I just bought a 2004 XR250R.  One of the things that concerns me (and contributed to the minimal price I paid) is the fact that the bike I bought has a drum brake on the front wheel.  Of course the seller said it was that way when he bought it 3 years ago.  I assume it was wrecked and had (at least) the front wheel replaced with a ~20 year old wheel & drum brake assembly.  I'm looking for opinions on whether it's worth it to swap back to the OEM disc brakes or leave the "vintage conversion" intact.  If I convert to front disc braking, roughly how much work & parts expense would it be?  How do I tell if I have the original forks that will accept the calipers?  I assume this conversion is a DIY job, but I'd ilke to know if I'm underestimating the work involved.

The rear wheel has a disc brake as expected.

I'm 5'11", 240 lbs.  I've been riding since I was 13, but haven't been on dirt since I was in high school. I bought the bike so I could have something to ride while teaching my two daughters (12 & 15) to ride (trails only).  Not racing.  I like technical trails - a little rocky hill climbing, etc.

Scrape88

p.s.  I'm very thankful for this forum - it contributed significantly to my decision to go with XR250 vs same year CRF230.  Of course, the fact that I found this XR250 for $800 contributed significantly also...

Edited by scrape88, 13 May 2012 - 08:54 PM.

Download this shop manual to get an idea of the work and parts involved.
http://www.flightoft...-1996-2004.html

Watch for parts on ebay and such. You might come across someone that has converted their bike to a supermoto and still has the stock wheel assembly.

Trailryder42 - thank you for the link to the manual!

The manual helped me determine that the entire front end has been replaced (wheel, forks, triple trees, etc.).  The current forks cannot accept disc brakes.  So I'm now looking at a full front end rebuild if I'm going to do this.  The manual you pointed me to doesn't list any dimensions or part numbers for replacement items.  My local Honda dealer's only suggestion was to buy the replacement front end piece by piece.  With the starting price for one fork at $700 I don't think I'm going to do that - seems like spending $2k on a front end for a bike I bought for $800 would be throwing good money after bad...

My next step is along the lines of your suggestion - try to locate a salvage front end.  While there's nothing wrong with looking for stock/OEM parts, since I'm headed this direction, what other bikes' front ends would fit the '04 XR250R (or work better than OEM) as an alternative?  The dealer said their parts listing doesn't have dimensions, and so they cannot offer any advice to me for anything other than stock XR250R replacement items. For instance, would an XR400 front end fit or have any advantages?

Caveat emptor!

Scrape88

If you end up having to buy a few OEM parts, service honda is about a good a place as any. At least you can look at their microfich and prices.
http://www.serviceho...=2004&fveh=4284

I've got a complete front end off a 2003 XR250R.  Forks, wheel, axle, bearings, triples, head bearings, everything you need except for the caliper, master cylinder and hose (pretty sure you can find that on ebay as a complete set). The forks also have stiffer springs installed, per the previous owner, but not sure of the rate.  If you're interested in the complete set, send me an email/pm and let's work out a deal.

I have all of this leftover from when I switched over to a XR400R front end... You could go ahead and find the parts to do the 400 conversion but you would need to take an extra step and have steering stops welded to your frame.  The XR400 forks are 43mm vs 41mm on the XR250R, btw.

Edited by mcnutty, 12 May 2012 - 08:59 AM.

@mcnutty - thanks for taking the time to weigh in.  If I go ahead with the XR400 conversion, will the XR400 forks fit the XR250 triple trees, or do I need XR400 trees, forks, and ... what else?

I've decided (at my weight) to move forward with the conversion to the beefier XR400 front end.  I saw on another message thread that the XR400 forks will mate to the XR250 triple trees "plug and play", so today I picked up used XR250 calipers, master cylinder and triple trees (which I think are all identical to the XR400?) and XR400 forks on ebay.  My next step is a front wheel and axle sized for the XR400 forks...gotta remember the brake line, too.

http://www.thumperta...0-fork-changes/

I could have bought a complete XR400 front end, but was afraid to because I wasn't able to confirm if the XR400 triple trees are identical to the XR250, or at least confirm if they mate to the XR250 frame (neck).   @mcnutty, is that what you did - mount the XR400 triple trees/steering head on your XR250?  If so, was any modification required (you mentioned steering stops)?  It could save the next guy doing this some heartache.

Edited by scrape88, 13 May 2012 - 09:35 PM.

Like I mentioned in my previous post, the 250 fork legs are 41mm vs the 43mm on the 400.  So the 400r fork legs will not plug and play into your 250r clamps.  You should have bought the complete 400r assembly with the clamps and everything.  The stem and bearings from the 400 will work on the 250 frame but you will need to weld new steering stops.

Xr250 forks only have compression adjustment.  400 have comp and rebound adj.

Compared to disc brakes, drum brakes suck. I have them working great on my xr200, but others have no luck with them.

Re steering stop:
The Scotts steering damper requires increasing the stops by welding them or drilling a hole and adding a screw.  I added the screw.  Pretty easy to change the stops.

Edited by Kev_XR, 14 May 2012 - 09:04 PM.

and here I sit with a beautiful set of 400 forks/triples that were sent off for springs and valving for my 230lb butt...........unused.

Edited by MindBlower, 15 May 2012 - 12:09 PM.

update:
due to rushed timing, I wound up ordering parts from multiple sources.  I wouldn't recommend it to the next guy trying to pull off this upgrade.  I have so far confirmed:

> FORKS & TRIPLES - the XR400 forks (43 mm diameter) do not fit XR250 triple trees (41 mm diameter).  the unknown triple trees already on the bike when I bought it would also accept the 43 mm forks, but I changed to the known XR400 triple trees anyway.  The frame/neck accepts either set of triple trees just fine.

> WHEEL - I read on one of the forums that the XR250 and XR400 wheels were the same except that the larger diameter axle of the XR400 requires you to change out the bearings & seals.  This is not entirely accurate.  After a survey of the market for used front wheels, I found that the XR250 wheels are much less expensive than the XR400's, so I bought a used XR250 wheel from one source (less than $100), a separate XR400 axle, odometer and spacers from a second source, and then some new replacement XR400 bearings & seals from a third source.  The bearings & seals fit the XR250 hub just fine, but I didn't realize until pulling the bearings that I'd forgotten to get the XR400 spacer that goes inside the hub (between the bearings).  The larger diameter XR400 axle won't fit through the XR250 spacer.  A new XR400 spacer is due in to my local Honda dealer tomorrow (fourth source).

I test fit everything I could last night.  The wheel looks offset to the brake side - the wheel sits closer to the fork on the side the disc brakes are on.  Also, the spacing didn't look right for the odometer assembly; in order to get the odometer housing to seat flush against the hub, the axle has to thread in all the way (flush with the fork clamps - can't get a wrench on it).  That made me suspect that the hubs are different on the two wheels; when I checked the OEM parts list this morning, I see that the XR250 front wheel hub (44601-KV6-860) is a different part number from the XR400 hub (44601-KAE-870).  I assume that the XR400 hub is wider, but I have no idea by how much.  So now I'm suspicious that the internal hub spacer that's coming in tomorrow will be too long, and that will mean that the XR400 bearings wont seat completely in the XR250 hub.

If those assumptions are correct, then if I stick with the XR400 fork conversion I think my options are to either buy an XR400 front hub (at least $175) and relace the wheel, or save the aggravation and buy a whole XR400 wheel (about $300 seems to be the current price for used).  Or I could keep the XR250 wheel and change to stock forks & triple trees.  The price is about the same either way, so I guess I'll go ahead with the conversion...

> DISC BRAKES - I bought used calipers and master cylinder from one source, and used brake line, banjo bolts and clamps from a second source.  After everything arrived I realized that I didn't have the bolts to attach the calipers to the fork...did I mention that I have parts coming into the Honda dealer tomorrow?

Edited by scrape88, 24 May 2012 - 07:00 AM.

I just finished my 5th fork conversion and every one seems to have new learning opportunities, your experiences are part of the learning curve.
But you will have many wonderful stories to tell.

Between online Honda part fiche and TT you'll be able to sort it all out, and you will like the results.

So your bike came with 43mm clamps?   If those clamps work with the stock steering stops, you might want to just use those to avoid having to weld new steering stops for the XR400R clamps.  

Search around for the XR400R wheel.  Ebay is not the only source.  I went on the forums and asked on the popular XR400 threads if anyone had a wheel sitting around.  I had a response within 24hrs from someone who had installed USD forks on their 400.  I think I bought it for about $120 shipped including bearings, spacers, axle, etc...

The conversion is worth it.  The 400 forks are much better than the 250 forks.  I did the "shim stack mod" to mine and put all new bushings, seals, and fluid before I installed them on my 250.  It was the middle of winter so I took my time doing it.

The XR400 front bearing spacer (goes inside the front hub) is ~4mm wider than the XR250 spacer.  No bueno.  Time to abandon the idea of reusing the XR250 front wheel on the XR400 forks.

I'm now shopping for an XR400 front wheel...let me know if you have one for sale!

regarding the steering stops - the "unkown" triple trees that came with the bike (that accept 43mm forks) did not have functional steering stops.  If I want steering stops I've got to modify either way.

Hope you are taking photos of your conversion. Would like to see your progress and the finished conversion. The upgrade to a 400 front end may yield a significant increase in handling.

scrape88, on 29 May 2012 - 05:31 AM, said:

So why don't you cut 4mm off the 400 spacer?

MindBlower, on 29 May 2012 - 12:03 PM, said:

Although that would allow the XR400 bearings to seat properly in the XR250 hub, there would still be issues with the odometer gear alignment and I found that the brake rotor attached to the XR250 hub was dragging on the caliper mounted to the XR400 forks.  As far as i can tell, going with the intended parts is the only way to assure everything fits correctly & safely.

You could always add a spacer between the brake caliper and the fork leg to move the wheel across.
To think Ive been riding a whole year with my front wheel slightly off to one side amd havnt noticed.
After reading your post I went and looked and yes the wheel is slightly offset.