It almost goes without saying the 2005 RM250 turns great.
LIKE NEW(ER)
Story by Pete Peterson
Photos by Jesse Ziegler and Pete Peterson
When the idea for this $3000 bike test was being thrown around, I thought $3000 was way too low of a budget cap. I knew I wanted to buy a newer bike in great shape, that needed nothing, and just freshen it up a bit. I thought $3000 would drop me into the market for an abused bike, and I did look at plenty of those, but I wound up getting lucky.
The bike I bought was actually the first one I saw. On my first day I checked out both it and a nice '06 KXF250. Both bikes seemed perfect, so instead of snatching one up, I assumed the used bike market was better than I'd anticipated, and decided I would search around a better deal. Wouldn't you know it, I then found a perfect '04 RM250 and talked the guy down to $2000 - then scrambled for a bank that was open on Saturday afternoon only to come up empty. The Dirt Rider Torture Test kept me busy until Wednesday, and when I called the guy back the bike was gone - lesson learned - if you want to grab a good deal, have the cash in hand.
Forgotten how fun it is to roost a two-stroke? Pete blows up a berm on memory lane.
I looked at a few more RM250s and started to find more of what I was initially expecting - bikes that were pretty beat. It's amazing how many people, when writing their bike ads, forget what 'perfect' 'mint' and 'like new' really mean. I wish they'd describe the whole bike not just the new graphics kit. So I scrambled back to the first bike I looked at with cash. I knew it was a good buy, but couldn't help being concerned at how happy the seller looked to be getting the cash. I kept visualizing that "Three Stooges" bit where the Stooges trade their dying car for a boat. As the boat seller walks away, the Stooges laugh, "Wait 'till he tries to drive that car," and he laughs back even louder, "Wait till you try to sail that boat!" Well, all that worry was for naught, because the bike has been perfect so far.
The RM is super flickable in the air. And it's something you don't have to be a big jumper to feel. Instant airborne confidence comes stock.
So what did I learn from all this? Nothing (except the part about having cash in hand). I learned everything last year when I tried to bring a hammered 1994 KX250 back to life (The Money Pit Bike, September 2007). I learned then that parts costs add up when a machine has been abused, and time keeps racking up when you find more and more wrong the further you get into a bike. I was glad to be done with that old bike, and did not want a repeat performance with this project. So I bought a bike that was very close to stock and had very low hours on it. A bike with higher hours on it would be okay if the owner had kept up on routine maintenance. I was lucky with my find.
I paid $2800, so I only had $200 to play with for mods. Normally I would spend nearly this much in addition to even a new bike, so the challenge was on. The first thing I did was take apart the rear linkage and steering stem to inspect and grease the bearings. The bearings all looked good, and none were bone dry. Some had a fine amount of grease still there, others were getting dried out. There was plenty of dirt threatening to get into the linkage, but none had made it in. The swingarm bolt and some of the linkage bolts were corroded, but I cleaned that up with some fine grit sandpaper and a Scotch Brite pad, and put everything back together slathered in Maxima grease. I picked Maxima as my 'sponsor' for this bike for lubricants. I won't tell you if it's because Maxima makes great products or because it was RC's oil on his RM.
Even squids can style when you trust the bike.
I drained the old gas and put in fresh premium with 32:1 Maxima K2 premix, and changed the transmission oil with MTL Fluid 80wt. The oil coming out did not look bad at all. I threw on a brand new Bridgestone 402 (110/90-19) since the last time I'd ridden a RM250 with a questionable rear tire I separated and broke my wrist. The tire was not nearly desperate for changing in terms of knob height, but the knobs were pretty rounded. Let's face it, two-strokes don't get the traction that four-strokes get, especially here in So Cal with the hard pack tracks. If my tire budget goes up a bit with more frequent changes than on a four-stroke, so be it. The bike still had the stock chain, so I replaced that with a top quality DID ERT2 gold chain. I threw in a fresh NGK plug since the bike wasn't starting too easily and the reeds looked perfect, and I stickered up my race number on all three plates with Factory Effex Factory 7" numbers. Individual numbers don't look as good as pre-prints, but I'd forgotten how easy they are to put on.
I found the air filter rim foam was partially disintegrated, so I got a couple Twin Air filters. Then, since this bike was just for me, I cut down the bars just a bit. I find this makes turning take less effort, and makes the bike easier to keep leaned over. A good rule of thumb is to do a push up in the most comfortable position, then note how far apart your hands are - that's likely your ideal bar width. I took less than 1/2 off each side of bars (with feels like a lot more once you're riding) and put on fresh Pro Taper grips. My last task was to sticker up the bike with all my great 'sponsors.'
Would you rather have 28 of these or a sweet moto-racer? | 
This is where most of Pete's 'rebuild' time went. He greased and checked the bearings (linkage and head). This is something good to do to any bike every six months. | 
The linkage was a little dirty, but the bearings were good and they were not bone dry, so there were no worries here. |