I just recently(today) purchased a 1986 250r. Tell me what you think, and I also have some questions"
It starts and runs great, new piston and rings about 80? hours ago, +4 a-arms, +4 axle, new chain, clutch, good brakes, ac front bumper, grab bar, and nerf bars with pegs. New bottom end bearings with piston, new side case that was previously cracked from chain. Paul turner pipe and silencer. K&n filter with prefilter and drilled lid. Holeshots front rear with douglas rims. Front works shocks with rezzies, and rear TCS with rezzy. Picked it up for $2600.
MY questions are that when ridind (ripped it through 3rd) 2nd gear seems really short, and almost seems like it falls on its face but then after shift into third takes off, also the clutch may need adjustment because when its fully pushed in it seem to still be engaged a little. Help with these please.
Let me know what you all think. thanks

 

If it doesn't already have one on it, get a case saver. I've cracked a case on a R without a case saver before.

When you say, "when its fully pushed in it seem to still be engaged a little", do you mean that the bike wants to move when the clutch is pulled in fully? Or do you mean that the clutch seems like it's engaged a little when the lever is not pulled in? If it's the later, then your clutch is probably slipping making 2nd gear seem short. If this is the case then yes it needs adjusted. If it's the former, it still needs adjusted but that wouldn't explain what's happening in 2nd.

Even if 2nd gear is messed up, it still sounds like you got a nice deal. Just the extras on it are worth $2,000 or more.

 

when i push the clutch lever in, and then switch it into gear, the engine revs lower and it seems to want to move even with the clutch pushed in? Also when not running, and in gear if the clutch is pulled in, the gear still seem like they are engaged, and the quad wont roll easily.

 

seems like a pretty amazing deal for $2600. sounds nice too. get some pics up. you may be able to fix the problem by just adjusting you clutch cable.

QUESTION: how do you only have 2 posts when you joined 5 years ago?

 

First thing's first, make sure that the clutch cable is properly adjusted. If there is excess play in the cable, it won't fully disengage the clutch. I usually run mine with about 3/16" of slack at the lever. However, given the bike's age, I'll put money on it that the clutch basket is notched. This is caused by the plates digging into the basket's "fingers." Take the clutch out, have a look, and rebuild it. While you're at it, get an aftermarket basket like a Hinson, Moose, Wiseco, or Vortex. All of those are billet and much more durable than stock. If you just replace the basket with another stock one, you'll be going thorugh the same routine in a couple of years.

 

hmmmm never heard of a 250R doing something like that before, my R rips through every gear, your clutch is most likely messed up because the gear itself doesn't make a difference unless it's missing a whole bunch of teeth, sounds like an awesome deal for 2600, cause i bought mine for 3000 and put a bunch more into it, the only thing i need now is a new exhaust, the FMF is great for what it is and the price is hard to beat, but i want better performance out of it and my R has a Pro X 310 jug and a stroker crank, so i'm looking for a big bore pipe, i'm most likely going with Sparks Racing, i hope you get it fixed

later

 

Have to agree $2600 sounds like a sweet price, but often there are some things that need attention on a machine this old too so you dont really know till you get into the quad some.

Not sure if you ever noticed but pretty much everyone in NJ is able to be strange so posting once every 2.5 years isnt that crazy [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

As far as the acceleration problem that is only obvious in 2nd gear that one seems a little tricky since it should be doing it in the other gears too. First thing I would check is the carb, and then take a look into how its jetted. It could just be that your not full WOT in every gear and the little extra throtte its getting in the lower gears could be putting it more into the main which could be a little fat or thin etc.

If you cant figure it out there are some people and sites you can try to get more info too.

 

As stated before, "creeping" when the clutch is pulled in can be caused by the ears on the clutch basket being grooved. If this is the case you can file/grind the grooves back smooth with a dremmel tool or something similar. I did the same thing with mine and am still running a stock 1986 basket.

 

I have stock gears front and rear. My 2nd gear is pretty short too, I have to shift pretty fast. Sounds like your just blowing through the power band. Don't mean to insult your intelligence, but have you had/ridden a modded 2-stroke before? They don't really have the endless power like the new 4-strokes have. You gotta stay on that pipe.

 

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