you lovely humans must all be “scrambling” through contestants and reading loads of words. If you care to enjoy the videos showing this bike rather than reading thousands of words feel free to do so. you know that old saying about a picture and a thousand words…
Finished Bike https://youtu.be/iRJ7mxZX1Hg
final phases of build https://youtu.be/cnu_D4tolHo
early in the build https://youtu.be/cFRwPsRiTJs
CHOOSE TO BYPASS THE VIDEOS AND READ THIS THE OLD SCHOOL WAY SEE BELOW
wheels & tires: the 250t comes conveniently comes with matching 18″ wheels front and rear, because of this I was able to avoid a wheel swap and powder coat the original hubs/spokes/nipples gloss black and wrap them with two identical 3×18 trail tires that also DOT approved.
Engine: the engine had under 5k on it and I was able to get away with a quick valve shim and Took that opportunity to cerakote the jugs.
intake/fuel delivery: I was able to increase jet sizes to accommodate nicely to these UNI air filters, the Carb top caps have been ceramic coated burnt bronze and I ceramic coated the bowls burnt bronze to match.
controls/bars: the hand controls have been ceramic coated also with the same burnt bronze cerakote, the original light/engine switches have been updated with a slightly lower profile switches custom fitted into the original switch housings, the hand controls are all supported by the pro taper mini bars from the sport series. the throttle body was replaced for an MX style aluminum throttle body and tube, the cables have been replaced with motion pro cables and the rear brake/shift levers have been ceramic coated with burnt bronze also.
drivetrain/gearing/suspension: an updated x ring chain was added and a slightly shorter gear ratio was applied by changing the rear sprocket size. I added piggyback style nitrogen shocks and tuned them with nearly 200lbs gas since we mainly ride two up on OHV trails/logging roads.
Front end:
I contemplated using entirely different forks and lifting the bike all together with the suspension like I’ve done with sportsters in the past. I ended up deciding the bikes stock ride height was really close to where I felt things looked best (it also makes off-road things a bit easier for a rider who’s vertically challenged like myself) The front end was noodle soft so stock springs would not do, after spending a few hours in the back of my local motorcycle shop I found a set of old Suzuki rm springs (either from a non-inverted 125 or 250 fork) that I was able to make work, these stiffened the front end significantly after sorting all of that out I was able to powder coat the fork lowers black. The fender was is simply a trimmed version of the stock fender that has been ceramic coated black, behind the fender sits a custom fabricated frame/engine guard that has also been ceramic coated black(ceramic coating allows for a bit more heat transfer vs powder coat making it ideal for engine guards). at the top of my forks sit the stock triple trees that I removed all of the cast marks from and then ceramic coated burnt bronze, between the trees, is a burnt bronze bracket that holds my headlight and small windscreen to hide the god awful but incredibly useful gauge cluster/notification lights. the front brake line was replaced with a steel modern steel beaded line and the front brake master cylinder was replaced with a modern MX style cylinder.
Middle section: apart from ceramic coating burnt bronze details on the engine and exhaust covers I also fitted a low profile seat and relocated the battery. the batter is now in a floating compartment behind the custom fabricated number plates, by going this route I was able to utilize the stock size battery. all of the electrical components are mounted in a custom made box below the seat. The original airbox worked as a secondary rear fender near the swing arm and riding the bike offload without any cover in this area resulted in a huge mess, I was able to reshape one panel from the airbox to remain as part of the rear fender. both the seat and number plates are attached with a custom made quarter twist fastener that allows for incredibly easy battery charging and fuse changes.
Rear-end: the rear end was chopped to accommodate to the flat seat but to retain the frame’s rigidity I added a series of cross supports that are part of the rear fender mount and small luggage (6 pack) rack, the rear fender was ceramic coated black and the rack was powder coated burnt bronze with a series of stainless steel spacers to proportion the fender and rack. the license plate and brake light mount is actually an extension of the chain tensioner, I used solid rod and threaded the ends allowing the only mounting points on this bike to be at the chain tensioner, this was crucial because I had zero intentions of making the bike any wider with lights/license plate and since this is the furthest back element on the bike I really didn’t want much material screwing with the bike’s shape. the rod is recessed into a small piece of aluminum and both the rod and the fender bit have also been ceramic coated to match the primary rear fender and the front fender.
paint/coatings
the original paint was in such incredible shape that I couldn’t allow myself to strip it and replace it with a high durability cerakote. I used as much cerakote and powder coat on this bike as possible because I knew it would spend many nights parked outside a tent in all sorts of weather and possibly be abused/not washed for long periods of time. the exhaust and bottom end of the engine are done with an air cure high temp ceramic coat and the rest of the black is a standard H series high durability coating.