vt250 questions

**lb99** · 30th May 2006, 19:28

I got offered an '85 vt250 for $100, I havn't seen it yet but the owner says it is tidy but in bits, because it has "a good healthy knock....", but he also says he lost intrest before they got to strip the engine, also most probably dereg.
so, who knows about these motors?, is it worth even looking at? how much to do the bearings, I can do the labour, can I get the crank ground?, what's a tidy VT250 worth?should I even bother looking? I am after a cheap basket case to put back on the road, until I can afford to spend $$$$ on a flash toy

**imdying** · 30th May 2006, 19:38

Those motors are shite... the cam chains of death they have.

**gamgee** · 30th May 2006, 20:15

agreed, shit, and you'll be lucky if you can find parts, i woudn't touch it, unless you have the engineering skills to reconstruct the frame to hold a kawasaki zzr250 engine

**Insanity_rules** · 30th May 2006, 21:29

So the Suzuki owner and the Kawasaki owner are VT experts? Nah the engines aren't that bad. Serviced regularly and looked after they can cover some pretty good distances. Parts are easy to get via econo honda http://www.econohonda.co.nz but bear in mind its an old bike so some things arent cheap.
Depends what the rattle was mind you. It sounds like cam chains and they're not too hard to do if your confident with a spanner. The key words are clean oil and STP oil treatment as the top end oil journals will block easily if you use shit oil. Have you ever pulled down a bike before? if so VT engines just require a little extra patience. Can be hotted up a bit too and pretty unbeatable off the line, eats my mates 250 bandit (or my other mates ZZR)for breakfast up to 140K's thats where I back off.

I'm on my 3rd VT (VTZ is uprated version with better stoppers but no fairing) and 9th Honda. Go for it if your keen as 250's are at a premium and are fetching rediculous prices at the mo.

**imdying** · 30th May 2006, 21:59

FYI, it's already fucked... all the 'clean oil' and 'regular servicing' in the world won't save it now. The only thing that will save it the correct application of money. Hotted up? wtf? Why would you bother? Unbeatable off the line? Compared to what? Your mates Bandit? Well whoopty fuckin doo. VT motors don't require patience, they require a hand grenade.

Assuming the heads or cams aren't fucked (yeah, you know all about the oil gallerys up there), then maybe you could waste some money on it. But as you know, they like to gunge up, and heads n cams were a prick to get 12 years ago when I was a kid. I've no reason to assume the supply situation has improved since then. Or perhaps he should throw good money after bad buying new bits?

Regardless, if you think it's worth spending $100 on getting it to check out the top end, go nuts. Assuming it's not the bottom end, which is entirely possible if some idiot ran it out of oil. That, and the whole compliance/warrat/rego thing, I think the way is clear here...

**gamgee** · 30th May 2006, 22:14

Originally Posted by Insanity_rules

So the Suzuki owner and the Kawasaki owner are VT experts?

you mean the kawasaki owner who is now an ex honda owner after blowing a vt250 up...

**imdying** · 30th May 2006, 22:38

Having thought about it some more, I'd like to reiterate that my only real concern is that he's poor, and VTs have a reputation for being expensive to fix.

**Wasp** · 30th May 2006, 22:49

Originally Posted by Insanity_rules

So the Suzuki owner and the Kawasaki owner are VT experts? Nah the engines aren't that bad.

You tell em bro!

(IR owns my old vtz)

these are great bikes - after seeing what IR has done to the vtz part of me still wishes i'd kept it (don't get me wrong, i love my bumblebee to bits

)

i think it was around $1,500 including labour that i got quoted to replace all the tensioners and chains. (these bikes are worth $2k easy, a vtz sold on tradme for 1,900 and a spada for 2,500).

For $100 I would personally buy it just so that i could have a play - if only i had the space to do that sort of stuff

Up to you, if you have the time money aeffort and know how to fix it and get it running go for it! (if half way you decide not to i reckon you'll get a fair price from a wreckers depending on whats still there working)

**nudemetalz** · 30th May 2006, 23:28

I would just like to say that VT's are NOT crap, despite what certain people say in this thread.

My Missus one starts first pop every day and is reliable as hell. We went around the South Island at Easter and her's didn't miss a beat.

They can be a little more difficult to work on than some 250's and the camchain tensioners do have hassles but the parts are not difficult to come by. Malcolm at Econohonda can get pretty much anything you require.
You just have to weigh up whether you're going to spend more money than it's worth. But as a tinker around in your spare time type project, I'd say go for it !!.

NDMz.

**Insanity_rules** · 31st May 2006, 06:32

Originally Posted by imdying

Having thought about it some more, I'd like to reiterate that my only real concern is that he's poor, and VTs have a reputation for being expensive to fix.

Ok I can agree there it could be a potential disaster if the current owner is less than honest. Do we have a mechanically minded member near by to help survey the bits?

But you gotta agree that 250's (any 250's) are insanely expensive at the mo and if its a good'un then it could potentially also be a bargain.

**Insanity_rules** · 31st May 2006, 06:32

Originally Posted by gamgee

you mean the kawasaki owner who is now an ex honda owner after blowing a vt250 up...

How long from knocking to blown up?

**lb99** · 31st May 2006, 06:55

I have rebuilt engines myself before, and I'm quite confident that I can do the work, but I heard a rumor that once the crank is marked then thats it, you cant grind them, I am poor ATM but I do have some money, however if I can get on the road for under a grand then its gotta be a good deal right? I'm going to look at it tonight, hopefully I can talk the owner into letting me dive into the motor a bit to check some things out, and so far as I know VTs are ok, I knew of a few over the years that the owners looked after and they never had any problems