Today I came across a honda vt250f in a used equipment yard (cars, trucks, bobcats) and am currently looking for my first Street legal bike. Had a quick look at it ( forgot to check k's on it ) and it looked ruff. Ripped seat, corrosion, rusty bits, nearly all panels would need repair jobs and found orange silicone hanging from some where. The manager wasn't there and no one could tell me price or start it. From the quick view I would say the whole bike would need a strip and rebuild which I wasn't wanting to do but being hand with a spanner it something I am thinking about. Question is how difficult are parts to source for one of these? and would it be worth me going back to chase up a further inspection? And what would I expect to pay. Any help would be great.
Welcome to the forum, There have been a couple of these or VTR250's recently posted in the Ebay/Gumtree bargain's thread on the last couple of page's And a couple of member's have them too iirc? Murdos' VT250FE
Hi Cameron, Well, the VT250F is a nice bike, but it isn't the easiest bike to source parts for. Is it the bikini fairing or full fairing bike? Does it have a round pipe frame or a box frame? There are a few different flavours of the VT250F. I've had a few over the years and they are a heap of fun to ride when they're "right". There are issues with the motor, chassis and fuel system... did I miss anything? The Bad: The motor's rear cylinder gets hot and many engines I've seen have low compression in the rear cylinder. There's an inherent fault with the oil circulation system and the pressure relief valve positioning in the circuit...there's an easy fix for this, so sounds worse than it is. The engine has a pretty ordinary cam chain tensioner and that tends to lead to chain rattle. The exhaust collector is prone to rusting out. The fuel system is vacuum fed from one of the carbs. The petcock rubber can perish. Carbs are difficult to take off and reinstall (some have a holding bolt - that helps). Carb diaphragms are impossible to source (I stopped looking). The airbox is a huge PITA to squeeze into the space allowed (I modify all mine). The R/R is in the worst position known to mankind...it's almost designed to overheat and fail! The swingarm bushes and collars wear out, but you can get replacement parts from partzilla etc. Hydraulic clutch is okay, but overkill for this size bike. The petrol tanks tend to rust and the plastic are easy to break (mostly the male plastic bit for locking the battery cover and other bits in place. The Good: Well, you're probably wondering what's good about these bikes...Once you have one running right there's plenty to like. They're an absolute joy to ride on anything that has a bend in it. That inboard front disc is better at stopping than quite a few double disc bikes. The 6-speed gearbox is smooth and clutch works well. You're never going to win many traffic light races, but it accelerates pretty good and if your engine has been looked after you can take it past 10,000rpm without fear. There's a good website (USA) that most VT250F people know of. There's plenty of helpful people on there too. A few of us 2fiftycc guys are on there from time to time. It's vtr250.org and it's called that because the VT250F was never released in the USA & their closest bike is the VTR250. Have a look if you have some time. Post pics of the bike you're looking at too. http://vtr250.org/forums/index.php?sid=c30d5b2e24a9c6b847ddcfbafb766122 In case you're wondering Cameron, yes, I still have a few of these bikes and I do enjoy taking them for a ride whenever the Melbourne weather permits. My personal favourite is the full fairing FII or FD model (see below). Depending on how bad it is will determine what you should pay for it. If it's a non-runner you might be better off walking away (unless they give it to you). Frank
Thanks for the help guys. frankstar thanks for all that info, in regards to the carb diaphragms what would I do if I got the bike and need these replaced? Can you swap for a more modern carby setup or would the bike be useless? I will definitely pop over and check out that page!
Cameron, I once looked at diaphragms from a VTR250 (MC15 engine) and they didn't work out. The Diaphragms in the early VT250F carbs are quite thin. I did find a guy in the USA who does aftermarket diaphragms that were the right size, but those diaphragms are in the track bike (3rd bike pic posted) and I'm having issues with those carbs. Website is jbmindustries.com http://jbmindustries.com/K-62.html I guess the vtr250.org guys would be more helpful. Me, I just keep buying any bits that come up on eBay or if I'm really stuck findapart seems come through. Cheers
welcome to the forum mate.. Honestly in my opinion (which no one has to take) dont get a bike like this for your first street legal bike, there are a few reasons why.. Firstly: I am at fault of this one as well, BUT I thought my self mechanically minded and so on and so forth, but when i had my bike in pieces and trying to get it running and all I wanted to do is ride I *cough* may have ridden a half built bike around the block a few times*cough...which can end very badly... B) Even though you think you have figured it out, there WILL be another issue which you haven't tackled yet and yes it will be time consuming and yes it will frustrate you and yes it CAN not saying it will bite you in the wallet trying to work out what it is.. Thricely, ground up rebuilds can cost a lot... when you said "rust" and "silcon hanging" I personally would have walked away.. only because I have dealt with that before and I gave up.. chapter 4...... With a functioning 2nd hand bike, you can ride it on the road and enjoy it.. Then when the small issues start to arise (lets face it these bikes are 20 years old) which they will... you can learn in small increments about your bike eventually getting to know the entire thing and how to handle each problem, instead of wanting to take a steal pole to your bike because no matter how much you do to it, IT STILL WONT RUN RIGHT!! heh he.... ONE HOUR LATER.................. I am sure all of us a guilty of this but, some builds we just lose interest in and can not stuffed completing.. so then you get even less then you paid for it and goes to a person for parts or you just want it gone so you give it away.... Like I said this is just my reasoning for not buying a project bike for my first bike, only because I am guilty of all of the above and will admit it... I though i was smart enough to take it one.. I wasnt... I though I could afford it.. I couldnt... And in the end I got my running MC22 and now I deal with her issues and I know the bike on a level where I am confident I can trouble shoot any issue she has....
Do you have another to ride and only want to sit this one in the shed and work on it when you can, then by all means go for it. If this will be your daily ride then you will be pulling your hair out sorting the problems than old bikes left out will have. If you do go ahead and buy it (we need some pictures to guess at value) and get it on the road, then you will have a fun little bike that will make you smile on any twisty road. Most bits I have found ok to get, plastic fairing bits the hardest.
No I don't have another bike to ride, at present I am still on my Ls and have been for the last 5 years. Now that I have moved to my work location and I don't have the commuting I was thinking a bike could be fun for weekend runs. I have no worries if the project takes a couple years to complete and then I'll know the ins and outs of the bike.
Good for you Cameron...that's the spirit. Plenty of helpful folks on here for you ask questions. When do you think you'll get a pic of the beast?
Probably won't be till Monday when I get into town again. Tried to convince the wife to get some for me but all I got was a funny look.
I called the guy selling the bike and he is chasing $950 for the bike. I will still get pics when in town next so I can get some experienced people's opinions but that just feels like an awful lot considering some of the bikes going on gumtree.
ask him to start it then list all the bad points and tell him even a wrecker would not buy it. offer low ,low and be prepared to move a little.
Update: never ended up going back there to have a second look at the vt, instead I decided to have a good look through gumtree and found a 99 250 bandit in Brisbane so have decided to go for that. I'll post up pics when I get it home ( Sunday night)
