2008 Honda CRF230F Resto-Mod BBR Custom Build (SL350 & MT250 Elsinore Look)

Have a look at the most recent Bare Bone Rides custom build. Our good friend and client approached us with an idea he had been thinking about for a few years ... turning his stock 2008 Honda CRF230F into a retro-styled street legal enduro/desert racer. He was hoping we would be able to set-up the final version to allow for two different looks: 1) an early 1970's Honda SL350 and 2) a mid-1970's Honda MT250 Elsinore. Not the simplest transformation but, with some careful ciphering, fabricating, welding and paintwork we were able to pull off this build for him! We also installed a BBR 240 Big Bore Piston/Cam kit (the other BBR from the West Coast: BBR Motorsports, Inc.), a larger Mikuni Flat Slide Carb, foam Uni-Filter and an after-market performance exhaust - all of which really woke-up this machine!
In addition to the tank/seat mods, we adapted an old Honda SL350 rear fender and a 1970's Honda CR250 front fender! Quite a bit of modification was required to the subframe to make it all work - overall, we really like how she turned out including the paint schemes that reflect our customer's wishes/vision.
Feel free to check out lots of photos (before/during/after) and some additional information on this build at www.barebonerides.com (barebonerides.c...) or on our facebook page at barebonerides. Thanks for looking folks - as always, we definitely appreciate your time, support and your feedback!

[@markwegner6100]

Excellent idea & execution!

[@barebonerides]

Thank you for the positive feedback and for taking the time to check her out Mark!

[@kman0146]

They are using your fuel tank and paint scheme for the crf230 jewel videos here in 2024.

[@barebonerides]

Hey there, thank you for checking out this build and for pointing out that the paint scheme is being duplicated ... hmmmm very interesting ...

[@montanawhite5699]

I got a 230l I want to turn into a scrambler. But it’s such a rare bike I don’t want to cut the frame. What can I do? I got parts from a 1976 xl175 or 125 I forget . Everything lined up nice except the rear fender.

[@barebonerides]

Thank you for checking out this build. Without having the bike and parts in front of us, it is challenging to provide some specific advice to help with your build. In order to get these older parts to fit properly and to look fully integrated with the frame, we have always had to do some cutting, bending and/or welding to make it work. Although not impossible to avoid such modifications, it would be difficult to make things fit properly. If you happen to be close to our shop, we would be happy to have a look at your bike and parts and provide some specific recommendations that could work in your case. I know, our feedback is not super helpful but, we hope it provides some perspective on integrating these vintage parts on newer machines!

[@montanawhite5699]

@@barebonerides hey thanks for the reply, I doubt I live near you guys unless you are located on the big island.

[@barebonerides]

@@montanawhite5699 I spit some time on the Big Island ... I wish we were located there Montana! Anyway, good luck with your Project. Let us know if we can answer any other questions ([e-mail]).