Small Bore Finds: 1984 Honda QR50 - First Start and Ride!

Continuing with our Small Bore Finds - 1984 Honda QR50 series, we got the bike running and tried it out for the first time.
I didn't notice it as much, but the video audio picked up the massive amount of piston slapping, which tells me it definitely needs a new piston and most likely a cylinder, which will be a bit hard to find I fear. We might have to call in our Aussie friends for that! I feel a top end rebuild is contributing to most of the performance loss and we'll definitely need to get it changed out. That'll make for a great episode though, so I'm looking forward to the challenge!
Although we were excited to get it running and it was rewarding, Rennen found the performance underwhelming and much slower than his PW50 (even though he didn't want to say so), so he really didn't ask to ride the QR much after this disappointing first ride. With that, we kind of shelved the bike for later and focused on some other projects, and further developed his PW50 riding skills. Now that he's a bit bigger and transitioning from the PW50 to a Cobra JR, we'll rebuild and restore the QR50 for his little brother Kallen, who turns 3 on November 6th.
Since the QR is a bit slower and the clutch springs seem very weak, it should be a perfect starter bike for Kallen as it won't have the kick or punch that the PW50 did for Rennen when he jumped on it at 3 1/2 years old, which was actually a bit too young for the PW50.
Gear used to film and produce this video:
Camera - Canon M50: amzn.to/37Jz4hY
Mic - Rode VideoMicro: amzn.to/2KmBuun
Joby Gorillapod Handheld Tripod - amzn.to/3pgsHZF
AmazonBasics 60-Inch Lightweight Tripod with Bag: amzn.to/34GbyAK
Apple Macbook Pro: amzn.to/38wMTQ7
Editing Software: Final Cut Pro X

[@shedred1967]

Ride it like you stole it, land it like you own it!

[@John5XR]

Never heard that before, that’s funny! My kids ride them like they stole them and trash them like they don’t own them 🤦🏼‍♂️

[@shedred1967]

@@John5XR lol. Thats how we do it until we start paying for it. Then respect comes into play...

[@John5XR]

I hope so!

[@nickmiller1412]

Awesome little bike. Rare find for sure! Congratulations on getting it going.

[@John5XR]

It is pretty cool! Tough to get parts for since they all need to be sent from out of country, but I have a lot of nice folks that reached out and offered help getting stuff

[@dragonrider385]

starting to be race ready. good luck.

[@John5XR]

These videos were like a year old, and it wasn’t as fast as the PW so Rennen lost interest. We shelved it to build for Kallen (lil Bro) and are going to start working on it again. Should be an adventure finding parts as I want to put a new piston and cylinder on it

[@elaineaquino6750]

I’m from the Philippines, we have the same bike. Will make a video about it too☺️

[@John5XR]

Be sure to tell me when you do!

[@TheImtoomuch]

Very cool bike.

[@John5XR]

Thanks! I think it's a cool bike and would love for the boys to be able to race it with me at the vintage MX races we attend

[@TIATechIsAmaze]

I never knew a video could be so cute and so hardcore at the same time 🔥

[@John5XR]

Lol, the 5-year old is pretty hardcore for the average kid these days!

[@purofuegodigital6102]

Hi Sir, has he outgrown this one yet? We’d love to offer top dollar for it! Our son starts racing in a couple of months and everyone else is on pw50’s

[@debraj5011]

Great Video John was watching your carb rebuild . Just purchased a 1983 QR50 its not running so will start to take things apart . Not sure if the owner was mixing the fuel or by passed it like your was . Any idea how I would know . This is my first project bike to try and work on . Thanks and keep up the videos lots of fun

[@John5XR]

Thanks! I knew mine was because the throttle cable was broken where it should split off to the oil pump. I would check the operation of the throttle and look for movement on the oil pump, it’ll be on the right side of the bike. Enjoy!

[@John5XR]

Debra, email me and I’ll share a repair manual with you 👍

[@barter56]

NIRVANA 😆

[@John5XR]

I’m a 90’s kid, so when I saw that shirt at Target I couldn’t buy it fast enough! 👌

[@barter56]

@@John5XR nirvana... hanging out with your kid !!! I’m an 80s kid and my dad helped me get mine going too. Thanks for the video !!!

[@John5XR]

Great times indeed. I should correct myself, I’m an 80’s kid as well being born in 81’, but my music tastes are all deeply rooted in the 90’s when I was exposed to the grundge bands of the era. I wax nostalgic about those years quite often in my head 😊

[@barter56]

@@John5XR I was born in 82, I seemed to be 5-10 yrs behind in my music taste so I’m a kid of the 2000’s 😎. Distorted guitar is where it’s at tho. Love the vid, love the shirt 🤙

[@John5XR]

Oh, I’m with you as nirvana was more or less my gateway drug into heavy metal. Nirvana inspired me to pick up a guitar, but Pantera and Metallica inspired me to learn how to make massive noise!!