84 RM 250 E Ground UP Full Restoration

M

Moto7man

Member
Here I go again with another restoration. I always liked the Suzuki RA and RH Works bikes and the 1984/1985 RMs were the production copy of those bikes.

I just had this 84 shipped in last night. This bike was parked in a garage in 1991 and never touched for 26 years! Besides the surface rust, she is an original stock bike. This will be a slow build.

ltLzgb7m.jpg


hFCxBsxm.jpg


oMQshPwm.jpg


hp4CQdom.jpg


Drum Brakes
n4FGHKhm.jpg
 
Piston rings are stuck in the cylinder. Look at the wild design of the frame tubes.:cool:
05EEErZm.jpg


Original old school Fox and Cycle News stickers.:D
JmX9s9xm.jpg

R8cKdYjm.jpg

dSJs5hsm.jpg
 
Kewl. From distant memory as a teenager I remember the Z was supposed to be s ripper (or was it the D?) And the next year was panned as being flat. DirtBike did an article showing the only diff was the cylinder head and either skimmed and or reshaped it like the previous year. Where that leaves the E. . .
Just a thought. Cool bike.
 
(F5) said:
Kewl. From distant memory as a teenager I remember the Z was supposed to be s ripper (or was it the D?) And the next year was panned as being flat. DirtBike did an article showing the only diff was the cylinder head and either skimmed and or reshaped it like the previous year. Where that leaves the E. . .
Just a thought. Cool bike.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the input! I have the January 1984 issue of Dirtbike with the test on this bike. They said the stock 36 mm mikuni carb was way too small. They went to a 38mm and even a 40mm. I'm probably going to install an 38mm Air Striker II like on my honda build.

Btw, the bike feels light, its listed at 225 pounds with one gallon of fuel.
 
Last edited:
Heck i remember that. 36mm what a tiny carb to put on a 250 with some picture of a hairy dude looking like some clueless hairy dude with a couple if carbs. Or maybe that was their jetting article. I was a clueless teenager who was probably at the right level to read those articles.
 
(F5) said:
Heck i remember that. 36mm what a tiny carb to put on a 250 with some picture of a hairy dude looking like some clueless hairy dude with a couple if carbs. Or maybe that was their jetting article. I was a clueless teenager who was probably at the right level to read those articles.
Click to expand...

Me too, I was about 18 when that magazine came out. The 40mm carb they tried was a Magnesium Bing with a 65 pilot, 284 needle,210 main,180 slide,6L needle. With the Bing carb and Boyesen reeds they said the performance was "fantastic' and it was more than a match for the CR250.
 
Last edited:
Last night, I pulled the tank and seat off.
iYuh3TIm.jpg


Look what I found under the tank....
mdSramym.jpg


It seems she really has been sitting for a LONG TIME.
VKywrqxm.jpg
 
Ok, back to the inspection. The bike seems to be very original. There doesn't to be anything missing or anything fouled up by screwball maintenance. Its simply neglect.
The floater linkage is complete, intact, very smooth and works very nice.
LgIKyW2m.jpg


7Cf7fgJm.jpg


Original silencer
XFi7Lfpm.jpg

2XV8wcAm.jpg


Original pipe, it doesn't seem to have any damage.
VzwtJycm.jpg
 
Last edited:
The piston is stuck. I drained the coolant, it was very clean and the rads were full, no oil and no leaks. Rads look good too. Tonight I am going to remove the head and put some Kano Aerokroil Penetrating Oil in the intake and exhaust ports and the piston. I looked at the piston through the exhaust port, it looks good,no damage, just a dusting of a small amount of rust.
HexxavIm.jpg


aI4hdHvm.jpg


Here is what I am finding on most of the bike, there is a mixture of red clay and rust on the exposed bolts but the inner parts of the bolts look new.
fRWxkeHm.jpg


I am going to cover the ports and clean the whole bike.
 
Ok, I got the piston unstuck from the cylinder after letting the cylinder soak in PB Blaster and Kano Aerokroil Penetrating Oil for about a week.
dgBGTNXm.jpg

vxX9KK2m.jpg

6iJogAHm.jpg

TQv9UEjm.jpg


The piston was stuck at almost TDC. The head, and the piston looked good but there was surface rust on the lower cylinder skirts.
 
Barrel

sjS4Y85m.jpg


The piston didn't look too bad at all.
QwlilC4m.jpg


There was a lot of carbon on the piston and in the exhaust port.

PqdWkWIm.jpg


LE7bBNfm.jpg


24e40Xrm.jpg


After a quick cleanup, this is what the piston looked like,

Y6VzATnm.jpg
 
A measure and you might get away with a hone and new ring if no ugly force was applied. No point replacing serviceable parts.
 
I could not find direct damage from engine failure or even wear, just neglect from sitting since 1991. I drained the oil and it was debris free just very old. Ok, here is the bad news.

The rod and main bearings are stuck too. But no sign of apparent direct damage or wear.

qG9TMQvm.jpg


5eMPcpvm.jpg


I decided to pull the motor for a full rebuild. I pulled the swingarm shaft 3/4 of the way out and removed all the engine mounts except the bottom one which the nut came off the bolt but the bolt would not move. I turned the bike upside down and hit the bolt with PB Blaster and some heat, then my impact wrench, the bolt turns freely now but the bolt still will not back out. I am going to let it soak for a few days.

iHiiVunm.jpg

9W9Qy0Cm.jpg
 
Last edited:
Some interesting things.....

Good sealing side access airbox that completely comes off with 3 bolts and an original Klotz sticker.

3bOOTXdm.jpg


Full floating rear brake.



Dual arm front brake. front forks have compression adjusters on the bottom.
rnpqaP5m.jpg


Like a time capsule, a Sunstar sprocket logo that I haven't seen since I was 17 years old.

p9dte4Jm.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top