87 trx250r without rear decals???

[bullet225ho]

Hey folks,

I just picked up an 87 R today and I really am not sure what I've got here. I wanted the bike to put around on and ride on some of the trails around here. I purchased the bike basically off of pics from the net and figured it would be a good rider from what the owner stated.

Well, I pick this up today and holy crap. It looks brand new.

The story behind the bike is it was purchased for the original owner for his 16th birthday. He worked at a bike shop and basically rode 400ex's and such and actually raced those at some point. Then back in 2003 he uncovered the R and was going to prep it for racing. He installed a Paul Turner pike and silencer, new case guard, and larger bore carb. At that point the original owner was injured and sold the bike to the guy I bought it from. The second owner never got the bike off of pavement.....drained the gas after running etc.

At any rate. Here are som pics.

I do have to question a couple of things. The decals on the rear fenders are not there. The guy I bought it from says that some didn't come with them?????

Also. the bike has red a arms? not sure what's up with that.

All stickers are on the frame as they should be and the paint looks right.

Any thoughts on this bike?

I want to ride this thing, but it looks like a couple parts away from being a show piece. The plastics are showroom condition.

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w118/bullet225ho/4wheeler/87r8.jpg

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w118/bullet225ho/4wheeler/87r9.jpg

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w118/bullet225ho/4wheeler/87r7.jpg

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w118/bullet225ho/4wheeler/87r6.jpg

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w118/bullet225ho/4wheeler/87r5.jpg

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w118/bullet225ho/4wheeler/87r4.jpg

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w118/bullet225ho/4wheeler/87r3.jpg

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w118/bullet225ho/4wheeler/87r2.jpg

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w118/bullet225ho/4wheeler/87r11.jpg

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w118/bullet225ho/4wheeler/87r10.jpg

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w118/bullet225ho/4wheeler/87R1.jpg

[250Renvy]

A couple of things:

1. If this were antiques road show, I'd say you stumbled upon a very rare item.

2. If you are not familiar with 250R's then some things you should know about your machine are:

It's an 87 250R with a blue center which today is very rare. The condition of the plastics seem confusing because I was sure the original 87 plastics came with embossed warning labels in them. They also came with rear fender decals. It is possible the fenders are newer/replaced but most companies making replica decals don't make the 87's 100% correct and yours has the correct decal, so it's either oem or an accurate replacement.

Obviously this is a race machine, but in stock form it is not very "race ready" and would need a lot of modifications to be able to race it. In the R community many think it is a shame to mod a completely stock machine these days since they are so rare.

Keypads on 87 are incredibly rare and almost non-existent these days. It's hard to tell from the pictures, but I suspect this machine has gone through some restoration and possibly had the frame powdercoated - are some of the other frame warning decals missing?

Show machines are somewhat of a terrible waste since it's nearly impossible to ride them since they cost so much and being an offroad machine, it is bound to get dirty, damaged etc. However a machine that is in your condition is almost a shame to ride it because it is nearly a show machine and would also be a shame to damage.

A quick check you can make to see if the fenders are newer or original 87 style fenders it to take the rear fender off and look at the seat latch are. If it's got an L shaped cutout it is probably an 87, if it doesn't than it is probably replacement.

If you don't mind and aren't planning on selling it to make some money (in a good economy and put back to stock you might get $5000) - how much did you pick it up for?

[1promodfan]

The first thing I noticed is the frame. Like envy said, it looks to be powdercoated or very nicely painted. Also like envy said, either its been very well taken care of, or its been nicely restored. Either way it looks to be a gem. Even the nose piece looks to have a factory sticker on it. I say leave it like it is.;)

[croat1]

nice find. from the pics i would have to agree with 250renvy that the bike had been restored at some point.

87 fenders are embossed with warnings. the front motor mount bolt is incorrect. the side covers should not be polished and i believe the rear rubber fender mounts are incorrect.

i would not ride a bike in that condition. it is too nice

[bullet225ho]

I'm thinking that this could be a restore project. I'm not sure but I will pull the plastics off tomorrow and take photo's of the under neath of those and also.... what frame decals are missing?

The front plate plastic even has the "helmet holder" decal. I'd say that can be reproduced too though.

interesting to hear the comments though. I purchased this R earlier this year and got the fever. I actually just purchased a frame 2 days ago and then found this one yesterday and picked up today.

Here's the one I got earlier......far cry from what I just picked up.

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w118/bullet225ho/4wheeler/DSCF1405.jpg

[danhung11]

I noticed some of the bolts, they aren't OEM. Also, how is the frame so new looking and the seat/tank looks worn more. The swingarm gold looks to be other than stock, too. Anyways, it's a clean ride but looks to be a restore.

Hope you enjoy it, they are a blast!

[312R1]

Very nice R, but I noticed a few things also. The center cases are cut out like the 88-89 so it is either a 88-89 engine or new cases. The other thing is the cylinder..if it was a 86-87 it would be a gray charcoal color like the cases.

-Steve

[bullet225ho]

Also,

I went outside and looked at her again and one thing that stood out is the rear brake has no parking brake. Clutch lever has no provisions for parking brake.

As I said earlier this bike was supposedley stored for years and then pull out and was being prepped to race in some senior class or vintage class and all that got done was larger carb, pipe, grab bar, tool box removed and now seems that parking brake was removed (I'd say it came stock with one) At an early stage in the project the original owner was injured and had to sell.

I take everything with a grain of salt and I have to just take the guys word that I bought it from. With that being said...it didn't appear that he had done any of this work to the bike. and he stated that he never took it off road.

[bullet225ho]

the seat and plastics look cherry. maybe a shoe scuff on the rear fender but other than that they look new.

I'm trying to figure this all out as it appears that this is a frame off and someone pumped up an engine and stuck it in a repainted frame with OEM plastics and such.

Lots of kool stuff though as the headlight looks absolutely NEW and the key switch also. Steering stem and everything under the plastics looks to be new

[bullet225ho]

Also, Red A Arms. That's wrong also....right?

[croat1]

they should be gold to match the swingarm

[Rich250RRacer]

It's clean, can't take that away from it. But I see pretty much the same as the others, and a few more things. From your close-up pics, most of the factory "dimple bolts" have been replaced. The helmet holder sticker is in the wrong place, the "Honda" sticker on the hood should be outlined in blue to match the hood, not red. Since the cut-out in the front of the cases is the newer style, but still factory color, I would say the cases have been replaced at some point (allen head case bolts point to this too). The warnings should be embossed on original plastic, or it should have both the embossed and the stickers (I have heard that Honda sent owners these stickers way back in the late 80's to add to the quads). The hood must have been replaced, it does not match the tank color. The tank has discolored (taken on a darker, more blue-green look) from fuel.

It's a great condition rider, or a very good starting point for a "showroom" type restoration since most of the hard to find stuff is already there. You'll just have to decide which direction you want to go with it. And from experience, you really can't have both if you want to ride the quad.

[All250R]

The front fender decals aren't OEM. They're reproductions. NICE bike!

[factoryX]

what pipe is that???

[bullet225ho]

The pipe is a Paul Turner.

it's stamped 2003 TRX RACE on the pipe and is chromed.

the silencer is a FatBoy 2.

I'm really up in arms about this bike. I'm going to take the plastics off and get some more pics and put on here.

I have another frame coming any day now and I may swap everything over to it except for the really nice pieces...Plastics, keyswitch, headlight...and anything else that seems really too good to ruin riding.

Any thoughts on that?

[jcs003]

very nice bike. i would ride the crap out of it. whats the point of having a collectors item that is meant for recreational use.

[mineralgrey01gt]

Originally posted by bullet225ho
The pipe is a Paul Turner.

it's stamped 2003 TRX RACE on the pipe and is chromed.

the silencer is a FatBoy 2.

I'm really up in arms about this bike. I'm going to take the plastics off and get some more pics and put on here.

I have another frame coming any day now and I may swap everything over to it except for the really nice pieces...Plastics, keyswitch, headlight...and anything else that seems really too good to ruin riding.

Any thoughts on that?

good idea IMO. I would do the same thing and put those pieces up in storage

[bullet225ho]

Okay, Got the plastics off and here are some more pics. It's clean for sure, but this looks more and more like a frame off attempt.

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w118/bullet225ho/4wheeler/DSCF1739.jpg
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w118/bullet225ho/4wheeler/DSCF1740.jpg
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w118/bullet225ho/4wheeler/DSCF1741.jpg
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w118/bullet225ho/4wheeler/DSCF1742.jpg
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w118/bullet225ho/4wheeler/DSCF1743.jpg
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w118/bullet225ho/4wheeler/DSCF1744.jpg
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w118/bullet225ho/4wheeler/DSCF1745.jpg
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w118/bullet225ho/4wheeler/DSCF1746.jpg
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w118/bullet225ho/4wheeler/DSCF1747.jpg
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w118/bullet225ho/4wheeler/DSCF1748.jpg
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w118/bullet225ho/4wheeler/DSCF1749.jpg
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w118/bullet225ho/4wheeler/DSCF1750.jpg
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w118/bullet225ho/4wheeler/DSCF1751.jpg
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w118/bullet225ho/4wheeler/DSCF1752.jpg
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w118/bullet225ho/4wheeler/DSCF1753.jpg
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w118/bullet225ho/4wheeler/DSCF1754.jpg
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w118/bullet225ho/4wheeler/DSCF1755.jpg

[250rPRIDE]

yeah as the others have said its been restored, but it was done well, but not all factory.. sweet bike though..

[atvmxr]

Originally posted by croat1
i would not ride a bike in that condition. it is too nice

f-that, ride the damn thing. I think we have thoroughly established its a resto job, not mint original. yes its nice and clean, but so is any project once you get it done with fresh powder, new plastic, etc. now put their work to use! :blah: