Sitting onboard the ship last month, bored and with the funds from selling my Africa Twin burning a hole in my pocket I noticed this on eBay...... $4050 plus $550 freight to Brissy form Wangaratta ...........it was a nervous wait as I was buying sight unseen, from a complete stranger thousands of km's away but was over the moon with what arrived. I think the bloke did it up as a show bike to advertise his skills or something - all hand formed Aluminium tank and tail, painted in metal flake. A definite tribute to race bikes of the 70's. There are a few very minor issues but nothing that can't be sorted fairly easily. As it was done as a show bike there is no provision for indicators etc. I started looking at the wiring loom and quickly decided that 50 years of modifications was enough and it was easier to start again.
Indicators It's a 71 so pre-ARD's (came in 74 for cars, 75 for bikes). So I might get away without indicators BUT as the bike was delivered with indicators the water gets a little muddy. In the interest of perhaps trying not to get run over by some dickhead that is more interested in his Facebook status rather than the road, I am going to put them on. Have these in the post. Not the cheapest around but small, bright and sleek.
New loom..........Had all the correct colour/trace wires in stock so it will even match the factory wiring. Pegged the old loom against a piece of ply as a pattern and used the later GT250A diagram as a rough guide. I did add lots of earths - 70's Jap bikes are woeful in that department. Test fitting and terminating before it is all taped up. It's all back together now - waiting of some new LED indicators that have unfortunately not arrived before I go back to work so it will have to wait till next year.
I want my bike bench back for the 74L resto, so the last job on the TR250 that I need it up there for is the oil system. The bloke who built the TR250 informed me that he hadn't done anything to the oil system when rebuilt the engine. Every time I start the engine it pumps out massive plumes of heavy white smoke that ensues the neighborhood. If it's sitting for any length of time there is also the occasional 2stroke oil leak from the exhaust. Fitted on the end of the autolube lines to the cylinders are spring ball valves that should only allow oil to flow when there's a negative pressure in the crankcase. These gum up over time blocking oil flow with catastrophic results or what i suspect in this instance, sticking open allowing oil to flow on shutdown. They are also often damaged during cleaning when high pressure air is blown through the lines. Suzuki never supplied the valves as a separate item and hasn't supplied the complete oil lines for decades - Luckily for me Kawasaki uses identical valves (Part No. 16128-009) and is still a stocked item. Whilst I had it in bits, it was timely to overhaul the oil pump - this is another item that Suzuki never intended to be overhauled with no spares listed but there is a bloke on eBay Canada that sells kits with all the correct seals. https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/293724850411?hash=item44635d88eb:g:Z-oAAOSwJV1Z4nTY&frcectupt=true Refitted all the overhauled components leaving the banjo bolts loose on the cylinder end and the pump disengaged from its drive. Using an old tacho cable and a drill, primed all the air from the system. Now only indicators and it's ready for rego!
I spent a few hours in the QLD Transport office trying to register the TR250. As it is Pre-ADR (Australian Design Rules) there is no compliance plate and no previous records in their system. In the end I think they just got sick of me gave me the rego plate to get me out of there. So happy with this thing, feels solid and handles well considering its suspension technology, it even stopped!!!! not sure it would stop for the third corner after the drum brakes faded off. It even surprised me a few times when the front wheel lofted from a spirited start. The expansion chambers and pod filters really open it up with a pleasant sound. My only complainant is the seat. I only rode the dam thing for 25 miles and three days later I still have a bruise on the inside of my thigh where the edge of the seat bites.....will have to look into reshaping it but due to its tiny size and my big ass I am not sure it is going to work!
Good work on getting it registered , when I went to register my mates gt380 , we had to take it to an engineer for a L01 compliance plate which cost him another $200 the guy took one look at it , filled Out a plate with an engraver then handed it to me to rivet onto the frame
Yes, it's a nice bike - and you've made a good job of it too. But i'm an old fart who's ridden and worked on the real TR250's. I really, really, wish you'd call it something else - maybe a T250R A TR250 it ain't.
Ok, I thought that would go down badly. Fair enough. But the real TR250 is rare and quite special. Enough unique bits to qualify as "loosely based on" the T20. I've built a lot of race bikes in my time - but never claimed they were something they're not.
Then why keep commenting? As far as Im concerned he can call it the fuking "SS Titanic" if he wants to
And if you were in the ride I am sure you suffered in the blue smoke (might need to turn back the oil).
Distinguished Gentleman's Ride 2021 Perhaps not the best choice of bikes due to the stop/start nature of the ride (high gearing, no power under 5000RPM) but a good ride. As it's still a fresh engine I have the oil pump adjusted higher than normal - there weren't too many bikes fowling close! Even found a jacket and tie for the occasion.