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Father & Son Project 250X
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Posted by: quadfamily

I thought I would start this thread to document the build/ rebuild/ restoration(whatever you want to call it) of my sons 1987 Honda 250X. I bought this quad at least 5 years ago as basket case for $150.00 and it sat for a while. The engine didn't run and I really just wanted to get it running for a spare quad in case a friend came over who wanted to ride with us. The plan was to use all the used parts, tires, etc from our other quads to get it running and only buy cheap or used parts for it to maintain it. Well the plan never really took off and now my youngest son has outgrown the size and power of his TRX90. So time for this project. I told him I would finance most of the project and help/teach him each step of the way. The deal was he had to give me his 90 in return so I could give it to my 5 year old Daughter. He agreed. I'll post pictures with descriptions of everything along the way and try to give a little background of how we obtained parts and what not. This is what the quad looked like when we got it 5-6 years ago. It's the ugly one with the white front plastic and round cyclops headlight to the right of the 300EX. Unfortunately this is the best picture I have of it the way we got it. It was a real mess, the seat was ripped, teh plastics are all cracked, no compression, case broken around the chain, counteshaft sprocked was welded to the counteshaft, Gas tank was not bolted on, tires flat, etc... etc... etc...

Posted by: quadfamily

This is the frame. The original frame was rotted out along the entire bottom. I was considering cutting out and replacing the tubing and in fact I began cutting out some but then I decided to do something different. I bought a used 300EX frame from the classified section here. I had is sent directly to Pappy for powdercoating and he did a wonderful job and shipped it back to me.

Posted by: quadfamily

This is a picture of a section of the original frame. I had already started to remove some of the damaged metal but realized that I would have to remove and replace practically the entire bottom. This is when I decided to get a different frame for obvious reasons.

Posted by: quadfamily

Here are the lower a-arms which I painted with gloss black Imron paint. I decided to do these with Imron because with the ball joints and rubber boots attached they really couldn't be powder coated. These are actually off of my 300EX because they were in better shape then the 250X a-arms.

Posted by: Butters

cool, i hope to be able to do a project with my 300ex someday.

Posted by: zeppelin

looks pretty cool so far, but that thing is going to be mint when you finish

Posted by: Rip_Tear

Cool, I wanted to do a project 250X, had a good one lined up but the deal fell through. Hope you're havign fun with your son and the rebuild.

Posted by: quadfamily

This is the engine we're going to use. This engine is the original 1987 engine. It had so many things wrong with it that it now has parts from a couple different engines. One case half, a side cover and the cylinder is from a different engine and so is the countershaft and some tranny parts. The cylinder is bored .050" and has a stock replacement .050 over piston. The cam is stock. My good friend Mark is a mechanic at our local Honda dealer and he rebuilt the whole thing for me for a very reasonable price(Thanks Mark!). It came apart down to the last nut and bolt and he went through the whole engine checking specs as he went to see if each part was ok to re-use. Everything that was questionable was either scavenged from another engine I got from a friend if those parts were good or new parts were bought. This engine has some new bearings, new timing chain, plastic tensioner, and gears, and all new seals. There were more things replaced but I can't think of them right now. This pic was taken today after we painted the engine with two thin coats of silver engine engine enamel.

Posted by: quadfamily

This swingarm I bought and had shipped directly to Pappy just like the frame. The original swing arm from the 87 quad was hacked by one of the previous owners and no longer had the bracket to mount the skid. Pappy has made this one shine!

Posted by: quadfamily

These are the upper a-arms that Pappy pc'd for us.

Posted by: trick250r

looks like its gonna be pretty sick

Posted by: quadfamily

I don't know how "sick" this project is going to be. It's still a very low budget build with alot of used parts. For instance my next small project is to straighten the steering stem. Of course it will get a new lower bearing because the original is gone. The plastic is going to be by far the worst looking part of the quad. We have some original 87 grey front plastic and an aftermarket rear fender which needs painting.

Posted by: MOFO

quote:
Originally posted by quadfamily
I don't know how "sick" this project is going to be.

...but it sounds like it will be a very clean and reliable quad for the weekend trail rider. I'm looking forward to seeing this project unfold.

Posted by: quadfamily

Me too MOFO! Here are the front hubs all shiny.

Posted by: quadfamily

rear hubs straight from Pappy's bling shop. Ryan, my son who is 12 years old bye the way is in the process of glass beading all of the bolts which will hold the quad together. I am ordering a zinc/tin plating kit from Eastwwod which we will use to plate all of the bolts. We're doing this because: A) the bolts were all rusty and nasty looking B) it's cheaper then buying one of those stainless bolt kits and C) we can use the kit for other projects D) it will be a new experience for both of us.

Posted by: quadfamily

Foot pegs done in Stealth Black. Also done in stealth are the shifter lever, brake lever, and kick start lever

Posted by: quadfamily

A few of small parts done in silver powder. Brake return spring, rear caliper mounting bracket and rear brake rotor hub

Posted by: XCRacer10

looks like its turning out great

Posted by: quadfamily

Motor mounts

Posted by: quadfamily

Axle in silver powder

Posted by: quadfamily

Front bumper and grab bar. Through a mistake of our own we mis-labeled the front bumper. It will be red. Thanks Pappy! Notice we ground off the flag mount from the stock grab bar. This was Ryan's idea so it wouldn't get it his way if he puts his foot there for wheelies. Trust me he can ride some good wheelies on both his 90 and my 300! As a side note, I cut the stock grab bar off of his 90 and made a new longer one and welded it on so that he could fit his foot between it and the rear fender. If you've ever seen a TRX90 you would understand why.

Posted by: XCRacer10

i c u live in jersey...any time u wanna have an extra rider at ur house just PM me

Posted by: quadfamily

Where in Jersey do you live and how old are you?

Posted by: 400ex28

Look's like its going to turn out really nice.

Posted by: coryatver

the 250 will probley have enough power he won't have to stand on the grab bar to wheelie.

Posted by: XCRacer10

im the same age as your son. i am in long valley, nj. how far is that from you?

Posted by: quadfamily

I have no idea. I've only heard of Long Valley, never been there. What is it near? We are pretty much in the middle of the state.

And you're exactly right Cory, he doesn't need to stand on my 300 grab bar but he didn't like the bracket anyway.

Posted by: Nick110

Looks like its going to be sick

Posted by: XCRacer10

quote:
Originally posted by quadfamily
I have no idea. I've only heard of Long Valley, never been there. What is it near? We are pretty much in the middle of the state.

And you're exactly right Cory, he doesn't need to stand on my 300 grab bar but he didn't like the bracket anyway.

lol a lot of ppl say they have heard of it. and the long lost story is

long valley used to be the producers of welsh farms milk

seriously lol

but yeah. its near hackettstown, califon, chester, tewksbury, lebanon. heard of them? if you are in the middle of jersey you are probably only, what, 35 minutes away. where r u near?

Posted by: quadfamily

Trenton would be the nearest big city.

We are in need to an axle lock nut assembly. Stock used is fine as long as it's not all chewed up from a pipe wrench like ours is. I swear the last guy who owned this quad must have been a plumber or a butcher!

Posted by: XCRacer10

trenton is about 40 minutes away so your probably 35 like i said. once he gets his quad running, let me know, and my dad could drive me down there. you ride trails or mx or ??

Posted by: quadfamily

Trails, one small hill to climb, an open field, and our small track with two small jumps and a table top.

Posted by: wvspeedfreak

Quadfamily,I have 2 boxes of 250x parts in the garage.I will see what all is in there and let you know.There might be something you can use.

Posted by: quadfamily

Thanks WVSpeedfreak!
I'm in need of a case saver and the plastic shroud that covers the sprocket area. I also need the left side handlebar control with the headlight and kill switches in it. I'm sure I will be needing lots more little parts before it's all over with.

Posted by: z-mann

Looks great so far. Looking forward to seeing the finished product.

Posted by: wvspeedfreak

quote:
Originally posted by quadfamily
Thanks WVSpeedfreak!
I'm in need of a case saver and the plastic shroud that covers the sprocket area. I also need the left side handlebar control with the headlight and kill switches in it. I'm sure I will be needing lots more little parts before it's all over with.

I'll ck when I get home from work and post what I've got.I am pretty sure I have the headlight/kill switch assy.

Posted by: quadfamily

We put the motor in the frame today and mounted the a-arms and the grab bar. Here are a few new pics.

Posted by: quadfamily

right side

Posted by: quadfamily

a-arms bolted up to frame

Posted by: quadfamily

tail end

Posted by: ZeroLogic

Wow that looks really good. Is that engine spray painted or powder coated?

Posted by: onefast400ex

Thats what my dad called the guy i bought my 400ex off of. A BUTCHER I mean this guy went all out unscrewing the axle nut, it looks like he was hardcore at trying to unscrew the axle nut. I bought a new axle nut cause how chewed up it was.

Posted by: quadfamily

We sandblasted the engine then painted it with silver engine enamel from the auto parts store. Two thin coats so that the paint doesn't retain too much heat.

Posted by: Mxjunkie

Looking great so far!!

Posted by: kyleschonert

that swing arm is looking mighty fine

lol

Posted by: Rootar

quote:
Originally posted by quadfamily
right side

holy shikeys batman

dayum that motor looks freakin awesome please inform us with the brand of the paint and name exactly so i can get some of that and do my motor

and let us know how it holds up to the normal

Posted by: quadfamily

yeah nice swingarm huh Kyle?
This is the can of paint I used on the engine Rootar. Bought from the local auto parts store.

Posted by: quadfamily

Progress has been a little slow because my Son is very active in sports right now. He's playing baseball, being on the school track team, travel soccer, working out, and that doesn't leave much time for working on his quad but we'll get it done before Summer! Here's a shot of the new front bumper installed.

Posted by: quadfamily

Front hub

Posted by: Robin Hood

That quad's going to look amazing. So far it looks like it's coming great.

Oh and I checked on Robbinsville, it's a little south of Trenton if I'm not mistaken. Which is only and hour and 20 minutes away from where I live.

Haha maybe you and your son would like a riding partner?

Posted by: 300exOH

Looking good.

Posted by: quadfamily

Waiting on a few more parts I ordered then it will start coming together a little faster. The pivot works swingarm bearing & seal kit and a new axle bearing are biggies. Are you North or South of us Robin Hood?

Posted by: JOEX

Did you get the Maxwell House can from Rico?

Lookin' great John!

Posted by: quadfamily

Ha Ha, Thanks everybody!

Posted by: Robin Hood

quote:
Originally posted by quadfamily
Waiting on a few more parts I ordered then it will start coming together a little faster. The pivot works swingarm bearing & seal kit and a new axle bearing are biggies. Are you North or South of us Robin Hood?

I'm up North in Morris County. Rockaway Township to be more precise. There are tons of good places to ride up here, it's just the law is really getting laid down lately and it's hard to get out and ride without being chased around for an hour or two.. which is actually fun sometimes.

Posted by: wvspeedfreak

Quadfamily,here is the pic of the parts you were asking about.I also sent you a pm

Posted by: Honda TRX250ex

Looking good!
Brings back memiores

Posted by: quadfamily

Thanks WV, I sent you a PM back.
Got the swingarm bearing kit today (Moose, not Pivot Works)and put that on. I need to get one axle bearing now for the carrier. It's a Lonestar carrier with the wide bearings and one is seized. I haven't been able to get it out yet either, but then again I haven't tried REALLY hard yet.

Posted by: quadfamily

carrier

Posted by: trx400exxracer

what kinda shocks is going on this thing

Posted by: Pappy

Looking good John.....what you building next

Posted by: Honda TRX250ex

are 250x almost look the same!
Have you ever used moose swingarm bearing kit before? If you don't mind me asking how much was it?

Posted by: quadfamily

TRX400, it's getting stock shocks because of the low budget.
The moose kit was $41.00 my cost which is 20% off. It's a good kit.
Pappy, that depends on if I can get a good powdercoater that will work with me!

Posted by: Pappy

quote:
Originally posted by quadfamily

Pappy, that depends on if I can get a good powdercoater that will work with me!

LOL...ill keep my eyes open

I have several customers that buy up bargain quads, we basically do a scuff and shoot and they replace all the needed items, then they resell the quad locally. I know several folks that are still in high school that did over $30,000 in sales last year

Posted by: quadfamily

Well I know it's been a very long time since the last post but unfortunately we had to stop working on the quad during the summer with so much going on. We're back on track now and will not stop until it's done. We're actually pretty close to being done. We should be getting tires soon, maybe even tonight. What we have left is the rear axle and brakes, foot pegs, gas tank, and plastics. All that stuff is ready to bolt on but we have to carry the quad upstairs and outside before we install the axle. It's raining right now and we still need to make room for the quad in the shed so we will not be doing that tonight. Oh and please ignore the rusty front shocks, they work well and will be covered up with some shock wears.

Posted by: quadfamily

side view

Posted by: supafasst426ex

looking good!!
what color plastics are you putting on that??

Posted by: Rip_Tear

Looking good

Posted by: quadfamily

The plastics unfortunately due to budget constraints will be stock 87 grey and red up front and aftermarket painted red in the back. I thought it would look good with all black 300 plastic. I dunno though?

Posted by: bwamos

Plastics for the 300ex/250x are soo expensive. Been there.

She's looking good. Can't wait to see her finished.

Posted by: quadfamily

Stock Honda 450R front tires.

Posted by: quadfamily

finally got it all together. The back plastic is borrowed from our 300EX but that's it.

Posted by: quadfamily

2

Posted by: quadfamily

3

Posted by: quadfamily

4

Posted by: mjpridered10

those plastics ruin the quad imo, that thing is so nice...get some nice plastics and some rec elkas and you'll be good to go. or do a the 400ex shock/aarm mod

Posted by: NPelletier

what you should do to save money is paint the plastics with krylon fusion, mxjunkie has a how to post about them, i tihnk with that itll make ur awsome bike, look even awsomer lol

Posted by: Conman007

How old is your son. Does he like it.

Posted by: fastyz85

quote:
Originally posted by NPelletier
what you should do to save money is paint the plastics with krylon fusion, mxjunkie has a how to post about them, i tihnk with that itll make ur awsome bike, look even awsomer lol

I agree. I just used the stuff and its high quality. haven't got a chance to test it out yet being my quad is apart right now because im getting a new swingarm. and is awesomer even a word.lol

Posted by: Pappy

Looks good John, you and your son have worked together rebuilding his quad. Nothing like family time!

Posted by: quadfamily

While I agree with you guys about the plastics, it actually looks alot better in person then it does in the pics if you can beleive that. Plus I'm sure new plastics are in this quads future. Shock wears and also nerfs are on his christmas list. The plastics are for him to save up for though. I funded this whole project with the agreement that he gives his 90 to his sister when the 250 is done. My pocketbook is now empty but he has a good running quad and he is very happy with it.

Posted by: Mxjunkie

Long as it run's and the boy can ride it that's all that matters

Posted by: SGA

Looks great John! Armor all up those fenders and let it rip

Posted by: quadfamily

It was a beautiful day to ride today and zero problems to report with the 250X!

Posted by: quadfamily

nice pit!

Posted by: quadfamily

.

Posted by: quadfamily

nice sand hills!

Posted by: quadfamily

,

Posted by: quadfamily

!

Posted by: quadfamily

nice view

Posted by: quadfamily

friends raptor

Posted by: quadfamily

After we got home he didn't want to stop riding.......

Posted by: quadfamily

2

Posted by: quadfamily

3

Posted by: quadfamily

He also told me that he can now clear the tabletop jump behind our house. I told him he better not have without anyone there to watch him! He kept quiet after that.

Posted by: Caseys 300ex

How did the engine paint hold up after riding on it?

Posted by: honda250xrider

did you ever happen to get that sleeve in any of your motors? i think you were the one who the bought sleeve and piston off of me at least a year ago or so. just checking up to see how that worked out.

Posted by: quadfamily

Casey,
I think it looks OK but it was dark by the time he finished riding it and washing it.

250Xrider,
I'm sending you a PM about the sleeve.

Posted by: mjpridered10

where is that riding spot?

Posted by: NPelletier

u know quad family, i hate kids like urs.....theyre alot better than me lol

looks like the beast is riding well

Posted by: dirtman2

looks like a nice rideing spot

Posted by: Robin Hood

Very nice build! Glad to see how great it turned out.

Where in NJ is that spot!? I'm itching to go there now! I'm suprised there aren't any cops there in the background.

If you ever plan a ride near northern NJ let me know.

Posted by: quadfamily

I thought I would move this thread to this forum so all the 250X/300EX guys could see it.

Posted by: reconmaster

well besides a 400ex front conversion and guesseting the frame, and piping it i love the project great job on restoring the quad i would also add a belly pan skid plate to save your motor and paint. the frame and engine look insane and the pit looks like a sweet spot to ride

Posted by: quadfamily

Nerfs and shock covers are going to be installed soon. He got those for X-mas.

Posted by: robichjr

Great job. I'll jump on the plastic paint bandwagon as well. I used it on my 250x resurrection and it seems to be holding up well. You definitely have more patience then me. I'm in a cycle of removing parts then putting it all back together before it's done so that I can ride it with my boy. He's 9 at the moment but will probably be 12 before I get everything actually "finished".