CB"R" 250

[Gregor]

Had the same problem with the front brake on the en 125, pads were well contaminated probably with fork oil.
Gave them a good sanding with a p80 paper.

[Druid]

I like stripping a bike to components as soon as i can (both motorbike and MTB) just so i can check everything but also to get knowledge of how it all goes back together, things like linkages, wheels, suspension etc...

Me too. I don't feel like it's mine until I've got my hands properly dirty

[A_morti]

I collected the missing panel from the dealer this morning, as it's less inconvenient to me to fit it myself than leave the bike at the dealer and take taxis to and from work while they have it even if they get it done same day.

The RHS handlebar was bent at least an inch close to the tank than the LHS. Not really sure how that got missed by the insurance assessor but it did. The local dealer wanted 82€ and a couple of weeks, Thailand wanted much less and only 3 days via DHL: https://bikerzbits.com/pipe-comp-r-stee ... j-900.html
After shipping and customs I ended up at 97€ with the handlebar plus 4x front mudguard screws, one handlebar weight, and a black H2C tank pad.

I'll get that lot installed soon-ish, with the handlebar being the only "must fix".

The LED indicators I mentioned up there somewhere won't work due to how they're mounted, so I've ordered some replica Grom indicators, they mount the same but should be a bit more aero than the original which stick out miles.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/335100172826


Still enjoying the bike. It's running lovely, the back brake seems to have cleared itself up to where it works pretty decent now, and I reckon I'm now about bob-on with the lever/peg/cable adjustments

[A_morti]

Not enough pictures in that last post.
Allow me to make amends...

• New bar, showing the bend, old bar (trapped thumb almost)

• Rusty nut, 13 on a Honda , new nut.

• Rusty mudguard screws, comparison with new, shiny.

• Panel, not fitted yet (that'll go on with the indicators).

• Tank pad came off super easy.

• Bar end from the non crashed side, just with years of scrapes and maybe a drop at some point.

[A_morti]

The last panel has now been fitted, and with that she's back to full HP.

The indicators arrived, but they had 10w bulbs fitted rather than 21w as advertised so would've flashed too fast. Not usually a huge deal but access to the flasher relay involves dismantling half the bike. That got me a 30% refund. They are also just as Chinesium as you'd expect, so I'm not really sure I'll fit them at all.

She's still running just perfect

[A_morti]

The wezmoto black/black brake lines are waiting for me in UK, I'll pick them up this weekend and fit them at my leisure.

[A_morti]

Few little bits on the CB"R".

First up, a new OEM air filter. I took out the old one just to inspect and it was pretty dirty. Plus they seal into the air box with a foam strip, the old one had perished and the foam was mostly left in the air box. Cheap and very easy to fit.


Next up, it took a surprising amount of attempts to set the gear lever to a height where I could easily find it, before I realised the previous owner had bent it.


Finally the biggest news for this post: a new exhaust.


It's a used item from a breaker in Poland of all places. 150€ not the cheapest but it looked decent and gpr is a reasonable brand. It is, predictably when you realise the volume of the can, a bit louder than I'd like.

Here's a video with a few seconds running with a catalyst from a KTM dirt bike shoved between the link pipe and the silencer, then just as it comes with the dB killer in the outlet.



You can definitely hear a difference, albeit you may need headphones and or to visit my garage to hear it clearly.

The catalyst is maybe an inch too long so I'll look at cutting it down to size. But for now, I'm rocking it like it is. Brraaaapppp

[A_morti]

Couple more pictures here:


Also I got tempted by some AliExpress type junk.
https://www.ebay.de/itm/355865226593
My mate's just pointed out it'll probably be 1:18 scale if it arrives

[A_morti]

I fitted a new screen today:

It replaces the original part which is in decent condition, if a little sun damaged.

This one is available from dozens of sellers on eBay/Ali/Amazon for around $20 and is actually pretty decent quality. Fitting it to the bike is a ballache though. You've to remove the side panels (3 screws each and indicator wires), infill panels (1 screw and 3 panel clips each), clocks (4 screws), top fairing (4 screws on the mirrors and 2 electrical plugs), then take the headlight off the top fairing (6 screws and 2 Christmas tree clips to release) before you can change the screen (4 screws), then assembly is the reverse procedure, but without the aid of gravity.

I also fitted up a Quill silencer with an AliExpress link pipe, and added a KTM dirt bike catalyst between the two.

I still need a 55mm clamp to hold the silencer to the link pipe, but the fitment looks good to me.

Well, except for the fact I don't have the correct strap for the Quill. Quill make their oval cans 104mm*137mm, or they did back then, which means you need a longer strap. I don't have one. I'll figure it out... but for now that spacer will do, I just need to find a longer bolt.


Sounds good; less raucous than the GPR.


I also wired up the top box brake light. It's a useful safety item since, from an SUV's vantage point, the top box pretty well hides the original brake light.

I've a question on that, I'll put another thread up in the Mechanics section shortly.

Couple more pics in here:

[Taipan]

I fitted a new screen today:

It replaces the original part which is in decent condition, if a little sun damaged.

This one is available from dozens of sellers on eBay/Ali/Amazon for around $20 and is actually pretty decent quality. Fitting it to the bike is a ballache though. You've to remove the side panels (3 screws each and indicator wires), infill panels (1 screw and 3 panel clips each), clocks (4 screws), top fairing (4 screws on the mirrors and 2 electrical plugs), then take the headlight off the top fairing (6 screws and 2 Christmas tree clips to release) before you can change the screen (4 screws), then assembly is the reverse procedure, but without the aid of gravity.

I also fitted up a Quill silencer with an AliExpress link pipe, and added a KTM dirt bike catalyst between the two.

I still need a 55mm clamp to hold the silencer to the link pipe, but the fitment looks good to me.

Well, except for the fact I don't have the correct strap for the Quill. Quill make their oval cans 104mm*137mm, or they did back then, which means you need a longer strap. I don't have one. I'll figure it out... but for now that spacer will do, I just need to find a longer bolt.


Sounds good; less raucous than the GPR.


I also wired up the top box brake light. It's a useful safety item since, from an SUV's vantage point, the top box pretty well hides the original brake light.

I've a question on that, I'll put another thread up in the Mechanics section shortly.

Couple more pics in here:

It looks like the bracket ends should just meet together and there is no need for a spacer as from the picture it looks like the strap is too loose on teh can?

[A_morti]

The can measures about 104*137.

A normal oval can, as far as I can tell, is 100*125. I only have a normal strap, not the bigger one I need.

Trust me, there's no chance of it closing up without that spacer.

[A_morti]

@Taipan that's a big ole quote mate.

[A_morti]

It's been a while since I updated this thread, but the little CBR has been ridden 4 days a week most weeks in the meantime, without any signs of trouble.
The fz6s has now been pushed out, and the CBR is my main and only squeeze. So, time to tinker!

The neck bearings needed sorting out, and as there's no centre stand fitted nor available I finally (after many many years of thinking they are a brilliant idea) bit the bullet and bought (a half share in) an ABBA stand.

With the front lifting bar and bike specific adapter, it made quick work of the neck bearings, well relatively anyway.
We'll eventually get around to using it on Jules's VFR800X, to free up the rear hub adjuster.

I bought some tools from TEMU for the job, that was my first ever purchase direct from the motherland.
This one is a drift which locks in behind the bearing cup, but it's only really useful where you can get behind the bearing.

It helped, but only so-so, as it couldn't really lock behind the bearing cup. Still, it was a lot better than a long screwdriver in this case.

I think the other kind might be more useful for a lot of bikes including my CBR.


I also got one of these, which is a copy of a motion pro tool.

It can't help remove OEM ball bearing cups off the lower yoke, but it'll have taper bearing cups off in a jiffy with those grub screws locking on and a forcing screw to pull it off. Then you have a nice solid drift to hit or press the new bearing on with.

[A_morti]

I never really liked the OEM indicators, plus one of the rear ones was a bit bent in such a way I couldn't bend it back.

Amber bulbs behind clear plastic just don't do it for me.

So I bought some of this type from China.

But they were very dim, perhaps 5w equivalent. Also at the front the stalk wasn't long enough to clear an indentation in the fairing, meaning it barely stuck out in the breeze. So that was a swing and a miss.

Again from China this time via eBay I think, some replica CBR500 indicators.

A little smaller, and with smoked lenses this time.

Looks nice!


But as it turns out, when you buy cheap, you get cheap.
The bulbs were meant to be 21w, but they were marked 10w. Even then 2 of 4 were lower than that, as they caused hyper-flash with a 10w "analog" relay. I decided to try and fit the bulb holders from the OEM indicators to use those 21w bulbs, but they wouldn't fit. It was then I realised that the replica's ground wire was just bare wire wrapped around the bulb spring. Also the nuts were 17mm instead of 14mm, and the threads were drilled off-centre. The lenses weren't a great fit, but as the bodies had no drain hole and the lens gasket was missing, water would be able to get in but not out again.

The lenses skipped the metal spacers of the originals, and also had thinner plastic, so they were already cracked on installation.
Here's a comparison, and a reminder why you have to be careful with Chinesium, if you're going to risk it at all.


Solution? A set of used OEM Grom indicators.

Orange lenses are a style choice I guess, but at least they won't cause fuses to pop or fires to start.

It's also given me 3-wire front indicators so I could, at least in theory, eventually fit some running lights in there.

[A_morti]

Then it was back to the exhaust.

When I bought the Quill pipe that's on there now, I thought it was going to be a T3 silencer with clever non-removable baffles like I had on a 400 back in the day, but it's an Evo2 which is just a basic race can, albeit a bit bigger so it sounds slightly smoother. I also didn't get the correct hanging strap with it, which is shown up there in some pics hosted on imgur (honest).

So when a T3 in good condition came up on eBay, I grabbed it. Even if it had a 54mm inlet cap. Figure that out later...

I got the correct strap and it fits both cans, so at least that's a win.


Fitting the new silencer itself is a bit more tricky.
I also have a link pipe from GPR with a 54mm slip-on connection, which I hoped would fit the new Quill with 54mm connection. And it kinda did:

Enough for me to run the bike and hear it; it's quieter than the shiny one I think, but still pretty loud without a catalyst as that is for a 51mm connection and just flops about in the 54mm connection space.

But, the GPR silencer is very small and this one's very big, and it's not possible to get clearance to the swingarm.


I have a link pipe from China with a 2" slip-on connection, I've shimmed that to meet my 52mm Quill. I'm thinking maybe get a 50mm to 55mm graphite gasket for use as a shim, but I don't know how durable they are, and it would need some scraping which sounds like a messy job and hard to end up with it still being round.

Or perhaps a 51mm to 54mm converter?

I'm just not sure how much length that would add to the whole assembly, considering the exhaust already kinda makes the bike look like it's wearing its dad's shoes.

TBC - we'll figure it out

Next in the bike's story is an oil change. I've never given it one, and its due on time if not miles.
I have some Champion oil and an OEM filter and oil filter cover gasket, and will get on that in the next weekend or two

[Supermofo]

I presume with all the mods needed for the mods that the exhaust isn't originally for a CBR250, wouldn't it be easier to get a proper CBR250 specific exhaust?

[roadster]

Here is mine ( about 14 years ago) with Leo Vince.

IMG_3492 -1.jpg (271.37 KiB) Viewed 2145 times

Quiet and more or less legal at the time.
Bracket from scrap bin has two bolts and a dowel so is fully constrained! ( Original had pillion footrest). I was a bit obsessive about getting more out of the engine but in the end swapped it for a Duke 390 and that was far less civilized.

[A_morti]

I presume with all the mods needed for the mods that the exhaust isn't originally for a CBR250, wouldn't it be easier to get a proper CBR250 specific exhaust?

Maybe, but where's the fun in that?

[A_morti]

Fresh 10/40 done.
11,887km on the clocks.


Maybe interesting to someone - the oil filter case gasket is stamped metal, so can likely be reused many times. I didn't know that and had been putting the job off for not having one.

[A_morti]

The CBR has Dunlop tyres on, with plenty of tread and no visible cracks, but they're about 10 years old.

While idly browsing eBay for mag wheels I could use to supermoto a CRF300L I don't even have (c'mon, we've all lost hours on this type of hypothetical shit, right?) I stumbled on these:
https://ebay.us/m/lVT9nK

Next day I got an offer from the seller reducing the price from £200 down to £170.



The tyres on there are brand new, like maybe the guy crashed on the way home from having them put on there.

Turns out the bearings are the same dimensions, the discs are the same diameter, the tyres are close enough at 110/150 instead of 110/140, and the sprocket damper rubbers and all outside spacers have literally the same part numbers as the CBR.

So, offer accepted and shipper found to bring them to Malta.

Worst case I can't make it work, and swap the younger tyres (which would cost me almost the same money anyway) on to my CBR wheels.

Wish me luck!