Xs250 ongoing project starting issues

Peaty

XS400 Member
Messages
10
Reaction score
2
Points
3
Location
Bournemouth
*new information and issue with this build further down*

Hi there, this is my first post. Iv been watching the forums for quite some time and have referred to for many stages of the build. I'm now a week away from being on the road with this build and wanted to share with you all.

So to start I'll explain a brief backstory.

The xs250 in question was sat at a friend's house uncovered in a bog for some time (last mot was back in 2002) it then moved 3 years ago to another friend who was going to "do something with it" which has been put in the wayside by a very long harley knucklehead build. Anyways after nearly being killed by a chinese bike back in January and being low on cash I decided to nab this off him to see what I could do on a budget. This started a long but fun build. Over the next few days I will update with pictures showing all of the work that has been done on it for under £500 and many hours at swap meets/scouring the web.

Due to the budget nature I decided to go for a bit of a rat effect, this developed into looking better than i expected to be honest.

I'll start with a photo of the state i got it in.
As you can see there is a lot of rust and sadly I lost the side shot showing how bad it was.
IMG_20190401_220523.jpg
 
Last edited:
The first thing I did was strip the big bits down and work out a plan what I'm going to need to do to complete this project. It became quite clear I would need to do a lot of cleaning. I was nervous about the tank and rightly so. It had two large holes in it surrounded by some deep looking rust spots.
IMG-20190330-WA0015.jpeg


I missed on an opportunity for a cheap tank sadly so I had to get creative and decided to assess the rest of the tank which was fine. So I decided to cut the panel out and weld a replacement on. (My welding is not excellent so please dont judge :D)
IMG-20190502-WA0006.jpg


I then opted to focus my attention on the condition of the engine and frame. The engine was horrid outside but bloody immaculate inside and even wanted to fire so off came the carbs for a rebuild and now to the frame.
I decided that I will chop the tail off and add a single seat so I cleaned the frame and chopped the back off. (Picture mid clean)
IMG-20190406-WA0006.jpeg


I then decided that I will be making a rear bracket/loop with a built in luggage rack in the future so I moved on with the build and painted the frame using satin hammerite.
IMG_20190601_130134.jpg
 
Afterwards I looked at the forks, there was some horrid pitting in the stanchions so while investigating ways to fix this (hard chrome or new stanchions) I discovered a gentleman who supplied me with a bargain set of reconditioned full forks for the price of one stanchion!

IMG_20190401_220637.jpg


After everything dried and the wheels cleaned I built a rolling frame to get an idea of how the bike will look. I also installed some new shocks to match the bike.
IMG-20190720-WA0061.jpeg


Right now onwards with the carbs. I rebuilt the carbs (with the aid of a friend) and replaced everything bar the diaphragms which were immaculate.
IMG-20190711-WA0002.jpg


The engine was more a case of just scrubbing everything back to life with scotch brite and a lick of high temp paint on some parts as a previous owner had sprayed everything silver which had flaked and looked hideous!

IMG-20190817-WA0015.jpg
 
I then dropped the engine back into the bike and started connecting everything up this led to a couple of fresh hurdles, one being how badly rusted the original caliper was and the other being that my friend had dropped the swing arm bolt and ruined the threads *sigh*. So bolt replaced and I opted to rebuild the caliper and really clean it up.
Below shows before and after.
IMG-20190927-WA0006.jpg

IMG-20190930-WA0012.jpg


Once this was completed I carried on connecting all the mechanical parts leaving this.
IMG-20190914-WA0044.jpeg

On saturday we spent the day sorting the electrics and replacing a lot of connections which rotted and fell apart. New fuse box, new ignition points new plugs and new caps

Upon running some fuel into the bike and turning over for 2 minutes POP! ITS ALIVE!
Not only this but running beautifully.

Next weekend I will be finishing up 'stage one' of the build and seeing how she runs on the road. Final stage one photos to follow.

I hope you enjoyed my story and look forward to talking xs's more moving forward.
 
Hi, that’s a great post and a cool pics and a good build. I’m seriously jealous of your forks. I filled in the pitting on mine with liquid metal
 
Thanks! It's my first full build so it's been a trial. I'm genuinely happy with how its turned out. Just cant wait to road test on saturday.
 
Update. Shes ready for some tuning this weekend. Just needs some minor carb tweaks but otherwise shes very happy.
 

Attachments

  • IMG-20191109-WA0004.jpeg
    IMG-20191109-WA0004.jpeg
    175.7 KB · Views: 343
Hey, what are those silencers lying on the floor from? I bought a. Pair of pipes from a triumph 800 scrambler, chopped a bit off and used just one figuring that half 800 cc will do for an xs4.. They look similar
 
Hi so an update on this project. Due to a dramatic change in circumstances this was sat around for 6 months. In this time the garage it was stored in developed a damp issue and minor problem of collapsed roof

I have salvaged everything however the bugger will not start.

I have stripped and ultrasonic cleaned the carbs
Check points and gaps
Adjusted valve clearances
Replaced plugs and condenser as that was rusted to pieces
Ensured the earth is nice and tidy

however the bike won’t fire, it turns over on button and kick and just splutters followed by a big “gunshot” here and there.

if anyone has any ideas I would much appreciate it
 
Left plug is clean
Right plug is black and manky
This is after an hour of putting them in the bike new.
 

Attachments

  • B0B7BCF2-3381-40D6-9621-49D6B808F157.jpeg
    B0B7BCF2-3381-40D6-9621-49D6B808F157.jpeg
    106.4 KB · Views: 186
  • 1BE8C432-C8D0-46EA-8839-D1FED152C6F6.jpeg
    1BE8C432-C8D0-46EA-8839-D1FED152C6F6.jpeg
    126.7 KB · Views: 223
Back
Top