KX 250 project...

[Rot Box]

Nothing too exciting.

Bike parts in the kitchen sink... Don't tell my wife

Time for new steering stem bearings

213lbs?! It'll be nice to ride a light weight bike again! Remember when MX bikes had kickstands? haha.. that said for my needs I wouldn't mind having one. I'm sure most were tossed in the scrap bin once they left the dealership.

 

[rholbrook]

If you are down in my neck of the woods, stop by, I have some acid that will make short work of cleaning up the aluminum. It will make it look new again really fast and I will send you home with some.

 

[Rot Box]

If you are down in my neck of the woods, stop by, I have some acid that will make short work of cleaning up the aluminum. It will make it look new again really fast and I will send you home with some.

Will do thanks! The triple clamps and a few other aluminum odds and ends are very oxidized.

 

[Gravy]

Use hot water and vinegar. Start with 1tbs to a quart, up to 1tbs per pint depending on how bad the oxidation is. Soak it for a little and the oxidization comes off with a scotchbrite.
Works really great.

 

[rholbrook]

I like my way. Dilute the acid 25:1, spray on, wait a few seconds and wash it off, done.

 

[Tonkaman]

What kind of acid is it Russ?

 

[Rot Box]

Cases are loaded with new bearings I've gotta say the quality of the Pro X crank bearing and seal kit is top notch. NOK seals and Koyo bearings.. Bearings are even more heavy duty than the originals. Everything went together smoothly now I just need to get that crank rebuilt.

I froze the bearings and heated the cases in the oven @200ºF and they dropped right in. This method is a lot less nerve racking than some of the other options. The SKF bearing and seal instal tool kit (it's not what it looks like I promise! ) came in handy on the seals.

 

[Greg]

... The SKF bearing and seal instal tool kit (it's not what it looks like I promise! ) came in handy on the seals.

:wtf:

 

[Tonkaman]

Holy sh*t that's an expensive kit!!!

 

[glockman]

That is a beautiful tool. Lol.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

 

[Rot Box]

Yeah, pretty sad when the tool costs more than the bike is worth. It works great... that said $900+ for a bunch of plastic seems ridiculous. Glad my work paid for it!

Now I'm trying to talk them into SKF's blind housing bearing puller (also ridiculously expensive) but so far they're not convinced I need it haha.

 

[Gravy]

 

[glockman]

Yeah, pretty sad when the tool costs more than the bike is worth. It works great... that said $900+ for a bunch of plastic seems ridiculous. Glad my work paid for it!

Now I'm trying to talk them into SKF's blind housing bearing puller (also ridiculously expensive) but so far they're not convinced I need it haha.

Rockymountain sells a Tusk blind bearing removal tool for well under $100 that works great for the bike applications I've used it on.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

 

[Rot Box]

Not bad!

Rockymountain sells a Tusk blind bearing removal tool for well under $100 that works great for the bike applications I've used it on.

Thanks for the heads up I'll have to check it out I'm thinking about buying the Tusk crank install tool as well. Getting these cases back together is going to be a little more tricky than some of the others.

 

[Rot Box]

Nothing to report really. I've received a few eBay goodies over the last few weeks like the ignition cover that arrived today. The bike was 95% complete when I picked it up... Good news is the only 87 model only parts that I need to find are a seat and a kickstarter. Everything else can be purchased from Kawasaki or the aftermarket. Going back to the place I found this bike and digging around for the remaining parts is something I REALLY don't want to do. It would be like looking for a needle in a haystack----or worse haha

 

[Gravy]

Updates or ban

 

[Rot Box]

Well it's been a few months haha...


Chassis is mostly together. Shipped the crank off last week for rebuild and installed my eBay transmission this week. Once I get the crank back I should be able to get the bottom end back together---yay!

Pics coming eventually.

 

[Rot Box]

Getting closer

 

[Rot Box]

So this turned out much-much better than I thought it would. Good job Crank Works!

 

[Rot Box]

Just waiting on a few seals and the bottom end will be complete...

And of course that's when I noticed this. Big end of the connecting rod has quite a bit of wiggle room. The STD measurement is .45 mm to .55mm with a service limit of .70 mm. Mine measures a full 1.0mm so twice as much as it should. Although doubtful I'm hoping my rod kit had it's own specifications and 1mm will be ok. I emailed the rebuilder they've been around long enough hopefully it's nothing and I can get the engine put into the chassis.