1991 Honda CRM 250 SUMO

[Sean.S]

If anyone else is thinking of buying spoke wraps dont bother!! i spent an hour and a half trying to fit the things and i managed three, theyre a pain in the fucking ass. So instead Im gonna try touching up where the anodising has worn off.... I have a mountainbike with an anodised turquoise frame and for that i used nail varnish on the scratches which worked really well so i'll give that a go.

So the anodising on about half the spokes has worn off like this. You can still kinda see in places where i touched them up with a red sharpie pen when i bought the bike but it didnt really last...
https://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd404/SeanS91/My%20Motorbikes/IMG_6916_zps0whsbkcr.jpg

I bought some metallic red 'Paris memories' nail varnish, which was a quid from poundstretchers... ooh lah lah
https://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd404/SeanS91/My%20Motorbikes/IMG_6920_zpsnhvppr2w.jpg

Its not quite the same shade as the spokes, but from a distance you cant tell anyway because at least all the spokes just look red, so thats a good improvement...
https://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd404/SeanS91/My%20Motorbikes/IMG_6925_zpse7fofox7.jpg
To be fair the nail varnish works really well because its more transparent than paint and does look similar to a shiny anodised finish...

[waffles]

Using nail varnish to tidy up a bike, never thought I would see that! Do you have an overall picture of the bike with the repainted plastics on? They came out really well
____________________
Theory test - 19/8/09, CBT - 11/10/09, MOD 1 - 16/8/10, MOD 2 - 27/10/10
Past rides Yamaha XT125X, Triumph TT600, Honda XR250
Current rides Suzuki GSXR 600, Honda MSX125

[Sean.S]

[Fizzer Thou]

You will find that the spokes are steel and not anodised aluminium.New stainless spokes would save you having to paint your existing ones lurid colours whenever they got chipped
____________________
Just talk bikes.What else is there?

Always have a 'Plan B'

[Sean.S]

[Fizzer Thou]

Nuff said
____________________
Just talk bikes.What else is there?

Always have a 'Plan B'

[Sean.S]

Im happy enough with the bike now to share a few pics. Total spend: about £2100

https://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd404/SeanS91/My%20Motorbikes/DSC_1394_zpsdxyuparx.jpg

https://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd404/SeanS91/My%20Motorbikes/DSC_1416_zpsw7ioxegs.jpg

https://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd404/SeanS91/My%20Motorbikes/DSC_1428b_zpscvtyigsl.jpg

https://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd404/SeanS91/My%20Motorbikes/DSC_1415_zps2urhczvr.jpg

https://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd404/SeanS91/My%20Motorbikes/DSC_1404_zpsmf0ppmi8.jpg

https://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd404/SeanS91/My%20Motorbikes/DSC_1397_zpsvzh8lyv5.jpg

https://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd404/SeanS91/My%20Motorbikes/DSC_1417_zps5l7mm5tu.jpg

https://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd404/SeanS91/My%20Motorbikes/DSC_1414_zpsstvclqdu.jpg

Sean

[Supermoto_Fan]

Well done. I would love something like this sitting in the garage under a cover for when I feel like going out and being a yob causing havoc. Innit.
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Yamaha MT-09 - Triple powerrrr

[Sean.S]

[Supermoto_Fan]

Fair play to you.. In that case keep it locked up for fucksake
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Yamaha MT-09 - Triple powerrrr

[Sean.S]

[stevo as b4]

You've made a nice job of that cosmetically, but ages ago I could see you were falling into the bling and shine and project status, instead of it ever being a tidied up daily rider.

If your seriously naïve enough to use your shiny CRM as a commuter and leave it parked in city's and towns while your at work or shopping etc, then you need much more than a good lock.

That sort of bike or my KMX would go in few days at the most around here where I live. It's never going to be a pro theft job or broken for parts, or shipped abroad. But the hoodies and chav's will be wanking furiously at the thought of getting their dirty scummy hands on it for an afternoon thrash and then dumping it in the canal/river.

You can't stop them, as they will come in large groups and carry whatever tools they need to break the locks, it's like sugar coated candy bars to kids. Their mouth will be watering at the thought of an enduro or SM bike to thrash, post pics of bookface and then torch.

You'd have been better keeping the Chinqy bike IMO, and having something like this as a keep it in the house weekend project bike, or even as a non road legal competition bike to take to events instead of commute on.

Anyway is it running properly yet?

[Sean.S]

I hear what your saying mate, i wouldnt call it naiivity though as i'm perfectly aware of how these bikes do attract attention of the wrong sort, but i do keep it garaged and well locked up/chained to something fixed. I didnt really want to ride a heap of crap while the bike i enjoy sits in the garage, Neither do i have space for two bikes. I might ride it for a year or so then see how i feel about upgrading it to something a bit more 'grown up' because as much fun as it is, it obviously isnt the most practical.

It is running the way it should now... initially i cleaned out the carb etc but anything more than that, i wanted a mechanic to do the work. So i took it to a bike mechanic who fiddled around with it a little, got it started and told me it was fixed. However it broke down again 2 days later and refused to start. So i took it to a different bike mechanic because i got given several recomendations, and he changed the fuel filter, put new petrol in it, had a little fiddle with the carb again and told me it had been fixed. But it broke down once again 15mins into the very first ride then of course refused to start. At this point i thought about selling it, but i found a bunch of motocross lads by my work (who werent really mechanics But more like a few guys hanging out and fixing bikes) so i went to check out their workshop and it was full of 2 strokes similar to mine so that gave me a bit of confidence in them... Anyway they found it had a failed gasket which was was allowing air to be sucked into the engine and making it rev too high, and someone in the past had bodged the wiring in the kill switch so it kept earthing out and shutting off the engine.
Basically they fixed in a week what two different mechanics failed to do in 3 months, it looks like both of them were just looking for the easy fix

Sean

[Fazer Tom]

oh my...
____________________
(CBT 01/07/11. Theory, 21/05/12. MOD 1, 01/06/12. MOD 2, 3/08/12)

Past: (1981 CG125) (1992 ZZR250 x2) (1976 KZ400) (1993 400 Superfour) (2002 Triumph TT600) (1998 Fazer) (2001 CCM 636) (2000 CCM 604) (2007 Kawasaki Z750) (2005 Husqvarna SM450R) Current: (1989 Bandit 400)

[VFR Vince]

Fookin hell thats smart! Nice photography as well bud
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Bikes dont leak oil, they mark their territory

[Sean.S]

^^cheers


Some Bristol scenery for you... Yes i put a nice chinese mirror on it for city riding

https://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd404/SeanS91/My%20Motorbikes/91_zps4rynpbod.jpg

Sean

[Sean.S]

i gave the bike its first proper run today, and for a 250 the CRM is mental!! On acceleration It kept up with the 600 quite easilly but once opened up, obviously the hornet smoked it

https://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd404/SeanS91/My%20Motorbikes/DSC_1448small_zpsmfokwdin.jpg

https://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd404/SeanS91/My%20Motorbikes/DSC_1449small_zpsrvmrt7xt.jpg

Sean

[stevo as b4]

It should very easily smoke the Hornet below 50-60mph from a standstill without any issue, though the Hornet will be less likely to wheelie under full bore through the gears blasts.

My old very lightly tuned KMX 200 would leave a GPZ500S behind up to 45-50mph, but by 60-70mph trail bikes fail massively aerodynamically to almost any kind of road bike.

[Sean.S]

In accelleration the two bikes are quite similar but like you say as the hornet picks up speed it pulls ahead. Still, i rode both bikes yesterday and i know which i had the most fun on

[Fladdem]

[Sean.S]

Yeah they dont like reducing speed so much do they?

Seeing as its not as easy to use the engine as a brake to reduce speed i have to plan the corner earlier than i would if it were 4 stroke

Whats the top end on yours d'you reckon?

[Fladdem]

When I first got it mad the Speedo was working, I got about 165kmh out of her on knobblies . Since then, I've gone up 3teeth on the rear sprocket and down one on the front. My logic being that I do a bit of off-road stuff and no one needs an enduro bike that fast. I would guess my top speed is about 85mph now.
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Current:1991 Honda MT50 (Soon to be a H100/MTX/MT5 hybrid), 1976 Honda Cub C70, 2005 Honda Varadero 125, 1993 Yamaha TTR250 Open Enduro , 2010 Road Legal Stomp YX140, 1994 Honda CRM 250 MK III, 1999 Cagiva Mito 125, 1992 Honda CB400 Super Four, Stomp T4 230, 1984 Honda H100s, 2009 Sym XS125K
Past:2003 Aprilia RS125, 1982 Kawasaki GPZ550(FREE BIKE!)
I'm having more fun than a well-oiled midget.

[Sean.S]

I was thinking of dropping a couple teeth on the rear (38t) in order to lengthen the first two gears and take some of the snappiness out of the accelleration. My speedo is of course in kmh so i could put markings on the window but because the speed is taken from the front wheel and ive got smaller wheels, the speedo isnt accurate anyway im gonna have to get a digital one i think...
My mate the other day said she clocked us at 85mph but the CRM had more to give, I doubt it'll have any issue doing a ton, maybe a bit more

Sean

[Sean.S]

Work continues...

i debated the idea of removing the exhaust and giving it a bit of a restoration for a while because you can can see the rust towards the top of the pipe where it bolts onto the engine but it was quite well hidden by the frame. theres also rust on the inside bend of the pipe where its only noticeable from a certain angle, so because of that i decided a while ago that i was just being a fussy bastard and that id leave it alone, but on wednesday i changed my mind and thought id have a crack at it anyway...

these pictures are of the pipe as removed from the bike after a wet ride, so its dirty and some of it isnt as bad as it looks in the pics

https://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd404/SeanS91/My%20Motorbikes/95_zpsjpni5mkm.jpg

https://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd404/SeanS91/My%20Motorbikes/94_zpshgam9pxk.jpg

https://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd404/SeanS91/My%20Motorbikes/96_zpsx1k9v2ti.jpg

this however IS exactly as bad as it looks
https://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd404/SeanS91/My%20Motorbikes/97_zps87djymaz.jpg

So i got some music on the go, 80s style and got set work
https://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd404/SeanS91/My%20Motorbikes/98_zpsqhvhnnog.jpg

i cleaned up the pipe with wd40 amd a scourer to reveal how much is actually 'below the surface' rust. the fat section of the pipe shined up beautifully but there is a lot of rust in the bends that you cant really see in this pic
https://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd404/SeanS91/My%20Motorbikes/99_zpsjunwzotu.jpg

my tools for the job
https://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd404/SeanS91/My%20Motorbikes/100_zps4rj2ogyv.jpg

you can see that theres pitting left behind by the rust but i managed to remove 99% of the oxidisation
https://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd404/SeanS91/My%20Motorbikes/101_zpsrlj9zndi.jpg

https://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd404/SeanS91/My%20Motorbikes/102_zpsnjlgnakk.jpg

£9 quids worth of silver engine paint...


EDIT 11/03/16: The paint i used didnt hold up under the heat of the header so I'm looking into tougher paint & curing methods, and i'll have another go at it next week

Sean

[stevo as b4]

I hope the silver paint holds up well and is temp rated high enough not to burn/flake off. Seeing as you've cleaned it up and painted the front section silver, it'll probably be an easy and regular job to keep on top of it and touch it up every so often. You'd get away with spraying it on the bike too I reckon with so careful masking. Saying that brush on pain for touching up is preferred really.

The header pipe with the 180degree bend is always the worst bit on any off road bike to keep from rusting.

I've been tempted to try having my Fresco KMX pipe ceramic coated, as it's supposed to be tough and is cheaper than plating a pipe too.

Well that was the plan until Knacker showed up with his stainless bling pipe on his DTRE. I've joined in and am waiting for a one off custom stainless pipe now.