Decent Purchase? XT250

[fostrem]

So I got offered a 1981 XT250 from a friend of mine for $500. I absolutely love these bikes so I was immediately interested. I am just wondering if this is a good price for the bike and the internet has led me to this fantastic forum!

Heres a little bit about the bike:

 

Title in hand

Runs, I rode it through all gears. Does not "backfire".

Had a very high idle.

Cosmetic damage, dented gas tank, broken fenders.

Missing taillight and turn signals

Exhaust was loud as hell, probably debaffled?

Tires are good

Brakes good

I ran a compression test while COLD - 125 psi guessing closer to 135-140 while hot

engine sounded healthy

 

It took about 50 kicks to get the thing going. Part of this problem I'm thinking is it had the wrong sparkplug in it. Also probably old gas. 

I am planning on rebuilding the carb, new fluids and sparkplug as well as air filter. 

 

My biggest questions are about how long to get it started as well as the exhaust. I think that is good compression though I am no expert, most of my engine work has been done on Chevy 350s. I read about a rocker problem on these bikes. Is there any key sign I should be looking for? Last but not least, how stiff should the front shocks be? It did not get close to bottoming out on the rear mono with me on it: 190lbs which is good.

 

Thanks in advance,

 

-Finn

[fostrem]

One think I noticed is the decompression on the kick starter does not move. I loosened the nut to see if it would work. When i turned the nut the activator moved but even with the nut off the activator was very hard to move. The other end of the cable, which I assume goes to the exhaust valve, was able to move just fine with spring tension as it should. Is the piece within the kick starter shot/ is this why it was so hard to start?

 

Thanks,

 

Finn

[Qqqqqqqqqqqq]

It needs the carb cleaned or rebuilt as you plan

The valve clearances checked / adjusted and the decomp adjusted ( after valve clearance adjustment )

[ickfinger]

Sounds kinda roached out to me. With its street legal equipment gone, so is most of its value. $500 is no great price.

[Hugeroost]

Sounds kinda roached out to me. With its street legal equipment gone, so is most of its value. $500 is no great price.

agree

[fostrem]

Thanks everyone for the replies. The street legal equipment isnt a huge deal to me, I have access to some free ones from a friend. I checked the timing on the thing and it seems to be off. I got the price knocked down to 300 and I am going to replace the cam chain, it seems stretched. Which cam chains are compatible with this bike?

 

Thanks again

[knudsen]

$300 sounds like a fair price. When you rebuild the carby, make sure the rubber boots to airbox and jug are not dried out. That will lean it out and give a high idle, sometimes without any backfire.

 

 

Dunno why they even put decomp on 250's... bling? Keeping up with the Jones's? I took mine off.

 

Grab those fee ones while you can. Not only for the street parts, but just having spares is awesome. I bought a spare, stripped it down because it was really ratty and I didn't have space unless using it for a lawn ornament.

[fostrem]

Yea I will definitely keep my eyes open for spare bikes. I've been researching which cam chains will work in my engine because a new one for this old of a bike is very pricey. I read that I can use one for a xt225? I also read it is the same as the warrior 350s. I thought both of those had a dohc as mine as a sohc. Am I correct or will those cam chains fit in my bike?

[Smacaroni]

Well, I typed a thorough reply as to why the XT225 cam chain probably won't work (for one, it's 14 links different) and how you could easily research what chains might work then my browser tab took a dump and it's gone (in spite of the fact that the reply window said "saving post").

Try a Warrior/Moto-4 350, see if the chain is the same number of links and pitch. These are SOHC motors, although the stroke is much shorter (6mm) so it may not work either.

 

Also see if you can find a supercede part number so you can break out of the NOS market which can often be ridiculously overpriced for no reason other than some people don't know how to do parts research.

 

I suggest Dillon Brothers at powersportspro.com for parts look up.

 

Good luck.

[fostrem]

I ordered one based off the part number and it's the exact same as the one currently in when I measured them up. I was able to swap them out without removing the cylinder head. Everything lines up at TDC. Any thoughts on this? I heard it was frowned upon. Other than that my only problem is the exhaust is fully de-baffled. Any suggestions on a replacement muffler or baffling for the current one?

Thanks!

[Smacaroni]

I would expect the cam chain would be replaced when you're doing a top end or valves, so yeah, kind of weird to replace just the cam chain. But if you're sure that's all it needed, I don't see why you would have to tear it apart just because.

 

For the exhaust, I like SuperTrapp, hands down, worth any hassle or expense getting your hands on one and fabricating and installing it. However, depending on how "debaffled" it is, you could very well be making less power and a lot of noise. Is this a stamped steel exhaust or a bent tubing exhaust? If it looks like this one, I'd opt to replace it. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1981-Yamaha-Xt-250-Exhaust-Pipe-/251496267659?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3a8e587f8b

With something that looks like this (even if the bike is beat)

 

The primary reason is the stamped steel exhaust pieces are very heavy and in addition to lower weight with bent tubing, they flow better as well. You could keep the stock head to muffler pipe and graft a 1 1/2" Supertrapp silencer on. http://www.ebay.com/itm/SuperTrapp-Clamp-On-4-Stroke-Exhaust-Muffler-Kit-Black-1-1-2-OD-/111311444347?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item19eaadd97b&vxp=mtr (may or may not be a good price)

Edited June 30, 2014 by Smacaroni

[knudsen]

Vintage trap it!