2019 Honda CRF 450L
- Thread starter Tex68w
- Start date
Tex68w
Beach Bum
I kind of agree, I think it's worth a shot. The paint on that tank is far too nice (compared to most) to strip off for the sake of the ding. I believe it has better value with the original paint and patina.
I am hoping to have this done by the end of September so we will see where it goes from here. In a normal year I'd take it to the Texas Harvest Classic show in Luckenbach, TX but this years show is set to be a shell of its normal self and I will be out of state getting married that weekend as it is. I plan to get some proper pics and video of the bike, enjoy it for a bit and then maybe sell it off to an enthusiast if I don't fall in love with it myself by then haha. These are getting much harder to find and I know I'll regret letting it go later on once I've completed it, so we will see.
shade
Well-known member
Congratulations, and best of luck on that front.
Tex68w
Beach Bum
Thanks! It's certainly not what we had envisioned last fall when we started planning and booking the event, but you've gotta roll with it and make the best of the current situation.
RiverCityDave
красный октябрь
Man those old DTs are so cool. I used to work at a shop where the owner had a few of them in the work bay out back and we'd take long lunch rides through the woods nearby and just wheelie around the parking lot. Lots of fun.I spent 14 hours on the road today in order to go pick up this 1974 DT250A in Virginia Gold. It came with new tires, a new battery, a new seat cover, new grips, and a plethora of NOS, reproduction and lightly used parts like brake pads, head light, carb rebuild kit, handle bars, spare cylinder, cables, harness', plugs, air filters, hardware, fork seals, etc. Included were an owners manual, parts list/manual, and service manual, a clean title and the original sales brochure and a few magazine clippings.
The owner was in the beginning stages of restoring it along with a Husky 400 when he needed money to restore and fix his 127 year old Victorian home, hence the sale. The bike looks pretty good, it appears to have very little off-road use looking at the skid plate and bottom of the frame. It has the buddy pegs, original tool kit under the seat and the right side mirror. The tank has one slight dent, the oil tank has a slight crease, and the rear fender has a few small dings but other than that she looks pretty good IMHO.
It's currently sitting at 3,971 original miles and it's on the stock piston. It needs a top end as there's some slap but the transmission and clutch look good. I plan to fix the rear fender and have it repainted along with the front fender and headlight brackets. I will wax the tank and oil tank in hopes of bringing out some more luster from the original paint. I'm not sure what can be done about the small dent in the gas tank or the crease in the oil tank, but I'd like to keep the original paint on those parts. Is PDR an option on these older, thicker metals?
I'll polish the cases and the wheels but I am considering having them re-laced with new spokes. I need new hardware for the cases as these bolts are certainly not correct and I am assuming I'll need gaskets as well. The pipe is missing the hardware at the cylinder and where it mounts as the rear of the bike. The intake boot looks great as does the pipe itself and the chain and sprocket are fairly new as well.
Any suggestions on things to look out for and/or what to tackle that might go overlooked would be much appreciated. I am going to start with recovering the seat, rebuilding the carb and rebuilding the forks. I also need to find a shop here in Texas (preferably the Houston area) to do the top end work as I don't have the time. Any suggestions there would be greatly appreciated. I am looking forward to getting this thing decently restored so that I can get out and enjoy it as well as sit back and admire it.
Below are some pics from the sales ad and a few of it on the trailer on the way home today.
The shocks look a little low, the whole bike kinda looks like maybe someone set it up for vintage trials?
Super cool find.
Tex68w
Beach Bum
Nah, it's just compressed from strapping it down during transport. It does have some brand new Pirelli Trials tires on it though. I will be rebuilding the forks and then going through the rear shocks as well so it'll sit nice when done.
Nice DT. When I was a teen in the early 90's I picked up a non running DT250 from somebody in the neighborhood for around 40 dollars. I tinkered with it, got it running, and bombed around on it until I got my drivers license at which point I sold it. I can't remember the exact year but it was mid 70's with an orange and white gas tank if I recall. It looked identical to yours otherwise and your photos were nostalgic for me.
Tex68w
Beach Bum
That sounds like a 1975. They bring a lot more money now, a properly restored 250/360 can bring $6-14K depending on year, condition and accuracy of the restoration. I still prefer the 1968-1971 'badge' bikes with the square swing arms aesthetically speaking but the 1974 year model was my favorite 250/360 outside of the first Gen bikes. Beyond 1976 they got too modern and ugly for my taste, think AMC era Harley's lol.
Tex68w
Beach Bum
DT250A Update:
The cylinder is off for machine work, NOS Yamaha piston and rings ordered. Wheels are going to get the Buchanans treatment (new spokes/nipples and polish) so that'll be nice and the carb will be rebuilt as well. Going with new points, need to check the oil pump and it'll get a NOS original 6V battery as well. I plan to have the tanks PDR'd to remove or improve the few small dings and then I'll ceramic coat them to preserve the "survivor" patina. The fenders, head light bucket, tail light stalk and head light forks will all be repainted but I am going to leave the character on the frame as is. I'll finish it off with the new seat cover and maybe some light polishing on the cases and fork lowers. I am hoping to have all of this wrapped up by the end of September, wish me luck.
The cylinder is off for machine work, NOS Yamaha piston and rings ordered. Wheels are going to get the Buchanans treatment (new spokes/nipples and polish) so that'll be nice and the carb will be rebuilt as well. Going with new points, need to check the oil pump and it'll get a NOS original 6V battery as well. I plan to have the tanks PDR'd to remove or improve the few small dings and then I'll ceramic coat them to preserve the "survivor" patina. The fenders, head light bucket, tail light stalk and head light forks will all be repainted but I am going to leave the character on the frame as is. I'll finish it off with the new seat cover and maybe some light polishing on the cases and fork lowers. I am hoping to have all of this wrapped up by the end of September, wish me luck.
In my gut I feel like it was a 1974. When I say it had an orange tank it was almost like a reddish orange. After reading your post I googled some video's and enjoyed listening to them run. Very different sound compared to my 450L that's for sure. Mine was pretty beat by the time I got a hold of it. It had sat outside for years under an open porch so it was weathered. Regardless, I was so excited when I got it running and took off up the street on it ripping through the gears. My mother didn't seem as excited for some reason though. My best friend wasn't to amused either because his little XR-80 didn't stand a chance of keeping up with me.
Tex68w
Beach Bum
The 1975 was an actual orange with white decal where the 1974 like mine is more of a rust colored brown called Virginia Gold with only a small white pinstripe. I had a 70 and a 80 growing up and then I got into 125's with MX. Those 70's are slow by todays standards but they are still a load of fun in the woods. For what it's worth, my mother hated motorcycles too, I would seat surf mine past the house just to get under her skin lol.
Tex68w
Beach Bum
New rubber en route. Going back with the Goldentyre 216AA Fatty 90/100/21 up front, I seriously don't think that there is a better front tire out there. And for the rear I am going to snag a few of the MotoZ Enduro IT's in a 120/90/18 from Mark at MVI. I loved the performance of the Goldentyre 333N, it's a phenomenal tire in all terrains and conditions but it was toast at 800 miles. I can't justify $100+ every 700-800 miles if I am not racing. Hopefully these MotoZ Enduro IT's are all that Mark claims they are lol.
I also placed an order for a pair of ASV levers earlier this week. They finally came out with proper levers specifically for the 450L. I had every intention of saving a few dollars and getting the F4 levers but once I got to talking to the ASV rep I was set on the top tier C6 levers. I went with a shorty lever on both the brake and clutch side and the C6 come with the Pro Clutch Perch. They are a tad blingy but they provide better and faster adjustment and I will be much more comfortable with the short levers since I prefer to clutch and brake with only two fingers.
I also placed an order for a pair of ASV levers earlier this week. They finally came out with proper levers specifically for the 450L. I had every intention of saving a few dollars and getting the F4 levers but once I got to talking to the ASV rep I was set on the top tier C6 levers. I went with a shorty lever on both the brake and clutch side and the C6 come with the Pro Clutch Perch. They are a tad blingy but they provide better and faster adjustment and I will be much more comfortable with the short levers since I prefer to clutch and brake with only two fingers.
Last edited:
shade
Well-known member
C6 Series Off-Road/Quad Pro Model Clutch Lever # CDC606PX
Unbreakable Motorcycle clutch and brake levers for off-road, street, and racing use
asvinventions.com
Cool.
coastalcop
Active member
Ok , in an effort to help you spend your money , have you looked into these ?
I keep tools on the bike, but fluids for me, snacks, tubes, etc go in the bag (anything that wont become a bar against my spine if/when I come off the bike) . use the ranger 9 and the misses uses the outlander 3 (I get to carry anything she cant fit, she is nice about sharing that way
)
They are serious about how it moves with your body and doesnt dance even on pretty rough terrain. Major benefit to me is that all the stuff I would take off my bike when going into a store/restaurant is already there and on me.
Coming from your other thread on the 450l I really like the way the build is focused.
I keep tools on the bike, but fluids for me, snacks, tubes, etc go in the bag (anything that wont become a bar against my spine if/when I come off the bike) . use the ranger 9 and the misses uses the outlander 3 (I get to carry anything she cant fit, she is nice about sharing that way
) They are serious about how it moves with your body and doesnt dance even on pretty rough terrain. Major benefit to me is that all the stuff I would take off my bike when going into a store/restaurant is already there and on me.
Coming from your other thread on the 450l I really like the way the build is focused.