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Project 1993 ZZR-250

Discussion in 'Your 250cc Projects' started by Murdo, Aug 17, 2016.

  1. Murdo

    Murdo The Good Doctor Staff Member Contributing Member Ride and Events Crew

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    1937 Royal Enfield 250, CF Moto 250 V5, Honda's XL250, CBR250, FT500 plus a few others.
    Changed to 15wt fork oil 135mm from top of leg and put a 10mm spacer on top of the springs and it rides a beauty now. Very pleased with how it rides.
     
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  2. Murdo

    Murdo The Good Doctor Staff Member Contributing Member Ride and Events Crew

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    The 1998 is now sold. I still have the 1993 model left to either rebuild or sell on as a project.
     
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  3. Murdo

    Murdo The Good Doctor Staff Member Contributing Member Ride and Events Crew

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    My Bike:
    1937 Royal Enfield 250, CF Moto 250 V5, Honda's XL250, CBR250, FT500 plus a few others.
    Seeing as how I couldn't sell the 1993 model for what I wanted, I have decided to do a full rebuild on it. I brought some bits and the frame into my place from the storage shed and started on disassembling ready for cleaning and painting.
    xxx 001.JPG
    I liked how the other one rode so plan to put a bit extra effort into this one as it may be a keeper.
     
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  4. kiffsta

    kiffsta Senior Member

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    hey Murdo

    I have a good runner here if you need parts , Its next in line to be stripped, mine is a 1999

    Cheers

    Chris
     
  5. Kirk

    Kirk Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    Might grab the carbies off you if I can't get mine running nicely. Have got some new float needles on order so hoping that sorts the problem out.

    @Murdo will be good to see you work your magic on the little ZZR, can't wait to see what it ends up like.
     
  6. Murdo

    Murdo The Good Doctor Staff Member Contributing Member Ride and Events Crew

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    Thanks Chris. I am still going through boxes I had left from the first one, so not really sure yet on what I will need. You would be my first place to call anyway. :thumb_ups:
    Thanks Kirk. Still deciding on whether to go with the original colour or go modern with a Ninja green.

    Spent most of today cleaning, cleaning, cleaning and took the frame bits to the sandblasters.
     
  7. Murdo

    Murdo The Good Doctor Staff Member Contributing Member Ride and Events Crew

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    My Bike:
    1937 Royal Enfield 250, CF Moto 250 V5, Honda's XL250, CBR250, FT500 plus a few others.
    Time for update.
    Stripped the rear link to check and regrease.
    ZZR rebuild 001.JPG
    The rear link had some wear in only the shock mount. You can see daylight through between the bush and sleeve.
    ZZR rebuild 002.JPG
    New bush and seals on way.
    Both the speedo and tacho had lost their needles, so pulled apart to clean, lubricate and replace the needles. Closest things I found was the spray tube from a wd-40 can, so cut to length and glued on. Note how faded the temp needle looks now.
    ZZR rebuild 003.JPG ZZR rebuild 004.JPG
    Thermostat was stuffed (its wide open), so new one coming. Also put in a new temp gauge sender as difficult to get at when assembled to bike.
    ZZR rebuild 005.JPG
    This is the instrument surround panel. Some 'Numpty" in a wreckers somewhere has written on the side you see, why couldn't they put it on the back????????
    ZZR rebuild 006.JPG
    Lots of rubbing with thinners soaked rag to get that off.
    On to the biggest job, repair and paint the fairings.
    Why do people put bloody bog and fiberglass onto ABS plastic? Most of it came off with fingernail, some needed a flat screwdriver to lift off. None of the 'repairs' done were any good and now have it plastic welded back together properly (and no bog).
    ZZR rebuild 007.JPG ZZR rebuild 009.JPG ZZR rebuild 010.JPG ZZR rebuild 011.JPG
    Rather than spend hours sanding all the little bits I glass bead blasted the paint off.
    ZZR rebuild 008.JPG
    At 50 psi it was enough to remove the paint without damage to the plastic.
     
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  8. Murdo

    Murdo The Good Doctor Staff Member Contributing Member Ride and Events Crew

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    My Bike:
    1937 Royal Enfield 250, CF Moto 250 V5, Honda's XL250, CBR250, FT500 plus a few others.
    Today was a cold, wet and miserable day so I stayed in and spent the day screwing
    ZZR 2 001.JPG
    my freshly painted bits together. Last two weeks have been pretty constant rounds of cleaning, straightening, fixing, blasting and painting. Have them all ready to start.
    ZZR 2 001.JPG
    Not bad for a days effort, all greased and torqued up. Start on the electrics tomorrow, then the engine next week.
    ZZR 2 003.JPG ZZR 2 004.JPG
     
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  9. ruckusman

    ruckusman White Mans Magic Master Premium Member Dirty Wheel Club

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    Can I suggest perhaps breaking the sentences a little differently when it comes to inserting images, that first line is a doozy, I thought WHOOPS someone is oversharing
     
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  10. Murdo

    Murdo The Good Doctor Staff Member Contributing Member Ride and Events Crew

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    My Bike:
    1937 Royal Enfield 250, CF Moto 250 V5, Honda's XL250, CBR250, FT500 plus a few others.
    More updates.
    Had not intended to split the cases but when I found this on the oil pick up strainer I decided it a wise move to have a look.
    VT for sale 031.JPG
    It appears to be old gasket material that has been chewed through the gears. Plenty in the bottom of the case too.
    VT for sale 032.JPG
    After a really good clean of all the oil galleries, replaced the bearing on the output shaft (probably had an over tightened chain at some time) as it was a bit 'growly', new seals on shaft, etc. The crank and balancer shaft bearings all measured up within specs with only one tiny mark on crank middle bearing that was not a problem. Cleaned it all again and re assembled using Loctite grey maxx sealer. All torqued up ready for the sidecases and some paint.
    VT for sale 033.JPG
    I have been unable so far to find any oversize piston/ring kits for a reasonable price. I had some bookmarked when I restored the orange bike, but when my computor crashed I lost a lot of info and cannot find any. I will use the best of the three barrels I have with the best pistons and just some new rings.
     
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  11. Murdo

    Murdo The Good Doctor Staff Member Contributing Member Ride and Events Crew

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    Measured up all the barrels I have today and none of them are any good. 1 has had water sitting in it (pitted), 2nd has had rings fluttering and rippled the bore and last one is just worn out. I have dipped into the savings and ordered 2mm oversize Wiseco piston kits, so will have a few more cc's as well (about 265cc) to give it some more 'ponies'.
     
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  12. beano

    beano Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    excellent work, loads of pics and details, i love these threads, you learn so much!!
     
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  13. Murdo

    Murdo The Good Doctor Staff Member Contributing Member Ride and Events Crew

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    Some pic of the barrels to show what is wrong with them and why they will not be used as is without machining.
    These ones had been left in a box and had got wet. The water has pitted the bores which would caused the engine to use oil and may cause the rings to 'jump' over the craters and possibly break.
    xxx 001.JPG
    These are rippled from the rings being too loose in the pistons. Note also the mark in the left bore from where the piston had been left sitting for a long time.
    xxx 002.JPG
    These have done a lot of Kms and are worn beyond the limit acceptable for rings to have the correct tension to seal correctly, not to mention the piston would 'slap' around in the bore as well. Note also water marks in right bore, but not yet pitted.
    xxx 003.JPG
    This is the 'lip' left by the wear of the rings at the top of the bore, about 0.25mm deep.
    This, if left there and new piston and rings fitted would maybe cause the top ring to break as it hit the ledge each time it came to the top of the bore.
    xxx 004.JPG
    This is the other side where it has had a bit of moisture sitting on top of the piston. It would clean off ok, but is still worn.
    xxx 005.JPG
    This is the head from the worn engine. You can see where the burnt oil has turned to carbon and is coating the valves and combustion chamber.
    xxx 006.JPG
    The head from the other engine shows it was running much cleaner (ie not burning oil).
    xxx 008.JPG
     
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  14. Murdo

    Murdo The Good Doctor Staff Member Contributing Member Ride and Events Crew

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    Time to start on the head.
    Removed all valves and cleaned on wire wheel. The seat are not too bad and should clean up nicely.
    First I had to make a new spiggot for the seat grinder. I made this back in about 1976 and has done many valves since. Because it was made then, the collard end is 1/4" (not 6mm but 6.4mm) and it took a bit of searching to find some 1/4" bar. This then had to be trimmed down to 5mm, the same as the valve stems.
    ZZR250 002.JPG
    And polished to a smooth surface so as not to score the valve guides.
    ZZR250 003.JPG
    New one here with old ones and tool holder. The cutting stones screw onto the thread and then turned with a drill.
    ZZR250 004.JPG
    Doesn't need a lot of speed or pressure, just a little WD-40 for lube.
    ZZR250 009.JPG
    One on right done, left to do.
    ZZR250 008.JPG
    The seats were in pretty good shape and only needed a light touch to bring them up to specs.
    ZZR250 006.JPG
     

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  15. Murdo

    Murdo The Good Doctor Staff Member Contributing Member Ride and Events Crew

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    My Bike:
    1937 Royal Enfield 250, CF Moto 250 V5, Honda's XL250, CBR250, FT500 plus a few others.
    The ports had a few little casting 'dags' on them and stepps where they were cut by the machine fitting the valve seats.
    ZZR250 010.JPG
    I got my Dremel tool out and with a rounded end cutter smoothed the lumps and bumps.
    ZZR250 011.JPG
    This is not 'porting' (as you would do to enlarge the ports for a power increase) but just cleaning and smoothing the ports without changing the shape or size. The ports in this head seem to me to be of a good design, and I don't want to mess with the smooth running or low rev torque by enlarging the ports and slowing the gas speed into the cylinders.
    The exhaust ports were badly carboned up and I used the same cutter to clean off the grunge.
    ZZR250 012.JPG
    You can see on the left how much carbon (burnt oil) was in the port behind the valve restricting the exhaust flow compared to the cleaned one on the right.
    ZZR250 013.JPG
    I fitted up the intake rubbers to make sure that they matched the intakes, and checked the exhaust the same. All good.
    ZZR250 014.JPG
    Using fine sanding drums I cleaned up the ports to smooth any marks left by the cutter.
    ZZR250 015.JPG
    Final step was to run a tap through the sparkplug hole to clean any burrs and carbon out.
    ZZR250 017.JPG
    Next will be to grind the faces of the valves and lap them into the seats using grinding paste, then to take into the laundry tub for a meticulus scrubbing with strong soap (I use CT-18) and very hot water to get all the minute bits of grinding out, then blow off with airline before reassembly.
     
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  16. Murdo

    Murdo The Good Doctor Staff Member Contributing Member Ride and Events Crew

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    With the valve seats ground, I needed to do the valve faces. I used to take them with a split sleeve to a friend at Repco machine shop, but he is not there anymore and the new blokes are not interested in helping me. So I set about making my own using my lathe and battery drill. I set a mounted stone in the chuck and made a holder for a drill accessory chuck to hold the valve. Some experiment with an old valve got the angle right and spinning the lathe backwards and drill forwards got a nice finish the the valve face.
    ZZR250 head 002.JPG
    ZZR250 head 001.JPG
    When I had all the valves done, the next step was to check the height of the seat contact on the valve face. I put a small dob of bearing blue on (also known as machinist blue) and fitted each valve and rotated on the seat. This must be done to check that the seating area of the valve face is not too close to the edge or the seat too wide. If this is so, it can be rectified by recutting the seat inner or outer until the correct seat is made. This was spot on in the middle.
    ZZR250 head 003.JPG
    Exhaust also looking good. Note that the exhaust valve seat (on right) is wider than intake. This is to help with the heat transfer of the red hot valve to the head and to stop the seat burning.
    ZZR250 head 005.JPG
    My lapping tool I bought many years ago (cost me a whole $1) was too big for the tiny bike valves, so I used a piece of 3/16" (4.8mm) fuel hose pushed over the stem of the valve from the camshaft side.
    ZZR250 head 006.JPG
    ZZR250 head 008.JPG
    With some fine grinding paste applied to the seat and twisted between hands to rotate the valve and 'lap' the seat and valve face together.
    ZZR250 head 007.JPG
    ZZR250 head 009.JPG
    This gives a grey line around where the surfaces touch and finely mates the faces together. Now for a good wash and assembly.
     
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  17. Murdo

    Murdo The Good Doctor Staff Member Contributing Member Ride and Events Crew

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    After a really good wash, and then again to be really clean it was time to reassemble the valves. All clean and layed out on nice clean rag. Don't forget to clean all the tools you will be using before use so that no dirt is transported onto the nice clean head.
    ZZR250 head 011.JPG
    First I made a little tool from some 10mm bar drilled and de-burred on one end to fit the valve stem seals.
    ZZR250 head 010.JPG
    A good hand push is all that's required to fit them.
    ZZR250 head 012.JPG
    All the components of the valve. From left, the collets which grip the valve stem, spring retainer, inner and outer springs, steel washers which stop the springs from 'eating' into the alloy head (most essential not to forget them) and the stem seal.
    ZZR250 head 013.JPG
    Using the spring compressor tool to hold the valve spring retainer down while fitting the collets (most fiddly job on engine)
    ZZR250 head 015.JPG
    ZZR250 head 014.JPG
    When cleaning off the rocker faces with a fine flap wheel I discovered a couple that the hard facing was chipping off. Lucky I had a couple spare.
    ZZR250 head 016.JPG
    All bits fitted and rockers oiled and a bit of cam paste applied to the faces to protect for those first few seconds before the oil gets to them.
    ZZR250 head 017.JPG
    Wrapped in rag to keep clean until my pistons arrive.
     
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  18. Murdo

    Murdo The Good Doctor Staff Member Contributing Member Ride and Events Crew

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    :dance2:Pistons have arrived, so took them and barrels to the reborer. Should be back next week. :dance2:
     
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  19. Murdo

    Murdo The Good Doctor Staff Member Contributing Member Ride and Events Crew

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    Good weather today so out with the spray gun.
    Looking green.
     

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    Last edited: Aug 9, 2018
  20. Murdo

    Murdo The Good Doctor Staff Member Contributing Member Ride and Events Crew

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    Wet sanded all the panels with 800 grit and got the stickers on. Cleaned off and two coats of two pack clear. Looking sweet.
    Riskys 2KR 007.JPG Riskys 2KR 008.JPG
     
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