Last weekend everything came together at Aduana (the Mexican customs agency) Apparently the right guys were manning their workstation and so...the 1976 CR 250M with the sketchy paperwork made it through. Saturday afternoon it finally arrived. Above it a picture of one of the guys who assisted with the delivery.
Upon further inspection the bike has proven to be in better shape than I anticipated. From the ebay pictures it appeared that the seat and tank were close to perfect. The wheels also appeared to be undamaged. In fact the tank is just about perfect. The seat is absolutely undamaged and apparently unused. The side panels are both in good shape and show no evidence of ever having numbers applied. No paint...no adhesive...nothing! The tank has three very small indentations. I would not even call them dents.
I quickly got the bike up on my workstand to take a closer look and snap a couple of pictures. Below is a picture. The only thing which is obviously missing is the front number plate. I'll have to look around for one of those. I also noticed that the brake lever is black plastic and quite short.
Below is a picture of the gas tank. If you look closely you can see the very slight indentations. I will not be painting it or attempting any repair. I like it just as it is. These pictures make it look a bit redder than it really is. The nice Honda red is slowly (almost 40 years..) turning to a dull orange. The frame is the same way, i.e...more orange than red.
Below is a picture of the bike from the front quarter. As nearly as I can tell everything is there (except for the number plate) and everything is in good shape. Cosmetically I will just clean it up and mechanically I will be going through the ignition system, the carburetor, and I will be taking a look at the piston. I am hoping that I can get by with just some rings...We'll see.
My first mechanical project started yesterday. I took off the rear wheel and the left side crankcase cover so I could get a good look at the sprockets and chain. I have ordered a new chain and both sprockets. The rear tire was pretty well worn down along the center but the side knobs still had their little tits in place. This bike has never been used in anger. It really does appear that the bike was just occasionally fired up and ridden around some very gentle trails.
Working on the rear wheel was a bit of a revelation. First of all, the rear axle appears to never have been removed. The threads of the axle were perfectly clean and shinny under the axle nut, The wheel rim itself is perfect and bore no scars of any contact whatsoever with rocks. The finish on the rim was still factory fresh, a beautiful unmarked silver/grey paint. The edge of the rim had no marks that would have been present if the tire had been changed. I am pretty sure that the tire was original to the bike.
My last project on the wheel was to remove the tire. Never an easy project, but a 40 year old tire makes it even more difficult. Tires get really really hard sitting around for 40 years. I was able to get one bead off, but getting the second side off was just impossible. I fired-up my grinder and just cut it off. My next treat will be to install a new tire, but at least it will be soft and pliable. Below is a shot of the wheel before removal.
That's all for now folks. After I get the new tire on I will wheel the bike away to make room for the TY. All it needs is a little more assembly.
Nice post, it’s really a great idea; I appreciate your efforts friends. panel beaters
ReplyDelete