatory full shots of Erica out of the way, I stacked the spare mudguard and duck-tail fairing next to the very dented spare tank.



I decided the seat could go with them.



Looking at the frame, I decided there was still toomuch on it, so I set about stripping it down completely.



The ignition coil and High Tension lead were the first candidates.



The mounting posts shared with and the mounting plate for the Regulator/Rectifier were next.



The wiring loom and rear brake light switch followed soon after.



The gear shift lever and mounting pin came next.



At this point, I decided to start bagging things up and labelling them to prevent further damage and in case I decide to part them out.



I moved on to the wiring clips.



Copied from part of my blog post of the same name)
<continued below>

 

<continued from above post>

The kickstand seemed like the next logical step…



…until I realised I needed to take the mounting bracket for the footpeg off to remove it!



With suitable persuasion I was able to convince it, however!



I also removed the swingarm axle in the process, though.



Naturally, I removed the rear shocks and swingarm next

.



I replaced the axle in the swingarm so I wouldn’t lose any of the parts.



I noticed the rear brake stay bar was attached with a split pin and bolt at the swingarm end as well, so I removed it and put the bolt back through for safekeeping.





The cylinder head mounting plate and cable clip were next.



The right footpeg and bracket came off fairly easily.



I’m glad I was able to remove the final mounting bolt by hand, as I don’t have an allen wrench this big! It was about 8 mm.



The horn and throttle cable guide came off the front of the frame.



By this stage, I had just the front forks and main stand left to remove.



As I don't yet own a 30 mm spanner or socket, the main stand was next to come off.
The spring came off very easily without a wheel in the way.



The split pin was easy to remove with a pair of pliers.



The stand itself wasn’t quite so easily removed from the frame!



I got it eventually though.



With the stand removed, I picked up the remainder of the frame.



I found a suitable space for it and put the wheels away behind it



I cleaned up the main stand and its spring with some degreaser and they came up pretty well!



Finally, I started Erica and rode her up the ramp into the shed before stuffing the parts box full and locking up the shed.



(Copied from part of my blog post of the same name)

 

Erica Gets The Spares
(Originally Posted on 08/05/2017)

Sylvie's new mirrors turned up unexpectedly, after I'd already received a refund form the seller.

Sylvie’s new mirrors freed up the spare mirrors, so I took a last couple of photos of Erica without mirrors before fitting them.





Here are both the new mirrors for Sylvie, and the spares I had been using.
Spares are on the left.



Voila! Mirrors at last!



I ticked off my first item from Erica’s list since it was written up.



(Copied in part with some edits from my blog post)