250-500cc 1988-1990 Husqvarna WR125-250K

[makazica]

Cheers all! I logged on here because by some weird chance I have in my garage a Husky WR125K, not sure what year but I guess somewhere between 1988-1990, a Cagiva made engine, Ohlins rear shock and Brembo front brake, standard fork (quite "thin").

The engine is a bit of a mess, some random pics;

Also, I might be able to buy a WR250K, with USD forks, all plastics, full wiring, working engine cheaply.

I would be interested in your opinion on some matters:

Does the 250 engine fit into a 125 chassis?
Do the USD forks fit bolt on onto the 125 chassis or some modifications are needed?
Do the WP USD forks off a KTM 640 + the wheel and the break fit onto the 125 or the 250 chassis? Anyone did something similar?
With proper engine work done, how reliable would you consider the 125 and the 250 engines, on a scale from 1 to 5 ( 5 being the most reliable)?
Are there any known weak spots on these bikes?
Is it possible to find a new/used/matching ignition for the 125?

As you can see from my questions I'm trying to decide to dig into this project or not. I intend to ride the bike twice a month, only off road, trail and similar....

Any other advice is welcome!

Thanks!

M.

 

[nonamerider]

i rode support for cagiva back in the day. the pictures are close. the 250s had wp shocks 4054 wp forks..l am guessing 87/88. real reliable. i didnt ride 125 .irode the 190 and 250s. does it have ft drum or disc.

 

[troy deck]

Vance Smith moto plate repair & or rebuild 810 231 3359 im sure you can make the usd forks work if its an 87 or 88 mossbarger has a reed block for it1800 891 1615 if its a 90 or newer dyno port has pipes 315 255 3665 sorry thats all i got

 

[makazica]

Thanks for the replies!

i rode support for cagiva back in the day. the pictures are close. the 250s had wp shocks 4054 wp forks..l am guessing 87/88. real reliable. i didnt ride 125 .irode the 190 and 250s. does it have ft drum or disc.

Front brake is disc but conventional forks, do you think the 250 engine would fit into the 125 chassis?

Vance Smith moto plate repair & or rebuild 810 231 3359 im sure you can make the usd forks work if its an 87 or 88 mossbarger has a reed block for it1800 891 1615 if its a 90 or newer dyno port has pipes 315 255 3665 sorry thats all i got

Troy, what are the numbers in your post, telephone or something else?
I should of mentioned, I'm from Europe, Croatia so sending parts to US is not really an option. Buying off e-bay is.

Cheers!

M.

 

[troy deck]

yes those are US phone numbers . you have spark problems? if you can get e-bay parts in you can get your parts out if you need an ignition & want the lights too work its time for...just a minute...ok im back an MZB ignition p/n h4sm002 or PVL ignition p/n h4soo4 or h4s006 depends on the year no lights with the PVLs MZB are 500 plus shipping PVLs are 440 plus shipping thats US dollars i think the moto plate re work tops out about 250 u can get the MZB/PVL from husky club.com or halls cycle in the US call Raymond @ halls 217 789 0107

 

[colemanapp]

M.
That would be referred to as the 87 WRK as it has a rear drum brake, 88 was rear disk and different plastic. I've owned one since new, last 25 years. Fun little bike, basically a cagiva 125, back to 1985 I believe. Electrics is gonna be one of the weak spots on any bike of this age. I ended up replacing the whole system with an aftermarket PVL ignition. Works great. Parts can be a tough find but I really haven't had to replace too much. If you go to the Halls Cycle website, they have parts catalogue on-line for that model. Unfortunately the 250's they have listed during those years are the old swedish models and not the cagiva based WRK250 you were looking for.
Your bike doesn't look like its had much use from the photos.
Here's mine after I turned it over to my 15 year old son last year.

 

[makazica]

M.
That would be referred to as the 87 WRK as it has a rear drum brake, 88 was rear disk and different plastic. I've owned one since new, last 25 years. Fun little bike, basically a cagiva 125, back to 1985 I believe. Electrics is gonna be one of the weak spots on any bike of this age. I ended up replacing the whole system with an aftermarket PVL ignition. Works great. Parts can be a tough find but I really haven't had to replace too much. If you go to the Halls Cycle website, they have parts catalogue on-line for that model. Unfortunately the 250's they have listed during those years are the old swedish models and not the cagiva based WRK250 you were looking for.
Your bike doesn't look like its had much use from the photos.
Here's mine after I turned it over to my 15 year old son last year.

Valuable info! Thanks!

I'll look into PVL ignition and Halls.

M.

 

[troy deck]

YEP HALLS KICKS A#%$@

 

[WayneL]

This is an 88 model WRK 125, USD forks, disk front, rear drum brake. Hope to get it restored through the year. I have most of the parts to do the resto. I believe there was an option for convential forks for the 88 model - refer to the manual.

 

[makazica]

Thanks for all your replies!

Let me describe the situation a little more precise....

I don't own any of the above bikes; the 125 is in my garage and the owner is thinking about a rebuild but would sell me the bike cheaply, cca 300€. I have found a 250 in good condition, similar year, USD forks, full wiring harness and all plastics for 450€.

The 125 engine is a wreck but I think rebuildable, all plastics are present except the head lamp. Ignition is trash. Plastics and the frame are painted in black.

The 250 doesn't have any papers, the 125 is fully legal.

Soooo, I'm thinking about buying both bikes, do a little bit of maintenance to the 250, fix it into the 125 chassis and ride it. With time I would like to bring it back to OEM condition, white frame, fresh paint on plastics, full rebuild of the engine etc. And have it like nice old dirt bike in my living room.....

Also with time, I would rebuild the 125, fix it into the illegal 250 chassis and do whatever with it....

So, my biggest dilemmas are; would the 250 fit the 125 chassis and is the bike strong and reliable enough to get me through next two years of riding....

Thanks!

M.

 

[WayneL]

I can't help you with the engine fitting question.

But, I think you should buy both bikes!

 

[troy deck]

i don't think the motors will swap but i'm not 100% sure on that on your outher [issue] you don't build bikes for a 110 years & not get a handle on that. all you need are time. money, parts & an old lady that will let you keep it in the living room oh & buy'em buy'em all because there parts&money two of the things you most IMHO

 

[makazica]

i don't think the motors will swap but i'm not 100% sure on that on your outher [issue] you don't build bikes for a 110 years & not get a handle on that. all you need are time. money, parts & an old lady that will let you keep it in the living room oh & buy'em buy'em all because there parts&money two of the things you most IMHO

Troy, I'm quite confident that my english is of appropriate level to understand most of the tech talk but I'm having trouble understanding what you're saying.

What do you mean by "you're not building bikes for a 110 years & not get a handle on that"?

Why do you think the motors will not swap? Is the 250 bigger or are the brackets diferently positioned? I'd think the 125 and 250 are of the same outher measurements...

Does anybody know what cca HP the 250 makes?

 

[troy deck]

yes your English is quite good your American need some work LOL what i mean is you don't stay in business for 110 years without building a quality product i don't think the motors will swap [that's American for interchange] because i'm sure the cases are different the crank stroke is longer and i bet the clutch&gearbox are beefier [that's American for larger] but it mite go if you use the 250 motor mounts [if the frames really are the same] help from America will be a little limited because huskies from that time are very rare here [ok american lesson 3 here cca is a type of lumber treated for outdoor use LOL] my guess on cca crankshaft ??..?crankshaft? ok i got nuttin [that's American [nothing] sumbuddy inform this [me] big redneck on CCA pleze but my money is on 43 HP+/-1

 

[makazica]

yes your English is quite good your American need some work LOL what i mean is you don't stay in business for 110 years without building a quality product i don't think the motors will swap [that's American for interchange] because i'm sure the cases are different the crank stroke is longer and i bet the clutch&gearbox are beefier [that's American for larger] but it mite go if you use the 250 motor mounts [if the frames really are the same] help from America will be a little limited because huskies from that time are very rare here [ok american lesson 3 here cca is a type of lumber treated for outdoor use LOL] my guess crankshaft ??..?crankshaft? ok i got nuttin [that's American [nothing] sumbuddy inform the the big redneck on CCA pleze but my money is on 43 HP+/-1

So basically what you is sayin that lousy spaghetti eaters have taken a decent bike off of Swedes and didn't even try to sell it to you Yankes? Also, you're sayin that all you got is some stinkin Huski tools for lumber treatment over in the Outdoor Americas? And that an average redneck makes circa 43 HP if fed beef?

 

[troy deck]

yea some thing like that... ok i did a little editing on my post my Croatian is bad ok but we'll get it done sorry i'm with not familiar with cca but hay at least i'm trying cause i think you should have a nice old dirt bike in the living room [to look at] & one in the shed to ride

 

[makazica]

yea some thing like that... ok i did a little editing on my post my Croatian is bad ok but we'll get it done sorry i'm with not familiar with cca but hay at least i'm trying cause i think you should have a nice old dirt bike in the living room [to look at] & one in the shed to ride

I was joking with my last post, of course!
I appreciate your efforts.


M.

 

[troy deck]

yes i know we have humor in America but i think we'r a little short a CCA IMHO & late 80s -mid 90s huskies would somebody give me some words to go with these letters so maybe i can help my little Croatian buddy... wait cold cranking amps had to swap dirtbike brain for car brain lol

 

[makazica]

Troy, cca means "circa", which is latin for approximately!

 

[troy deck]

oooh i c now i no my Latin is worse than my Croatian IN America "circa" refers to a date