TDR Project – Strip Down Day 3

I’d been away with work for just over a week so the strip down process was delayed  a little longer than I had planned.  The plan for last Sunday was to remove the cooling system, swingarm, rear brake system and the wiring loom.

Here’s where I started the day:

Day 3 Starting Point

The first task was to remove the rear brake system, I had already drained all of the brake fluid from it.  I’ve been quite lucky so far and most fasteners have come out with no major issues however the top mounting bolt of the master cylinder was an exception to this.  The socket head had already been rounded by a previous owner so it would not come out.

Rotten Rear Master Cylinder Bolt

I started to drill it out but soon discovered that my HSS drill bits were not the sharpest tools on the box.  I guess the back-end of the bike must get the worst of the road crud as the rear brake reservoir was also seized (and slightly bent I think but hard to tell with the state it was in).  So I now have 2 fasteners that need drilling out and the hole re-tapping.

Snapped Rear Brake Reservoir Bolt

I then had to remove the airbox so that I could remove the rear shock and then in turn the swingarm.  Removing the airbox cover revealed a rather tired/rotten air filter element.  I don’t know how long it had been in there but I had never actually checked it.

Rotten Air Filter

I will be replacing this with a new aftermarket filter from a guy on the excellent TDR250 Forum

The shock and the swingarm were then removed with no real drama.  I had expected some issues with both/either of these but thankfully there were none.  I have a replacement aluminum swingarm (from a Japanese TDR250) which needs polishing and the original shock is rather tired and I shall probably replace it with a new Hagon shock.

The footpegs and rear brake lever were then removed and I found that the right footpeg bracket was a little out of shape:

Bent Footpeg

A slight adjustment with a rubber mallet soon straightened it out without any damage or cracking to the bracket:

Footpeg Straightened

The rear brake switch spring was also looking rather tired and soon to fail,  I would not have fancied trying to fault find that with the bike intact.

Tired Rear Brake Switch Spring

The engine coolant was then drained and the radiator and associated hoses stripped off Mildred.  Note to self: when draining the coolant, hold your bucket level with the coolant drain plug as the coolant comes straight out at you (horizontally) not downwards.

The final task of the day was to remove the tacho, clutch lever/cable and the wiring loom.  There are some interesting repairs and modifications to the wiring loom and electrics:

Bodged Wiring Loom Example

Some genius really had a blinder with the repair shown above…..

Another point of interest was the replacement coil which appears to be from a TDM850.  As original parts can be rare and expensive for TDR250s this is useful information.

TDM850 Coil Fitted

On the whole and considering its age, Mildred’s wiring loom is in reasonable condition and easily repairable.

And that was that for the 3rd day of the strip down.  Here’s where I started and ended the day:

Day 3 Starting Point

End Of Day 3

It only remains for me to remove the head stock and the engine now.