Bill Smith Motors (Gwynedd) Project Elsinore CR250M 1974

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1973 Honda CR250M Elsinore Restoration Project

	We have recently acquired the very dilapidated chassis of a 1973 Honda Elsinore CR250M motocross bike with the intention of not only restoring it to some of it's former glory, but also sympathetically modifying it slightly to turn it into a fully competitive pre-74 twin shock racer. Similar to Andy's championship winning ASR team bikes. As you can see the chassis as received is in very poor condition, covered in rust with no engine, badly pitted forks and shocks, no tank and most of the plastics removed. The chassis will be completely stripped and the frame will be strengthened and plated at its weak points before being sent away for blast cleaning and stove enameling.
Closer examination shows the bike (is that the right description for this wreck?) to be a Californian import, that according to the licence sticker on the headstock was last used in 1989. Obviously the engine has long since parted company with the frame and will have to be replaced with one built completely from scratch from Andy's stock of new and used parts. The forks are heavily pitted, as a result of being stored outside for a considerable period and will require either re-chroming if the internals are not to badly worn or complete replacement. But, the decision about this cannot be made until these are removed dismantled and inspected.
	The front mudguard was only piece of plastic still attached to the bike and this was completely covered in what can only be described as desert camouflage, a mixture of brown paint, sand and bird droppings. And when some of it was scraped of it revealed a red guard probably from a 1976 bike!!! So this will have to be replaced as well.
The wheels will be dismantled and rebuilt with the original alloy DID rims being replaced by gold anodised alloy Excel rims and heavy duty spokes to deal with the stresses of racing in the hotly competitive pre-74 class.
	The non-standard rear shock absorbers have obviously suffered the rigors of being stored out doors for 20 years or more and now have very rusty springs. These, at a push, could be blast cleaned and re-finished but much more seriously the damper rods are also corroded and deeply pitted. As these shocks are of sealed construction it will not be possible to repair them so the will have to be replaced. We are considering trying to source a set of suitable used 'Works Performance' shocks, but may also dependant on budget replace them with a brand new set of 'Hagon' units specially built to suit the bike and rider.