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Jan 26, 2016 17:34:58 GMT
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I've been sitting on this project for about 6 months now and recording it all as i go so i can make a nice opening post like this. So we'll start with a conversation with a longtime mate, he's been into bikes all his life and was brought up around them, lives in the kind of house with bike parts in the kitchen and lounge. never seemed weird to him i suppose, and we get chatting about a bike he's had sitting in his house for a few years now. 1976 yamaha rd125dx spoke wheel. says it's not running and hasn't for a while but is complete and a carb rebuild should get it going. fast forward to september 2015 and we've agreed to buy the bike and have it out the house and ready to drive over in the back of their family estate. here's how she arrived. And the money shot. Nice patina on the tank, might keep that look. 14k Genuine miles, not super low for a 2 stroke 125 but means that the rest of it's not going to be hogged out. Hand controls could be a bit better but we'll get to that chrome fuel cap needs replacing. All very original and promising And the best part. £250.
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Jan 26, 2016 17:42:34 GMT
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I looks a good start - I hope it's better than my RD250DX that was the most unreliable under welming piece of carp I ever had, the worse thing was I sold my 125LC to buy it
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Jan 26, 2016 18:16:31 GMT
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So the work begins. Battery disconnected as it was flatter than a lizard drinking. Really ugly battery tray Airbox gone Seat, tank and mud guard removed Looking pretty lightweight already Points are in good shape Looking at riding postion with lower bars, seems comfy.
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Jan 26, 2016 18:49:14 GMT
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I looks a good start - I hope it's better than my RD250DX that was the most unreliable under welming piece of carp I ever had, the worse thing was I sold my 125LC to buy it hoping to make this one bulletproof, redo all the wiring myself and make it nice and waterproof. eventually.
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gazz81
Part of things
Posts: 842
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Jan 26, 2016 19:25:34 GMT
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I had a RD125 ypvs years ago, loved it and was so much better than my mates ns125!
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dubscum
Part of things
thats what i do
Posts: 531
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Jan 26, 2016 19:49:47 GMT
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little gem that
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whip it, into shape ........ go forward
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Jan 26, 2016 19:56:46 GMT
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Pulled off the carbs to give them a ruddy good scrub, seems like they needed it Looks like a river bed haha. All the jets were blocked so a quick blast with the compressor and a small bit of wire to get the really stubborn stuff. All scrubbed internally and the sliders move much nicer now Really liked the stance of the bike at this angle, think the tires suit it too even though they're not very grippy. Knocked the dent out of the headlight bezel just to see if i could. Sanded the paint off the speedo as it was flaky Made a mock-up of a center speedo bracket to see if everything would clear/speedo cable would route properly First stab at making a tail section, liked the shape but it wasn't mounted right and was wobbly.
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omega
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,060
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Jan 26, 2016 20:25:16 GMT
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love the bike don't like the handlebars get some ace bars
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Jan 26, 2016 20:41:10 GMT
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Last Edit: Jan 26, 2016 22:28:32 GMT by yorkebar
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Jan 26, 2016 20:54:54 GMT
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love the bike don't like the handlebars get some ace bars Don't worry about that they get swapped soon!
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Jan 26, 2016 21:16:13 GMT
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I looks a good start - I hope it's better than my RD250DX that was the most unreliable under welming piece of carp I ever had, the worse thing was I sold my 125LC to buy it hoping to make this one bulletproof, redo all the wiring myself and make it nice and waterproof. eventually. Oh the electrics were fine mine was fitted with a CDI system, it was it's inability to run for more than a few thousand miles without needing, rebores (again) main bearings and seals, lybarinth seal, big ends, little ends, it just went on, even when it was running it would have been comprehensively left behind by a sorted 125....
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Jan 26, 2016 23:02:30 GMT
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I have an RS125DX in the Garage which I started to turn into a cafe racer a few years back but lost interest. I managed to find a bubble fairing and seat unit but god only knows where they ended up. keep the pics coming.
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1965 Morris Minor 1000 soon to be 1380 1997 MK1 MX-5 1.8 (sold) 2009 MK3 MX-5 2.0 (sold) 2008 Mini Cooper (sold) 2003 Mini Cooper S (sold) Fixed wheel Raleigh Clubman (sold) 1982 Yamaha RS125DX (sold)
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Jan 26, 2016 23:18:50 GMT
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Started the re-seal of the engine to make sure it was all solid and reliable, didn't need a rebuild just yet, compression read fine and the engine ran strong before. Had to buy myself an impact gun to get these screws loose without stripping them, recommend the dewalt XR 18v set from B&Q. popped the head to find rebored cylinders, Really not a surprise on these engines as it's cheap to do and can restore the engines power. Old head gaskets are squashed flat, no good to re-use, part of the reason i ordered a new gasket set. Cleaned the pistons and rings by gently popping them off and cleaning the groove with an old broken ring from a long gone engine Cleaned the mating surfaces of the gaskets and cleaned out the transfer ports Gave the reeds a scrub and made sure the gaskets seated right New head gaskets on, they've got the crush seal to make sure they get good compression, located them with a small bit of double sided tape to make sure they located in the right place. Wire brushed and de-greased Warmed in front of the gas fire and primed. Then the gloss black went on whipped out all the bolts one by one and polished them up, as well as the gearbox vent and various other bits. Sanded the fins and prepped for laquer
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Last Edit: Jan 26, 2016 23:33:04 GMT by yorkebar
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gavs1
Part of things
Posts: 571
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Liken that a lot
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Jan 27, 2016 20:08:54 GMT
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Nice little project, I've owned a few of those over the yrs. Boy those yokes are fugly aren't they?
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Jan 28, 2016 22:02:44 GMT
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This looks great well done so far!
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Jan 29, 2016 13:44:26 GMT
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Nice little project, I've owned a few of those over the yrs. Boy those yokes are fugly aren't they? I'm quite taken by them personally, and huge respect to the blooke who cut them out of a block and filed and sanded it all smooth haha. think they'll look amazing all polished up.
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gavs1
Part of things
Posts: 571
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Updates???
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Oct 20, 2016 16:30:25 GMT
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Not for a while! sat on the back burner as i got other bits done, until last week.
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Oct 20, 2016 16:44:40 GMT
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Pulled the sorry looking thing out of storage to diagnose the no spark, a wire had seperated in the loom causing a loss of power periodically. stripped the loom and replaced the main power wire and any that looked chewed or frayed, and refitted the loom back into the bike Whipped up a new speedo mount as the old one wasn't that pretty or stable. much nicer. Gave the engine a once over by putting some oil down the bores and spinning it over, connected the fuel tank back up with new lines. Decided that it was easier to make some exhausts than it was to walk down the road and grab the stock ones, bit of ballpark volume maths and i came up with a couple of cone sizes, then i figured out the routing and welded them up. Never formed cones with flat metal before so a special tool was made that helped, seemed to do the trick Narrowed the ends of the cones for the pipe like this, should look neat enough when linished back smooth.
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