Chuck L in Ohio with a '77 PE250B

[Chuck78]

Welcome to the new forum! A much needed upgrade from the old PE Yahoo Group format!

I'm Chuck L, or Chuck78, residing in Columbus, Ohio, USA.
I've been a vintage Suzuki fanatic (GS street bikes +  Kawasaki KZ's etc) for some time now, a lifetime gearhead into classic cars & trucks since a very young age, & into dirtbikes the past 5 or so years.

I picked up a well used & definitely abused 1977 Suzuki PE250B basketcase + a pile of spare  engines etc, that had been sitting for 20-25 years, just had a fresh top end done, but the owner said that as soon as he fired it up, he heard bottom end bearing noise, & shut it down... 
I have acquired most of the parts needed to rebuild and modify this bike to be comparable or better than an 80-82 PE250. 
Hoping to crank out this mechanical restoration and upgrades this winter off-season.
Photos to follow in time.


Thanks for visiting this brand new forum dedicated to vintage Suzuki PEs!  

[Chuck78]

Thought I should check in here, it's been a long and strange year for me, as it has for most...
I picked up an '83 PE175 basketcase that was able to be titled for state registration for use on public (State and National Forests) trail systems in addition to the '77 PE250 restomod project.
These both got bumped down the priority list after the wife blew up her BMW R100GS, and then bought a Triumph Bonneville and wanted to extensively modify it, and then bought an '07 KTM 200 XC-W "ready to ride" that of course required extensive maintenance once we dug into it, as well as lowering it 2" and shaving the seat another inch... Been riding heavily the past 6-8 weeks finally.

Hoping to get my projects to see the light of day and out of the basement shop by end of winter. Needing to send the 175 monoshock to Drew Smith at Works Enduro Rider aka WER Racing for hard anodizing and rebuild. Considered getting a similar year Full Floater RM125 shock as I believe it has external damping adjustment perhaps?
Also needing to look further into aftermarket lighting options for both bikes in the form of either drop-in (with modifications?) LED bulbs or completely new globes/reflector assemblies for both bikes along with an LED bulb, as well as a regulator-rectifier as most LED bulbs require DC except for the few that have a rectifier built into them (very few).
I have nearly everything for a total restoration/modification of the PE250 aside from perhaps getting the NOS GN250 twin leading shoes relined with new modern friction material.
The PE175 I may opt to fit some DR-Z250 or XR cartridge forks and disc brakes for trail riding, and save the original 38mm forks for show or vintage racing. Undecided. Riding this past weekend on my buddy's '84 PE175 left me with a bad taste of drum front brakes again... sunk in mud, they don't do so well afterwards!