From this to That

It all started when a buddy decided to upgrade his ride.  At the time, he had two scooters, a 150 which he later sold and a 250 he had bought used at the beginning of the season that never did run right.

He then found a great deal on a 500cc Scarabeo.  The rear brakes were worn out, and the rear rotor is chewed up, so a deal was struck.  It was agreed I would do the brake job on his "new" bike in trade for the 250.

This bike is a 250 touring scoot, a bali that my buddy bought at the beginning of the season. It wasn't a "bad" bike, but it never did seem to charge the battery but it ran pretty strong, and was quick for a 250. Well, he parked it, because of the charging problem. 

So in Mid November, I brought the bike home and the following morning, I had to pull the plastics off because it had leaked fuel in the garage overnight.  I decided that I'd rebuild the carb when I found a couple of other problems.  The fuel petcock had been bypassed and fuel had leaked into the engine, including about a quart into the crank case.  It is a good thing I didn't try to start it before checking the oil.

I then changed the oil, rebuilt the carb, pulled the spark plug and cleared the combustion chamber and, yes installed a new fuel petcock.

I then charged the battery and gave it a go and she started up.  It didn't run too well at first but after I adjusted the valves and replaced all the fuel and vacuum lines, and got rid of the emissions, I actually got it to run half way decent.

A trip to the local scooter shop resulted in finding a brand new seat, windshield  and a battery tender for the bike.  Since the bike had electrical problems I changed the voltage regulator and tested the stator and charging system.  I got  it to charge but it still wouldn't start with the starter switch.  I then decided to replace all the switches in the dash, as they were in poor shape from the bike being out in the weather most of it's life.  I also changed out the ignition switch for the same reason.  

The next thing that was done was to eliminate the old stereo and alarm system.  Both were bad.  I did retain the old speakers and installed a small amp under the seat.  I installed a digital volt meter where the old stereo "head unit" was.  

All the plastics were then removed for paint, including the knee panel, all the handle bar plastics and floor boards.  These were painted gloss black.  The body panels were painted with Rustoluem acrylic lacquer gloss white.  I chose this paint because it covers really well and goes on fairly smooth.

I then started mocking up the bike, working on panel fitment and seeing what the bike would look like with the new seat and to see if I'd actually like the white paint.  I also covered the dash with 3m carbon fiber film, and replaced the mirrors.  

Anyone who has had one of these bikes, know the mirrors that came on the were some of the cheesiest, crappiest mirrors in existence and because they were broken after the bike fell over on its side, before I got it, I replaced them.  I found some really nice aftermarket mirrors that I really like.  I had to admit, with the paint, the bike really started to look sharp.  While this was never one of my favorite body styles, I really began to like it in white.  The bike just looks sharp.

Because the cf250 is known for having a weak stator, I replaced the rear running/brake lights with LED's and the dash back lights as well.  This saves quite a bit of current when running and it can use all the help it can get.  I kept the incandescent lamps for the turn indicators and the halogen lights for the head lamps.

I'm still waiting on a tail light assembly but I decided to put the bike back together so I could at least get it on the road and find out what other things I'll need to do to it.