1976-1/2 250CR 1 of 2

So I recently scored a pair of 76-1/2 250 CR's just like my first brand new motorcycle! The previous owner says they were stored inside...

I'm starting with the "higher mileage" of the two bikes. I plan on getting them both restored to rideable condition. I'm planning on keeping the original patina as much as possible so I guess these will be mostly "soap and water" restorations.

Pics of Bike #1:





Looking at the old pictures of my bike... the pictures in the original 1976 brochure I still have, and the fact that the brake cable seems way long... I believe the front brake is on the wrong side. The original owner says the front wheel has never been off the bike and it was assembled that way when he bought it new. Can anyone confirm the correct front brake location on a 1976-1/2? (I know in '75 the brake was on the right but I think they went to the left in 1976?)

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Also, a few days after I bought the bikes the seller called and told me he found the manual for the bike in a drawer in his garage... also included was part of the tool kit. I still had a few of the original tools from my 1976. Does anyone know if the tool kit is now complete?

A little bit of progress... bike feels like it has good compression. View into exhaust port looks great!



I'm going to remove the flange and see if I can align it a little better.

Bing carb was a little grungy but luckily not corroded inside. Last gas it had in it was probably before ethanol was added. Cleaning it up in my little Harbor Freight ultrasonic cleaner.

Pressure test is next. My seals and gasket kit from John at Vintage Husky got here yesterday so I hopefully have what I need to fix any leaks. Hopefully the cases won't need splitting!

Clutch was not releasing at first but I zip-tied the lever to the handlebar overnight and seems fine now.

Need to drain the trans and see what comes out...

Bike looks in great condition!

I'd suggest Type F ATF for that clutch/transmission...but you may want to pull the clutch apart anyway just to check it over and de-gum the plates
Type F has worked well for me for over 40 years

my 78 came with an exhaust spring puller as well !

I don't remember an exhaust spring puller in the kit of my original 1976 but that was a long time ago.

I remember having a spring puller similar to the one in the photo below but I thought it was one that I bought from the Yamaha dealer?
They sold them on a display card on the counter? Came with springs I think? Did the Husky one look like that one?

I'll have to do some looking around my Dad's house next visit and research the Internet for photos. If I had one, it might still be around someplace. Thanks!

Nice find, it looks like new almost

Pressure testing the engine resulted in the intake gaskets leaking like a sieve... once I replaced the gaskets I found one more small leak at the seal retainer plate behind the magneto. All sealed up good and tight and holds pressure and vacuum for hours with almost zero loss.

Pulled the clutch cover and it looks like new inside... new gasket and it's back together.

Back on my original 1976 I went through shifter seals/bushings quite regularly. In late '77 Dave in the service department at Malcolm Smith motorcycles suggested I upgrade to the 1978 kick start lever. The problem is the 1976 style lever hits the shifter at full down stroke as seen in this picture:

So I went looking for a later model kick lever. That's when I found out the later "offset" style tended to crack and break at the knuckle and finding a good one can be expensive and difficult... and I wanted to find two!

I saw one that was almost completely broken go for over $100 on ebay! I kept my eyes open and saw an ebay listing for the kick start lever but the pictures were of the shift lever. Description was clearly for the kick start lever stating the knuckle was good, no slop, splines good, etc. There were a lot of pictures. When I scrolled through the pictures, the last ones were of a kick start lever that looked great! I sent the seller a note and used the buy it now for $79. The seller responded and confirmed most of the pictures were wrong and he would be sending the kick start lever!

It was in great condition... after a little cleaning and a fresh coat of paint I was one step closer to putting together the bike I wanted.

I have the original cables in good condition... but this one is a going to be a rider so I wanted to replace them and save the originals. The problem was that there are some slight differences in the clutch and brake cables through those years... and while they could "work" they weren't exactly right.

Matt Hilgenberg at Speed and Sport to the rescue! Matt sent me the clutch and brake cables which were a little long and a couple of new ends. I trimmed the housings and inner cables to the exact original length, new end, and a quick dip in the solder pot and the cables were done!

The original Gas Girlings were still on the bike. The biggest improvement I made on my original 76 was to replace the rear springs with some lighter S&W springs. The original springs might have been fine for someone super fast like Mikkola, but for someone like me they were way too stiff.

I'm not sure I could find lighter springs these days and I'm sure the seals in the non-rebuildable Girlings weren't in great condition after all these years...

So I decided to go first class. My buddy Scott (Chayzed Pilot) came up with a set of Curnutts that he rebuilt to be as-new. For those of you that don't know Scott, he worked for Curnutt back in the day and is a CURNUTT shock/suspension expert.




Thanks Scott!!!

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Thanks Mark, but to clarify, I know Curnutts and that's all I want to do. Suspension expert?......not really, I know enough to get me by. I'm thinking about delving into modern stuff soon.

In my opinion you're being a little modest Scott... I updated my post....