Pro's and con's of the 86 250r?

[bigbuck90]

I found a 1986 honda 250r for sale and i would like to pick it up,is it a good buy?What are the pro's and con's of the 86 250r?thanks

[gbcap]

make sure the motor is good. check engine mods and try to get the truth. if it has been bored out several times you might have to replace the cyclinder soon.

the 86 did not have the longer swing arm. so that might be something you need to check into. plus the frames weren't as good as the later years. so check for welding/fixing or just cracks they have painted over. be weary of a freshly painted motor/frame. alot of people try to cover up flaws when selling these old bikes.

make sure you take it for a ride. and just putzing down the street. really get into it to make sure it runs good.

[250R-Dee]

People love to argue about the strength of different TRX250R frames. They are all about the same strength. The '86 frame has beefier front engine mount stays but the '88-'89 frames have more gusseting from the factory. All the frames like to crack in similar spots when abused so it really doesn't matter. The '87 is an oddbal since it has the same front engine mounts as the '88-'89 frames but everything else is the same as the '86 frame.

Check for cracks near the pegs/axle bolt area, engine mounts, rear subframe to mainframe area, upper mounts for the a-arms, mount for the steering stem and check the swingarm for cracks.

gbcap - The '86-'87 swingarm is 1" longer than the '88-'89 swingarm. The dogbone for the rear suspension link is also longer on the '86-'87 models.

Start the motor, warm it up (ride it), shut it down and then see how many kicks it takes to start it. If you have to kick the hell out of it the motor probably has week rings and needs a rebuild.

Last by not least ask the seller to identify any issues with the bike. If he seems reluctant, he is hiding something.

[bigbuck90]

The guy i am buying it off of is my cousin,it hasnt been bored out yet.I plan on replacing the swing arm bushing's and the a arm bushing's with new shocks up front.I might also get new a arms.What else should i look for when i go look at the bike?:cool:

[bigbuck90]

No one has any more on this?

[Tom TRX250R]

It honestly doesn't matter what year 250R it is as long as you have a clean 250R to start with. You can modify them to whatever you like, for example, shorter or longer swingarm, or a-arms. Or change to the long rod crank instead of short. I wouldn't be so worried about the year of the 250R when purchasing one as I would making sure it has been taken care of and there are no cracks in the frame etc. and hasn't been raced and abused.