Newbie from Japan (originally the US)

[budoka]

hello all! i've been lurking for while and learning a lot from reading, reading, and more reading, so i figured it was about time for me to jump in and start seeing if maybe i can contribute some too.

i'm the happy owner of a 1991 CRM250RM (you guys call them Mk2, it looks like?) which i just acquired back in the fall. so far i've just been undoing a lot of what has been done to it over the years, getting some things straightened out, etc., and just getting to know my new friend.

i ride it to work every day so i'm getting quite familiar with it, and hope to spend many happy years with it.

i have the service manuals and parts manual for all the CRMs except the AR (in Japanese of course) so if there's something i can look up for you folks, just let me know. also, if there's some part you're having a particularly impossible time trying to find i may be able to help out there too, as there seems to still be a pretty good amount of used and sometimes even new stuff available on some of the auctions over here (again, in Japanese, but that's not a problem).

anyway, good to meet you folks and i look forward to talking about our bikes!

take care,
-dan

[budoka]

oh yeah, photos are nice, aren't they?

take care,
-dan

[fallenmikethebike]

Welcome, is the DR work in progress?
Mike

[jompy]

Welcome in Dan
If you want the AR workshop manual there's a link to it on here or pm me your email and I'll sent it to you , took 3 emails to send it all the other day .
Shame those other manuals aren't in English
I thought the emissions laws in Japan were really strict and the Japanese got rid of they're bikes after 4 years that's why so many CRM's ended up over here ?
Very good of you to offer to help people out

[gregorious77]

Welcome to the party.
an AR PGM would be nice;)

[budoka]

Welcome, is the DR work in progress?
Mike

well, in a manner of speaking, i guess you could say that. it was my previous daily rider until a cager decided it was ok to completely ignore his stop sign and pull directly out in front of me. i slid the bike sideways trying to avoid hitting him, but he was just too close. long story short, i'm still pretty broken up a year later, and the DR has a pretty twisted frame. i'm parting it out to try to help other folks with them who may need the parts.

eeek!
-dan

[budoka]

Welcome in Dan
If you want the AR workshop manual there's a link to it on here or pm me your email and I'll sent it to you , took 3 emails to send it all the other day .
Shame those other manuals aren't in English
I thought the emissions laws in Japan were really strict and the Japanese got rid of they're bikes after 4 years that's why so many CRM's ended up over here ?
Very good of you to offer to help people out

the emissions laws are pretty tough indeed, but there are no inspections on anything under 400cc, so anything goes. there's a pretty common mindset that's encouraged over here that any older car or bike that's over a few years old, is just not dependable any more. most shops that do the work for the mandatory inspections (for cars and bikes over 400cc) charge more as the vehicle ages (which is a total racket, as none of the fees charged by the government change).

of course some people know better and still drive/ride older cars, but not the majority. in fact, most cars that reach about 10 years old have no trade in value-literally NONE.

take care,
-dan

[budoka]

Welcome to the party.
an AR PGM would be nice;)

used ok? there are a few on the auctions right now.

take care,
-dan

[gregorious77]

be interested to know what sort of money they go for yeah.
oh dear this could get expensive as I have a spare engine which needs a crank rebuild and a dream to put it in a CR frame!!!

[budoka]

be interested to know what sort of money they go for yeah.
oh dear this could get expensive as I have a spare engine which needs a crank rebuild and a dream to put it in a CR frame!!!

i know what ya mean! just had a look and right now there are 3 on the auctions. 1 has a buy it now price of 28,000 yen and both of the other 2 have buy it now prices of 38,000. all 3 are supposed to be from running bikes.

i've seen them cheaper too, sometimes around 20,000 yen or so.

take care,
-dan

[jompy]

I heard that when a bike got to 4 years old people would ride them to near the dealers park them up buy a new one & just ride off , always thought it was bull

[budoka]

I heard that when a bike got to 4 years old people would ride them to near the dealers park them up buy a new one & just ride off , always thought it was bull

well, not quite like that but the vast majority of people do trade in their bikes/cars much faster than we do. of course, some people love old cars and old bikes, and the 2 stroke 250s still have a pretty loyal following. it's the ordinary, everyday vehicles that get traded in quickly (10 years is a long time for a car over here). heck, most folks over here think that if a car hits 160,000 kms on the odo, it's done for. doesn't matter if it doesn't actually have any problems, it's just "too old" and it'll have problems soon .

take care,
-dan