Found this sweet 85 Big Red 250es on Craigslist

[Zach]

Was and still am looking for a 350x but I have wanted a Big Red since I was about 10 and couldnt pass this deal up when I saw it. I am basically the second owner, the man I bought it from got it for his kid but his kid wanted a 4 wheeler and wouldnt touch it (His boss was the original owner it was stored in the garage at his lake house). His boss had just put on brand new rear tires and a new battery. If you look the front tire is still original, this bike is in amazing shape most of the stuff is just coated in 30 years of dust. I think someone had maybe turned it on its right side at one time there are 2 dents in the gas tank (that is the worst part of the entire thing) the front rack looked like it had hit a tree or something so I used a 4 foot prybar to straighten it but I probably need to spend a bit more time on that and the right side peg was bent so I straightened that. Other than those problems it looks like this thing rolled off the showroom floor 4 or 5 years ago.



187387187388187389187390

[Zach]

forgot the one where you can see the size difference between the 200m and the 250es the 1985 200m in the front and the 250es in the back 187391

[DohcBikes]

Very nice!

[tri again]

MOST excellent!
We should get grant $ for preserving these things.

I have a theory on finds like this as I have a matched pair of 110's.

Bought new, wrecked within minutes and parked 25 years ago waiting just for people like us.
Also got a 250sx the same way.
Be careful bending that rack whilst it's on the machine.
Not sure how much sideways the forks can take.

and Please call me if you need a safe place to store it.
;-)

[MojaveRider]

Awesome score!!

[Zach]

I havnt even had a chance to clean it yet, those pics are what it looked like when I brought it home

[barnett468]

wow, amazing.

if you want to try and get the dents out of the tank without damaging the paint you can call dent masters. or go to a high end nody shop and get the number of the guy they use. some of thise guys are unbelievable.

if you want to keep from scratching the tank, go to the hardware store and buy a heavy duty clear stick on roll of plastic. it is used for kitchen drawer liners. it will not hurt the paint.

you can probably straighten the rack, might require some heat.

[aldochina]

great find. its amazing how many 250 reds are out there in this condition or better! wonderful machines, in performance and looks! Its market segment in the 80's obviously attributes to the condition you find them in!

[Zach]

great find. its amazing how many 250 reds are out there in this condition or better! wonderful machines, in performance and looks! Its market segment in the 80's obviously attributes to the condition you find them in!

just my opinion but it seems like the Big Reds were more of the adult machines that ended up being put in the garage, as opposed to the 125-200cc models that the kids all seem to have had a chance to beat on and generally kill before they ever had a chance to be stored long term anywhere