250f Odds and mods

[theboogieman]

Hauled her ladyship in for a scrub behind the ears and a few mods.
First up was an oil and filter change. If you are doing one on a 250f (Yammy lump ) then treat yourself to one of these, brilliant little mess saver.



Next up was some snakes.





The the sump was drilled and some corse weave foam put in between the guard and the sump.

[theboogieman]

A set of hand guards went on (be rude not to really :-)



Then a few personal mods.
Firstly the 250f is already quite a low bike, but as I ride a trials bike most of the time, I like a bike that I can work in the tight stuff with peg weighting more than using my knees.
So I picked up a set of lowering links on fleabay.
The intention is to have the suss lowered when it is set up at a later date, but as these were peanuts I thought I'd have a punt.
The standard links on the 10 models are 124mm these links are 128mm.

I wanted to be able to check measurements and differences in a controlled way, so I parked the bike with its wheel against the cooker in the kitchen (as you do) and made certain it was vertical. (The bike not the cooker ;-)

Then I measured from the wall to the edge of the headlight plastic.
The premise being that as the rear lowers the front highpoint (headlight plastic) will move further away from the wall.
The other measurements were the fork tops to the floor/ the rear mudguard to the floor etc.

The links went on..

[theboogieman]

The original measurement for the hd/light to wall was 1330mm.
With the links on the rear dropped 35/40mm and the new measurement at the front was 1340mm so the front had moved 10mm.
Raising the forks 10mm in the yokes returned the measurement to 1325mm, so 7/8mm was tried and this rise gave the original 1330.
Doing this actually raised the rear slightly also.
The bike is now around 30mm lower, but retains the original 'stance'
Obviously the rising rate/spring progression is not what it was, but it'll be an experiment to see how it works out.

Make of that what you will, the figures may prove useful to someone. :-)

To finish off the lowering I pulled the old seat cover and removed the foam.
This was then shaved and shaped.
I wasn't looking for a big drop in height, more a smoothing of the very square edges that it has.



After those initial cuts I spent time rounding and smoothing before replacing the old seat cover.
(New one due, when I am happy with the seat shape)



The result dosn't look much different, but it has a lot less side wall and is now lower in the middle.
This to some who need a smooth/flat transition from front to rear whilst sitting in the corners may seem counter intuitive,
but as I only stand up it is now roomier around my knees and my only contact with the bike id my feet and hands.
Here's a before and after, If you can tell from the pics..

[theboogieman]

Electrics mods,

The gas gas 'module' was, err, how can I put it, crap. And it didn't work so that was speedily replaced by a black vector.
I plumped for the remote as well this time which is great for doing everything without moving your hand from the bar.
It has the water temp sender as well.



The bike had a horrible on/off/start button that was on the right handle bar with the switch under the throttle cables.
The start button was also missing a w/proof cover, so this was next up for some attention.

I got hold of an ignition switch and mounted that (temp until I fab a mount for it) to the bars.
Along with this I got a Yammy push start and put that on.
Now the key means a little security if the bike is left and is also a nice big kill switch in the centre.

The bike had lights, but for some reason these had been butchered into one switch nightmare.
I sorted them all out and wired the lights up along with a 12v horn.
(They arn't tidied up yet in the pic and the horn fouled the rear of the light, so was bent up to be horizontal. Now it fits nicely)



I got a new switch that has low/high and the horn button.
Now the cockpit looks like this...



Next was a fan.
This I decided to wire direct.
I sorted out the wiring and instead of testing with the t/light, I decided to use a new fan I had on the side for the txt pro, that has toasted it's own.
Now here was a nice surprise, the txt fan fits on the radiator of an ec perfectly.
It is the same dimensions and can even be riveted on as per the txt.
Needless to say, it stayed and now I need to buy another one for the trials bike. Haha. Doh.

[theboogieman]

I fitted a switch and then wired it to the battery.
I'll drop an inline fuse in when I find the box with them in. Lol.

At the same time the rads will be sraightened and braces fitted.





I was curious if all the bits would add much.



Not bad.

[theboogieman]

And lastly...



I couldn't resist. :-)

Next up...

A new hydraulic clutch for her.



And new socks for xmas, haha.

[offroadingisbest]

Great write up and pics, I would love to try a gasser 250f.

[Rick]

Nice job on the bike.

[gasmonkey]

Alot of time and moola spent.You need a bigger kitchen or a man cave.

[Jakobi]

Good write up mate! Cheers