96' CRM250AR in Japan

[Dixiesatellite]

Hi,

I recently picked up a complete ’96 Honda CRM250AR here in Japan which is the basis of a road-going single 2-stroke I am building by using the AR engine in a different frame and reusing all the good remaining parts. Don't lament the demise of this CRM250AR - it really is in worse condition than it looks, having stood outside since 2001. Bringing it back to original is really not cost effective.

My project bike is a ’76 AMF Harley-Davidson SST250 (air-cooled), which was a pretty crappy bike overall (poor quality parts / poor reliability etc.). I plan to make the bike I wanted when I was 18, but which wasn't available - a liquid-cooled 250cc AMF Harley-Davidson SST250.

AMF H-D bailed on the 2 strokes in the late '70s by seeling to Cagiva without further development (despite their racing success with both air-cooled and liquid-cooled 2-strokes). I will use '76 SS250 (fenders / frame / tank / seat / instruments / lights etc), Honda FT500 (wheels / forks / swingarm / steering head / disk brakes) and '96 Honda CRM250AR (ignition / engine / cooling system / harness etc). That way the thing will handle and stop correctly w/ hopefully good road manners, especially with the CRM250AR 6-speed and powervalve setup.

The purists from either camp won’t like it, but I am really just playing with junk at this stage anyway. Any help you can offer with my AR tech questions to understand the mods I need to make are most appreciated. Will post progress pics when Admin allows. I am currently working my way through the Japanese AR workshop manual.

Thanks.

Ian B.
Dixiesatellite

[fallenmikethebike]

Hi and welcome, and good luck with the project.
Mike