goin to look at a donor....

[atf8611]

Im probably going to look at an 86 donor tommorow. the guy says that the only problem is that it bogs at about 3/4 throttle. he says that he just got it recently, and doesnt know much about its history. could the bogging be a carb related issue? is there any way to tell if the rest of the motor is in good shape? what should I look out for? thanks for any help!

[ISBB]

plugged main jet probably.. thats what curred my bogging up that way when i bought my 97

[atf8611]

plugged main jet probably.. thats what curred my bogging up that way when i bought my 97

did it still start fine, and run will up to about 3/4 throttle? whats the worst case scenario

[Ported&Polished]

If you really wanna know what condition it's in, you need to do several things. First, ride it. Second, pull the carb off and the intake boot and the reed cage, and visually inspect the piston skirt. Then if possible, look inside the clutch cover, check the clutch and basket for wear and damage, and the oil for metalic debris.

[ISBB]

If you really wanna know what condition it's in, you need to do several things. First, ride it. Second, pull the carb off and the intake boot and the reed cage, and visually inspect the piston skirt. Then if possible, look inside the clutch cover, check the clutch and basket for wear and damage, and the oil for metalic debris.

Ahh all the things i didnt do... oof thank goodness for a seller who likes to make things right. I woulda been hosed if it wasnt for the seller steppin up to the plate.

Any yes the bike ran fine pulled wheelies all the way down the street... hit past 3/4 and it bogged and sputtered.

[atf8611]

If you really wanna know what condition it's in, you need to do several things. First, ride it. Second, pull the carb off and the intake boot and the reed cage, and visually inspect the piston skirt. Then if possible, look inside the clutch cover, check the clutch and basket for wear and damage, and the oil for metalic debris.

i figured all that, but i doubt the guy would want me ripping into his bike before buying it. anything i should look/listen for when riding it? anything less intrusive that would be a dead giveaway of an impending problem? I could just tell him all these possible problems and low ball from there....

[Ported&Polished]

Well, I had my top end done witha new piston and porting, and because of that, I have the receipts. If a seller suggests recent top end work, and new piston, they should be able to document the work for you. If they claim no new top end was ever done, it WILL need it, and a low ball is in order.

[atf8611]

Well, I had my top end done witha new piston and porting, and because of that, I have the receipts. If a seller suggests recent top end work, and new piston, they should be able to document the work for you. If they claim no new top end was ever done, it WILL need it, and a low ball is in order.

from what I can tell, he doesnt know much about its maintenance history. i will know more when i talk to him tommorow. I guess i will assume that it needs at least a top end. how much do you think i should offer if everything else checks out? hes asking 1000 and that seems a little steep considering the sketchy maintenance history. Im definatly not going to jump on the very first thing I find, so unless i can get what comes out to be a really good deal, il pass.

[atf8611]

If you really wanna know what condition it's in, you need to do several things. First, ride it. Second, pull the carb off and the intake boot and the reed cage, and visually inspect the piston skirt. Then if possible, look inside the clutch cover, check the clutch and basket for wear and damage, and the oil for metalic debris.

Ahh all the things i didnt do... oof thank goodness for a seller who likes to make things right. I woulda been hosed if it wasnt for the seller steppin up to the plate.

Any yes the bike ran fine pulled wheelies all the way down the street... hit past 3/4 and it bogged and sputtered.

so was it the carb or all those other thinks that made it run poorly?

[Ported&Polished]

I don't know where you are, but my buddy is selling two cr500's on here right now for a thousand each. Both have new top ends with new pistons and new water pump covers and other new stuff. He knows the full history of each bike, and can document all the work and parts. Maybe tell your seller about them and suggest unless he takes say 750, you are going to buy one of those bikes. Of course the ones my buddy has for sale are in socal, so maybe that is out of the question for you.

[atf8611]

I don't know where you are, but my buddy is selling two cr500's on here right now for a thousand each. Both have new top ends with new pistons and new water pump covers and other new stuff. He knows the full history of each bike, and can document all the work and parts. Maybe tell your seller about them and suggest unless he takes say 750, you are going to buy one of those bikes. Of course the ones my buddy has for sale are in socal, so maybe that is out of the question for you.

Im in phoenix, so thats a little far. maybe something could be arranged. the important thing is that this guy doesnt know that they are in socal, so i can definatly use that to my advantage. Is you buddy ever in AZ?

edit: just checked the for sale forum. those look really clean. definatly something I will keep in mind.

[ISBB]

If you really wanna know what condition it's in, you need to do several things. First, ride it. Second, pull the carb off and the intake boot and the reed cage, and visually inspect the piston skirt. Then if possible, look inside the clutch cover, check the clutch and basket for wear and damage, and the oil for metalic debris.

Ahh all the things i didnt do... oof thank goodness for a seller who likes to make things right. I woulda been hosed if it wasnt for the seller steppin up to the plate.

Any yes the bike ran fine pulled wheelies all the way down the street... hit past 3/4 and it bogged and sputtered.

so was it the carb or all those other thinks that made it run poorly?

The reeds might have had a small role in the mis behaving however when i tore the carb apart it was plugged up... while the carb was out was when i discovered the ripped reads and cracked piston. 99% sure its just a carb issue and that a good cleaning will make it fine if the other stuff checks out.

Its not hard to take the carb and intake out... literally 6 bolts and 3 screws. that will let you inspect the piston, reeds, and all that other fancy crap... Now that i know what im doing with the bike less than 10 min to get it all apart.. if it has the stock tank. Oversized tank would take me a few extra min..

[atf8611]

Ahh all the things i didnt do... oof thank goodness for a seller who likes to make things right. I woulda been hosed if it wasnt for the seller steppin up to the plate.

Any yes the bike ran fine pulled wheelies all the way down the street... hit past 3/4 and it bogged and sputtered.

so was it the carb or all those other thinks that made it run poorly?

The reeds might have had a small role in the mis behaving however when i tore the carb apart it was plugged up... while the carb was out was when i discovered the ripped reads and cracked piston. 99% sure its just a carb issue and that a good cleaning will make it fine if the other stuff checks out.

Its not hard to take the carb and intake out... literally 6 bolts and 3 screws. that will let you inspect the piston, reeds, and all that other fancy crap... Now that i know what im doing with the bike less than 10 min to get it all apart.. if it has the stock tank. Oversized tank would take me a few extra min..

oo i understand now. did you say yours was a 97 and it had all those problems? as far as the piston cracking, is the common failure point at the intake? if thats good, would the rest of the piston be ok?

[Ported&Polished]

It's mostly the intake side that cracks.

[97af]

If you are just buying the bike for a donor engine,throw the grand at a later model 90 on up engine. I know of a 93 engine,carb electronics that can be had for $1000.00. (not mine though)

[atf8611]

If you are just buying the bike for a donor engine,throw the grand at a later model 90 on up engine. I know of a 93 engine,carb electronics that can be had for $1000.00. (not mine though)

I would like a newer model, but it just comes down to whats available locally. I definatly dont want to buy somthing like that without seeing it, and without it being part of a whole bike, i couldnt even hear it run.

[lewisclan]

If you are just buying the bike for a donor engine,throw the grand at a later model 90 on up engine. I know of a 93 engine,carb electronics that can be had for $1000.00. (not mine though)

I would agree with that

[dannygraves]

the '88 and older ones are more work to do the conversion with and I wouldn't pay even close to $1000 for an '86 unless it was showroom, or close. The 2 that are listed for sale look really clean and worth $1000. That '86 is going to be a basket case if the owner "doesn't know" because that means he hasn't maintained it. I would not pay a penny over $700 for it. I bought my '86 for $730 almost 2 years ago and it was running with a "new topend" what BS I had to split the cases and do a full rebuild.
do yourself a favor and buy a newer one. the '93+ are the best because there were no changes made after except the motor was silver starting in '94. the '88-'92 had the close ratio trans, I prefere the wide ratio.
The best thing to do IMO is to find a '93+ that needs a topend for cheep because then you could get it for a lot less money, then put a fresh topend on before doing your conversion. previous owner always lie. like saying it has a new topend when it was done 3 years ago. plus you can get more money for the newer chassis. I can't get rid of my old '86 chassis, I have everything still except my shock and subframe.
goodluck with whtever you choose. as far as the carb prob, probably just need to be cleaned out or has the wrong main jet in it. too many people think the main is the only thing they have to change.

[atf8611]

the '88 and older ones are more work to do the conversion with and I wouldn't pay even close to $1000 for an '86 unless it was showroom, or close. The 2 that are listed for sale look really clean and worth $1000. That '86 is going to be a basket case if the owner "doesn't know" because that means he hasn't maintained it. I would not pay a penny over $700 for it. I bought my '86 for $730 almost 2 years ago and it was running with a "new topend" what BS I had to split the cases and do a full rebuild.
do yourself a favor and buy a newer one. the '93+ are the best because there were no changes made after except the motor was silver starting in '94. the '88-'92 had the close ratio trans, I prefere the wide ratio.
The best thing to do IMO is to find a '93+ that needs a topend for cheep because then you could get it for a lot less money, then put a fresh topend on before doing your conversion. previous owner always lie. like saying it has a new topend when it was done 3 years ago. plus you can get more money for the newer chassis. I can't get rid of my old '86 chassis, I have everything still except my shock and subframe.
goodluck with whtever you choose. as far as the carb prob, probably just need to be cleaned out or has the wrong main jet in it. too many people think the main is the only thing they have to change.

it comes down to how cheap i can get it. I guess the guy has only had it for a few weeks. that means either he scared himself, or he found a problem and wants to dump it off on someone else. its worth a look, and il just take it from there. I definatly dont plan on buying on the spot.

[atf8611]

well just to update, i just got back from looking at it. Im not too impressed. guy had an odd excuse for getting rid of it, didnt know anything about it, and it didnt run all that well. maybe it would have run better if it had more time to warm up, but it just didnt feel right. I think il pass on this one.

[AlisoBob]

If you buy cheap, you usually buy junk.

Good CR500 , 1990 /1994, $1500. you can sell off the roller for about $500, so you have a $1k in the motor itself.

Good , CLEAN Chassis.... Gen 3 250 of Gen 4 CRF runs about $2.5k to $3.5k. After you sell the motor your will have about $$1.5k to $2k the the Chassis.

THIS MIGHT BE CHEAPER THE BUILDING A BIKE FROM PARTS!

Think of everything you will be buying....and I'm not even talking about the big ticked items ( Frame, swingarm, forks,etc..etc.) Its all the little stuff that will eat you up.

Depending on how it all comes together, you could build a nice bike for $3500 I think..

[atf8611]

If you buy cheap, you usually buy junk.

Good CR500 , 1990 /1994, $1500. you can sell off the roller for about $500, so you have a $1k in the motor itself.

Good , CLEAN Chassis.... Gen 3 250 of Gen 4 CRF runs about $2.5k to $3.5k. After you sell the motor your will have about $$1.5k to $2k the the Chassis.

THIS MIGHT BE CHEAPER THE BUILDING A BIKE FROM PARTS!

Think of everything you will be buying....and I'm not even talking about the big ticked items ( Frame, swingarm, forks,etc..etc.) Its all the little stuff that will eat you up.

Depending on how it all comes together, you could build a nice bike for $3500 I think..

I already have an 03 250 that i only have about 2k into. i only need a title, and im sure i can find a titled frame for 300 or less (working on that now.) il keep looking till i find something in good shape. the more i think about it, il probably take everyone's advice and hold out for a 90+

[iggys-amsoil]

Don't be all hung up on the title. After the 500 motor is installed to get good title you have to take it to the DMV and the CHP to verify the engine and frame numbers anyway. Then there going to give you clear title anyway.

[atf8611]

Don't be all hung up on the title. After the 500 motor is installed to get good title you have to take it to the DMV and the CHP to verify the engine and frame numbers anyway. Then there going to give you clear title anyway.

Im in AZ, so im not sure how they do things here. i could go through the mvd and file for a lost title, but that takes way more time and energy than a couple hundred dollar frame is worth. I know the numbers are good because i checked before i bought it, plus a buddy managed to get it impounded a couple months ago, and that was no issue. i dont know how the dmv in cali is, but az is about a million times worse than NY (where im from). i would seriously consider a bullet to the head above a trip to the dmv here..

[Ported&Polished]

That's funny because comming from socal originally, and now living in Prescott Az., I can tell you for certain the MVD (dislexic motor vehicle department) is a dream come true for me. No smog checks, cheap as hell registration, no lines to wait in, people that speak engrish, and are freindly to boot. The minute I got here I tossed my trucks smog equipment in the trash and installed off road headers. The bike cost like 4 dollars to register and 11 dollars for a transfer of title. Back in cali the dmv was insane with crowds of people, the employees were foreiners, the boses were strict as hell, and the costs were rediculous. And the smog checks, good freaking lord, what a nightmare. Might as well junk your car if it doesn't pass first time.