My 1978 Honda Odyssey FL 250 Restoration Project - ( A.K.A. "The Oddity" )
From This...
...To This...
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"The Oddity" Stage 1: Taking Possession - 07/05/04
I have been wanting one of these machines since I was a child and saw
a couple of guys spinning donuts on the ice of the Mississippi River
by Lock & Dam 13...I would own one, I do own one, I will ride it!
I just got my Honda Odyssey, bought it locally.
Ran acrossed it a year ago and could not contact seller at that time.
Caught up with a year later, dug this Odyssey out of a field
from behind a barn. It had 6' weeds growing up through it, ants living
in the seat, and other various issues to deal with.
Granted, it needs some work...it has been riden...HARD!
Seller told me it had been sitting outside for a year, uncovered.
He would not guarantee it would even start, but thought it would.
I brought it home, put some gas in it and it fired right off.
As far as I can tell at this time all it really needs is:
A New Seat
New Right Rear Wheel
New Brake Cable
Some Minor Welding And Some TLC
(I was dreaming when I wrote this)
Got lucky with this Odyssey, someone along the line
already put a rear arm swing on it, so it has rear suspension.
In doing so it looks as if they also modified the roll cage.
Therefore I shall dub it "The Oddity"...different than all the rest.
"The Oddity" Stage 2: Starting Restoration/Rebuild - 07/08/04
This is the beginning of my venture.
I have no intention of leaving this thing black and yellow.
Probably go straight black with a touch of chrome.
I hate yellow...
Ordered me a new seat cover today: $33.49 (Inc S&H)
Found a new rear wheels in my area: $20.00
Bought me some paint & supplies: $15.00
Metric bolts for oil housing: $2.58
Got exhaust shot peened & welded: $FREE (Government Job)
Got some misc. bracketry welded: $FREE (Government Job)
Found a tag on the back end of the frame today
Tag says it is a 1978... Seller told me it was a 1983
Is it possible that it is a '83 with a '78 hind quarter?
It's a 1978...
Got it all torn down for painting and cleaning.
"The Oddity" Stage 3: Repairing & Preparing - 07/15/04
I have begun to prepare "The Oddity" for new paint and reassembly.
Have sanded & wire wheeled most of the cage, have not started on back yet.
Found the brake cable to be damaged and have ordered a new one.
Did some major cleaning on the engine, but not done yet.
Also did some major welding on cage and rear frame, the entire
rear end of the frame was busted loose and craked in 5 places.
Going to replace with a piece of "C" channel for added support.
Going to work on the underside, rear frame and rear cage next.
Also plan on adding a head rest and head rest mounting bracket along
with side rails for added safety and support.
Ordered new rear brake cable: $28.24
Purchase pipe for side rails and head rest mount: $18.00
Welded rear frame, cage, and other misc. areas: $FREE (Dad's Has A Welder)
Misc supplies: $15.00
"The Oddity" Rear Suspension Pictures
My Odyssey FL250 Has Rear Swing Arm Suspension
I just found out that my Odyssey has a High Performance DG Racing Head...
That has to be a plus in my book...
"The Oddity" Stage 4: Painting & More Cleaning - 07/23/04
I have done alot of sanding and wire wheeling to get this far.
Have gotten the frame, rollcage, & tub painted.
Went with black as you can see,
this way it will be easier to touch up after hard rides. Black is cheap!
Did some major cleaning on shocks and underside of motor, but not done.
Painted front fenders with Krylon "Fusion" plastic paint.
Was planning on building my own rear fenders, but have decided now to go
fenderless in the rear due to the rear suspension and travel factors.
Next I plan to reinforce the rear end a bit and add a head rest & sidebars.
"The Oddity" Stage 5: The Final Product...It's Complete!!! - 07/30/04
Well, here they are, "The Oddity" is complete.
Took it for the first ride and cracked the motor mount plate.
As for now it is done, but needs welded...Kinda Sucks!
Got my sidebars and head rest added.
Currently re-assembeling and doing finishing touches.
Adding my new brake cable and re building my seat.
Have also added a skid plate under the seat to avoid "serious" injuries.
Have all Padding and safety belts added.
Check out my seat, before pictures shown above, after pics below.
If you need a good seat cover see the link towards bottom of this page.
Anyway, take a look my completion pics...
Please stop back for more updates and thank you!
"The Oddity" Stage 6: The First Actual Ride - 08/06/04
Took it out for the first actual test run today after getting
the cracked engine cradle welded and reinforced and installing
my new Intake boot...runs alot better without a cracked boot.
Hit it hard and it ran good but had a dead spot in it, but I
was able to get it airborne for the first time.
Took it back up to the garage to do some carb adjustments.
Got it running better and took it on another run around the field...
Came out of turn 3, gunned it, and shredded my drive belt, which I had predicted...
( After all, that belt was about 26 yrs. old I think )...
Walked back up to the house, got the truck, and towed it to the garage.
This once again puts me at the computer, surfing the web for a new belt.
Fear not, a new belt is on the way...
"The Oddity" will be running again soon!
"The Oddity" Stage 7: The Frustration Builds With - 08/13/04
Yes, its Friday the 13th...I Should have known better.
Got the new belt yesterday and got it on without any installation incidents.
Had some trouble getting it to run right, but then found that my
throttle cable nut on the top of the carb was loose allow air to be
sucked into the carb causing me many headaches and tows back to my garage.
After getting my carb set better a did some dounuts in the dewy grass by my
garage at which point I lost it and rolled it for the first time.
Took "The Oddity" for an awesome run, made 2 laps around my trial hitting
estimated top speeds of around 40-45 MPH down the straight away.
It has never ran better or as fast as this before...gotta love it!
On my second lap I came out of what I like to refer to as "Turn 3" running
top speed, full throttle and the engine just died and I coasted to a stop.
I heard no noises..almost like I hit the kill switch...
Hate to say it but I now have an engine tear down to tackle.
The pull cord will not pull at all, it will not start...
After getting it to the garage I let it sit, frustrated as hell!
Next morning got up took out the plug and put some oil into the cylinder.
Got the clutch to roll over, so the piston is not seized up like I thought.
Thinking and hoping that all I have is a sheared woodruff key on the flywheel.
Going to take the recoil cover off tomorrow and check it out.
Hopefully..."The Oddity" will be running again soon! NOT!!!
"The Oddity" Stage 8: About Ready To Sell "The Oddity"
The Bad Luck Continues... - 08/25/04
Well, I finally got my Flywheel Puller today after waiting 1 1/2 weeks
for it to arrive, got lost in our excellant mail service...
Seller shipped me another one.
Found a chunk of what appears to be the old rope pulley entangled within
the flywheel area..still would not roll completely over after removing it,
so I ordered the puller...took the flywheel off today because "I was hoping"...
there was more of it behind the flywheel...no, that would be to simple...
There was nothing else there and the magneto all looks good.
It will still not roll over, so...I decided to pull the head.
Much to my suprise I find chucks of what looks like pieces of
my piston rings or something of that nature
All my "findings" are pictured below. I have about had it........
One month of rebuild, 1 Hour of total ride time (In 5 Min. incriments)
A dream shot to Hell, and 1 Buttload of frustration...
I wonder how much I could get out of this Odyssey the way it sits???
E-mail me and make me an offer....just kidding!
Please go to eBay.com first, do a search for Honda Odyssey FL250 and compare...
Here is a picture of the Odyssey Flywheel Puller I bought:
Purchased from: OdysseySalvage.com for $15.75 (Inc. S&H)
"The Oddity" Stage 9: Time For A Piston Rebuild
Finding The Cause Of My Misery - 09/01/04
Well, finally got time today to tear the cylinder off the block.
Here is what I found, the cylinder walls are in very good shape, a slight
honing will make them ready for a new piston. The crank and shaft all looks
fine, nothing broken there, think it can all be salvaged.
The piston on the other hand is junk, it appears that the top piston ring
caught on the exhaust port of course eventually shredding it to pieces.
Which then caused the piston sleeve (longer of the 2 sleeves) on the
exhaust side to overtime bust into a million pieces. The bottom of the head
is gouged up a bit, but I think it can be used after rebuild.
Nothing anywhere appears to be burned or scored at all...
How I got so lucky is beyond me.
I plan on ordering a New top End Gasket Kit and a Wiseco Piston Rebuild Kit
as soon as my cash flow allows and rebuild this thing so I can ride...
I should have gone through the engine during my restoration process,
but I did not, now I am paying. Word of advice:
If you are in the process of rebuilding one of these buggies,
Take the time and the money to go through and inspect the engine
inside and out...Believe me, it's better than having all your hard work
just sit in your garage collecting dust and cobb webs.
This is a lesson learned, but will not distract me from further projects of the future...
The pictures of the damage caused and my findings are shown below.
"The Oddity" Stage 10: Purchasing Parts & Beginning Rebuild - 09/04/04
I just picked me up a Complete FL250 Gasket Kit for $21.00.
Found the seller on eBay about 150 miles from me, gave me a deal.
Last night got on eBay for a second and found a complete driven clutch,
had everthing but the gear box, bid on it for the hell of it and won it
for a measly $11.50 plus $10.35 S&H...Couldn't pass it up.
Needless to say all I really need off it is 1 shoe ramp.
I plan to sell the rest of it soon and use the cash to buy a new brake caliper.
"The Oddity" Stage 10 (Cont'd): Purchasing Parts & Beginning Rebuild - 09/10/04
I just ordered a bunch off parts for my rebuild.
Here is what I got:
Complete FL250 (+.020 Over) Piston Rebuild Kit for $90.49 (Inc. S&H)
Ordered From "sledpartsguy" (Pic Below)
Purchase a Brake Caliper & Cable off eBay.(Pic Below)
Got it for a mere $10.50 plus S&H...Couldn't pass it up.
Got everything off "The Oddity" ready to start rebuild.
New Driven Clutch installed and have new working Brake Caliper
with new brake pads installed as well. NOW I HAVE BRAKES!!!
Just ordered my Crank Seals and a Salisbury Clutch Puller tool
from OdysseSalvage.com...should be delivered in 2 days.
eager to get started and get this thing running before it gets
to cold outside...the snow will not bother me...
"The Oddity" Stage 10 (Cont'd Yet Again): Motor Rebuilt & Ready to Insatll - 09/21/04
Just finsihed my engine rebuild, suprisingly everything went rather well.
Having the right tools is a must for this job. (Make a mental note)
Only thing I had to do was make my own case puller out some plate steel...
Below are the pics of my completed rebuild. I cleaned the hell out of
everything, replaced the crank seals, checked the crank bearings, which
had been replaced recently, there was no play in them at all,
no way they are the original bearings, replaced all gaskets,
installed a new piston, etc, etc. I am looking forward to installing my
engine within the next week and maybe finally getting to enjoy my Odyssey
instead of working on it all the time. My kids are dying to ride it, but
they are going to have to wait for me to get it broke in first.
"The Oddity": The Final Stage: Motor Rebuilt, Installed, & Ready To Ride - 09/23/04
Just finsihed installing my engine. All hooked up and ready to ride.
And ride it does...I thought it was fast before. Thinking this thing will
do at least 50 on a hard flat surface, I do not have the room on my
property to top it out. Got it up to approximately 50 MPH and ran out of
land. I plan on sneaking out to the blacktop soon and check the top speed
after I get it broke in more. It starts up on the first pull now and idles
without jogging the throttle. So, in a nutshell I have a rebuilt motor,
new driven clutch, working brakes, and one fast Odyssey. My next plan is
to get a new exhaust pipe, and cut off the emergency brake housing from
the frame. Which will lighten it up a bit. Doesn't work anyway...
Also still looking for a 2-way switch with a key so I can prevent
unauthorized rides when I am not around to prevent further damage.
Proud to be the owner of such a fine machine!
Below are my pictures after rebuild.
(I will load up riding pics as soon as I find time to take some)
"The Oddity": My News After Rebuild & Ride - 09/29/04
Well, I have to tell you this has been one interesting project.
Got this thing running good, but still having "issues" with the carb.
After every approximate 2 hours of ride time it fouls out the plug
Running great otherwise. Going to have to pull off the carb again to
set the jets I think. Seems to be getting way to much gas. With a new plug
it will sit and idle for quite awhile until the plug gets soaked with gas,
then it fouls out and will not start again until I put in a new plug.
I dropped the needle down 1 notch and now it starts, runs, and idles perfectly.
Other than that it is one hell of a ride! I have posted some ride pics
and a short video in my links section below. More to come.
Got me a keyed kill switch finally and plan on installing it soon as well,
This will stop unauthorized riding without previous consent from owner (me)
This winter I plan to build some new shock towers to replace the stock
towers, therefore allowing me to install the same style (750 Honda) shocks
that I have on the back on the front as well. Should be simple...
Recently after getting some air off a jump on my trail I cracked the left
rear corner of the frame and had to do a tad bit of reinforcement in that area.
Currently building some new reinforcement bracketry for all four corners
of the rear frame. Everytime I ride it it cracks more. I plan on redoing
all the corners eventually, but the front sides cracked bad after my ride
today. This rear suspension is great, but with all the torque and abuse it
takes, the previous owner did not really make it strong enough where he should have.
I plan to fix that and make it strong enough to withstand a good jump at least...
Hey I look at it this way,
if you are going to build a suspension, build it right.
If you have the suspension use it. If you can't jump it, what good is it.
"The Oddity": Frame/Rear Suspension
Repair & Reinforcement - 10/01/04
After getting this Odyssey rebuilt and running good, I have found that
I like to jump the hell out of it. Over the last week or so I have cracked
the shotty weld seams on the custom rear suspension that the previous
owner added to it. I have pics below showing the damage incurred after
hitting jumps and also the pics of the reinforcements I have done and plan
to do within the next week. I made the gussets and plan on cleaning up the
areas, rewelding them, clean them up again, then weld my gussets into
place. Over the winter months I plan on designing and build a whole new
rear swing arm for this thing that will withstand the abuse I inflict...
Also, currently working on front shock towers so I can put Honda 750 4-way
adjustable shock on the front like the ones I have in the rear.
"The Oddity": Frame/Rear Suspension
Repair & Reinforcement (Cont'd)- 10/14/04
My rear frame is now reinforced and I have rebuilt the pivot points
on my rear swing arm. It seems that the threads on the hiem joints
could not hold up to much abuse...they pulled right out of the frame.
I have replaced them with some very heavy duty roller chain components.
I plan to post some pics here of the new pivot points and the
reinforcements I have done to the frame soon as I get them repainted.
I have also added a keyed kill switch and have everything I need to
install the 750 Honda 3-way adjustable shocks on the front. I just need
to get a few more mods done and get everything welded on. The shocks are
approximately 3" longer than the stock front shocks, so I plan to cut
holes in the tub just above the stock shock mounts. This will allow me to
mount the shocks to my sidebars, and run reinforcement bars from there up
to my rollcage. These shocks will stop alot of bouncing and help me with
side roll, hence allowing a nicer ride. I recently hard a issue with my
driven clutch as well. It seemed like the clutch was slipping. It was fine
until about a half hour into my ride or when I went up a step incline.
I started to panic thinking it was my drive clutch. I did some investgation
and found the the driven clutch I had purchased off eBay had a shorter and
lighter duty spring than my original clutch. I pulled the clutch off and
replaced the spring and now all is well. I had to rev it up really high to
get moving, now when nailing it hard from a dead stop
I can spin as many dounuts as I please. That's the way it should be...
I am still having some random carb problems, it is definately getting way
to much gas no matter how I jet it or adjust the screws.
Think I might have to invest in a new rebuild carb kit.
Also waiting for my new headlight.
I plan on trying to have dual headlights soon.
For looks more than anything, I rarely ride at night.
"The Oddity": More Parts In And On Order...When Does It Stop?- 10/24/04
OK, got my frame repaired and tested, heavy duty as hell I must say.
Finally got my second headlight today, only took seller 13 days to get it
to me from date of purchase, not too mention I actually had to rebuild a
damned headlight? Broken braket, rusted screws, broken case, rusty chrome
ring, not too mention I do not even know if it actually works yet...
Of course I was told it was in excellant shape! (Lame-ass eBayer: deals4u)
Anyway I think I can salvage it.
I also have a Keyster Carb kit on the way,
I am going to end this flooding problem once and for all,
I have fouled 10 new plugs so far, Alot of wasted ca$h.
Not too mention I am sick of wrenching on and towing this thing
back to my garage...had to do it alone the other day...that was fun!
I just completely rewired everything with all new wiring and connections.
I am also devising a way to put a windshield on my Oddity.
I have bit nailed in the face by several bugs and
think it will help a bit this winter in the snow.
Hopefully within a week I will be on the ground and running again.
P.S.-I also plan to be in the air abit I am sure...
"The Oddity": Carb Rebuilt, Idling, Running? Can It Be True? Is It Over?- 10/30/04
Just finished installing my Keyster Carb Rebuild Kit. Installed the carb
and it runs, it idles, and it does not flood. If you are having this
problem buy the kit. It will save you several dollars in spark plugs, alot
of time, and frustration. I have a link to the seller (siriusinc.com) on
my links page. Kit cost $25 shipped and is worth every penny.
Below are the pics of my installed dual headlights,
my custom made pivot point upgrade on my rear suspension
and my new pads and windshield installed on my rollcage.
I am now in the process of trying to locate two rear view mirrors for my Odyssey.
"The Oddity": Dead Again...- 11/24/04
Well, looks like "The Oddity" is dead once more.
I haven't had time to look at it too close, but I am hoping
that maybe I just sheared off the flywheel key again,
or I just have a bad connection somewhere...
Either that or the stator coil finally burned up.
$195 for a new coil...might be awhile before it runs again.
You'll know when it does, meanwhile I have posted some
new ride pics on my "My Odyssey Rides" page.
Parts I Need:
I am looking for the following parts...
- Rear Axle (Straight, Good Splines, Etc.)
Possibly a working 78' Stator Coil
Possibly a 78' Ignition Coil
Please contact me.
Also Looking For A Honda Odyssey Clymer Manual 1977-1984 (Below):
Any maual would be nice given I am flying by the seat of my pants
now with the downloadable shop manual.(It's help,but not much help)
People In Iowa, Illinios, Wisconsin:
I am always looking for those FL250 Odysseys in any condition, running or
not, sitting on farmers land, in your garage, backyard, or junk pile.
If you have one or know of one email me.: