1981 XL250S

[NordieBoy]

My new bike.
This was the first time I'd seen it.
I've never ridden in mud before.
Very muddy, slippery, raining, slippery, clay, slippery surface.

Preperation
The clutch action was a little - missing - so we found a spare and bolted it on.
Ditto for the throttle grip.
Pulled the rear pegs off, tensioned the chain and I was away.

Acceleration
Nope, not really.

Straight line stability
Nope, nada, none.
Not on this surface.
Not with a 90% worn 23" front on there.
It changed direction more often than a political party with the staggers.
And this was on the straight.

Cornering
Slowly, eventually yes it did.
Brown pants moments by the bucket, luckily there was too much mud for others to notice.

Suspension
In theory yes.
It does have these thingy's that go up and down but I would hesitate to call the overall effect "suspension".

Knee down?
Not me but my brother got his knee down.
Closely followed by his head, feet, head, feet and head.
We could hear him laughing from a hundred meters away.

Maintainence needed
Kickkickkickkickkickkickkickkickkickkickkickkickki ckkickkickkickkickkickkickkickkickkickkickkickkick kickkickkickkick - change sparkplug - drain carb - kickkickkickkickkickkickkickkickkickkickkickkickki ckkickkickkick VROOOOMMMM!

Well maybe more like vromm.

Cons
Everything?

Pros
It was cheap.
I can race it in classic mx.
After I've bought all of TradeMe's xl/xr parts.
It was cheap.

Summary
This is going to be fun.
My jaw hurt from all the smiling and giggling not to mention my arms/shoulders/back/legs.
Can't wait to ride it again.

[James Deuce]

Who is that guy vomiting into the tray of the ute?

[Motoracer]

LOL, nice and funny review

I'd do one of the ol TS185 which I am sure was a pre 80s but it would be the same as yours above.

Oh except, mine caught on fire from overheating after I went up a steep hill that lasted for a good 10 mins on full throtle

[NordieBoy]

Who is that guy vomiting into the tray of the ute?

That's my little bro.
Looking for diced carrots or a sparkplug.

He classic races a TS400 rat bike.
And anything else he can get his hands on

[Motu]

Yep,riding in mud is a real hoot - hope you don't rip your tackle out on that carrier.

[merv]

Great bike and welcome to the dirt clan. You will have fun.

[fastford111]

i to will be looking for mud as i have just been given a 77 pe250 and a beast it is but as we havent had rain for 4 years mud isnt likely

[NordieBoy]

Well it looks like Project 1981 XL250 has been canned

And is being replaced by Project 1979 XR250

Review to follow...

[merv]

Now that is a classic being a twin-shock bike. You sell the XL?

[NordieBoy]

Now that is a classic being a twin-shock bike. You sell the XL?

Nope, not yet.

[NordieBoy]

Now that is a classic being a twin-shock bike. You sell the XL?

Yes I have

[Oscar]

Well it looks like Project 1981 XL250 has been canned

And is being replaced by Project 1979 XR250

Review to follow...

Ohhh, man - memories...
A 1979 XR250Z (or was it XR250A?) $1,950 brand spankers. It was actually cheaper than the (inferior) XL250S. It looks pretty original (no dents in the tank?) - get ride of that manky seat foam and get a proper seat cover, it'll be mint!

You need a set of S&W Stroker Dual Rate shocks...but they're gonna twist the swing arm..so you'll need an alloy swing arm...but that's gonna twist the frame...oh well, just ride it...

Beef up the forks with a set of interior Ford Escort valve springs dropped in the top (I think it was the 1600 Escort, I'll check)...

As I alluded to earlier - everything flexes - if yer lucky it'll flex in unision, and you'll go good. If not, it'll bend the frame...

You'll need to chamfer off the front of the brake linings and/or cut grooves in them to make it stop in the wet.

Engine mods - bolt on a Supertrapp, and yer in business.

Shit, I'm jealous...

[NordieBoy]

Ohhh, man - memories...
A 1979 XR250Z (or was it XR250A?) $1,950 brand spankers. It was actually cheaper than the (inferior) XL250S. It looks pretty original (no dents in the tank?) - get ride of that manky seat foam and get a proper seat cover, it'll be mint!

1979 XR250Z
One small ding at the front right of the tank that hasn't cracked/scratched the paint.
Yes the seat foam is a bit.... soft.
I have a mate who re-covered my Nordie seat for free.

You need a set of S&W Stroker Dual Rate shocks...but they're gonna twist the swing arm..so you'll need an alloy swing arm...but that's gonna twist the frame...oh well, just ride it...

I have to learn to ride dirt first
It looks like my learning period will be slightly reduced.
It will be one 105km trail ride 2 weeks ago and the practise session on the 15th just before I line up in smallbore class at the North v South VMX Challenge

Beef up the forks with a set of interior Ford Escort valve springs dropped in the top (I think it was the 1600 Escort, I'll check)...

Ooooo, yes please.

You'll need to chamfer off the front of the brake linings and/or cut grooves in them to make it stop in the wet.

Going to do that to the 21" front wheel I'm building for it.

Engine mods - bolt on a Supertrapp, and yer in business.

Only problem with that is my SuperTrapp (1.75" IDS) is on my Nordie
But if I get another pipe for the Nordie then it will be going on the XR.

Put some Renthal Classic bars on it and it turns it into a totally different bike.
Some fibre clutch plates and HD springs are on the way as well.

Leaving it a bit late for sunday but what the hell

[Oscar]

Escort 1600 Mk1.
We've been arguing if it's interior or exterior, but whichever one should be about the same diameter as the fork springs...

[Motu]

Must be the outer springs,the inner springs on an Escort are only about 20mm in dia - mind you that's about how big those forks felt when you tried to turn that bloody big 23in front wheel! I never liked them,just too big and heavy,floppy and wallowy,I never felt connected to the bike - but a whole generation of riders learnt to mono on an XR/XL 250.Then they got old and fat,lost their minds and bought KTM LC4s.