Hi,

After getting my recently-acquired '93 XR250L bike up and going (thank you for helping me with the high idle issue on another thread), I had an oil burning problem after riding it 70 miles.  I decided to go ahead and have it fixed locally.  I dropped it off Monday, and by Tuesday the diagnosis was the cylinder had witness of water/corrosion in the cylinder. Pictures I took show about 3/4inch of witness mark of waterline along one side.

So, I had XR's Only send me by Overnite a JE 10.5:1 76mm (+3mm) forged piston kit, valve stem seals, timing chain, top end gasket kit, etc. More than $300 of parts.  OK so far...

Parts come in ... then local machine shop decides they cannot get bore/honing done for 2 weeks.  So ... I bring it back to my shop and bore it on a verticle mill, then hone it.  Finished 10:30pm last night.  Drop everything off to the mechanic this morning, confirm the bike will be complete by 6pm tonight so I can do an all day ride Monday in the Smoky Mountains.  Get the bad call that the piston wrist pin is seized to the conn rod; took heat and pressure to remove it.  Conn rod needs replacing.  BUMMER .... very bummed.

So Hot Rods Crankshaft company makes a conn rod kit for this engine for $150.  Local mechanic will need another $300 in labor to R&R the conn rod.  That $300 is in addition to the $500 in labor for the top end job.  Add another $200 for various surprises TBD, and I am at $1000 in labor, $450 in these parts.

Plus, I have purchased:
NOS parts, $280
- NOS LH side cover in '95 uranus violet
- Good used RH side cover, and paint to match
- NOS fork boots, uranus violet
- NOS Hand guards, white
- NOS headlamp decal, uranus violet

- a bunch of misc stuff adding up to a several hundred dollars like new Throttle cables, NOS air box cover, air/oil filter, Keyster Carb kit, replacement turn signal, $300+
- custom machined billet steel clutch perch (fun)
- 250R exhaust system to replace the 250L system, $200
- 12T front sprocket, RK chain, 44T rear sprocket ... all brand new $125
- NOS owners manual, NOS service manual, $70

My neighbor, who bought this bike and its twin brand new in '93, sold me this bike with 1,040 miles for $650 with the condition that I could return it if it was too much of a project.  This bike was stolen from his last residence in '04 and recovered in '10, missing the side covers, air box lid, broken clutch cable perch, and looking rough as hell.

I was OK with investment until the cylinder was found to be bad.  But I sucked it up thinking I would have another $1000 in this bike that is probably only worth $1500 in decent running condition before adding the NOS parts.  Now, I will be into it at least another $500, with an unknown situation on when the spending will end.  After I cleaned it up over the course of a day, other than a dent in the fuel tank, the bike actually looks very nice as is - before installing any new parts.

What would YOU do in my situation??  This is my first XR, and I don't know when the spending will end for this old girl
1. return the bike back to my neighbor in parts, and eat the 400-500 labor bill, sell off the new parts on ebay that I cannot return to the vendors
2. suck it up and continue to throw money at it until it's done
3. any other ideas???

To make it worse, I went ahead and invested in a 34mm throttle body and fuel injection system, with plans to FI the bike.  And then add the 34mm turbo charger I have new in the box for another bike project.  I thought this would be a fun and unique dual sport machine with lots of low end torque for the mountain riding here in East Tenn.  These pre-'96 XR250 engines don't have much in the way of performance aftermarket parts available - cams, stroker cranks, etc.  Even finding a good exhaust is a difficult.  But because I like the light weight of the 250 versus my riding buddy's XR650L heavy bike, I figure there aren't many options unless I go with the CRF230L or another brand and model.  I like the XR styling better than the somewhat generic looking CRF styling.

I look forward to your advice.

Bummed out in Tennessee

Edited by keisler, 25 May 2012 - 04:06 PM.

Sorry about your troubles. With the type of damage you are describing I would anticipate the bottom end to be in pretty bad shape. If you are going to continue with the project I would at least factor in the cost of splitting the cases and checking out the bottom end. No since in going through all the other repairs without getting into the bottom end. Sounds like you have committed pretty deeply to the project so you are going to have to make some tough decisions. If you were able or willing to do the work yourself and save on labor I would say continue on, but if you are paying somebody to do the work for then you would probably be better off to cut your losses and pick up a nice  klx250s or drz 400s.

Edited by jamesgardner83, 25 May 2012 - 07:01 PM.

Stick with it, I've spent thousands since I got my 250, just think how great you'll feel knowing you have an older bike with all fresh bits and looking the dogs bollo..s

jamesgardner83, on 25 May 2012 - 06:45 PM, said:

+1...Agreed...look at the bottom end and keep the ol girl. I have a 99 version of this and you are correct...parts are hard to find. If it was me I would keep it. Better to know what you are riding when you have rebuilt and put the money and effort into it. Who is to say what your new crf250r's condition would be like. It will only ever be as good as the guy who says he has rebuilt it and put crap parts in it. That's why I buy cheaper older bikes 2 and 4 stroke and rebuild them myself. Then I know what I have.

https://www.facebook.com/CleanRebuilds

Good luck

Hi Folks,
Thanks for the replies! Let me ask:

Is the 96-04 crankshaft/conn rod assy compatible with the 91-95? It looks like the conn rod is the same part as listed via Hot Rod Crankshaft site.

If I can score a good quality crank assy for 200 or less, I think the labor cost would be offset.

These XR250L bikes are HARD to find.  Either there were not many sold, or they don't change hands often.  I would have to travel several hundred miles to find another for sale.  (There is a 01 XR650R that claims to be plated/street legal locally for$ 3500 on ebay. With what I can easily have in this bike I could buy that bike for another$ 1000).

I am sort of surprised no one recommends parting this bike out.  I am not into that, but it is prolly worth more in parts then complete if ebay prices are used as reference.

well, it gets to the point now that you are already so far into it that you could potentially end up with a very good reliable, borderline "brand new" bike with all the new parts your putting in, rebuilt engine etc etc.  You look at the cost of a new bike now a days roughly $6k for a good dual sport or possibly more.  and your going to have one of the most versatile, durable, dual sport bikes ever built.... completely restored and you'll be in for $2500-$3000 at half the price of a brand new one.  If you'd have known it would need all that off the get go i would say ditch it but at this point you might as well go full swing and dooo ittttt.  I've got a buddy that has a '94 and when he got it it was in very good condition with 1200 miles on it, last year alone he put about 1500 very hard trail miles on it and with only basic maintenance needs.  There's nowhere he won't go or nothing he won't do on it.

Hi
The 96 -04 cranks have a different cut spline on one side as the early models. The connecting rods may be the same but the crank web shafts are different. I believe the bearings are different. I have an 99 and on 94 on the bench. I will take photos for you and post later today.

Hey Keisler

I carried out some comparison measurements on a 99 and 94 crank assembly. The engines are from an XR250R. The 99 engine is a ME08E and the 94 is a ME06E. I don't know if this is what you were looking for and I am not sure if they are the same as an L series. The crank rods look identical but it would pay to check with others.
I have posted a video below o the comparison.
If the link does not open click the bottom link and search the page.You should see it there.

http://www.facebook....=timelineSingle
https://www.facebook.com/CleanRebuilds

Good luck.

Edited by GEOF, 26 May 2012 - 07:21 PM.

wilh108, on 26 May 2012 - 06:33 AM, said:

Wilh108,

Thanks for your post and advice.  What you are saying makes good sense.  If I land in the cost range you are talking,AND get a nice machine that I can put several thousand miles per year, the cost of ownership will be low.

I think I will take everyone's advice and have the bottom end tore down, put a new seal kit, bearings, new conn rod, check the oil pump, and so on.

More to follow ...

GEOF, on 26 May 2012 - 07:18 PM, said:

Hi Geof,

Thanks for taking the time and effort to create a comparo video! That is mighty nice of you!

I could not get the video to load from either site on my android phone, but I will try on my laptop in the morning.

GEOF, on 26 May 2012 - 07:18 PM, said:

Hi Geof,

Thanks for taking the time and effort to create a comparo video! That is mighty nice of you!

I could not get the video to load from either site on my android phone, but I will try on my laptop in the morning.

Geoff,
Is the 96up motor a direct swap out for the 95-earlier style? Are there any benefits to this swap?

The 99 engine has the rear swing arm bolt going through the engine casings and the 94 model I have on the bench has no casing slot for the bolt...so they are not a direct bolt up.

Hi All,

Thanks for your advice.  I am going to stick it out and see this bike return to a like new condition then ride the heck out of it!

Geof, thanks for your input on the crank and engine mounting.

Shafi

Short Update:  E-Bay has a lot of Hot Rods connecting rod kits.  I had planned to buy one direct from HR for retail $149 plus shipping.  I wound up buying one (new) for $65 plus $6 shipping.