250-500cc New member, some WR250 questions

[Craftsmanracer]

First off, hello everyone! I recently came across a screamin deal on a 2002 WR250 that, of course needs a little bit of work.
I'd always wanted something that was better off road than my DR650, and I think I got a pretty good deal.

$500 got me this---

It came with these pretty trick wheels, and a 19" rear which is oversized as far as I can tell. (18 stock?)

It does need work though, and that is where the questions start to come into play:

1. Most of the plastics are pretty beat up, I found some that are made by UFO, are they good enough quality plastic pieces? I think these___ are beyond fixing.

2. What is this? (where the red is) I am guessing it is the vent for the gearbox. It had something that was jinkety jankety glued to it at one point. Can I attach a fitting and hose and route it to the airbox?

3. Do husky CR parts fit the WR? What is the difference? Gearing?
4. Is the expansion chamber only held on to the cylinder by springs? Or am I missing a bracket/collar?
5. The only water-cooled 2 strokes I've ever worked on were outboards, and the impellers for their cooling systems were made of rubber and wore out with age. Is this an issue with this bike as well, or is it a plastic impeller?
6. I'm guessing premium gas and 50:1 premix will do? What about an owners manual so I know what kind and how much oil to put in the transmission and forks?
7. You all think I made out ok? He wanted $600, and he got $500.


I hope yall can help me out with figuring out my new bike. I'm used to working on my big pig of a dr650, which doesnt have this fancy-dancy "water cooling" that is all the rage right now. haha

 

[Mike K]

The pipe is held to the cylinder with two springs and the impeller is aluminum and as for the fuel I've been running premium @50:1 with no issues. Pretty good deal for $500

 

[PowerKord]

Stock back wheel for a CR would be 19"; WR would have an 18". Somebody may have swapped that out or are you sure that is not a CR?

Yes, UFO makes good plastics. I think the stock plastic might be made by UFO.

Yes, that is a vent atop the cases, there should be a vent hose coming from it and leading down by the rear shock(along with the carb hoses). Make sure that the vent is not plugged with dirt.
Good luck!

 

[letitsnow]

Do the rims and hubs have any writing on them? They could be worth $500 by themselves...

 

[flyingbob]

Does it have FBF stamped on the shifter side of the cylinder?

 

[Al H]

Does it run?

http://husqvarnaoutlet.com/repair_manuals

 

[2premo]

First off, hello everyone! I recently came across a screamin deal on a 2002 WR250 that, of course needs a little bit of work.
I'd always wanted something that was better off road than my DR650, and I think I got a pretty good deal.

$500 got me this---

It came with these pretty trick wheels, and a 19" rear which is oversized as far as I can tell. (18 stock?)

It does need work though, and that is where the questions start to come into play:

1. Most of the plastics are pretty beat up, I found some that are made by UFO, are they good enough quality plastic pieces? I think these___ are beyond fixing.

2. What is this? (where the red is) I am guessing it is the vent for the gearbox. It had something that was jinkety jankety glued to it at one point. Can I attach a fitting and hose and route it to the airbox?

3. Do husky CR parts fit the WR? What is the difference? Gearing?
4. Is the expansion chamber only held on to the cylinder by springs? Or am I missing a bracket/collar?
5. The only water-cooled 2 strokes I've ever worked on were outboards, and the impellers for their cooling systems were made of rubber and wore out with age. Is this an issue with this bike as well, or is it a plastic impeller?
6. I'm guessing premium gas and 50:1 premix will do? What about an owners manual so I know what kind and how much oil to put in the transmission and forks?
7. You all think I made out ok? He wanted $600, and he got $500.


I hope yall can help me out with figuring out my new bike. I'm used to working on my big pig of a dr650, which doesnt have this fancy-dancy "water cooling" that is all the rage right now. haha

for 500 you stole it, some plastic and a couple of hard parts
check the serial number on the frame at the steering head, the CR and WR have different designations
i saw Bill in Oregon (also a sponsor here) had manuals for sale
premium and 50:1 is what i run, the oil is critical, get a good brand of MOTORCYCLE oil for PREMIX
on the pipe there should be rubber mounts to the frame, 2 if memory serves me

 

[Clete]

Does the title have a "CR" or "WR" designation in the VIN #?

 

[Craftsmanracer]

Wow guys, thanks for the response. According to the previous owner it ran great before he put it away, but it has some light scoring on the piston, so I want to get a new one and make sure the cylinder is ok before I run it.

For some reason he drained every fluid he could find on the bike before storing it.
No gas (good thing)
no transmission oil (ok i guess)
no FRONT brake fluid (why???)
Feels like no rear shock oil (why again?!?)

He recently had a new clutch and kickstarter lever installed by a BMW dealership, to the tune of $500.

I am away at school right now, but I will be back at the bike tomorrow, and can look at the wheels/vin/case numbers for you guys.

I just ordered a front and rear UFO fender, for surprisingly cheap ($75). And i am using Hall's cycles to get the oil cap.


Any idea on how this is going to stack up against my friend's EXC300??? The bench racing has already begun. I have a feeling he will definitely have me beat in the low-end-tractoring department, but I may have him beat in the top end.

 

[troy deck]

Dang 500 you stole it make it all tight n right get it dialed and u can run with any thing

 

[justintendo]

Wow guys, thanks for the response. According to the previous owner it ran great before he put it away, but it has some light scoring on the piston, so I want to get a new one and make sure the cylinder is ok before I run it.

For some reason he drained every fluid he could find on the bike before storing it.
No gas (good thing)
no transmission oil (ok i guess)
no FRONT brake fluid (why???)
Feels like no rear shock oil (why again?!?)

He recently had a new clutch and kickstarter lever installed by a BMW dealership, to the tune of $500.

I am away at school right now, but I will be back at the bike tomorrow, and can look at the wheels/vin/case numbers for you guys.

I just ordered a front and rear UFO fender, for surprisingly cheap ($75). And i am using Hall's cycles to get the oil cap.


Any idea on how this is going to stack up against my friend's EXC300??? The bench racing has already begun. I have a feeling he will definitely have me beat in the low-end-tractoring department, but I may have him beat in the top end.

a 300 is going to be a strong runner but you can outrun him if you have the bike set up better and/or just outride him. the husky you picked up will run strong if you get things adjusted and tuned right. i like all sizes of bikes but there is a reason the 250 is so popular. do you have the stock exhaust? if so theres a good gain by going to a pipe. dynoport is my choice

 

[Craftsmanracer]

Okay, i went and looked at everything, and its looking like i got a cr instead of a wr.
Vin is zcgCR25382v060474
It also has a "closed competition only" sticker near the numbers

It didnt have anything stamped on the cylinder on the shifter side.

It has a huge HRC sticker on the forks
V force reeds
Mikuni tmx carburetor
Twin air air filter
And it came with a pro circuit platinum pipe. I'm wondering how the expansion chamber connects to the silencer? There is no spring hookups.
48 rear, 14 front sprockets
The wheels didnt have any markings i could see, but the hubs are made by talon.


I'm thinking a baja designs light kit for the future, and possibly finding a way to fudge the red tape and get it plated for trail to trail riding. Anyone ever do a cr? Or should i start looking for a frame with a title to swap everything?

 

[Craftsmanracer]

The rear shock basically bottoms out when i sit on it, and i weigh about 160lbs.

I noticed the preload is only about halfway through its adjustment, im gonna try stiffening it that way, but I think i might be looking at a rear suspension overhaul. At least an oil change at minimum.

 

[troy deck]

YEP MY CHOICE TO ON THE DP PIPE A LECTRON CARB SOME REEDS MAYBE[ DONT KNOW WHAT THOSE CAME WITH] GOOD TIRES AND A LACK OF MOTORCYCLE WONT BE A PROBLEM U DID GOOD

 

[Craftsmanracer]

Ok so i took the jug off to measure the piston to make sure i got the right size.

And i found a surprise! NOT A GOOD ONE

 

[Craftsmanracer]

Think this is a deal breaker for the cylinder?

The crack doesnt extend into either of the ports from what i can tell.

Could i just put a new piston in and run it as-is? Or should i look at getting a new cylinder?

These cant be sleeved can they? Or boring out bigger might just lead to more extensive cracking?

 

[justintendo]

time for another used one or a replate.
awhile ago i saw a decent priced NOS one floating around on ebay..

the exhaust has a rubber boot that connects the stinger to the silencer. yours is missing or you can make a replacement. the pipes just about butt together.

 

[fran...k.]

For $500 you easily have that much in parts Probably would be better overall spending three or four times as much from someone that bought a new leftover dumped on the market back then and hardly rode it. The cr would be more likely to be raced hard, I see wiseco stickers so does that mean they wore out the origional piston, put in a wiseco. That damage could be from air filter issues as racing in a pack is different than going four per minute and getting spread out or just trail riding.

I bought a wr250 new left over in January 2005 and have good knowledge of the 2004 model year. If it was a 2002 wr250 it would have the last of the 5 speed wr gearboxes. After that all of the 250/300 two strokes came with the close ratio gearbox, one engine revolution gets you (essentially) 18 inches in low and 36 inches in high. Bigger diffence on a ktm300exc. I am not aware any of the Italian Husky two strokes that deserve the label wide ratio, you have the closest ratio. Oh there is one, a 125 kind of dual sport never imported. I spent $500 on suspention modifications and it still is worse than a 2004 ktm 200exc with a rear spring switch and one rebound click. My husky was delivered with the adjusters at the bottom of the fork all the way and one would want to turn it more that way. Just about break my wrists going into a small hole on a downhill. The cr might not be able to do a lighting kit. In 2004 the cr ignition was digital that 10 years later guys were putting them (or so I read) on the new bikes(no more cr), not sure if you have those modules in 2002. Sorry for the big block paragraph.

The owners manuals were on line until BMW bought the business. If you want a 2004 owners manual I have a file I could send you. I see a link to the service manuals has already been provided. Actually my 2004 certificate of origion 42 horsepower sae wr250 has a 2002 sticker on the steering neck. I actually thought I was getting not only the 100 year aniversary edition but the end of the line for that model.
Fran

 

[troy deck]

Hmmm that looks like good reason for an Eric Gorr 265 kit

 

[2premo]

here's an option if it's still available

http://www.cafehusky.com/threads/husqvarna-wr-300-kit.51882/