Project Rebel

[Ryan T]

So I got my motorcycle license last year and have been looking for a steal of a deal on something small, cheap, and easy to ride. Found this 2004 Honda Rebel 250 earlier this week and negotiated a trade for some stuff I had that I wasn’t using. The previous owner said he bought the bike a year ago for his wife and she rode with him, but hie sold his bike about 3 months ago and she won’t ride without him. He owns a go-kart/golf cart shop and I met him earlier this evening. He changed the oil etc last riding season and has put about 150 miles on it since then. I went to check it out this evening with a co-worker who is an avid rider. He rode it and said it checked out as solid. We made the trade and I followed my coworker back to my house as he rode it. It was about a 30 mile ride and highway/interstate, which I’m not comfortable with just yet. I don’t intend to use it for much more than putting around town/learning to ride/riding to work. Should be a fun little toy/project.

2004 Honda Rebel 250
8,100 miles
Windshield
Crash bars
Saddle bags
Jardine exhaust (which sounds great at low speeds and strained at interstate speeds)

The shift linkage has trouble accessing Neutral from First and First from Neutral. Easy to get to Neutral from Second. I figure it just needs some tinkering and accessing Neutral from a stop is a common problem with the Rebel. It’s a little dirty, gas is old, but otherwise seems to run good. Brakes are strong and a 30 mile interstate ride didn’t seem to give it any issues. I’ve basically got like $400 in the bike so I don’t have too many concerns using it to learn on. The previous owner said the battery was going bad and gave me $75 cash at the close of the deal for one. He said it would hold charge for 2-3 days, but if you let it sit for longer the battery will die, hooked up or not. I’ve got the battery on a battery tender now and the tender says the battery is still good, but I’ll probably replace it. He also said the tires are only a few years old to his knowledge, but I’m gonna replace them too just out of an abundance of caution. I’m pretty exited to play with it.

I’ll get better pictures this weekend when I clean it up.

[Senor_Taylor]

Hell yeah. ATGATT

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[davej]

Nice pick up! That should be a great starter bike and easy to get comfortable with.

So the PO has a go-kart shop eh? Did he happen to have any busted mini bikes for cheap? I'm trying to build a fleet for the Heck's Angels squad over here.

[Ryan T]

So some of the bolts on the linkage were just a little loose, tightened them up, tested, loosened, re-adjusted and tightened again, and now it’s easy peasy to go into 1st and neutral. Cleaned and conditioned the leather, waxed the paint and cleaned all the glass. Bought a Fulmer full face helmet today and paid $103 for a year of insurance. Ready to start riding tomorrow. Called the local Honda motorcycle shop and they said $300 would get me two new tires and the labor if I brought them the bike. I don’t have a bike lift or anything like that so I figure it’s worth it. The front tire is from 2011 and the rear tire is original, manufactured in 2003. I’d rather have two new tires than risk it on old ones. Gonna have them lube the chain while I’m at it and I should be good to ride for a bit.

[JPolen01]

Dude! I can't believe your buddy rode on a 16 year old tire. I also can't believe the previous owner put his wife on a 16 year old tire.

[BLINGMW]

Just put some shoe polish on them it should be fine!

[Ryan T]

So I didn’t go the Honda dealer route. Too expensive. Ordered two new Shinko tires that came in the mail today. They’re cheap, soft, and get pretty good reviews so long as you don’t push them hard (which I will never do). Found a local guy who will install them but he’s not available until after the 4th. Gonna see if he will lube the chain while he’s at it. He’s a retired state trooper who bought an old motorcycle shop and just tinkers in his spare time. Going to get some motorcycle oil and change that, put in a new seat grommet when the Honda dealer gets it in and hopefully by one day early next week she will be all tuned up and ready to ride more than just around the neighborhood.

[Ryan T]

Changed the oil today with Lucas motorcycle oil and lubed the chain with Lucas chain lube. Oil still looked pretty good but the previously owner said it was changed a year ago. It only had like 250 miles on it in that year, but peace of mind is worth a lot. The chain was rusty and dry so I ran it around several times with the lube and a rag until I was content it was well lubed. Getting the tires mounted is really the only thing left to make it ready to go. May change the plugs, because it’s easy and cheap, but haven’t decided yet.

[Ryan T]

So the old state trooper shop fell through as he had a medical issue and basically closed up shop. The local Honda place went out of business and I didn’t want to drop $300+ in tires anyways. My boss told me about a motorcycle mechanic that he takes all of his side by sides, dirt bikes and farm equipment to that does really good work. He had lots of good reviews which was promising. I couldn’t find any shop that would install the tires I bought online, they all advised they only install tires bought from them, citing insurance liability reasons, so I returned the Shinko tires. The shop my boss recommended said $150 for two tires plus $40 labor to put them on. I dropped the bike off at his shop on Wednesday and asked him to change the tires and give the bike a quick once-over to make sure everything else appeared good to go. The rear brake seemed to have a lot of travel so he is gonna look at that too. Hopefully it will be done this week and I can get it and start riding. It’s about 25 miles from that shop to my house and I plan to ride it all the way back, just to get the practice.