Soonerbillz Low Budget Track Build

soonerbillz · July 7th, 2014, 12:32 PM

About three years ago I got the bug to get into road racing... time has past, I wrote a few articles and did some interviews with folks that interested me and generally tried my best to become acquainted with the world of road racing ala the club circuit.
Some of you may have seen my sites, read some of my stuff or even contributed in some way. Oklahoma is my home and though we don't have a lot in the way of road racing we do have Hallett which is a damn fine track.
I am proud of the things I have done so far and have learned a ton since this journey began. Along the way I have picked up several project bikes to use on the track, a couple of Honda F3's, a old ZX600 ninja and of course a EX250. all were bought as projects as I enjoy wrenching as much as riding and wanted to learn from the ground up what it takes to build a track bike. As I learned more and started to sort out all these projects it became clear the I was putting the cart in front of the horse with the F3's as they are a bit more of a project not only in the building of them but also in the fact that I was probably not really ready to do serious track work on those more powerful bikes. After talking to a number people I also came to the conclusion that the old ZX600 was not any kind of reasonable track bike except if I was going to run in some kind of vintage class or such... it just was not a bike capable of being competitive. it might make a cool cafe project but for the track not so much...
So that left me with the EX250... I was advised by some smart folks the in the end it was the best bike to start racing in. Low cost, durable and not real fast.. so I was not as likely to get over my head skill wise and it would let me progress without the stress of trying to handle horsepower before my skills came into play.
So when I started looking around for a bike and being a cheapskate(as in perpetually broke) I thought that buying a running 250 was going to be pretty easy.. I kept hearing all the stories about garage queens with no miles that some just wanted out of the way and could be had for next to nothing. I guess they all heard I was in the market and joined in a conspiracy to jack up the price.
It seemed there was four kinds of used EX's out there.. there was either those mentioned above and dealers wanting damn near what a new bike cost. I found a number of track bikes around but most were pos needing a complete build to make ready again which would be ok if the good parts were mainly stripped and the bikes seemed almost like a stripped stocker..
Now don't take offense to these comments. I know good deals were out there.. I just seemed to not have any luck finding them.. i was either a day late or a dollar short as they say.
So I was kinda relegated to the final option and that is the proverbial basket case bike.. and luck finally shined on me I found one on Craigslist. i called the fella and asked to come look see and off I went... And a basket case it was! The guys said the bike was his little brother's and that he had crashed it a couple years back. The brother got the great idea to completely disassemble the bike.. and he left no bolt un-turned. The guy said he had to get it out of the garage as he was moving and his brother told him he lost the title and to just junk it.. he had lost interest and with no title or money to fix it... he said screw it!
So there I am looking at this pile.. 5 boxes of parts, a frame, a coupla wheels. There is a set of bent forks, another straight set and a dented tank.
What a mess! Combined with the big plastic tub full of busted fairings and misc. bodywork it was nobody's idea of a good deal... but hey I'm a gamer and I came to play so after hearing his spiel about brother and all I tell I'll take it but it wasn't going to be the $300 he was asking.. I said get your brother up here and write out a bill of sale and i'll give you a hundred bucks and take the pile away... He kinda was pissy and ham hawed around abount cheap and all this and that but I said take or leave it..
My timing was perfect as his wife came out right about then and said there wasn't going to be any peace if he didn't take my deal... You gotta love it!
So that's how i ended up with a big pile of crap and a project that was to take a hell of a lot longer than I was thinking!!

csmith12 · July 7th, 2014, 12:38 PM

Score!

In the end you will be glad you got the bike this way, they saved you a teardown. Think of this way, for a track bike (aka one that you will be pushing your luck on), leave no bolt unchecked. So when you got it all together and throw a leg over, you will know what your sitting on.

Good luck and subbed for the pics.

soonerbillz · July 7th, 2014, 12:49 PM

Thanks and my sentiments exactly...
Just a note: This build is done.. I am going to document the build here. I was going to make another web page for it but felt that all the help I got from the pages on this site it was only fair to give ya'll the first bites... I have much appreciation for this site and the others. There is a wealth of knowledge here that you just won't find elsewhere!

soonerbillz · July 7th, 2014, 01:02 PM

soonerbillz · July 7th, 2014, 01:52 PM

So the first order on bringing the bike home was to inventory what parts were there.
Luckily either because They didn't know how, they didn't have the tools or they just got lazy the motor was mostly intact.
So I started putting the bike together with as many parts as I could.

This is what I ended up with:

What a mess! as you can see... quite a few missing parts.. A bit of damage to others.

soonerbillz · July 7th, 2014, 02:18 PM

Any ways as this was all going on mid January I pulled the bike into the shop I was in the middle of building. It's always a great thing to start one project before another is done!
So brought the bike in and started hanging what bodywork I had... i'm guessing they bought or got some to replace the crashed parts cause there was the good forks and the bad plus like double of most of the body parts.. most bad.. some good. Was cleaning stuff as i went along...
This is what I ended up with:

soonerbillz · July 7th, 2014, 02:30 PM

So the inventory was like this:
The Good...
uncut, intact wire harness
mostly intact motor
unmolested, unbent frame
complete exhaust
Good forks
Good wheels
a dented but usable tank
Some usable plastic
a bunch of extra hardware

The Bad:
missing carbs
smashed guages
missing engine side covers
missing brake calipers
missing one handle bar and controls
a bunch of minor missing or broken parts

So all in all the bike is a turd...
But for a Hundred bucks I happy.. I got a good base to start from and as this is supposed to be a budget project I'm on track!

sharky nrk · July 7th, 2014, 03:33 PM

i like the stripped and polished swingarm, it would be pretty cool to see one clear coated like that or even just painted up with a satin or low gloss silver like that.

soonerbillz · July 7th, 2014, 08:49 PM

So after a whole lot of thinking and reading looking I decided a couple of things... First I was going to have to change out the wheels if i wanted some good race rubber.. the 16's were not going to cut it.
Next the suspension... Being this was supposed to be a budget bike expensive or even moderately expensive components were out of the question. Finally I was going to have to do all the work myself to help curb the costs.. Being I had not built a bike motor for some time my skills were rusty and it took some time to get it all in order. But before I could even start I had to get the shop in usable shape... needed a decent place to build the motor and such so all during February and March I concentrated on that for the most part. I did spend that time researching the build and ordering what parts I thought were necessary.. primarily the motor parts. As you can see in the following photos I did start to disassemble and inspect the engine and internals.

Nothing special..but I did build another room attached where I installed a compressor and built storage for parts and such... the shop was now big enough to get working on the bike in earnest....

soonerbillz · July 7th, 2014, 09:13 PM

Taking the motor apart I started checking clearances and sizes of the various engine parts against the factory manual. to my surprise most all of the parts were well within the acceptable service limits.. indeed for the most part the motor looked new inside. The speedometer that I found in the box was smashed but the miles showed less than 7Kand I'm assuming it was the original... I might have found a little gold nugget in this pile of crap.

The cylinders measured out ok but were a little rusty from sitting ..also one looked like it was running a little richer than the other. I think they will clean up with a good hone.

soonerbillz · July 7th, 2014, 09:28 PM

So with the engine torn down and inspection complete I started to order the parts to complete the rebuild. Being the valve, cams and other top end parts in as good a shape as the bottom end really all this little motor turned out to need was a freshening up... happy I am!! So I made a list of every single gasket, o-ring and consumable part the engine took and checked all the sources I could to find the cheapest costs.. some parts I got on eBay like the top end gasket kit... but a lot of the stuff was just as cheap through the dealer... I did order the rings though through JE cause they had some performance(they say)versions for not more than the stockers... All said and done the parts for the base motor ran me about $200

soonerbillz · July 7th, 2014, 09:45 PM

While the waiting for those parts I turned to some other things i had cooking...
I had the frame set up and started to work on the rear suspension.. for this I went a route others had done and purchased a used '06 GSXR factory shock with low mile on it. had to trim the top mount a little and ended up losing the air box/ inner fender/battery box bracket. No biggie as I was going to toss that anyway and fab up a new air cleaner and battery box. The install on the shock was fairly straight forward but the top bolt bushing not the correct size. I reamed it out and fit the original bushing in the shock eyelet. To make sure it would be tight and solid I pressed it in along with a stretched bicycle inner tube and some auto glass urethane adhesive. After letting it set up over night it was as stout as you could ask for.
The bottom mount was much simpler as I only had to ream out the shock eyes and it fit like a charm. I had measured the GSXR vs. the stocker and it was about a 1/2" taller if I remember right so the bike was going to sit up a little more than stock..

I'll post some more pics of the shock later.

soonerbillz · July 7th, 2014, 09:56 PM

Lastly for tonight I'll tease you all with one of the things I did that I personally looked forward toward doing...
I looked around for a cheap used Muzzy or other aftermarket header.. they are hard to find and they were not cheap when I did find them. I toyed with the idea of putting new gen exhaust on the bike from what I found they really were not a direct fit and would take some modding to work.
So again being a budget bike and being up to my elbows in the build I figured I would try my hand at making the stocker exhaust into my own two into one header...
So I put the engine cases together with the head and put it back in the frame and started measuring and fitting and cutting...
This is what i ended up with:

soonerbillz · July 8th, 2014, 08:32 AM

With the shock kinda done I started on mocking up a exhaust for the bike. I looked around for a aftermarket header/pipe system but the ones I found were way more pricey that I want to spend..
Seeing some other home made headers I decided to try my hand at it. Using the factory pipes I cut and modded them. I had put the engine cases together with the head temporarily to make everything fit right. Using a muffler off of another four stroke dirt bike i was able to create a very usable exhaust and I think it being much more free flowing it will give me a little performance boost after tuning the carbs and motor for it.

csmith12 · July 8th, 2014, 08:35 AM

Nice!

soonerbillz · July 8th, 2014, 08:53 AM

Welded up the intermediate pipe!

soonerbillz · July 8th, 2014, 09:04 AM

In case you didn't figger it out or was just wondering what the alloy plates are for...
Getting the pipes right on the money to fit the exhaust ports was not guess work. It took a bit of work to get them to be spot on perfect like the original. I made the plates as a jig to keep the pipes where they should be all during the fab up. getting the right angles and length was not only critical for clearance but headers are supposed to scavenge the gases exiting the ports.. Just turning a pipe over and cutting hole, welding it over does nothing for the engine.. the down tubes should be as equal as possible and the entry joint should promote flow.. not hinder it.

soonerbillz · July 8th, 2014, 09:42 AM

Now for the rolling rubber... As you all have read in other pre gen gen builds, one the best things you can do is swap out the 16" rims for 17".
You can't really find good race rubber in the 16" so it's a no brainer for a track bike.. I checked out which way to go.. either a late model EX250 set of rims or the big brother 500's. There are all kinds of write ups on the late model swaps.. but everything I read involved a bunch of fab work. And the prices of '08 and up rims are through the roof! So I settled on the EX500 swap and started hunting down a front end (which would give me the better 37mm tubes) and a set of rims.. This swap also gave me the benefit of a larger rotor up front too..
I was able to source everything via eBay for around $150. I also found the front and rear calipers to finish out the brakes. The front came with a complete master cylinder and brake lever which saved me some more coin! Everything came off a 2006 model EX500 except the rear caliper as I used a stock EX250 for that.. mainly because the rear rotor from the stock EX250 wheel fit the EX500 rim.
I have read other builds using the 500 rims and see all kinds of mods being done to make the rear rim fit.. I don't know what is going on there but the only thing I had to do to mount my 500 rim was I shaved 2mm from the outside of the caliper hanger where it spaces the axle and wheel and put a 2mm large steel washer between the hanger and the rim. I used the EX250 sprocket carrier as it fit perfect. Everything lined up perfect... chain line, caliper to rotor and did not have to mod the brake arm at all...

The new EX500 front end attached with clip ons:

Another shot of the shock...

The 500 rear rim installed with modded caliper holder....

The bike is now set up with proper rolling capabilities and suspension... I will do more to the forks later...

soonerbillz · July 8th, 2014, 09:49 AM

So now that the bikes frame and wheels are figured out aand the front end and brakes are lined out... and the rear shock is done...
the only left to do at this point is....

To tear it all back down..

Now to get back to engine building...

choneofakind · July 8th, 2014, 09:56 AM

Good work! Keep it up.

soonerbillz · July 9th, 2014, 10:52 AM

I am going to post some pics of the engine and the work progress as it went..
I did go through the motor completely as you will see. there are some shots of the prior and post condition of various components..
I did a leak test on the head and the valves were in good condition.. just carboned up as were the pistons.. All of the main rotating parts were usable and just needed cleaning.. The main thing was to make sure the tolerances checked out and like I mentioned before it seemed the motor was actually in very good shape!

soonerbillz · July 9th, 2014, 11:21 AM

After some cleaning...(because if you follow along you'll see a whole lot of that!)
I started cleaning and lapping the valves

soonerbillz · July 9th, 2014, 11:27 AM

More gunk washing and work on cleaning up those cylinders!

soonerbillz · July 9th, 2014, 11:30 AM

Started doing a little mock up stuff for the tail... just messing around seeing what I like...(you know I'm too cheap to buy race body parts.)

csmith12 · July 9th, 2014, 12:08 PM

lol! Keep going, I am just enjoying the show.

soonerbillz · July 9th, 2014, 12:39 PM

Clean, clean, clean.....

soonerbillz · July 9th, 2014, 12:46 PM

The used 2006 EX250 carb I bought off Ebay finally showed!

soonerbillz · July 9th, 2014, 12:47 PM

And so did the new racing clutch discs!

soonerbillz · July 9th, 2014, 12:49 PM

Everyone loves a big bucket of bolts!

soonerbillz · July 9th, 2014, 12:49 PM

Some clean and shiny parts!

soonerbillz · July 9th, 2014, 12:59 PM

More parts showed up...

My new piston rings and clips:

A big bag full of seals, o-rings and other stuff from the dealership... as well as the new gasket set! All laid out and accounted for!

soonerbillz · July 9th, 2014, 01:11 PM

I was cruising Craigslist and this popped up... another EX250 motor.. a 2006 model complete minus carbs
Called the guy and he wanted it gone! $50 Done & Done. hell yeah I could use the extras!

Came with another set of stock pipes and mufflers, another CDI box and a factory manual!

I have not yet figured out what the difference between the 2006 and my 2003 CDI units are.

soonerbillz · July 10th, 2014, 09:12 AM

Ok so let's pick up where I left off yesterday...

I started assembly by getting the ring gaps checked and set

Using my trusty guages

Alex · July 10th, 2014, 09:25 AM

soonerbillz · July 10th, 2014, 09:28 AM

Got my pistons all cleaned up and ready!

Before!

After!

Got the locktite for the fasteners needing it

The liquid adhesive for the cares and other parts needing sealing!

After checking and cleaning the gears sets,shift forkes and other tranny parts.... I took the already cleaned and prepped case halves and started assembling the lower end.

soonerbillz · July 10th, 2014, 10:03 AM

The heads all done and ready to go back on...

soonerbillz · July 10th, 2014, 10:45 AM

Getting the bottom end all together!

soonerbillz · July 10th, 2014, 11:01 AM

soonerbillz · July 10th, 2014, 11:20 AM

Having fun putting together the pistons!

All Done with that!...
The only issue with the pistons was the ring set from J&E... The y were nice sets and the quality was fine.. but the oil control (expander) ring was not going to work with these factory pistons..

They were too small and allowed the rings to get behind the expander on compression... I used a set of factory expanders with them and they fit like a glove.. I think these performance rings are likely designed to work with J&E's forged pistons.. probably the oil ring groove is somewhat different. But I'm just guessing.

soonerbillz · July 10th, 2014, 11:27 AM

Getting ready to put on the jug...
Check out the locator(oil passage)pin! It's little stuff like this that will get you if you don't pay attention! Can you say leak?

Put on the base gasket... I usually will rub some of the adhesive on these.

And then the jugs!

July 7th, 2014, 12:32 PM	#1
soonerbillz ninjette.org member Name: Scott Location: Claremore Oklahoma Join Date: May 2014 Motorcycle(s): 2003 Ex250 Posts: 165	Soonerbillz Low Budget Track Build About three years ago I got the bug to get into road racing... time has past, I wrote a few articles and did some interviews with folks that interested me and generally tried my best to become acquainted with the world of road racing ala the club circuit. Some of you may have seen my sites, read some of my stuff or even contributed in some way. Oklahoma is my home and though we don't have a lot in the way of road racing we do have Hallett which is a damn fine track. I am proud of the things I have done so far and have learned a ton since this journey began. Along the way I have picked up several project bikes to use on the track, a couple of Honda F3's, a old ZX600 ninja and of course a EX250. all were bought as projects as I enjoy wrenching as much as riding and wanted to learn from the ground up what it takes to build a track bike. As I learned more and started to sort out all these projects it became clear the I was putting the cart in front of the horse with the F3's as they are a bit more of a project not only in the building of them but also in the fact that I was probably not really ready to do serious track work on those more powerful bikes. After talking to a number people I also came to the conclusion that the old ZX600 was not any kind of reasonable track bike except if I was going to run in some kind of vintage class or such... it just was not a bike capable of being competitive. it might make a cool cafe project but for the track not so much... So that left me with the EX250... I was advised by some smart folks the in the end it was the best bike to start racing in. Low cost, durable and not real fast.. so I was not as likely to get over my head skill wise and it would let me progress without the stress of trying to handle horsepower before my skills came into play. So when I started looking around for a bike and being a cheapskate(as in perpetually broke) I thought that buying a running 250 was going to be pretty easy.. I kept hearing all the stories about garage queens with no miles that some just wanted out of the way and could be had for next to nothing. I guess they all heard I was in the market and joined in a conspiracy to jack up the price. It seemed there was four kinds of used EX's out there.. there was either those mentioned above and dealers wanting damn near what a new bike cost. I found a number of track bikes around but most were pos needing a complete build to make ready again which would be ok if the good parts were mainly stripped and the bikes seemed almost like a stripped stocker.. Now don't take offense to these comments. I know good deals were out there.. I just seemed to not have any luck finding them.. i was either a day late or a dollar short as they say. So I was kinda relegated to the final option and that is the proverbial basket case bike.. and luck finally shined on me I found one on Craigslist. i called the fella and asked to come look see and off I went... And a basket case it was! The guys said the bike was his little brother's and that he had crashed it a couple years back. The brother got the great idea to completely disassemble the bike.. and he left no bolt un-turned. The guy said he had to get it out of the garage as he was moving and his brother told him he lost the title and to just junk it.. he had lost interest and with no title or money to fix it... he said screw it! So there I am looking at this pile.. 5 boxes of parts, a frame, a coupla wheels. There is a set of bent forks, another straight set and a dented tank. What a mess! Combined with the big plastic tub full of busted fairings and misc. bodywork it was nobody's idea of a good deal... but hey I'm a gamer and I came to play so after hearing his spiel about brother and all I tell I'll take it but it wasn't going to be the $300 he was asking.. I said get your brother up here and write out a bill of sale and i'll give you a hundred bucks and take the pile away... He kinda was pissy and ham hawed around abount cheap and all this and that but I said take or leave it.. My timing was perfect as his wife came out right about then and said there wasn't going to be any peace if he didn't take my deal... You gotta love it! So that's how i ended up with a big pile of crap and a project that was to take a hell of a lot longer than I was thinking!!

July 7th, 2014, 12:38 PM	#2
csmith12 The Corner Whisperer Name: Chris (aka Reactor) Location: Northern KY Join Date: May 2011 Motorcycle(s): 2010 250 (track), 1992 250, 2006 R6 (street/track), 2008 R6 (track) Posts: Too much. MOTY 2015, MOTM - Nov '12, Nov '13	Score! In the end you will be glad you got the bike this way, they saved you a teardown. Think of this way, for a track bike (aka one that you will be pushing your luck on), leave no bolt unchecked. So when you got it all together and throw a leg over, you will know what your sitting on. Good luck and subbed for the pics. __________________________________________________ Goal: Shake A Million Hands \| Look through the corners \| Track Day Prep \| Closest track? \| The Mid-Ohio School

July 7th, 2014, 03:33 PM	#8
sharky nrk Fighting Texas Aggie '05 Name: Neil Location: Hutto, TX Join Date: Feb 2009 Motorcycle(s): '07 ZX6R, '08 Versys, '09 250R Track, '93 F2/F3 Track Posts: A lot.	i like the stripped and polished swingarm, it would be pretty cool to see one clear coated like that or even just painted up with a satin or low gloss silver like that. __________________________________________________ Keep it rubber side down and enjoy the ride Get healthy - Get Fit - Change Your Life Click Here Or PM Me To Find More - Advocare
	1 out of 1 members found this post helpful.

July 7th, 2014, 09:28 PM	#11
soonerbillz ninjette.org member Name: Scott Location: Claremore Oklahoma Join Date: May 2014 Motorcycle(s): 2003 Ex250 Posts: 165	So with the engine torn down and inspection complete I started to order the parts to complete the rebuild. Being the valve, cams and other top end parts in as good a shape as the bottom end really all this little motor turned out to need was a freshening up... happy I am!! So I made a list of every single gasket, o-ring and consumable part the engine took and checked all the sources I could to find the cheapest costs.. some parts I got on eBay like the top end gasket kit... but a lot of the stuff was just as cheap through the dealer... I did order the rings though through JE cause they had some performance(they say)versions for not more than the stockers... All said and done the parts for the base motor ran me about $200 Last futzed with by soonerbillz; July 8th, 2014 at 08:00 AM.

July 8th, 2014, 08:35 AM	#15
csmith12 The Corner Whisperer Name: Chris (aka Reactor) Location: Northern KY Join Date: May 2011 Motorcycle(s): 2010 250 (track), 1992 250, 2006 R6 (street/track), 2008 R6 (track) Posts: Too much. MOTY 2015, MOTM - Nov '12, Nov '13	Nice! __________________________________________________ Goal: Shake A Million Hands \| Look through the corners \| Track Day Prep \| Closest track? \| The Mid-Ohio School

July 7th, 2014, 12:49 PM	#3
soonerbillz ninjette.org member Name: Scott Location: Claremore Oklahoma Join Date: May 2014 Motorcycle(s): 2003 Ex250 Posts: 165	Thanks and my sentiments exactly... Just a note: This build is done.. I am going to document the build here. I was going to make another web page for it but felt that all the help I got from the pages on this site it was only fair to give ya'll the first bites... I have much appreciation for this site and the others. There is a wealth of knowledge here that you just won't find elsewhere!

July 7th, 2014, 01:02 PM	#4
soonerbillz ninjette.org member Name: Scott Location: Claremore Oklahoma Join Date: May 2014 Motorcycle(s): 2003 Ex250 Posts: 165

July 7th, 2014, 01:52 PM	#5
soonerbillz ninjette.org member Name: Scott Location: Claremore Oklahoma Join Date: May 2014 Motorcycle(s): 2003 Ex250 Posts: 165	So the first order on bringing the bike home was to inventory what parts were there. Luckily either because They didn't know how, they didn't have the tools or they just got lazy the motor was mostly intact. So I started putting the bike together with as many parts as I could. This is what I ended up with: What a mess! as you can see... quite a few missing parts.. A bit of damage to others.

July 7th, 2014, 02:18 PM	#6
soonerbillz ninjette.org member Name: Scott Location: Claremore Oklahoma Join Date: May 2014 Motorcycle(s): 2003 Ex250 Posts: 165	Any ways as this was all going on mid January I pulled the bike into the shop I was in the middle of building. It's always a great thing to start one project before another is done! So brought the bike in and started hanging what bodywork I had... i'm guessing they bought or got some to replace the crashed parts cause there was the good forks and the bad plus like double of most of the body parts.. most bad.. some good. Was cleaning stuff as i went along... This is what I ended up with:

July 7th, 2014, 02:30 PM	#7
soonerbillz ninjette.org member Name: Scott Location: Claremore Oklahoma Join Date: May 2014 Motorcycle(s): 2003 Ex250 Posts: 165	So the inventory was like this: The Good... uncut, intact wire harness mostly intact motor unmolested, unbent frame complete exhaust Good forks Good wheels a dented but usable tank Some usable plastic a bunch of extra hardware The Bad: missing carbs smashed guages missing engine side covers missing brake calipers missing one handle bar and controls a bunch of minor missing or broken parts So all in all the bike is a turd... But for a Hundred bucks I happy.. I got a good base to start from and as this is supposed to be a budget project I'm on track!

July 7th, 2014, 08:49 PM	#9
soonerbillz ninjette.org member Name: Scott Location: Claremore Oklahoma Join Date: May 2014 Motorcycle(s): 2003 Ex250 Posts: 165	So after a whole lot of thinking and reading looking I decided a couple of things... First I was going to have to change out the wheels if i wanted some good race rubber.. the 16's were not going to cut it. Next the suspension... Being this was supposed to be a budget bike expensive or even moderately expensive components were out of the question. Finally I was going to have to do all the work myself to help curb the costs.. Being I had not built a bike motor for some time my skills were rusty and it took some time to get it all in order. But before I could even start I had to get the shop in usable shape... needed a decent place to build the motor and such so all during February and March I concentrated on that for the most part. I did spend that time researching the build and ordering what parts I thought were necessary.. primarily the motor parts. As you can see in the following photos I did start to disassemble and inspect the engine and internals. Nothing special..but I did build another room attached where I installed a compressor and built storage for parts and such... the shop was now big enough to get working on the bike in earnest....

July 7th, 2014, 09:13 PM	#10
soonerbillz ninjette.org member Name: Scott Location: Claremore Oklahoma Join Date: May 2014 Motorcycle(s): 2003 Ex250 Posts: 165	Taking the motor apart I started checking clearances and sizes of the various engine parts against the factory manual. to my surprise most all of the parts were well within the acceptable service limits.. indeed for the most part the motor looked new inside. The speedometer that I found in the box was smashed but the miles showed less than 7Kand I'm assuming it was the original... I might have found a little gold nugget in this pile of crap. The cylinders measured out ok but were a little rusty from sitting ..also one looked like it was running a little richer than the other. I think they will clean up with a good hone.

July 7th, 2014, 09:45 PM	#12
soonerbillz ninjette.org member Name: Scott Location: Claremore Oklahoma Join Date: May 2014 Motorcycle(s): 2003 Ex250 Posts: 165	While the waiting for those parts I turned to some other things i had cooking... I had the frame set up and started to work on the rear suspension.. for this I went a route others had done and purchased a used '06 GSXR factory shock with low mile on it. had to trim the top mount a little and ended up losing the air box/ inner fender/battery box bracket. No biggie as I was going to toss that anyway and fab up a new air cleaner and battery box. The install on the shock was fairly straight forward but the top bolt bushing not the correct size. I reamed it out and fit the original bushing in the shock eyelet. To make sure it would be tight and solid I pressed it in along with a stretched bicycle inner tube and some auto glass urethane adhesive. After letting it set up over night it was as stout as you could ask for. The bottom mount was much simpler as I only had to ream out the shock eyes and it fit like a charm. I had measured the GSXR vs. the stocker and it was about a 1/2" taller if I remember right so the bike was going to sit up a little more than stock.. I'll post some more pics of the shock later.

July 7th, 2014, 09:56 PM	#13
soonerbillz ninjette.org member Name: Scott Location: Claremore Oklahoma Join Date: May 2014 Motorcycle(s): 2003 Ex250 Posts: 165	Lastly for tonight I'll tease you all with one of the things I did that I personally looked forward toward doing... I looked around for a cheap used Muzzy or other aftermarket header.. they are hard to find and they were not cheap when I did find them. I toyed with the idea of putting new gen exhaust on the bike from what I found they really were not a direct fit and would take some modding to work. So again being a budget bike and being up to my elbows in the build I figured I would try my hand at making the stocker exhaust into my own two into one header... So I put the engine cases together with the head and put it back in the frame and started measuring and fitting and cutting... This is what i ended up with: <a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/user/soonerbills/media/EX250%20Ninja%20Track%20Bike/WP_20140418_18_01_51_Smart_zps026c8c3d.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/soonerbills/EX250%20Ninja%20Track%20Bike/th_WP_20140418_18_01_51_Smart_zps026c8c3d.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo WP_20140418_18_01_51_Smart_zps026c8c3d.jpg" style=""></a> <a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/user/soonerbills/media/EX250%20Ninja%20Track%20Bike/WP_20140418_18_02_11_Smart_zpsc86acf75.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/soonerbills/EX250%20Ninja%20Track%20Bike/th_WP_20140418_18_02_11_Smart_zpsc86acf75.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo WP_20140418_18_02_11_Smart_zpsc86acf75.jpg" style=""></a>

July 8th, 2014, 08:32 AM	#14
soonerbillz ninjette.org member Name: Scott Location: Claremore Oklahoma Join Date: May 2014 Motorcycle(s): 2003 Ex250 Posts: 165	With the shock kinda done I started on mocking up a exhaust for the bike. I looked around for a aftermarket header/pipe system but the ones I found were way more pricey that I want to spend.. Seeing some other home made headers I decided to try my hand at it. Using the factory pipes I cut and modded them. I had put the engine cases together with the head temporarily to make everything fit right. Using a muffler off of another four stroke dirt bike i was able to create a very usable exhaust and I think it being much more free flowing it will give me a little performance boost after tuning the carbs and motor for it.

July 8th, 2014, 08:53 AM	#16
soonerbillz ninjette.org member Name: Scott Location: Claremore Oklahoma Join Date: May 2014 Motorcycle(s): 2003 Ex250 Posts: 165	Welded up the intermediate pipe!

July 8th, 2014, 09:04 AM	#17
soonerbillz ninjette.org member Name: Scott Location: Claremore Oklahoma Join Date: May 2014 Motorcycle(s): 2003 Ex250 Posts: 165	In case you didn't figger it out or was just wondering what the alloy plates are for... Getting the pipes right on the money to fit the exhaust ports was not guess work. It took a bit of work to get them to be spot on perfect like the original. I made the plates as a jig to keep the pipes where they should be all during the fab up. getting the right angles and length was not only critical for clearance but headers are supposed to scavenge the gases exiting the ports.. Just turning a pipe over and cutting hole, welding it over does nothing for the engine.. the down tubes should be as equal as possible and the entry joint should promote flow.. not hinder it.

July 8th, 2014, 09:42 AM	#18
soonerbillz ninjette.org member Name: Scott Location: Claremore Oklahoma Join Date: May 2014 Motorcycle(s): 2003 Ex250 Posts: 165	Now for the rolling rubber... As you all have read in other pre gen gen builds, one the best things you can do is swap out the 16" rims for 17". You can't really find good race rubber in the 16" so it's a no brainer for a track bike.. I checked out which way to go.. either a late model EX250 set of rims or the big brother 500's. There are all kinds of write ups on the late model swaps.. but everything I read involved a bunch of fab work. And the prices of '08 and up rims are through the roof! So I settled on the EX500 swap and started hunting down a front end (which would give me the better 37mm tubes) and a set of rims.. This swap also gave me the benefit of a larger rotor up front too.. I was able to source everything via eBay for around $150. I also found the front and rear calipers to finish out the brakes. The front came with a complete master cylinder and brake lever which saved me some more coin! Everything came off a 2006 model EX500 except the rear caliper as I used a stock EX250 for that.. mainly because the rear rotor from the stock EX250 wheel fit the EX500 rim. I have read other builds using the 500 rims and see all kinds of mods being done to make the rear rim fit.. I don't know what is going on there but the only thing I had to do to mount my 500 rim was I shaved 2mm from the outside of the caliper hanger where it spaces the axle and wheel and put a 2mm large steel washer between the hanger and the rim. I used the EX250 sprocket carrier as it fit perfect. Everything lined up perfect... chain line, caliper to rotor and did not have to mod the brake arm at all... The new EX500 front end attached with clip ons: Another shot of the shock... The 500 rear rim installed with modded caliper holder.... The bike is now set up with proper rolling capabilities and suspension... I will do more to the forks later...

July 8th, 2014, 09:49 AM	#19
soonerbillz ninjette.org member Name: Scott Location: Claremore Oklahoma Join Date: May 2014 Motorcycle(s): 2003 Ex250 Posts: 165	So now that the bikes frame and wheels are figured out aand the front end and brakes are lined out... and the rear shock is done... the only left to do at this point is.... To tear it all back down.. Now to get back to engine building...

July 8th, 2014, 09:56 AM	#20
choneofakind ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: . Location: . Join Date: Feb 2011 Motorcycle(s): . Posts: Too much. MOTM - Feb '13, Feb '14	Good work! Keep it up.

July 9th, 2014, 10:52 AM	#21
soonerbillz ninjette.org member Name: Scott Location: Claremore Oklahoma Join Date: May 2014 Motorcycle(s): 2003 Ex250 Posts: 165	I am going to post some pics of the engine and the work progress as it went.. I did go through the motor completely as you will see. there are some shots of the prior and post condition of various components.. I did a leak test on the head and the valves were in good condition.. just carboned up as were the pistons.. All of the main rotating parts were usable and just needed cleaning.. The main thing was to make sure the tolerances checked out and like I mentioned before it seemed the motor was actually in very good shape!

July 9th, 2014, 11:21 AM	#22
soonerbillz ninjette.org member Name: Scott Location: Claremore Oklahoma Join Date: May 2014 Motorcycle(s): 2003 Ex250 Posts: 165	After some cleaning...(because if you follow along you'll see a whole lot of that!) I started cleaning and lapping the valves

July 9th, 2014, 11:27 AM	#23
soonerbillz ninjette.org member Name: Scott Location: Claremore Oklahoma Join Date: May 2014 Motorcycle(s): 2003 Ex250 Posts: 165	More gunk washing and work on cleaning up those cylinders!

July 9th, 2014, 11:30 AM	#24
soonerbillz ninjette.org member Name: Scott Location: Claremore Oklahoma Join Date: May 2014 Motorcycle(s): 2003 Ex250 Posts: 165	Started doing a little mock up stuff for the tail... just messing around seeing what I like...(you know I'm too cheap to buy race body parts.)

July 9th, 2014, 12:08 PM	#25
csmith12 The Corner Whisperer Name: Chris (aka Reactor) Location: Northern KY Join Date: May 2011 Motorcycle(s): 2010 250 (track), 1992 250, 2006 R6 (street/track), 2008 R6 (track) Posts: Too much. MOTY 2015, MOTM - Nov '12, Nov '13	lol! Keep going, I am just enjoying the show. __________________________________________________ Goal: Shake A Million Hands \| Look through the corners \| Track Day Prep \| Closest track? \| The Mid-Ohio School

July 9th, 2014, 12:39 PM	#26
soonerbillz ninjette.org member Name: Scott Location: Claremore Oklahoma Join Date: May 2014 Motorcycle(s): 2003 Ex250 Posts: 165	Clean, clean, clean.....

July 9th, 2014, 12:46 PM	#27
soonerbillz ninjette.org member Name: Scott Location: Claremore Oklahoma Join Date: May 2014 Motorcycle(s): 2003 Ex250 Posts: 165	The used 2006 EX250 carb I bought off Ebay finally showed!

July 9th, 2014, 12:47 PM	#28
soonerbillz ninjette.org member Name: Scott Location: Claremore Oklahoma Join Date: May 2014 Motorcycle(s): 2003 Ex250 Posts: 165	And so did the new racing clutch discs!

July 9th, 2014, 12:49 PM	#29
soonerbillz ninjette.org member Name: Scott Location: Claremore Oklahoma Join Date: May 2014 Motorcycle(s): 2003 Ex250 Posts: 165	Everyone loves a big bucket of bolts!

July 9th, 2014, 12:59 PM	#31
soonerbillz ninjette.org member Name: Scott Location: Claremore Oklahoma Join Date: May 2014 Motorcycle(s): 2003 Ex250 Posts: 165	More parts showed up... My new piston rings and clips: A big bag full of seals, o-rings and other stuff from the dealership... as well as the new gasket set! All laid out and accounted for!

July 9th, 2014, 01:11 PM	#32
soonerbillz ninjette.org member Name: Scott Location: Claremore Oklahoma Join Date: May 2014 Motorcycle(s): 2003 Ex250 Posts: 165	I was cruising Craigslist and this popped up... another EX250 motor.. a 2006 model complete minus carbs Called the guy and he wanted it gone! $50 Done & Done. hell yeah I could use the extras! Came with another set of stock pipes and mufflers, another CDI box and a factory manual! I have not yet figured out what the difference between the 2006 and my 2003 CDI units are.

July 10th, 2014, 09:12 AM	#33
soonerbillz ninjette.org member Name: Scott Location: Claremore Oklahoma Join Date: May 2014 Motorcycle(s): 2003 Ex250 Posts: 165	Ok so let's pick up where I left off yesterday... I started assembly by getting the ring gaps checked and set Using my trusty guages

July 10th, 2014, 09:25 AM	#34
Alex ninjette.org dude Name: 1 guess :-) Location: SF Bay Area Join Date: Jun 2008 Motorcycle(s): '13 Ninja 300 (white, the fastest color!), '13 R1200RT, '14 CRF250L, '12 TT-R125LE Posts: Too much. Blog Entries: 7	__________________________________________________ Montgomery Street Motorcycle Club / cal24.com / crf250l.org / ninjette.org ninjette.org Terms of Service Shopping for motorcycle parts or equipment? Come here first. The friendliest Ninja 250R/300/400 forum on the internet! (especially Unregistered)

July 10th, 2014, 09:28 AM	#35
soonerbillz ninjette.org member Name: Scott Location: Claremore Oklahoma Join Date: May 2014 Motorcycle(s): 2003 Ex250 Posts: 165	Got my pistons all cleaned up and ready! Before! After! Got the locktite for the fasteners needing it The liquid adhesive for the cares and other parts needing sealing! After checking and cleaning the gears sets,shift forkes and other tranny parts.... I took the already cleaned and prepped case halves and started assembling the lower end.

July 10th, 2014, 10:03 AM	#36
soonerbillz ninjette.org member Name: Scott Location: Claremore Oklahoma Join Date: May 2014 Motorcycle(s): 2003 Ex250 Posts: 165	The heads all done and ready to go back on...