2003 YZ250 from sad to happy! :D

[corndog]

Last Saturday the 11th, I picked up a 2003 YZ250. It had obviously been neglected, but I saw a nice bike in there and decided to pull the trigger.

Looks like your typical goon bike. Needs some tires, no biggie.

The motor is pretty filthy and the countershaft seal appears to be leaking. Gallon of Simple Green and WD-40 added to the shopping list.

Lots of 2t snot, this is just the tip of the snotberg. Better get some new springs and o-rings.

Chain and sprockets added to the list, check.

Fork seals and fluid, let me just jot that down too...

Oh....that's neat. Good thing he gave me a couple of other silencers.

Alrighty, here's the trash pile. It appears I'm onlykeeping the frame/motor, gas tank, wheels, and subframe lol.

Parts placed on order, time to start cleaning.

Holy carp, this is just from the front caliper, hope there's enough grease in these elbows...

Cheese and rice, this thing is dirty.

Mmmm....that's mo betta, I knew there was a clean part in there!

Edited February 20, 2012 by corndog

[gnarlycharly]

i love seeing these kinda threads, keep us updated!

[corndog]

No problem, just needed someone to post first. ?

Time for the frame/motor to receive a little scrubbing.

Not as nice as I wanted, but I'm getting sick of scrubbing.

Parts arrived, so I rebuilt the forks straight away just so I could slap the front end on and feel like I'm making progress.

Every single piece needed scrubbing. The fork guards took an hour. The subframe took 3 hours. The rear brake took an hour. I scrubbed every damn nut/bolt/bracket. Took all the stickers off and was stuck with lots of glue residue, what a pain...I'm scrubbed the eff out!

Some notes:

New tires

Forks rebuilt.

Shock rebuilt*

New chain sprockets

New chain rollers/slider/guide

Greased linkage and steering bearings

New air filter

New plasctics/graphics

New countershaft seal

New top end (not installed yet, runs killer, will inspect shortly)

Was missing a few OEM bits, rubber grommets for tank and silencer, special washer, etc.

OEM Nissin brake pads weren't even 50%, don't think this one has seen much use.

I guess that's it, nothing too exciting, but it was a fun week.

I was thinking of leaving with this teaser shot and not posting for a week, but that's messed up.

Here she is, not quite ready to ride, but looking good imo.

Edited February 20, 2012 by corndog

[dirtjumpordie]

Awesome work! I put grip tape on my steel yz frame instead of those rediculous rubber or steel frame covers. Is that a goon move?

[corndog]

Thanks! Nah, that's fine, and frame guards aren't goon'ish either. What's goon'ish is buying trick parts while completely neglecting regular maintenance!

Also wanted to mention that this little project didn't make sense fiscally. The amount I paid for the bike plus parts, would have probably been enough to pick up an '06, which is what I'd really like to have.

[kpersonius264]

great work corndog! you should send that pic to the po. by any chance are you the same corndog on norcalmx?

[performance1]

What did you use for all the scrubbing? Looks really clean. I know you mentioned simple green, was is just that an SOS pad and elbow grease or is there some secret you have?

[joshua_inigo]

What did you use for all the scrubbing? Looks really clean. I know you mentioned simple green, was is just that an SOS pad and elbow grease or is there some secret you have?

+2 Corndog, tell us more about the scrub man!

I was thinking of leaving with this teaser shot and not posting for a week, but that's messed up.

Here she is, not quite ready to ride, but looking good imo. ?

Man, from a goner to a complete WINNER!!!!?

[joshua_inigo]

The 2003/04 One Industries Mach1 graphics will fit PERFECTLY with that bike of yours Corndog!

Ezra Lusk's YZ250

[mtdirtbag]

I like the clean and simple look, good job! By the way, I subscribe to your maintence versus style comment.

[corndog]

Word brother, simple and clean is the motto!

great work corndog! you should send that pic to the po. by any chance are you the same corndog on norcalmx?

Thank man. Yep, same corndog. I thought about sending a pic to the previous owner, but I think it might appear insulting.

As for the cleaning, I used 3 fluids: Simple Green, WD-40, and.......gasoline. I used the gasoline sparingly because it will dull anything that's glossy. I pretty much only used it for the 2t snot and just a little on the tank and airbox, because the WD-40 was taking fooorrrreeeeverrrrr. For hand tools, I used a regular toothbrush for the vast majority of the parts, but the textured portion of the swingarm was done with a small steel bristle brush. I bought a 2' long heavy duty brush for the frame/motor, it looked like something you might clean a horse with, but it worked well.

[Tech707]

Excellent work, it looks like an entirely different bike I just picked up an 06 myself.

[XCRIDER21]

Wow, thats quite a transformation! Amazing what a little bit of elbow grease and a few parts can do for a bike! GREAT JOB!!!

[dirtjumpordie]

Thanks! Nah, that's fine, and frame guards aren't goon'ish either. What's goon'ish is buying trick parts while completely neglecting regular maintenance!

Also wanted to mention that this little project didn't make sense fiscally. The amount I paid for the bike plus parts, would have probably been enough to pick up an '06, which is what I'd really like to have.

true, I have a 2001 that was a garage queen stocker that i bought from some chubby nerdy guy lol, he thought it was a 2003 so i kinda got tricked/ripped off but it was worth $1600, id rather have the 03. stock aluminum sprockets still had life left for about a month of riding a lot tho so she was not beat at all.

[BlackCR25098]

i love seeing these kinda threads, keep us updated!

x1bajillion zillion.

Corndog, I love seeing people taking immature goon bikes and reviving them into their OEM glory. I used to own a 98 cr250 4 years ago I sold it, went through 2 terrible goon owners who did nothing but abuse it, and mainly let it sit. I bought it back in october and completely restored her. She still had the same spark plug, gear oil, and air filter in her that I installed 4 years prior. I did the exact same as you have done full rebuild restore mechanically and cosmetically. I really like what you've done, and what people dunno is the simpler = the cleaner. That goes with cars, trucks, bikes, anything...you name it. Really like what you've done with her restoration, so kudos, and also I highly recommend the Wiseco Pro Lite for a replacement when it's time for that! Hour meter is also a must have! It's amazing how much time we actually put on these bikes. There's nothing better than seeing a crappy bike turned into a well oiled/greased/lubed machine, ready for anything...Is that simple green you used on the swing arm? That's just plain amazing.

Edited February 20, 2012 by BlackCR25098

[02WR426Cali]

Awesome work on this bike Corndog! Wow it looks amazing now. That picture with the two lights is really cool, nice photo work.

I love clean and simple looking bikes. Less graphics make things look much better IMO

[corndog]

Thanks a bunch fellow Cali rider! You north or south? Giuessing you're a trail guy, Foresthill is my fav trail spot!

blackcr250 - do you happen to have a build thread? Please post if you do. In fact, I wish there were a sticky that had everyone's rebuild threads in it.

[BlackCR25098]

Yes sir I sure do! This is my 1998 CR250 I've done everything to this bike, even all of the stuff in the before pictures. Since December 30th, basically everything has been replaced except the bottom end of the motor, clutch, tranny.

http://www.thumperta...__fromsearch__1

Please tell me what ya think corndog! Thanks bro

Griffin

Edited February 21, 2012 by BlackCR25098

[CRF450ish]

WOW!!!!! Excellent work corndog! Bravo!

[02WR426Cali]

Thanks a bunch fellow Cali rider! You north or south? Giuessing you're a trail guy, Foresthill is my fav trail spot!

blackcr250 - do you happen to have a build thread? Please post if you do. In fact, I wish there were a sticky that had everyone's rebuild threads in it.

Foresthill looks like a lot of fun. I hope to ride up there someday but I'm in the south. Ventura. There is some fun riding down here too though.

I picked up a 2000 YZ250 last month and am currently doing a bunch of work to it. Full rebuild on the motor, painting the frame, rebuilding forks, put an 06 YZ 450 shock on it fits nicely, going to try and polish the swingarm too that should be fun haha.

Can't wait to ride my YZ!!

Edited February 22, 2012 by 02WR426Cali