NX250 Thread -- official ADV owners manual

[Keisler]

Hi All,

I recently purchased a '89 NX250 as an upgrade over my '93 XR250L. I am having a great time with this machine, and I enjoy it a lot more than my XR-L. Here are a couple of pics from a recent ride to the Smokey Mountains' Cades Cove National Forrest in East Tennessee. My friend that got me in to dual sport riding has a XR650L. We have been going on 100+ mile rides this summer and having a great time. No trailers for us.





Thanks to this thread, I made the upgrade to the 17inch rear wheel. I shod them with the newly released Kenda Big Block tire 100/90R19 front, 130/80R17 rear. They are excellent tires, and I highly recommend them for both off road and street/hwy riding. I've had them up to 65mph and find them to provide a smooth and relatively quiet ride. And in the curves they stick well. I did the Tail of the Dragon (313 curves in 11 miles) after off road and was really pleased with the tire.

I'd like to ask some advice for a few mods I am looking to do, and see if anyone might be interested in some new fairings for the NX and AX-1:

Plastics Upgrade to Carbon Kevlar
I've found a firm in Europe that has tooled up the NX and AX fairings, and I've been working with the technical salesman, Dimitris, to put together an order. The fiberglass runs $380 for a complete kit (headlamp bezel, cowls, side covers, front fender, rear fender) in gel coat, ready for paint. They will do them in Carbon Kevlar for $650. I think both prices are really good. Budget permitting, I would like to do the Carbon Kevlar because they will be very strong. And they will look nice with the black carbon against the orange kevlar in weave.

Is anyone interested in purchasing a set? It should save on shipping. If we were to get perhaps 5 sets in total, we could get a discount of 10%. Shipping for one set is $100 to TN USA. I ship UPS daily and can get the parts separated, boxed and shipped insured from my shop. There is no profit in it for me. I just see that the NX250 community needs these parts like I do.

And here's cool thing ... we can get the AX-1 style at the same cost. Note that the AX-1 headlamp, left and right cowl are not interchangeable with the NX250. You'll notice the AX-1 cowl panel ends just after the side vents. And the lamp bracket and assembly is different. So for us NX folks there is more involved in the AX-1 swap than just the fairings. I do like the twin headlamp design better because I expect we can get lamp housings readily adaptable, whereas the single NX lamp is obsolete.

REAR Suspension Upgrade
Has anyone checked the '91-96 XR250 rear shock to see if they could work? I have a '93 XR250L and the shock is completely adjustable for spring height/ride height, and it has a remote reservoir with adjustable control on damping. The SV650 shock doesn't look to have any dampening adjustment and a limited range for height. And the GSR shock requires air box cutting which I don't want to do.

FRONT Suspension Upgrade
Is there a definitive or best upgrade for the fork springs? Part number, supplier?
And what is the best oil to run? weight, supplier?

Seat Upgrade
Has anyone sourced a well made seat cover that grips? My '89 blue seat is slick. I would like to get a Corbin but that would be expensive.

Thanks for putting this thread and community together. Perhaps one day the NX/AX-1 machine can have its own sub-forum here where all of the know-how can be sorted out and easy to find, with sticky link. But I'm glad there is a good community here. I would like to ride with anyone visiting or living here in East Tennessee, so send me a PM.

Cheers!

Shafi

[tntmo]

Originally Posted by SaDoW

yes i have already a new chain tensioner

to avoid the tensioner problem such as yours ( damn it man bad luck) i put a bolt with 2 nuts just touching the spring so if the tensioner spring
goes bad the bolt and the 2 nuts will stop it

You said paper gasket and o ring... damn.... dowe know numbers for the order? I mean the oem number
thanks

15152-KL4-405 Gasket
91303-KK0-003 O-ring

[scrambler66]

Originally Posted by Keisler

REAR Suspension Upgrade
Has anyone checked the '91-96 XR250 rear shock to see if they could work? I have a '93 XR250L and the shock is completely adjustable for spring height/ride height, and it has a remote reservoir with adjustable control on damping. The SV650 shock doesn't look to have any dampening adjustment and a limited range for height. And the GSR shock requires air box cutting which I don't want to do.

FRONT Suspension Upgrade
Is there a definitive or best upgrade for the fork springs? Part number, supplier?
And what is the best oil to run? weight, supplier?

Hi Shafi,

great bikes - I like the red XR250. It’s a pity that there was never a XR250LC with a pimped NX250 engine (let’s say with 32 hp) - that would have been a dream bike. So I build my own, unfortunately without the 32 hp (sofar )



I doubt that the XR250 shock will fit - way to log. The stock length of the NX250 is 321mm, which is very short for a dual purpose. That’s why shocks from other bikes will not fit. The maximum length you will get into the NX is 327mm – or you will have to start grinding at the swing arm linkages, which I wouldn’t recommend. So if you would like to go offroad with your NX, a shock from Hagon, Wilbers or Workshocks is a must.
A shorter shock from a NTV650 on the other hand fits perfectly and provides still enough way of travel for an occasional gravel pad.
Concerning the fork springs, I tried a couple of them. The White Power springs are now sold under the new label of Promoto. They are ok, but still too soft for my weight (ca 80kg). So I tried Wirth springs, which I consider better than the Promoto/White Power, since they are harder.
But the best of the bunch i.m.o are the Hyperpro http://www.hyperpro-shop.de/epages/6...SP-HO02-SSA002 springs, but they are also the most expensive. They work pretty well even at higher offroad speed.The hyperpros came with 25 oil, the others with 15 oil, if I remember correctly.

By the way: all springs except of the Wirths are produced by Wilbers. The cheapest ones (Promoto) are not made in Germany but somewhere in the far East. And the Promotos are apparently just the old White Power springs under new label (White Power was funded by Wilbers). Then there is a medium priced line with the label Wilbers (which I haven’t tried out) and the premium line Hyperpro.

http://www.ebay.de/sch/i.html?_sacat...0nx250&_sop=15

[muzcuk]

Hello,

I just started having trouble shifting from 1 or neutral to 2 on my nx. All other gears shift fine, but I really need to beat the crap out of the lever (pushing and pulling it in all directions) to get it to 2.

Does anyone know where that might come from?

Murat

[muddyrabbit]

Originally Posted by RollingJ

I have a 91 xr250l I am parting.

I'll let go the 21" wheel and the entire front end (forks, triples, spacers, axle, brakes (rotor is warped and master and slave need rebuilds) for $175 +shipping.

That front wheel alone is $75 +shipping and will swap right into my NX (I have raised the fender and modded the fork brace).

Adding a 17" rear and a 21" front brings the ground clearance up and balances the bike nicely.

Not sure she is ready to do it right away, but I will pass it along and have her get ahold of you.

[RollingJ]

Originally Posted by muzcuk

Hello,

I just started having trouble shifting from 1 or neutral to 2 on my nx. All other gears shift fine, but I really need to beat the crap out of the lever (pushing and pulling it in all directions) to get it to 2.

Does anyone know where that might come from?

Murat

I know my oil level is getting a little low when it get's harder to shift from 1-2. Check it or change it.

The other possibility is a bent shift lever fork in the transmission. If you have to force it into second you may have done damage to the tranny.

Originally Posted by muddyrabbit

Not sure she is ready to do it right away, but I will pass it along and have her get ahold of you.

It's all good. The parts will be there, until they are not.

[mrb3w]

Been a long time since i visited the board here... Finally got around to getting my '89 NX250 back up and running after 9 months of downtime. It's not quite road-worthy yet - needs the front caliper rebuilt, new chain, probably new tires... but it's close! I can't wait!

[Navek]

Hi,
joined the site a few days ago and yesterday bought the1989 ex-Larry NX250 which he displayed a few pages back. The very nice young man he sold it to only put 30'odd miles on it and then bought a CBR600 so the bike is as pictured sans the panniers which were not sold with the bike and will have to be replaced (milk crates?). This is a very interesting and surprisingly up to date forum which I am happy to have found,
Kevan

[SAKONE]

Got a problem with my speedometer not working. Last owner said it was just a cable, so he had a new cable ordered but never installed. Took apart the speedometer gear housing on the hub to find out the tab is broken on the inside and the screw that holds the cable into the housing is stripped beyond the point of me extracting it without making it worst.

Does someone have a spare speedometer gear assembly for sale? Been looking on Ebay but the only one I saw was for a nx650. Since I have had the bike the speedometer never worked, never really cared but would like to know the speed once in awhile.

Was planning to get a trail tech vapor instead but wanted to see if anyone installed one on a nx250? Any problems with settings for RPM/MPH? Only seen one trail tech vapor on a nx250 complete with housing/dash and it fits perfectly where the stock cluster goes. Still prefer a analog display for a RPM tach though.



Which kit?

[larry31]

Originally Posted by SAKONE

Got a problem with my speedometer not working. Last owner said it was just a cable, so he had a new cable ordered but never installed. Took apart the speedometer gear housing on the hub to find out the tab is broken on the inside and the screw that holds the cable into the housing is stripped beyond the point of me extracting it without making it worst.

Does someone have a spare speedometer gear assembly for sale? Been looking on Ebay but the only one I saw was for a nx650. Since I have had the bike the speedometer never worked, never really cared but would like to know the speed once in awhile.

Was planning to get a trail tech vapor instead but wanted to see if anyone installed one on a nx250? Any problems with settings for RPM/MPH? Only seen one trail tech vapor on a nx250 complete with housing/dash and it fits perfectly where the stock cluster goes. Still prefer a analog display for a RPM tach though.



Which kit?

Don't know about installing on a NX, but I helped my son install one on his Honda XR650.
He's happy with it.
I personally think it's a lot of trouble to go through if all you need is a MPH & Trip indicator.
If you use other functions for timing etc. it may be worth the trouble.
Installation on his bike entailed a bit of doing. He had to get the spark plug out and do a bit of routing of ( what I thought were flimsy wires. ) If I remember, there was mounting some sensor on front wheel.

You may have to "be creative" in mounting the main unit, to make it look like it's not an add-on.

[muddyrabbit]

Another option I recomend to riders doing a dual sport conversion is to get a cheap gps that displays speed. You can pick up something like a Nuvi 500/550 for araround $200, and then you have a speed display that also happens to give directions.

[Honda Scoot]

Originally Posted by muddyrabbit

I am back for more advice on mods to our friend CrazyJill's NX250.

You may find this quite shocking, but the original rear shock is shot. So we are swapping in a GSXR shock this weekend. Looks simple enough. Next up, since she is kinda tall, we (she) are thinking about the XR250 front fork & wheel swap (followed by a 17" rear wheel). I saw the post where someone swapped the triple clamps & steering stem with the forks, but looking at them only being 1mm larger diameter I am thinking about just boring our the clamps to accommodate the forks. Any thoughts?

If CrazyJill's is going on your ride http://advrider.com/forums/showpost....postcount=3852 , we can discuss various options. I'll ride my NX250 (17" and 21" plus a lift kit).

[muddyrabbit]

Originally Posted by Honda Scoot

If CrazyJill's is going on your ride http://advrider.com/forums/showpost....postcount=3852 , we can discuss various options. I'll ride my NX250 (17" and 21" plus a lift kit).

Hey haven't seen u in forever! Glad to hear your coming for that ride. If you're on Facebook go to our page and click on events, then click "going". Helps us spread the word! And of course bring friends!

[tntmo]

Just ordered $350 worth of gaskets, seals, exhaust valves, piston rings, cam chains, etc. I got lucky and found a NX250 engine lower end that had a salvagable crankshaft on Ebay.

Hopefully I can get this NX back up and running. Anyone need any spares? I have a complete clutch, transmission, engine cases, etc.

Will try to document with pics if anyone is interested.

[fikse]

Even we are in middle of summertime now here in Norway, I have just slowly started to look at getting some good wintertyres with studs. Seems like I dont have any choice but swapping/rebuilding the rear to a 17". Heidenau, one of the best producers of good wintertyres (IMHO), have stopped making 16" versions. Dammit.

Have tried to read in this tread, but honestly this tread is growing laaaaarge...

What's my option, really? A XL250R it says, but this R-version is not a very-much sold version here in Europe (I belive?). Does it have to be the "R"-version? I find some old XL250R wheels that is 18", so obviously I cannot use wheel from all yearmodels?. Also my "challenge" is that most Xl-wheels are situated in US. Main concern here is shipping: Approx $100 (...) most ebayers in US wants for shipping a wheel to me. Im not going bankrupt from this, but... you know...

Are there any other options? Any other models wheel that fit?

I found this on german ebay , but rather heavvy priced (or??), and very little info/pictures. Shipping is not insane tough...

And this in US. Will it fit?

Im not in a hurry to get a 17" wheel, not at all. Until winterseason (october) Im more than happy with my "Pirelli Scooter" reartyre and TrailWing front
If I can get a 17" wheel, I can hopefully reuse a almost new Heidenau K66 130/70-17 (with studs for cars), as I used on my former bike (Duke 125) with excellent results