1987 Honda XL250R Overhaul -- Pics Galore --- Minimalist's Garage
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I'm a broke graduate student and I like dirtbikes. Found one for cheap and now i'm putting it together in the living room of my 1br apartment. Here's the fun.
Well I got a 1987 Honda XL250R from a member here for $50. It was generally disassembled, and was taken apart because it had developed a knock that "somewhat affected performance, and varied with the RPMs". Going off of that, i figured it'd be a good idea to just tear her down. This is what has happened so far:
[Note: there is text inbetween pics telling the general story. The pics are huge and the text is small, so its kinda hard to find]
Me and my girl got it up the stairs (2nd floor apt)
![](http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp204/meams4043/87%20XL250R/Newbike.jpg)
Threw the engine up on my end table, grabbed a bucket to sit on, and got to work. Valve cover already had most of the bolts out - and thrown in a bag with a random spring (remember this random spring, it will resurface later in teh story).
![](http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp204/meams4043/87%20XL250R/head1.jpg)
Cam looked pretty decent
![](http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp204/meams4043/87%20XL250R/head3.jpg)
Only one rocker looked bad, one slightly imperfect.
![](http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp204/meams4043/87%20XL250R/rocker1.jpg)
Got the cam out, but had some trouble getting the cam chain off of the sprocket -- wasn't enough slack in the tensioner. Finally was able to get her done.
![](http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp204/meams4043/87%20XL250R/headnocam1.jpg)
![](http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp204/meams4043/87%20XL250R/headnocam2.jpg)
Finally got the head off:
![](http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp204/meams4043/87%20XL250R/headbottom.jpg)
![](http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp204/meams4043/87%20XL250R/cylinderstuck.jpg)
That top/right cylinder bolt gave me SO MUCH trouble. My socket for my 1/2" drive wasn't deep enough, so I had to use my 3/8" -- which was a BITCH. That bolt was IN THERE. had to put the engine on the floor and REALLY work it.
![](http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp204/meams4043/87%20XL250R/cylinderfun.jpg)
But I got her off
![](http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp204/meams4043/87%20XL250R/bottom.jpg)
Piston looks nice
![](http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp204/meams4043/87%20XL250R/piston.jpg)
Cylinder looks great
![](http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp204/meams4043/87%20XL250R/cylinder.jpg)
Remember that random spring I talked about before? Well someone on ADVrider figured out it was for the kickstart assembly. I dont' know how it got off the bike -- I didnt think the previous owner got into the crank case cover - but he must've (unless it was already off, in which case it could've been causing the knock).
Anyways, Here's the spring (and the other valve cover parts)
![](http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp204/meams4043/87%20XL250R/randoparts.jpg)
So, taht spring needs to go in - which means the crank case cover is going to have to come off. Well - in the process of attempting to remove the clips on the piston pin, I dropped a nail into this hole. (durrrr forgot to stuff it w/ rags)
![](http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp204/meams4043/whoops.jpg)
Fuck. Oh well - i have to take the crank case cover off anyways - ill just get it when i'm in there.
Except it wasn't there:
![](http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp204/meams4043/rhccc.jpg)
So I had to turn the whole block upside downand shake the fuck out of her. Twice. A total of 6 things came out. 5 parts, and one nail (yay!).
I've identified the four large round ones on the left as being part of the kickstart assembly (w/ my missing spring, of course). The small cap on the right is still a mystery (being solved over at ADVrider).
![](http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp204/meams4043/87%20XL250R/fallout.jpg)
So far the only thing that needs to be replaced is the cam chain tensioner. I'll have to properlly adjust everythign as I reassemble, but I just need to get that part, a gasket kit, and then start throwin' her together.
Oh, incase you wanted to see how the fuck someone would get this done in their living room of a 1br apartment, it's like this:
![](http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp204/meams4043/87%20XL250R/minimalist2.jpg)
Well I got a 1987 Honda XL250R from a member here for $50. It was generally disassembled, and was taken apart because it had developed a knock that "somewhat affected performance, and varied with the RPMs". Going off of that, i figured it'd be a good idea to just tear her down. This is what has happened so far:
[Note: there is text inbetween pics telling the general story. The pics are huge and the text is small, so its kinda hard to find]
Me and my girl got it up the stairs (2nd floor apt)
![](http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp204/meams4043/87%20XL250R/Newbike.jpg)
Threw the engine up on my end table, grabbed a bucket to sit on, and got to work. Valve cover already had most of the bolts out - and thrown in a bag with a random spring (remember this random spring, it will resurface later in teh story).
![](http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp204/meams4043/87%20XL250R/head1.jpg)
Cam looked pretty decent
![](http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp204/meams4043/87%20XL250R/head3.jpg)
Only one rocker looked bad, one slightly imperfect.
![](http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp204/meams4043/87%20XL250R/rocker1.jpg)
Got the cam out, but had some trouble getting the cam chain off of the sprocket -- wasn't enough slack in the tensioner. Finally was able to get her done.
![](http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp204/meams4043/87%20XL250R/headnocam1.jpg)
![](http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp204/meams4043/87%20XL250R/headnocam2.jpg)
Finally got the head off:
![](http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp204/meams4043/87%20XL250R/headbottom.jpg)
![](http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp204/meams4043/87%20XL250R/cylinderstuck.jpg)
That top/right cylinder bolt gave me SO MUCH trouble. My socket for my 1/2" drive wasn't deep enough, so I had to use my 3/8" -- which was a BITCH. That bolt was IN THERE. had to put the engine on the floor and REALLY work it.
![](http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp204/meams4043/87%20XL250R/cylinderfun.jpg)
But I got her off
![](http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp204/meams4043/87%20XL250R/bottom.jpg)
Piston looks nice
![](http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp204/meams4043/87%20XL250R/piston.jpg)
Cylinder looks great
![](http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp204/meams4043/87%20XL250R/cylinder.jpg)
Remember that random spring I talked about before? Well someone on ADVrider figured out it was for the kickstart assembly. I dont' know how it got off the bike -- I didnt think the previous owner got into the crank case cover - but he must've (unless it was already off, in which case it could've been causing the knock).
Anyways, Here's the spring (and the other valve cover parts)
![](http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp204/meams4043/87%20XL250R/randoparts.jpg)
So, taht spring needs to go in - which means the crank case cover is going to have to come off. Well - in the process of attempting to remove the clips on the piston pin, I dropped a nail into this hole. (durrrr forgot to stuff it w/ rags)
![](http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp204/meams4043/whoops.jpg)
Fuck. Oh well - i have to take the crank case cover off anyways - ill just get it when i'm in there.
Except it wasn't there:
![](http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp204/meams4043/rhccc.jpg)
So I had to turn the whole block upside downand shake the fuck out of her. Twice. A total of 6 things came out. 5 parts, and one nail (yay!).
I've identified the four large round ones on the left as being part of the kickstart assembly (w/ my missing spring, of course). The small cap on the right is still a mystery (being solved over at ADVrider).
![](http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp204/meams4043/87%20XL250R/fallout.jpg)
So far the only thing that needs to be replaced is the cam chain tensioner. I'll have to properlly adjust everythign as I reassemble, but I just need to get that part, a gasket kit, and then start throwin' her together.
Oh, incase you wanted to see how the fuck someone would get this done in their living room of a 1br apartment, it's like this:
![](http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp204/meams4043/87%20XL250R/minimalist2.jpg)
![](http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp204/meams4043/87%20XL250R/minimalist1.jpg)
#2
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Oh yeah - and I have ZERO wrenching experience, so if this thing EVER gets put back together and/or running I'll be amazed.
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Hahah hell yes! This is awesome. You've got balls for trying, even for doing this indoors. If you get this thing running, it'll be amazing hhaha.
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hell yeah! That's the best way to learn, just dive in!
I built my old chop in my living room of my old apt. Isn't it nice to work in an air conditioned "garage"?
btw, that un-identified part looks like a dowel pin, but it's hard to say for sure from that pic.
I built my old chop in my living room of my old apt. Isn't it nice to work in an air conditioned "garage"?
btw, that un-identified part looks like a dowel pin, but it's hard to say for sure from that pic.
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I wish it were a dowel pin - then I could locate it's origin. But this thing is a tiny cap - 5/16" diameter.
![](http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp204/meams4043/87%20XL250R/myster1-1.jpg)
![](http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp204/meams4043/87%20XL250R/myster1-1.jpg)
![](http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp204/meams4043/87%20XL250R/mystery2.jpg)
#6
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We're still trying to figure out where the mystery cap came from. Ordered my gakset set tonight. Gotta find $100 for the rest of the parts I need to replace (cam chain tensioner, and one dowel pin).
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from the pics, that honestly looks like a hot-topper (bolt head cover). I can't for the life of me think of anything internal that it would be. You don't really see alot of un-secured parts inside a motor, and there's not so much as a set-screw to hold whatever that is in place. I looked thru every motor-related schematic for your bike and can't find ANYTHING even remotely resembling that part. Sure it didn't pop off somewhere else on the bike during the disassembly?
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yeah, its been givin me trouble for a while now. I'm 95% sure it came from within the crank case, because (a) it came out when I shook the crankcase upsidedown, and (b) there is another XL250R owner doing a rebuild on advrider.com right now and he came across a near-similar part in his crankcase.
But if we haven't diagnosed it by the time I get all the parts I need to put the bitch back together - i'm just going to ignore it.
But if we haven't diagnosed it by the time I get all the parts I need to put the bitch back together - i'm just going to ignore it.
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Welp, today I went to order the cam chain tensioner and found out that it's on backorder nationwide. Fuck. I was bitching on ADV and after re-posting the pic of my tensioner we came to the concensus that it DOES NOT need to be replaced - the guy who originally said it did retracted his comment. Gaskets are on their way, dowel pin is ordered, I'm ready to assemble this bitch.