After a year since I last messed with it, I finally started working on the R again. Not too much physical progress yet but a lot of thinking and planning got done recently.
After finding problem after problem with the quad and the condition it is in, the previous owner(s) must not have cared too much to keep it reliable and in good shape. Because of this, I decided its best to just tear it all down and have the motor rebuilt even though it technically runs just not the greatest.
I took the motor out and here is how it sits now in my messy garage:
The motor has been shipped out to have work done. When the motor arrived, the builder convinced me to go big with a 350 cylinder and +4 crank for a 363 motor. He said that is his go-to standard big bore he puts in there. It wasn't much more money than just a rebuild and the work I wanted and he said he sees time and time again, people sending motors back cuz they want a bigger build. Since I know I will probably be one of those guys too, I decided why not spend a little more money now and save more in the long run by having him go ahead and build the big bore now. He's also going to powder the cases and covers black and leave the cylinder and head glass beaded so it looks bare aluminum. This was the color scheme the 89/89 Rs had and I like that idea better than the all aluminum looking motors the 86/87 Rs had and it will look better in my opinion with the color scheme I'm going for. So that's whats in the works now. I'll try to keep you guys posted when it comes back in about 4-6 weeks.
Now I'm just planning on what else I want to do with it until the motor gets done. I've already purchased the big bore pipe for it and working on getting a 38mm air stryker for it. Also, I went ahead and pulled the trigger on a great deal on a +1/+4 axle. I got my electrical components on the way to hopefully fix the kickback issue the quad had before I tore it down.
I've already talked to my suspension guy to figure out what to do with the shocks. He said he can build me whatever to match the arms I buy so I just need to figure out what arms I want and he will build the shocks for them. So I'm currently doing some research so I can decide on what long travels I want. ASR builds some long travels at a decent price just like for the blasters. Alba makes some long travels at an even lower price for the 400ex which apparently fit 250Rs too as long as you put spacers in where it bolts to the frame. But everyone I've talked to really recommend the JD performance arms but they are a good $300 more than the ASRs and even more than the Albas. It's a tough decision and one I'm still debating.
This weekend I plan on trying to make more progress toward stripping the rest down to bare frame so I can get going on having the frame gusseted and then powder coat afterwards. I'm going to powder coat the frame a deep red like my 04 blaster frame. I really like that color and the powder comes out REALLY good and super glossy. I'll probably do just the frame red and the swing arm, axle, and arms black. I have black wheels to go with it. I'm also thinking about the black carbon fiber looking race cut fenders for it. I really think the black/silver looking plastics matched with a red frame and black arms and stuff will really look good. It's a way to keep the silver/black theme but still have a subtle but eye catching red frame.
Anyways, that's what has been going on the past couple weeks with my R. This next month can't go by fast enough! I really want my motor back so I can ride this thing!