KR250 quirks

I liked the article in OBA 79 on the Kawasaki KR250 as my grandsons and myself are currently restoring one. Kawasaki only exported the KR250 (street) to Australia, NZ and South Africa with Australia not approving the small indictors as on the featured bike and making Kawasaki install the

longer stalk type. Kawasaki designers must have anticipated problems from linking the two 125cc motors together as each crankshaft primary drive gear is a complex assembly that forms a clutch/damper. These have to be accurately assembled and underwent some design changes on the A2/3 versions. These gears then drive a primary drive clutch gear assembly which is actually two large gears riveted together with internal dampers with each motor driving one of these gears. All of this has to be synchronised with the firing order of the motors. The large alloy diecast bottom frame brackets are mostly show to attach footrests, exhaust pipe, sub frame etc. The aluminium main frame incorporates a sturdy braced tube arrangement at the rear to mount the swinging arm, engine and suspension link and create frame rigidity and is the reason that to remove/install the engine, the head and rear cylinder must be removed; not mass production friendly. The KR’s weakness was the left hand crank seals which cost more to replace than the bike was worth with many KR’s going to the wreckers. Geoffrey Ellis Noarlunga SA

You meet the nicest people on a Honda. From left: Dick, his father Richard, Barry and David aboard John Dalton’s stable of early Hondas.

MAIN Strong rear section of alloy frame with diecast “show” frame bracket. INSET Australian model showing extended indicators. Paint scheme is optional Ebony/Firecracker Red.