Long time listener, first time poster. I have read through many of the helpful posts over the last couple of years, and finally decided to sign up as my newest to me Honda project has me stumped.
Located in central Nebraska, I picked up a 1986 Honda TRX 250 fairly cheap off craigslist 3 years ago to use on my acreage. I am pretty sure the young kid I got it from drug it out of the weeds, got it running "enough" and moved it on to the next guy.
The first night it was parked in my shop the gallon or so of fuel I added to it leaked out of the weathered fuel lines and leaky carb all over the engine and floor.
After putting a carb kit in, cleaning the fuel tank/ petcock, new fuel line, spark plug, air cleaner, oil/filter change, and a battery it ran like a top and only cost an additional $100 (most being the battery).
I normally don't mess with carburetors myself, but found info on the Honda forums and YouTube I was able to tackle it.
Now that it ran and drove great, it was far from a show piece with its cracked and faded plastics, weathered tires, and the muffler was gutted and obnoxiously loud. I picked up a universal muffler off ebay that was very close in size of factory and the same diameter as factory pipe and welded it on, and what a difference that made. I use it daily/weekly around my acreage pulling a small trailer full of firewood, dirt, rocks, etc.. I mounted a small snow plow and winch on the front and push snow in my driveway (light snow), I use the winch pulling logs and posts etc...
I would like to find a similar model in 4x4, but this thing works for nearly everything I have thrown at it the last 3 years, and I can find new and used parts for it fairly easily.
A month ago a 1985 Honda TRX 250 popped up on Facebook marketplace 30 mins from me, as none running, get it out of my garage, and cheap. It had 4 junk flat tires, but the plastics looked better than mine, and for the price it was worth picking it up as a parts bike. Seller said it had electrical issues that he gave up on so long ago he couldn't remember where he left off. I got it home and the engine was free, good compression, and had spark(after plugging wiring back in). Fuel had been left in the tank for who knows how long as it rusted through a couple pin holes in the front corners, petcock and carb were sludge. Plastics were just held on by a few bolts and a lot of wiring was disconnected and starter solenoid relay was gone. I was curious to see if it would run before I totally wrote it off as a parts bike, so I removed the carb and went through and cleaned it all up quick. Hooked all the wiring back up, cleaned the spark plug, reinstalled the carb, ran a fuel line from a small gas can and after about 10 kicks it started, and ran, not well, but didn't rattle or smoke a lot.
With that I decided it was going to be more than a parts bike and ordered a carb kit, and starter solenoid relay for it. Cleaned the gas tank and put couple small dabs of JB weld over the pinholes (seems to work for now). The tires are so weather checked the air leaks out faster than I can put air in them, luckily I have picked up different wheel sets for my other Honda so I had some to put on. Found out the same as another member that the 85 had a different bolt pattern instead of the 4x110 on the front wheels and had to dismount and mount some tires on the wheels. After parts arrived, and I got it all back together, checked fluids, I went to take it on the first test drive my "stumped" situation begins.
I started it, put it in first, tested I had brakes and drove out of my shop, shifted to second, and 3rd, slowed down, down shifted, turned around, came back up to my shop, thinking it was running/driving as it should, but I only put a little bit of gas in the tank. I went to put it neutral, the light came on, and then off, did this several times as it did not want to go in to neutral. I was finally able to get it to go into neutral after pushing down on the lever 10 or 15 times in a row. Shut it off, added more fuel checked over everything and took it for a longer test drive, it would shift into all the gears, and then some of the gears it would go into gear and then come back out, put it back in to gear and it would stay. It didn't do this all of the time sometimes I was able to shift just fine and back down to neutral fine. I tried to adjust the clutch, which didn't seem to make any difference. I thought maybe because it had sat for so long could be the issue, and it might work itself out on the next few test drives, but it didn't. I wondered if the previous owner used the wrong oil, so I changed the oil and filter to the correct wet clutch oil, but still having the same issues.
I am not driving it real long or far, but sometimes it doesn't act up at all in any of the other gears, and if it is on more level ground there are no issues getting it back in neutral, other times it is much worse. As I said I am stumped, and am ready to put a post up in the help section, and ask the group for suggestions, but wanted to introduce myself first with a little background first.
Sorry for the long post, but with all the reading I have done without posting I guess this makes up for it. HA! Thanks for having me, and here are a couple pictures, the first one is my 1986 out checking cows, and the second is the only picture I have of the 1985 next to my 1986 the night I unloaded it in the shop. 1986 on left 1985 on right
