KH 250?

[Ginger Bear]

One of my oldest mate's visited me this afternoon & after seeing some of the 'shit' I turn out (he only see's the clean, shiny end results.) He has confessed he'd like to have a go at bringing a KH250 back to life, just as he used to own 'back in the day'. (All the go-faster bits & a leather jacket full of spark plug's)
So any advice on what or not to buy would be useful, (I'll have to lead him like a horse), but who's got a KH250 up for grabs

Ade & Malc, I have pointed him in the direction of the Triples Club. Your advise would be most welcomed.

[kas750]

So your "mate" is looking for a kh250?...What sort of budget do you...i mean "your mate" have for a bike? ..

[Garry.L]

(........ & a leather jacket full of spark plug's)

It's a bit of a myth that you needed a pocket full of spark plugs everytime you went out on a KH250 as usually the middle cylinder would sieze up long before any plugs failed....

[Zed man]

Got One.. B1 76 blue/ new paint set, location , st.albans herts.. Not mine, but a shy mates. pm me.

[Ginger Bear]

So your "mate" is looking for a kh250?...What sort of budget do you...i mean "your mate" have for a bike? ..

Ade, his budget will be about 30% of what the end result actually costs.

Probably looking for something complete, originality isn't too important. Just want to strip it down, send of all the parts to plate, paint etc & put it back together. Sounds easy really.
Ideally something with a good motor would be a good start point.

What sort of budget would he need

[kas750]

I would recommend buying one done,i really would.It will cost the same as a H2 to restore and be worth a 3rd of a H2 when its done!..
My advice would be to look out for a Kh400 or s3/s3a.They have all the looks of a 250 but suit people who now have "bigger bones" than when they were 17 ..and also they are a genuine 100 mph bike.. ..Between 2 and 2.5k will get you something nice and useable.If you want to go the resto route a viable project will cost just over a grand and will then cost another 3k to bring to a nice,but not show winning standard..I can keep my eyes out for something?..Any other advice don't hesitate to contact me.

[Ginger Bear]

Adrian,

That advise is spot on & buying one already done will certainly appeal to the lazy fooker.

He's just texted me that his first project is to 'transform' his dingy dumping ground of a garage into a bright blingy workshop, then he'll be on the lookout.

I'll come back to you when 'the time is right' if you don't mind, but knowing matey, that could be a while. We don't call him the Sloth for nothing.

Thanks again for the advise so far.

[jimmock]

So your "mate" is looking for a kh250?...What sort of budget do you...i mean "your mate" have for a bike? ..

Kas,

My thoughts entirely!!!

[jimmock]

I've mentioned this before on here....


The guy who services my boiler / heating each year has one.
It is white with green decals. He's had it for loads of years.
I've been at him myself, but refuses to sell me it.

I've often thought about something like that, but it is true what Kas says about the cost realative to end value.

[ade woollams]

we bought a b2 at donnington a few years ago as my girlfriend wanted one to ride ,and i said i would restore it for her .it cost £850 and was all there but tatty .i stripped it and started work and she wanted to put the money into it after another £500 she got fedup with spending so i had it of her paid her up what she spent in total .im up to around £2300 now with the higgspeeds and it still needs a paint job and rebore. so im looking at 3k should do it.engine blast and rebuild i done myself.

[Garry.L]

Cheap enough with lots of the work already done......

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Kawasaki-KH25 ... 416d9e3621

[kawasakichris]

i agree with what everybody is saying but sometimes it's not about the money some of us[sad b******s] dirive a lot of pleasure restoring these old ladies and then there is the fun of riding them when finnished, there is only a handfull of bikes worth mega money and everyone is restoring them allegedly there are 3 times as many h2's in the uk as there was in the 70's!![dont know about zeds] so you could argue the less popular models are rarer because we dont restore them because there's no money in it. also the price of nos parts for the popular models has become mental making them virtually impossible to cost effectivley restore but like i say it's not always about the money

[kas750]

There are still many 100's of a kh250's in the uk in mid restoration..the fact is that most people run out of steam/money long before they are finished because they cost so much to do.there are very little repro parts available unless they are the same as fitted to z's etc...that's why you don't see many kh250's at the major shows.

[malc87]

I certainly would not bother doing a 250 unless it was a front drum brake model and the earlier the better.
Ade made a good point on the triples forum that the 72 "white" S1 will always be rare as they didnt export any to the USA so there is none to bring back!
BUT as someone else pointed out sometimes its Irelevant about money and you just do the bike you always wanted or lusted after OR you are reliving your youth a few stone heavier and rebuying the model you had
It costs as Ade said as much to do a smaller bike as it does a bigger capacity model but it aint always about money.
Depends what you want???
A bike or an investment, or maybe even a bit of both

[kawasakichris]

totally agree with kas and malc a lot of us quite happily chuck 15-20 grand at the family hack take it back 3 years later and get 7 grand for it and never bat an eyelid so if your classic bike doesent make you a pension fund whf as long as you have enjoyed the ownership experience