One for you metal benders

Dont know if any of you remember, but a couple of years back we were given an old 250 superdream to do up for a guy who was needing a helping hand in life,
2 years have passed and the guy has done very little to motivate himself into getting out of the pub and onto the bike... so, im now left with a 250 superdream which i could restore back to original as i have all the parts and pannels needed,
but I want to do something special with it and have myself a little one off runaround.

Anyway, my idea is to turn the SD in to a hardtail chopper but have no idea what is involved in making the hardtail,
my inital thoughts were to remove the rear springs and replace them with 6inch shorter struts.
This would reduce the height and make the bike look a little sleaker but would not in a month of sundays look right.
I know that the alteration to the frame will have to be welded up by a pro as it is a load bearing part of the frame...So what i need is loads of info on how hardtails are made, measured and who are the best suppliers or people to talk to

Have you tried contacting the Teutal family yet chilli?

Seriously though, good luck with the project mate!

Jesus, a 250 Superdream would have driven me into the pub, not got me out of it!
You should of got the poor sod an RD, or a KH, or an X7; that would have spurred him on!

Sorry but I have to be honest here..I loved the superdream...it had a great sound too!!!!!

yammydave wrote:Jesus, a 250 Superdream would have driven me into the pub, not got me out of it!
You should of got the poor sod an RD, or a KH, or an X7; that would have spurred him on!

yeah, my thoughts on the superdream too...thing is, the bike was a free donation and i was taled into doing the work to get it back on the road..anyway I have been having a look around and found some other ideas on what to do with this bike.

something like this wouldnt be out of the question

Chilli,
The Superdream had a Factory custom version. the shocks were shorter I think n it had a peanut tank. Anyhow something like that yam would be an easy project and it looks quite cool too.
Go for it.

Here it is

alsieboy wrote:Sorry but I have to be honest here..I loved the superdream...it had a great sound too!!!!!

Great sound!

It wasn't owing one that convinced you you needed a car was it?

Sorry buddy in return I'll admit something embarassing in return.
I had a deal that I thought was too good to pass up on; after they stopped learners from riding 250s.
I bought a GSX250.
There it's out!


Chilli that does like really neat and might be cheap enough to build.
125 Superdream engine based isn't it?
Like Fringe says the CM250T did have shorter shocks.
Big thing is junking the Comstars and finding a different tank to fit; otherwise anybody seeing it will automatically think Superdream.

Frame's main spine rises up quite high on those if I recall; other than earlier Dream or the CM, finding a tank to fit would be really tricky.
That pic Alsieboy has added is I believe the CM125, with the clutch mechanism on top of the casing with the 250s.
It does however illustrate the high rise to the steering head.

Doubt you'd ever find something to give the kind of look you're after.

yammydave wrote:

alsieboy wrote:Sorry but I have to be honest here..I loved the superdream...it had a great sound too!!!!!

Great sound!

It wasn't owing one that convinced you you needed a car was it?

Sorry buddy in return I'll admit something embarassing in return.
I had a deal that I thought was too good to pass up on; after they stopped learners from riding 250s.
I bought a GSX250.
There it's out!


Chilli that does like really neat and might be cheap enough to build.
125 Superdream engine based isn't it?
Like Fringe says the CM250T did have shorter shocks.
Big thing is junking the Comstars and finding a different tank to fit; otherwise anybody seeing it will automatically think Superdream.

Frame's main spine rises up quite high on those if I recall; other than earlier Dream or the CM, finding a tank to fit would be really tricky.
That pic Alsieboy has added is I believe the CM125, with the clutch mechanism on top of the casing with the 250s.
It does however illustrate the high rise to the steering head.

Doubt you'd ever find something to give the kind of look you're after.

I thought it did honest..but at the time I was riding a Suzuki ZR50SL so I guess anything sounded better than thet!

That pic is the 250, allbiet an american import..

Here's another pic of a uk model..

I think that's just someone's wishful thinking with the 250 side panel badges buddy.
You may recall when learners were forced to ride 125s restricted to 12bhp; the manufacturers attempted to make them physically large so guys wouldn't feel too underwealmed.
I know how they felt as well; all my mates had RD, GT, and KH250s whilst my parents wouldn't let me have anything bigger than a 125 so I got stuck with the CB125T (pre-Superdream, that made a wopping 16bhp)!


Anyway here's a link to the 250 version http://www.hoc.org.uk/gallery/bikes/CM250T_1982.jpg

and one to the 125 version http://www.hoc.org.uk/gallery/bikes/CM125C_84.jpg

Tanks will be hard to fit hey? That's why God invented the Hammer.
Take it round to a Breakers and keep trying anything you can find.
summat'll fit n look better than the original.
Then the next big NO,NO. are the comstars.
Someone used to take 'em apart and thread spokes into em. Dunno how but....... I seem to remember it from years ago..............
Alf Hagon I think!
Oooooo, gettin exciting.
Soft Tw*t aint I

Jus thort wot about RS250 wheels,
cant remember if they'll slot straight in or not.

Might have a spare RS wheel floatin around if ya interested, cant remember if it's front or Back tho!

wow, thanks for all the replys guy's, thinking along the wheels and im now in agreement that wire wheels will be the way to go.
Looks like i'll be spending my days off( if i ever get any) searching the brakers yards for bits and bobs to do a basic mock up of how the wheels and frame will look.

Sounds like a great project actually..!

Get hold of a copy of back street heroes, plenty of suppliers advertise in there and you might pick up some ideas for the look you want.

Another source for wheels could be CB400F.
A lot of 400/4 ended up with Superdream comstars so it should work the other way round and there was never any shortage of them.

Hate to admit it Alsieboy but you're right!

yammydave wrote:Another source for wheels could be CB400F.
A lot of 400/4 ended up with Superdream comstars so it should work the other way round and there was never any shortage of them.

Hate to admit it Alsieboy but you're right!

Vive la differance!
or summat like that.

I'll have to be honest here lads/Chilli but i absolutely hate Superdreams, as far as 250cc bikes from that era go it's quite a good looking bike but as with the XS GS and Z 250s it's completely gutless (i mean really shit), back in the day a old buddy bought a brand new one and it was slower than my tuned RDLC 80!

Wouldn't it be a better idea to do a quick restoration on it and put it back to its original state then sell it to a SD enthusiast?
Then you could buy a decent old run around with the money, at least something with an oz of power.

wild bill wrote:I'll have to be honest here lads/Chilli but i absolutely hate Superdreams, as far as 250cc bikes from that era go it's quite a good looking bike but as with the XS GS and Z 250s it's completely gutless (i mean really shit), back in the day a old buddy bought a brand new one and it was slower than my tuned RDLC 80!

Wouldn't it be a better idea to do a quick restoration on it and put it back to its original state then sell it to a SD enthusiast?
Then you could buy a decent old run around with the money, at least something with an oz of power.

What he said

wild bill wrote:I'll have to be honest here lads/Chilli but i absolutely hate Superdreams, as far as 250cc bikes from that era go it's quite a good looking bike but as with the XS GS and Z 250s it's completely gutless (i mean really shit), back in the day a old buddy bought a brand new one and it was slower than my tuned RDLC 80!

Wouldn't it be a better idea to do a quick restoration on it and put it back to its original state then sell it to a SD enthusiast?
Then you could buy a decent old run around with the money, at least something with an oz of power.

yeah WB, i know its a gutless bit of bike, but thats not the point to the project, im not really interested in restoring it to original though i do have all the parts to do so, its about me having or building myself a one off custom. thanks for the input though mate, all is appreciated

Hey, Chilli, you gone awfull quiet.
Any news?

Come on WB if you offered a Superdream that looked like Chilli plans, you use it for punting down to the shops and the like, wouldn't you?
I had the GSX250 and it was THE only bike I have ever regretted owning.

When I needed some really cheap wheels I bought an XS250 from a workmate; it had a top speed of about 60mph, like a british 250, and was also built like a tank.
With it's dark blue paintjob and rorty two into one I couldn't care less for its lack of go.
It was the last bike I ever dropped and though the damm thing broke my leg, it didn't discourage me.

Hell if work doesn't pick up soon I might even have another!

Fringe wrote:Hey, Chilli, you gone awfull quiet.
Any news?

Been busy at work, so havent had time to get me hands dirty as yet,
I have been looking at different wheels as a replacement to the comstar things, i havent disregarded your offer of wheels, but i do like the 400/4 wheels so im keeping that idea as an option.
Also, there is a guy local to me who builds all his own bikes from scratch ( Joe Green is his name if you want to look up his work),
so my plan is to go have a few words with him and find out just what i can do with the frame and start working on costing my project .
.. If we have anyone on here who knows electrics, then i'll be asking questions on how to run a basic loom or curcit( i will want to keep the wiring to a minimum) for the head/tail lights and the starter.

oh, no, electrics?........ RUN

How's the project getting on?

Oh hell, i should have updated this ages ago... at the end of the day, i restored the bike back to original and flogged it for a tidy profit...good news is, i now have another one taking up the space on the back patio and my plan is to do a custom job on that if and when i get the time.

chilli wrote:...good news is, i now have another one taking up the space on the back patio

Another 250n ?

Is it a strange fetish of yours?

not realy, but when you get tham for free then whats the point of saying no to them...then again, i might be telling lies