A Wild Custom GZ250 Project in Central, Ohio

[Will.Wrench]

Hello, All.

First off, thank you all for your contributions to the forum. The information here has helped me greatly. I've been lurking here quite a bit the past few months, and finally decided to join, especially now since my project is going to be a much more long-term endeavor. However, if you enjoy watching demolition derbies, this may be right up your alley.

I recently (earlier this summer) purchase a used 2000 GZ-250 with 21k miles. The bike was overall in immaculate condition. It was well taken care of and the price was right, so I bought it. I rode smaller dirt bikes when I was a kid, a couple of small cruisers in college, and even got to work on a couple of bikes during my apprenticeship, so I had been looking for a cheap, small cruiser for a while now, and this one seemed absolutely perfect.

The only real issue I felt in the bike was that it was running a little rough and a small knock the seemed to be coming right below the left side of the head, maybe right above the top center of the crankcase. But, as the bike warmed up, the knock went away. I changed the oil and didn't notice any metal shavings in the old and none seemed to appear in the new oil. With some basic maintenance and new gas, it seemed to have new life.

I rode, and thoroughly enjoyed, 432 beautiful miles on that bike. Which was probably dumb, but I never could have imagined the reality of my issue. I had an appointment to get it looked over by a buddy of mine at his shop on Monday. The Friday before, I was 2.3 miles away from work when the transmission locked up, mid-turn, when I was turning left at an intersection. I controlled the initial skid, the gear tension released as I attempted to get the bike out of gear, then it died, and I steered it to the side of the road. I tried to restart it, but there was no power whatsoever. Attempting to put it in neutral made the crankcase sound like a can of bolts. I tied some cord around the clutch pedal and started walking it out.

Opening up the magneto cover revealed my issue right away. One of the three magneto bolts that holds the magneto rotor together sheered off into the starter gear. If that were all, that would actually have been wonderful. However, that same bolt then ground into the crankcase housing and then gouged a hole into an oil channel between one of the bearings and the crankshaft. Basically, unless I wanted to trust my future rides to J.B., that housing was shot, and it would need another.

I, a glutton for punishment , decide that I haven't had nearly enough. So, I proceed to tear down the entire engine. Component by component. Then, I order another crankcase housing. Only one side was damaged, but I believe they are produced as a mated pair, so both sides need done. I just so happen to order one with a production number that was less than 700 after the one I have. Pretty cool.

Anyways, one thing leads to another and I realize that, if I'm going to put money into this thing, I may as well just make it my own. A few weeks later, I've broken down the entire bike to base components, cleaned the old and new housings, ordering parts to make a custom cruiser bobber while desperately trying to find replacement engine seals. While the bike was clean before, I could see where the previous owner had probably run into something and scraped up the trim, so custom fenders are in order. My Wife is now out in the shop with a grinder working the custom rear fenders and I'm stripping old paint and treating rust while planning for the new look.

Do I realize what I am doing? Yes. Fully. That's why I have those moments of clarity where I feel like a complete and total idiot. The money I will end up putting into this will surely be more than the bike is worth, and I probably could have just bought what I wanted anyways. Not to mention, it wasn't that bad to begin with, just a normal, cheap, old cruiser bike that looked good but was nothing special. I could have rebuilt the engine and that would have been something. Now, I'm past the point of no return. If I stop, I am out a couple grand with a garage full of parts and a title for nothing. If I continue, I'll have a badass custom bike that I built entirely from the ground up, but how much of a headache will it be for a 250 cruiser?

In those moments, I typically wallow in it for a bit before telling myself to "shove it" and get back to sourcing parts. I didn't ask for this, sure, but I got it. I'm here now, so lets have some fun. Money comes and goes, but this project is something most people don't see everyday. Plus, most of the work I've done has been on other people's toys. Now, I get to do it for myself. At times it will suck, at times it will be fun, but let's just hope at the end of it all I have something to ride.

Advice, comments, and light scolding are all welcome. Glad to be here.