So.. This was my first ever bike, finally got it around 3 years ago now, had it sitting in the garage for the first 3 weeks of ownership while I sorted out a license. First time ever on a bike (besides a few hours under 30kph at the license course)... Was raining, but I'd been obsessively wanting a bike since my first pillion ride at 11yo lol, so I wasn't gonna let that put me off. Made it to the end of my street, 50m away... Wet, downhill, hit the front brakes a bit too hard... You know where it's going. Pretty minor damage, few scratches and the water pump housing had a small chunk torn off. So I should probably get this straight - Despite my huge interest and love of bikes, I have very little knowledge of how mechanics/engines/etc work. (read- None at all except that fuel goes in and speed comes out ) I lent the bike to (what I thought was) a more mechanically adept friend of mine to fix up the pump and make sure nothing else I wouldn't know about was wrong with it. Aside from the broken water pump and some scratches from the drop, the bike was absolutely mint. He... :icon_scratch:... He put some quick drying putty over the cracked pump housing and took it out to see if that worked. First, no it didn't. Second... he smashed it t-bone style into a cage. I understand now why they told me "treat your bike like your women, noone rides but you". This is what I got back :'( [Just pretend the attached pics are here lol] (it did still have full fairing... hanging from one side in pieces, so I took what was left off..) So. That's the story. It's been a little over 3 years now, and there's finally some space in my garage to start taking things apart and figuring out where to go from there. As stated, I am clueless when it comes this stuff. Biggest mod I've done on my new bike is putting LED blinkers on it. Basically the plan is to keep the engine and frame, and build a whole new bike around it. So far this is all just thoughts and theory, just figured opinions would be a nice thing to get before I get too far in and realize 'part x whatever' just plain isn't going to fit because of some stupid mistake. Thoughts and theory so far is- (don't know the technical terms for most stuff, bare with me) Wider back wheel/tire New swingarm to accommodate tire, anything else needed? Dual-rotor front brakes instead of single Entire new front end (forks, bars, dash, etc) Can I rewire it or add anything to make it button or key ignition instead of kick start? Un-dent tank Battery probably long dead by now? Replace. Full respray (I'm thinking something like this but in a dark grey with the ripped up parts showing yellow/orange/lighter grey digital camo. Mmhmm). New back end to look sharper and more modern. Is it possible to fit a gixxer back end on here?. Full custom exhaust. (with underseat pipes) That's it so far, haven't really been thinking about this for long cos I haven't had space in the garage to get a start. Sister just went on 6month holidays, her damn Valiant took up like 8 bikes worth of garage space. Gone now so time to get started. Do any of these ideas so far scream total idiocy at anyone, or should I get past considering and onto planning?
Hey Jiggens Welcome to the forum, I have to say apart from the missing fairings, dinged exhaust and the bent forks, she looks in remarkable condition. Good call your comment, "treat your bike like your women, noone rides but you", while Im more a swinger and let most ride my bikes, I work on the proviso "You Bend It, you Mend It" Looking at your plan, I see some good points but would caution you on others, lets work through them : Wider back wheel/tire Depends what the end goal is with the bike, but changing wheels sizes "can have an adverse effect on handling, might pay to get some expert advice on that one. New swingarm to accommodate tire, anything else needed? See above Dual-rotor front brakes instead of single Some RG models shipped with dual brake disks on the front, might pay to tray and source a twin disk front wheel, but you will also need calipers to suit and your master cylinder will need to be upgraded to suit twin disks. Entire new front end (forks, bars, dash, etc) Hmm, not sure how you will go with this one as changing the forks may result in your wheel not fitting or the brake calipers may not fit the brake disk. This could be as simple as using a complete front end off another bike like an RGV and using the triple tree, brakes, forks calipers, disks, wheel etc. As for the dash, thats a big undertaking.I have seen some good electronic dash's, Koso do an awesome one, see http://kosoeurope.com/ Can I rewire it or add anything to make it button or key ignition instead of kick start? While Im by no means an RG250 guru, I'd say no chance this would mean modifiying your engine casings which would be a massive job. Full custom exhaust. (with underseat pipes) 2 stroke exhausts have expansion chambers , then cans on the end, these are specially designed and are oddly shaped for a 2 stroke engine, this would be a real challenge to make them fit in and around the engine to get the cans under the seat, you would need to find a 2 stroke exhaust guru and expect to pay mega bucks for something like this. Another option may be to get it back to orignal as RG's are fetching good coin ATM, http://www.showandgo.com.au/rep/rep1.htm?rep1_bf.html~mainFrame have fairings on offer, tanks are available on ebay or through wreckers All I can say is good luck with it, I look forward to seeing how you get on, make sure you post plenty of pics, is that your across in the background ? Thanks Chris
Hey Jiggens 1st up, welcome to the forum. Can't help but be inspired by your vision of what you wish to accomplish with your RG250. Kiffsta has pretty much covered many of your question and I just will add a couple of points to contemplate when undertaking a resto such as yours. By your own admission, your mechanical skills are limited. First point to ponder is, how much is your budget? Restorations require long pockets at times and therefore it is good practise to have a budget before starting off. Many tasks along the way may and will require outsourcing and this comes at a cost. Next comes the sourcing of parts, here it gets a little tricky as to where to go, lucky for you that this forum can and will help along the way. These are just a few of the issues that you will face along the way. Give it some serious thought and be generous with the budget, it has a tendency to grow. I wish you well and good luck with it. Phil
Thanks a bunch for the tips & help, will take it into account. End goal of the bike really is just to look nice. I want to be able to take her out when I feel like it, but that just won't be too often- I'll have other, less sexy bikes to take around the corners, this whole project is really just a product of vanity and sentimentality.. mixed in with a bit of wanting more general knowledge about bikes I can do a better job maintaining the bike that I actually do ride on a daily basis.. and yes indeed there it is, the Across in the background- looks like it almost got crushed by the garage door lol, I park a lot further forward now Phil- I get the feeling my inspirational vision and limited mechanical skills are somehow linked, when you have no idea what your talking about or even a ballpark figure how much it will cost, ideas come a lot easier As for money though for now it is no issue for me, as stated this bike holds a lot of sentimental value for me and I'm willing to put a lot more into it than any sane person ever would, worst money will do is slow everything down as I try to acquire it I'll post some more pics soon, I think the next job is taking the forks off but have no idea how to go about this. I've got a bit of help now from an older mate who was a bike mechanic for a few years and has been doing this kinda stuff his whole life, huge confidence booster having someone there to stop me if I'm just about to totally ruin everything
Hey Jiggens, have a look at the RG I rebuilt a couple of years ago, http://auction.netbikes.com.au/vjmw.php?dir=rg250&page=rg250 If the bike in your pics is your bike then it is a 83 model, not 89. Forget twin discs, it is a waste of money, these things pull up on a dime as they say. As for suspension, nothing is needed, just make sure the rear mono is recoed and the linkage arms have good bearings etc. Also fit new head stock bearings, wheel bearings and maybe a chain and new sprockets. For a rear tyre just fit the widest you can you fit inside the stock swing arm, I actually just had a skinny tyre and the handleing was superb. This model RG will do genuine 100mph just so long as you use all gears to max revs and keep it in the bands.
