As a keen but inexperienced biker I walked straight into it. Well, not really, it dawned on me slowly. I put it down to experience, it could've been worse.
I was in Whitstable, Kent. To use a phrase - a back street dealer, if you know the type - had the quickest answer to how I was going to get an RS250 in the middle of the summer. A neat blue, V reg, with some genuine road dirt thrown in, only 24000 miles on the clock - looked like the answer. Back in the eighties, the RS was the definitive 250cc thumper, if not exactly advanced in its engineering managed reasonable power and low mass, putting the 250cc twins to shame.
The asking price was £400. Perhaps I didn't get it all wrong. £320, I dived in. He agreed; easier than I expected. I spotted the front tyre was very unevenly worn, A ridge down the centre. The front fork seals were shot. Striking what I thought was a hard bargain, I sald he'd have to fix both. Grudgingly, he agreed to the forks and then see if it passed the MOT. He even agreed to take a spine framed CD175 in part exchange!
The RS250 had a good reputation of sorts and has now acquired some kind of classic status. Once home, the bike was fine on the road, acceleration brisk, a good handler with strong lights and instruments (compared to the 6V stuff on the CD that was impossible on dark country roads). It would wind up to 85mph, with a neat exhaust note that echoed old-timers from the sixties. The thing was used for weekends and occasionally for work.
A catalogue of faults and bodges quickly appeared. It had suffered a hard life and I don't think it was even ex-despatch, The bent and abused front brake pins, which I had spotted, soon revealed their secrets. The front disc stuck on. After two visits to the dealer (who said It should free with use) and nothing fixed I decilded they were best forgotten. I bought a second-hand caliper, which wasn't much better. I learnt to free it with a well placed kick at junctions when it started to lock up.
Next, I realised it had a regular and persistent oil leak from none other than the gearbox seal! After procrastinating long enough, I knew I'd have to strip the whole engine. The previous owner had forced a seal in after cutting off the lip, Araldited all round, which peeled off in the heat. Apart from mucking up the path it coated the rear tyre in a film of used slimy oil - ouch! I did the seal job, getting all the parts from another dealer who by chance had come across the bike before. The job was easier than expected, an area where a thumper really scores.
More horrors were revealed. Several rocker box bolts were stripped. Very small amounts of oil leaked out, sprayed into the wind, ruining my trousers. Next, the lower cam tensioner bolt was also stripped. The thing seemed to hold well enough with one bolt - just! But the camchain itself was just past its given clearance limit for renewal. Then I discovered the engine had been seized. The owner had rebored it and then simply put the old piston back in after cleaning. I was now so depressed I did the same thing.
I know I hadn't paid a lot for the bike but it showed just how quickly someone could ruin and demolish a machine in 20000 miles. The signs were all there but I only saw some of them. I cut my losses and after three years and a bit of fun, sold it for scrap value.
R. Trinkwon