Hey all! Newb about to have a look at a crm250ar any tips?

[will001]

Hey guys! Great site.

I have found a 1999 crm250a for sale. It looks in pretty good condition from the pics. Do you guys have any tips about what to look at/check when going to check it out? Any help is appreciated!

This is the bike!
http://www.bikesales.com.au/as/search/s ... PerPage=20" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[fallenmikethebike]

Hi Will
I.M.O. you need to be paying special attention to , wheel bearings [ front and back ] swinging arm bearings , these can virtually weld themselves in place if not serviced regularly. Ditto for linkage bearings .Unfortunately the wheel condition inside will not be apparent until your first tyre change , these Magnesium alloys have been known to react with constant contact with water, but I'm guessing in your location that's probably not a problem .
Power valves have been known to have hard to rectify and costly problems, but normally a rarer problem .
These bikes are fairly tough little critters , but do benefit from regular, common sense,2 stroke , maintenance regimes, ie filters ,oil changes , at least twice as freqeunt as Honda advices , general greasing and oiling to all moving parts.
$3800 AUS is about £2K STERLING ? i don't know your market , but that would have to be near concourse condition for that money hear, but i am a tight wad Good luck
Regards Mike

[knackeredMk1]

Get with the times FMtB .

Even with the fall in the Pound $3800AUS is ~ £1,500.

[will001]

Thanks Mike, but knackered is right, close to 1500 pounds.

I don't have much experience with motorbikes, please bear with me :).

What is the best way to check the swingarm/linkage bearings? (not really sure what the linkage bearing is by the way??) :(

Is there any way to check the power valve without pulling the bike to bits?

Thanks,
Will

[knackeredMk1]

Check for playin the bearings by waggling bits side to side or up & down.

Take the powervalve cover off and rev the engine - you should see the pivot rotate.

[fallenmikethebike]

Get with the times FMtB .

Even with the fall in the Pound $3800AUS is ~ £1,500.

The Aus. $ was news to me , when did that happen
Mike

[will001]

Thanks guys. I'm going to have a look at it tomorrow :), so i'll keep you posted. Gonna get a mechanic to have a quick look just to be on the safe side. Might soon be hooning around the streets on a crm :).

PS. Are there many aussies on here?

[Sarge69]

There are a few blokes in sydney and one i know of on the central coast.
If you could pick that bike up for around $3,000, i think it would be a good buy.
The k's on that bike aren't really that low, My brother just bought an immaculate 99' with 3,000 on it for $3,500 (probably rare with k's this low), but even my 92' model has less k's. Problem is the CRM's don't pop up for sale that often, guess once you have on, they're hard to part with!!

[will001]

Got to sydney on fri night. Then the guy called me up to say that the bike had been sitting for a few months, he got it started, but couldn't get it into powerband? , then he said that it had stopped and he couldn't get it started again!!!... :(

[Sarge69]

Sounds like it could be a moneypit! Definitely not worth the asking price.

[will001]

He finally got back to me. Said that he thinks it is an air sensor. He said he's done testing as per advice from a local motorbike mechanic and that was the only thing he could find... He's ordered a new one.

I'm just a bit worried if one thing has stopped working maybe other things are about to go too? What do you think it's worth? How hard/expensive is it to find parts in Australia? I'm in Newcastle btw.

[Sarge69]

I'm from Newcastle originally, moved to sydney for work a few years back, but still head back once a fortnight, i still ride there, at killingworth, west wallsend, singleton, etc.
I personally think 2,500 to 3,000 depending on what it looks like when u see it. Knackered MK1's advice to me when i was going to look at the AR is that if it looks good, it usually is, if it has parts missing and things bent and broken, walk away (or something close to that).
The bike my brother bought was immaculate. Was from Blacksmiths and was $3,500.
Parts for the AR aren't that hard to get, can usually get them from a honda dealer. It's the earlier ones you struggle to get things for.

[will001]

Thanks Sarge,
Are you happy with your bike, you have an ar? What about your brother?
From all i've read they sound like a pretty decent bike though i don't know that much about bikes, i'm just getting in to riding. This will be my first bike.
People on other forums have told me not to bother, "there's no cr in crm"..., but can't really give me any reasons not to buy one. Been looking at klx's and xr's but i like the look of the crm and it's a 2-stroke :)
How do they go off road? I'll be doing mostly on-road riding but want something decent off the tar as well.

[Sarge69]

My CRM is a Mk2 (pre AR), my brothers is a 99' AR. I absolutely love the way these things ride.A bloke i ride with has a 2003 YZF250 motocross bike, but can't keep with the CRM in a straight line, and this was before i rebuilt it. Dan just picked his up a week ago and was extremely impressed with the way it goes. (i didn't get to ride it, due to the ligament repair on my knee).

These things have no probs keeping up with near anything i ride with, including KTM 300exc's.

You would be better off with the AR, due to the availability of spares.

The people who tell you not to bother have definitely never rode one!!!