Well my AR projects are coming to an end this month, apart from a little engine casing refurbishment. They are now all oiled up, locked and covered for the winter, they will be ridden on the roads next year after MOT.

If anybody is interested it has worked out at average 50 hours labour on each bike, not really that bad as stripped down to last bearing roller and split pin. So if you need to have a bike stripped, inspected, refurbished and assembled £500 labour would cover it.

However its the cost of parts, painting, etc that adds up, not all bikes have had new plastics but the list and cost is exhausting:

Frame powder coating
Frame and swingarm, linkage bearings
Plastics as required, m guards, radiator, rad guards, airbox guard, chainguards
Engine gaskets and o rings (piston and rings if worn plus power valve cleanup)
Tank painting
Fork and shock service, powder coat springs
Levers and bolts
Handguards
Handlebars
Misc paints for small items
Braided lines
Brake switches
Cables, clutch, throttle and power valve
Seat covers
Used indicators
Graphics kits
Exhaust and silencers
Filter and plug
XR400, XR85 footrests from USA (very cheap at $8 pair and like new)
Kickstart
Plating all nuts and bolts etc
Chain and sprockets
Discs and pads
Wheel bearings
Speedo cable
Speedo drive
Carb and water pipes
Plus misc minor parts that I cannot remember.

Was it worth it , well I know its cheaper than buying a CRF450 with toys on at £5800 and having nothing to do but use Mr Sheen.

I won't be pending that sort of time or money on my mk3 but the pics of your bikes are very impressive.

Where did you get the footpegs from? At $8 that is very cheap - much cheaper than the current eblag prices

You're pricing your labour at £10/hour. That's very cheap .

i'd hire u for a tenner an hour!!

nice work - dont u fancy a holiday

Ebay USA is so much cheaper than UK for some items due to amount sold of bikes sold over there.

I was in Las Vegas in 1995 and the Honda Dealer sold over 900 Honda CRs in one year, an amazing amount of bikes for one city.

£10 an hour is cheap, retired, life is cheap at home enjoying what you do.

Do you mean youve spent less than £5800 per bike or all your ARs together?

I don't think so ..................

hmmmmmmmmmm, I think the costs would surprise me if I really added them up. But have found out to my cost its still cheaper than 10 nights in a suite in a top hotel in Dubai.................never again I have told the family.

But the therapy over the last months was worth every single penny, as KMK1 knows, you have to do something to sort the mind out, and this has helped me tremendously. Plus when they are sold some money will be returned.

The one I am finishing now has cost over £3500 including purchase (no labour costs included), which is what it will be available for sale for when finished, it is not like new, just a thorough refurbishment with a lot of replacement parts. I may be a bit anal but Its nice making sure every single cable holder and nut / bolt is correct as is possible.

Its surprising how much a small part costs, the clutch lever bolt alone for example is £2.35, now add a lot more small parts and it adds up to 1000,s.

So how much is a good AR worth, well they are fetching £1800 or more in the auction website, but they all require a thorough stripdown, no matter what the seller states..........its as cheap to buy a rough one and refurbish it as it is a nicer one.

Without this website it would not have been such a nice experience, so thank you CRM250.COM

Agree with the therapy bit, i enjoy tinkering as much as riding.

You could quite easily pee 3 grand against a wall. At least youve got somethin decent to show for your spend

Well I do not drink, or smoke and never have.

But I do like cars and bikes, always have, always will.

+1 helisupp- it's relaxing spending quality tinkering time. Shame the wife doesn't quite see it that way...

+1 - yeah I like to tinker too.. especially as I'm not too busy at the mo. hopefully I will get better at it tho and get some riding in!! ( hopefully I will get busier as well! )

I'm lucky the missus has got the 'biking bug too! so she approves of me doing stuff.. just need to remember when hers breaks fix it first!!!!

I'm so going to invest in some large cans of WD40 and get my engine looking as nice as that when I change the crankcase! I'm also gonna get a bag o bolts and have all shiny bolts - switch gear and front master cyclinder.. just need some white radiator covers - fancy a white bike.. debating whether to go the whole hog and get the frame sprayed.. but I'm prolly jus gonna bash it up again anyways?

but 1st!!!! jus need to solve my ellecy problems!