Help! Blew up my RG250

[ClassicActionChick]

Kia Ora Guys!

I would love some advice on best options..

I have a 1987 Suzuki RG250 Gamma. I blew a piston in it a few months back.
When I pulled apart the engine, it is extremely rusted out on the inside... quite hideous really. (Im thining hasn't been pulled apart).

If i choose to replace the piston... I don't think it will be long until something else goes not long after.

I would love some suggestions... (bearing in mind I am a poor student LOL)
Should I pray for luck & replace the piston? (If so, what kind do you recommend?) And try to recondition the original motor ?
Should I try find a whole new RG250 motor and bolt in a new one?
Find a RZ350 motor to put in? (Yamma-Gamma like the old days)

Any suggestions would be much appreciated... Or if anyone knows of any RG250,RZ350, or alternative motors around?

Thank you very much!

[Akzle]

i have wood.



any of those options would work. even if you were just replacing the piston, i'd be giving everything a thorough, thorough cleaning, oil ways etc.

so it's a matter of what comes up first that you can afford.

[Grumph]

Kia Ora Guys!

I would love some advice on best options..

I have a 1987 Suzuki RG250 Gamma. I blew a piston in it a few months back.
When I pulled apart the engine, it is extremely rusted out on the inside... quite hideous really. (Im thining hasn't been pulled apart).

If i choose to replace the piston... I don't think it will be long until something else goes not long after.

I would love some suggestions... (bearing in mind I am a poor student LOL)
Should I pray for luck & replace the piston? (If so, what kind do you recommend?) And try to recondition the original motor ?
Should I try find a whole new RG250 motor and bolt in a new one?
Find a RZ350 motor to put in? (Yamma-Gamma like the old days)

Any suggestions would be much appreciated... Or if anyone knows of any RG250,RZ350, or alternative motors around?

Thank you very much!

Before going much further, what you've got (the RG) needs assessing by someone who knows what they're looking at. You already know the right people...Pete or even Steve Ward. If you do go yammagamma, it's fairly easy - but wouldn't be cheap nowadays.
cheapest answer - and it'd be fun to ride - would be dad's Ariel engine in the RG....

[unstuck]

What do you mean by rusted out on the inside? Did the piston fall apart, or just get a hole in it? Pics are always good.

[Paul in NZ]

Before going much further, what you've got (the RG) needs assessing by someone who knows what they're looking at. You already know the right people...Pete or even Steve Ward. If you do go yammagamma, it's fairly easy - but wouldn't be cheap nowadays.
cheapest answer - and it'd be fun to ride - would be dad's Ariel engine in the RG....

Sound advice....

an RG 250 is never going to be a cheap bike to fix...

[ellipsis]

Hi Chick,
I like the way you cruise in here and ask about an old thing needing attention when you have only just returned from being off racing in Europe.

All good?

[F5 Dave]

well you won't find an RG250 engine ready to run. You'll not find an RZ350 either & they will cost + won't be road legal without certification.

Get someone to assess the crank and just look a rebuild.

[SPman]

Know a good two stroke rebuild man in Darwin............

[Madness]

Paging Mr Imdying...

[Arronduke]

Rusted on the inside...are we talking about the barrel?
If so then that there piston has not moved for a while and the means other parts like the crank have not moved for a while..... get the idea.

That there motor needs a complete strip and rebuild which is a major and only worth while if you happen to want to have a classic two stroke and have $$ to spend.
Install a RZ350 good luck with that, parts are like hens teeth. I threw out enough parts for like three motors years ago when I sold a RD350LC with an RZ350 motor for like $1200.
My shed was full of RD shit and you could not give it away. I dumped heaps of bits.

Oh times have changed...

You have a classic two stroke that is collectable and expensive to fix but without $$ and rebuild skills or determination, drive and time to source parts you are rather F#cked.
Trust me you do not want to go down the RZ route... it will end up bad and expensive.

Sell it and buy an FXR150... save fuel and spend the rest at the pub.

[SVboy]

Rusted on the inside...are we talking about the barrel?
If so then that there piston has not moved for a while and the means other parts like the crank have not moved for a while..... get the idea.

That there motor needs a complete strip and rebuild which is a major and only worth while if you happen to want to have a classic two stroke and have $$ to spend.
Install a RZ350 good luck with that, parts are like hens teeth. I threw out enough parts for like three motors years ago when I sold a RD350LC with an RZ350 motor for like $1200.
My shed was full of RD shit and you could not give it away. I dumped heaps of bits.

Oh times have changed...

You have a classic two stroke that is collectable and expensive to fix but without $$ and rebuild skills or determination, drive and time to source parts you are rather F#cked.
Trust me you do not want to go down the RZ route... it will end up bad and expensive.

Sell it and buy an FXR150... save fuel and spend the rest at the pub.

Lol, Sensible advice most of the time, but you are unaware whom you are advising, and the resources she has available. Now, get back to work on your own projects-more updates needed!

[F5 Dave]

Well OP has gone kinda quiet.

No harm in ripping it down & surveying the damage. Suzuki pistons are nothing special & TS ones probably fit (I over bored my X7 using them).

Latest Practical SB Mag has a YammaGama in it. Makes me want to drag mine out for summer. .. given funds to rego another bike

[Yow Ling]

The big difference between a RG250 and an RZ motor is you can buy every single part for an RZ off the shelf and there are truckloads of RZ aftermarket parts available , RZ bottom end and gearbox was in production for 19 years , rg250 for maybe 2 years.

If you ask around you will easily get a RZ engine, you need to make 2 spacers for the front engine mounts and 2 links for the rear mount, RG pipes will fit fine, you can use the RG wiring loom. Maybe you should certify it , but really who would know the difference.

[avgas]

Inside of the engine doesn't have to be flash to be fixable. I one saw a guy with an RZ250 - similar problem to yours. Engine had been apart and rusted.
First thing we did was run it and see what polished up and what broke. Then we pulled it apart - dremelled/polished the rust out of the rest, made some thin copper spacers and gunked it while reassembling.
All he needed in the end was 2 bearings, 1 piston and some new spacers.

Engine looked and ran great. And best of all - we knew where the problems were so we could compensate/fix them.
Where if you buy a new motor - who knows what you are getting.

@Yow Ling - why are RZ250 parts/engines still around? Are they the same as TZ?

[F5 Dave]

In a word: Banshee.