ZXR250C Resurrection

Here are a few photos of the ZXR250C that I picked up for a project bike. I plan to completely restore every single piece on it. As you can see the bike was in poor condition, rusted and unloved.
The first task was to inventory what I had and what I needed. I bought the bike as a rolling chassis and numerous boxes of unknown parts.
Second task was to strip and disassemble every item and clean and refurbish it. (Except the motor at this stage)
Third task was to reassemble the rolling chassis and fairings, assess any damage and repair.
I was able to colour match most of the standard ZXR colours from Super Cheap.

What I picked up



After some TLC

 

just cleaning and checking the parts at the moment, bike will probably get pulled apart many times before the final assembly, then every part will be to torqued, loctited and or wire tied as needed. i will probably spend a lot of time on the motor, even considering mounting a 2 stroke during the original motor build. i have a few trades under my belt so nothing is to much of a problem.

 

opened up the bottom end for a look to find internals in perfect condition, haven't worked out the story with this bike yet but looking at possibly head gasket failure in a new motor. Covers have never been removed from cases going by the OEM gaskets and loctite application. here are a couple of picture of drive gears and shift fork drum, judge for yourself!

 

Motor external cleaned (4 days with a wire toothbrush and solvent), just need to final flush/clean internals and start to reassemble motor. Will probably spend a lot of time on the head, want to tidy up ports and detail valve components. plan is to set up motor and cooling system in bench frame and do running tests before install. attached a picture of lower end in cases, just using rubber gaskets to keep internals clean during task, you could eat you dinner of them!

 

thanks Huntsman, picture attached is what it was picked up like!!

 

The top end and barrels/pistons are off the cases, they all need work as a note in a parts box said compression was mixed between cylinders, will hone or bore to suit new rings, possibly pistons. As far as gear clusters etc all good to go, I have some ideas that I may try on the top end to cool induction and possibly lift rpm limit by 2 or 3 percent, compression may be lifted as well, it's things that are down the track at this stage, bench running will start to give me the direction in which to go. One thing I do want to address is cam chain noise in zxr's, I want it quiet as a mouse. I am a little different to others, I always think outside the box.

 

spent a few hour cleaning up the barrels and head castings, will need to buy or borrow digital gauges to check tolerances as per manual but all seams serviceable. The cam / rocket box is another story, as I have read in other members posts, cam chain wear on the upper surface is a problem. Not being a zxr250 expert it seams that any loose or incorrect cam chain tension allows the chain to contact the cover, creating wear, noise and alloy particles in the oil system. I would like to modify the cover via a tig welded piece attached to the external side and open up the inside area to add extra clearance for any chain movement, please comment on this issue as all information and opinions will be appreciated. also if some one could measure the 'clearance between the top of the rocker cover (at the cam chain position) and the closest object above it', so I can work out how much i came open up this area in the cover.