Would this mishmash of a bike be a bad buy?

http://www.offroadvietnam.com/eng/34.php

HONDA DIRT BIKE (ENDURO) XR250 BAJA. REAL DISPLACEMENT: 250CC. STATUS: AVAILABLE



Made in 1983 in Japan, single cylinder, 6 speeds, 120kg, the bike has an engine from a Honda GB250 which delivers 30HP (2HP more than a real XR250!) and the frame from a 1993 Honda XR250 while the plastic parts come from a Yamaha Serrow 223cc. Front 21" and back 18" standard dirt bike. Front disc brake and back drum brake, white color. Restored in late 2010 with some customized parts and currently in good working conditions. Odo: ~40,000km. Only one bike left for 1,500$US. Available now, in Hanoi only.

Right... So an engine from 1983, a frame from 1993 and the plastic of a Yamaha. These guys have a very good reputation when it comes to bikes but do bikes normally end up put together like this?

It's a good price for this end of the world and I could it sprayed all black very easily so it's tempting.

Jonybgud

It wouldn't be my cup of tea, I'd prefer to pick up an Enduro or an XT.

But if you want something from 1983 have a look here.

CJhaughey

To be fair thats a pretty good conversion, the engine is probably based on an XR bottom end anyway, the head and barrel are probably different but the bottom end is the same.
Yamaha plastics? No problem as long as they do the job.
All in all its pretty good, the only thing I would check is that the GB motor pulls the dirt bike gearing satisfactorily.
Road based machines usually have different internal gear ratios to off road bikes and may have closer gears.
That said if the bike is for general road use and not heavy off road work then it should be fine and may in fact be better to ride.
The engine might be 1983 but the rest of the bike is reasonably modern.
I wouldn't be unduly worried about riding that bike.
As long as it all runs OK then its all good.
The standard XR250 Baja has a weedy 428 chain and this one has a 520 I assume which is always good for chain life.

Jonybgud, I like in Vietnam so gumtree will be no use! There's very little choice for this type of bike here.. Anything over 170cc is illegal and very rare.
CJhaughey, good advice.. It's just for city use and blasts out into the country side. If it runs Ok, it runs Ok I guess.

seanybiker

Looks the mutts nutts.

MikeC101

I've dealt with the guys from Offroad Vietnam before, and found them excellent to deal with, they really know their stuff. Wouldn't hesitate to recommend them. Far as I remember, a lot of their bikes have engines bought second hand from China (but authentic Japanese engines) that they rebuild - the rental bikes and the ones they sell.

As far as I know the restriction on bikes on bigger displacement bikes was lifted a year or two back, so shouldn't be any issues there either. (Though I doubt the police have started to care much about enforcement of the rules in the past few years either )

I'd say go for it.

Jackasaurus rex

hope its not like the vietnamese vespa that do be around. bits and pieces ****ed together and sold to chumps that dont know better. donedeal and gumtree are full of them

Mike, the law is fairly relaxed towards us foreigners.. But you still need to be a member of the government bike clubs to own over 170cc and you need a special license. We're not even allowed to own a bike nevermind own a bigger one.
Bikes like this one have no papers so I could have it taken off me by the police no bother.

So what about spray painting the entire thing black? Is that an easy job?

CJhaughey

Yeah, take off the tank, sand and prime then spray, thats the only thing that could be sprayed black with any success.
The rest of the bike is plastic and that PP plastic doesn't take spray paint well.

Ah fek... I really need it all black. I don't wanna drive around the city looking like I'm on my way to a race.

CJhaughey

Can you get heavy gauge black self-adhesive plastic?
Thats what I would use.
cut to fit and use a hair dryer to soften.
Mind you old plastic has scratches and sometimes stuff doesn't stick.

CJhaughey

Your other option is to buy this sort of thing and replace headlight and guards with black ones.

Hmm... I really wouldn't know how to find the plastic and I wouldn't be delivering ebay to Vietnam.

I'll ask around and some people might know what to do.. Few westerners about who know alot about bikes.

Haha, I might pick this up aswell for around the city... Half cruiser, half super cub.




When there's no tax, insurance or licenses, ya might aswell own a dirt bike and a silly bike.

Jackasaurus rex

now thats class