I've got a 1976 Honda MR250 Elsinore on craigslist. Asking $1350 OBO.
I've owned this motorcycle since about 2012-13 when I got it as payment for letting someone borrow my truck and helping them move some heavy stuff. I would have been just as happy being paid with...
bozeman.craigslist.org
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I've owned this motorcycle since about 2012-13 when I got it as payment for letting someone borrow my truck and helping them move some heavy stuff. I would have been just as happy being paid with beer or pizza, but I suspect the whole thing was an excuse to get the motorcycle out of the guys garage before his two young boys got old enough to get real curious about it.
I brought it home as a bare frame, a set of wheels and tires, and three cardboard boxes full of parts with the promise that "it's all there". I reassembled it over a rainy weekend and was pleased to find that it really was almost all there. I ended up buying a new set of Renthal bars, as the original bars were bent. Most of the wiring was gone, so that had to be replaced as well. The seat was in bad shape so I made a new cover out of Cordura fabric. It all went pretty well right up until I tried to start it for the first time. No spark.
A whole bunch of troubleshooting later, I determined that the stater was bad. I called around and checked
Ebay and finally, after something like 6 months of looking, was able to find a rebuilt stater for a couple hundred dollars. I bench tested it, found it was good, installed it, and tried to start the bike. No spark. Que a whole bunch more troubleshooting that lead absolutely nowhere. I gave up and rolled it into the corner of the garage and forgot about it until 2015.
In 2015 I moved and didn't have space to bring the bike with me. It ended up in my dads shop, and totally in his way. At the time, my dad was working at a place that employed a whole bunch of mechanics. The bike ended up being kind of a shop project that a lot of different people worked on, on and off, and tried to get running. Finally, one of the mechanics convinced my dad to buy an electronic ignition, and they retrofitted it in place of the original stater. I'm not really sure what all that cost. I know there was a machine shop involved. I think it kind of became a matter of pride for the shop that they could get it running, and they did get it running. They tested it in the parking lot. Ran it through all the gears. Made sure the brakes worked. Somewhere there's a video of somebody doing a pretty sick wheelie on it.
In the time that the motorcycle was at the shop, I had moved again. My dad decided that I had plenty of space to store this motorcycle in my own garage, and it's been in my garage since about 2019. I don't have any local friends who trail ride anymore. I briefly considered trying to get it street legal, but decided I had enough other projects already.
At some point before it came to me, the original tank was badly damaged and replaced. The replacement is a pretty good fit, though not absolutely perfect. The petcock was replaced with a ball valve and what appears to be something like JB weld. It leaks enough to be pretty annoying.
The tubes and tires hold air, but they are of unknown age, badly checked, and should be replaced unless you really enjoy having your tires disintegrate mid-ride. I've got a set of road tires that will go with this.
I don't have any mix gas available for a test. If you want to bring some to check, that's fine. I was told that 20:1 was what the manual originally called for, though 32:1 seems to be what most people on the internet suggest. I'd just prefer that you be pretty confident that you want to buy it before putting gas in it because I really don't want it leaking gas in my garage.
I'd really love to get $1350 for it. NADA has the value for a "fair" condition MR250 at $1490. Hagerty is way higher, but those prices don't seem fair to me. I just hope it goes to somebody who will enjoy it. I'm available most evenings after 3.
Would make a great first car or for someone that knows these chevys. Would love to see it go to someone that will love it like I did. Shoot me a message or phone me at 451-14 85 for more details and photos…
