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My dad has given me two really old bikes, a Honda MT250 and a Suzuki TM (also 250 cc). They are each about 30 years old and have sat in his garage for the last 15 or 20 years. I was wondering if there were any sites that go through the steps I should take to restore them. I'm fairly mechanically inclined, but am new to motorcycles so any guidance would be much appreciated. Thanks : D

In all seriousness, you should just try googling the bikes you have and see what you come up with. Another possible option would be to check out BikeBandit.com - they have actual schematic-type drawings for everything you can imagine, so it'll show you exactly what goes where and how they fit together, etc. Might give you a good start.

Hope it helps, sorry I couldn't give better guidance on any actual motorcycle restoration sites, but hopefully some of the other guys around here can give you a good bead on where you should go for more info on the differences between car and bike restoration projects.

If the engine s turn free then they are worth it to restore.

bobo333 wrote:My dad has given me two really old bikes, a Honda MT250 and a Suzuki TM (also 250 cc). They are each about 30 years old and have sat in his garage for the last 15 or 20 years. I was wondering if there were any sites that go through the steps I should take to restore them. I'm fairly mechanically inclined, but am new to motorcycles so any guidance would be much appreciated. Thanks : D

Are they dirt bikes or road/dirt bikes? If they are, you might have a tougher time of restoring them. But don't give up witout a fight. Definately, Google them and follow possible links because they probably won't be in the first few pages of the Google returns. That doesn't mean that it's a hopeless. Just means that you might have to work a little harder to find parts for them. Also look to bike clubs that have an interest in bikes that are like yours. They usually will be as helpful as possible to find the parts you need. I think that it's all about misery loves company.

I restore older Triumphs and it takes a bit of reasearch to find every thing I need to do the job right. I also have a shed with several triumphs because it was easier to buy an old bike than find some of the pieces my projects were missing. At the farm, I still have an old 68 Tourist Trophy (500cc) that still runs and rides almost as good as new.

Also, probably won't be cheap but what is today. Also, you might have to go with after market pieces like shocks because orginal parts are almost impossible to came buy.

Anyway, get as good as toolset as possible because cheap tools are very hard on 30+ year old parts and can bugger them fairly easily.

Enjoy!


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The MT was Honda's first whack at a straight-up dirtbike and led to the CR's. The TM was just a mis-step by Suzuki who thought Joe Public couldn't handle an RM. Dedicated dirtbikes were still a new concept back then.

Restoring dirtbikes takes some dedication. Finding parts is generally harder than finding parts for roadbikes of the same period. So good luck. It is not impossible, just harder.

You can give these guys a try to start with.

http://vintageiron.com/

You will probably spend a lot of time Googling forums dedicated to restoring old dirt machines.

Try contacting the VJMC
http://www.vjmc.org/

japanese bikes seem to lack very much restoration info and parts availability when compared to other bikes. (I have much better luck finding parts for older Harleys, BMWs and even Indians dating back to the 30s or 40s than finding parts for a japanese bike only going back to the late 60s or 70s,with the exception of some Yamahas)

You might check with Yahoo - see if there is a group with your specific bikes on them. I belong to the 84-86 Honda nighthawk 700 S forums, and they have been a godsend since when I got the bike it was not running, and had been abused. There are alot of sites out there on older bike restoration. Good luck

Everything said here was great but I have something that must be considered before you talk about rebuiding any bike. COST!

Evaluate the motorcycle and total everything that you will have to spend to rebuild it to whatever condtion you want. If this priceis high enough you might consider just buying a"new" motorcycle. This exacerbated by rebuid shops that know how much each part is worth and won't bargain with you.

I just got out the Triumph restoration business and someone just wrote a check for much more than I thought the motorcycles and parts were worrth. So finding deal son parts is almost impossible. So the parts out there but be prepared to pay for them.

Just my nickel...

Restoring any bike with the intent of making money is almost impossible.
Restoring a dirtbike with the intent of making money is a fantasy.

And that's just adding up the cost of parts. The hundreds of hours of you're unpaid labor don't even enter into it.

If you want a perfect TM-250, then restore it. If you enjoy dicken around with old machines, then restore it. If you think you are going to make some coin on it at the end, save yourself the hassle.

Unless you have a historically significant machine, one that won a series or someone famous owned..... and can prove it, fix it up to 'usable' condition and just have fun with it.

I dont know why you would even consider restoring something to make a buck.

Truth is, other than just the "neatness" factor its dumb to restore old broke down stuff to begin with.

The '68 Bonne I am rebuilding will end up costing me more than a 2 or 3 year old Bonne would by the time I am done...and it wont be nearly as safe with those mechanical drum brakes, or as dependable, and with as many of them that are restored every year, I wont be able to sell it for half of what I put in it.

But it sure will be cool to have.