1985 Suzuki RM125 brought back to life . . .

krispy378
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krispy378
Edited Date/Time 4/15/2018 1:41pm
Picked up a 1985 RM125 off of cl and have been enjoying myself. The bike was neglected, tattered and torn. I always had a good time on bikes like these when i was younger and it has been a blast to get a rat bike into a far better state of being. A lot of good times in the garage and testing things out at my friends property. My son is 7 years old and is by my side often asking all sorts of questions... We are having fun and my wife has not left me ... Smile Pictures to come, very independently produced... This site looks really cool and the resto jobs are awesome. So much work !
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krispy378
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krispy378 11/10/2016 10:28am
11/10/2016 10:28am Edited Date/Time 11/10/2016 10:29am
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krispy378
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krispy378 11/10/2016 10:36am
11/10/2016 10:36am Edited Date/Time 11/10/2016 10:40am
The guy behind the bike is my neighbor. We usually go together to pick a bike up. A little road adventure, hit a diner grab a beer... : )
krispy378
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krispy378 11/10/2016 10:38am
11/10/2016 10:38am
The cool thing is the bike is all there...

The Shop

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pete24
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pete24 11/10/2016 11:43am
11/10/2016 11:43am
i did this one for my buddy dave last year, we are going to rewind next year, ill have my wr500 and he has this and a 85 rm250
pete24
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pete24 11/10/2016 11:43am
11/10/2016 11:43am
go easy on me he did the seat, i did the motor
krispy378
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krispy378 11/10/2016 1:11pm
11/10/2016 1:11pm
pete24 wrote:
go easy on me he did the seat, i did the motor
Looks real good . . . Smile Looks like a nice bike to ride. My seat cover came out similar... More than pleased because I actually am riding this bike. Its not just a garage bike. I like the style of this era for some reason.
krispy378
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krispy378 11/20/2016 3:26pm
11/20/2016 3:26pm












Fi

Finally got a chance to upload some more pics. Its getting somewhat presentable and seems to be reliable. Rode a few times with some friends and it did not break down. . . : ) Liking the VMX thing . . .
kruspy378
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kruspy378 11/26/2016 4:55pm
11/26/2016 4:55pm
Here are some more pics... Been riding it when i can. Rear tire was at about half tread, didn't wipe out . . . Smile Got it running pretty good. Doesn't foul plugs out. New bars, levers and clutch perch. and Oury grips. Always liked the feel of Ourys, very pliable and gummy. Did seat cover and some cosmetic stuff decals etc... Gonna ride it a little more and do the top end. Should be fun winter work in my spare time... Smile















Thanks for the responses and best wishes

RBrider
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RBrider 11/30/2016 3:45am
11/30/2016 3:45am
Looking good. I like seeing the old(er) mx & off road bikes being put back in service.

I recently decided I needed a lightweight off roader & bought a '01 XC 200 Gas Gas and went thru it about like you've done with this bike. It won't win any shows, but it's a lot of fun to ride.

Keep us posted on any more upgrades and thanks for posting.

RB
krispy378
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krispy378 12/1/2016 5:51am
12/1/2016 5:51am
Will do ... Got a couple other projects and will post soon. Enjoy the ride...
krispy378
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krispy378 3/15/2017 5:23pm
3/15/2017 5:23pm
Ok, finally got some time ! Installed new Sedona MX887 ITs front and back. Swaped out the carb for a new 34mm KOSO Keihin copy. Still have the original carb, just needs a rebuild and new choke plunger. Very responsive to throttle inputs and seems to carburate good. Swapping the clip between 3rd and 4th position. Dialed in the forks prettty good for my weight, +-215lbs. Spacers came in handy, compression damping 4th from all the way in / turned up, 5psi in each fork leg. New fork and dust seals. Rear shock got a new seal head and 140 psi in the reservoir, compression and rebound set for about the middle of the adjusting range. Rear wheel bearings replaced. New front and rear brake pads and shoes. New UNI filter air filter. New JT steel sprockets front and rear 11/48, 520x116L standard chain. New chain rollers. Now i am ready to do the top end. Gonna take the cylinder off and measure. A wild guess would be 54.5 mm piston... Glad these have a steel liner... This is so much fun. Will get more pics up ...
kruspy378
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kruspy378 3/31/2017 2:45pm
3/31/2017 2:45pm
Top endtime... Came apart Nice and Easy. Doesn't look too bad so far. Top end bearing / pin is a little loose. Bottomend bearing seems good. From what i can tell there is no significant, or any for that matter, up and down play with respect to the crank pin, lower end bearing. I really cant feel any radial play there. Just smooth rotational movement. The cylinder on a quick check with a telescoping snap guage and 3" old school mic had 54.597mm from intake to exhaust direction, about 19mm or so from the bottom skirt. Still gotta check the middle and top, but it looks decent from what i see. New top end, small end needle bearing and piston pin on the way . Got lucky on the wild guess for a 54.5mm piston. Most likely going Wiseco, really never used anything else... What else is out there besides OEM and Wiseco? Checked out Appalachian Moto-jam near Monticello NY the weekend before. That was fun. Brought my son and 3 friends. 2 of em rode a snow hill climb.. I did not ride.. Trying to get ready for spring. We got 30+ inches of snow recently. It was also 60 degrees just before this...







kruspy378
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kruspy378 4/11/2017 5:05pm
4/11/2017 5:05pm
Finished the top end. Put boyesen reeds in too. Running great...☺
kruspy378
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kruspy378 5/21/2017 4:20pm
5/21/2017 4:20pm
Ran again at friends property. Running excellent, top end is broke in good. Starts ez too.. Spark plug burning nice.
Kidkawie
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ქუთაისი GE
Kidkawie 5/21/2017 7:00pm
5/21/2017 7:00pm
I love that you preserved that bike instead of a full blown resto. Good job!
kruspy378
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kruspy378 5/23/2017 3:12am
5/23/2017 3:12am
Kidkawie wrote:
I love that you preserved that bike instead of a full blown resto. Good job!
Thank you! Full blown resto is out of the price range unfortunately. But, it turned out to be a good bike to ride. Preserved is cool too. Really having a good time...☺

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kruspy378
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kruspy378 2/23/2018 5:53pm
2/23/2018 5:53pm Edited Date/Time 2/23/2018 5:55pm
Getting ready, i hope , to ride soon. Winter seems to last forever around here. Anyhow, its a new year and I am planning on replacing the fork springs with a set of stiffer Progressive rate springs. Also, a fluid change to a quality fork fluid and if the budget allows, Race Tech's Gold Valve emulators. Might as well do the bushings too. The bike has been good to me and would like to continue improving it. Anybody have any experience with a DG pipe and silencer for this machine? Aluminum sprocket? Is it worth it etc... Cheers
MaxPower
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MaxPower 2/23/2018 6:58pm
2/23/2018 6:58pm Edited Date/Time 2/23/2018 6:59pm
An aluminum sprocket is always an improvement over a steel unit. The wheels are the worst place to have weight.
Unless you need an exhaust I feel your stock pipe is the way to go. DG pipes are good when you need a replacement.
Those RMs looked just like the factory bikes of the time. And the last of the real Full Floater. Looking close at the pics,your 125 doesn't have a ton of time on it.
kruspy378
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kruspy378 2/23/2018 7:53pm
2/23/2018 7:53pm
MaxPower wrote:
An aluminum sprocket is always an improvement over a steel unit. The wheels are the worst place to have weight. Unless you need an exhaust I...
An aluminum sprocket is always an improvement over a steel unit. The wheels are the worst place to have weight.
Unless you need an exhaust I feel your stock pipe is the way to go. DG pipes are good when you need a replacement.
Those RMs looked just like the factory bikes of the time. And the last of the real Full Floater. Looking close at the pics,your 125 doesn't have a ton of time on it.
Gotcha, thanks for the info. Weight on the wheels
kruspy378
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kruspy378 2/23/2018 8:02pm
2/23/2018 8:02pm
MaxPower wrote:
An aluminum sprocket is always an improvement over a steel unit. The wheels are the worst place to have weight. Unless you need an exhaust I...
An aluminum sprocket is always an improvement over a steel unit. The wheels are the worst place to have weight.
Unless you need an exhaust I feel your stock pipe is the way to go. DG pipes are good when you need a replacement.
Those RMs looked just like the factory bikes of the time. And the last of the real Full Floater. Looking close at the pics,your 125 doesn't have a ton of time on it.
Gotcha and thanks for the info. Excess weight on the wheels is not helping, so an aluminum sprocket will be in order. They did indeed look like the factory bikes of the time. Way cool imho. The stock exhaust is still good, so ill keep it as is. If i have extra $$$ then i might go DG. I heard that this motor can be made to scream...
kruspy378
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kruspy378 3/16/2018 2:59pm
3/16/2018 2:59pm
Its just about 1 year since last years blizzard of 3 feet and we have been getting consistently hit with snow. Probably like 30 plus inches in 2 weeks. Cannot wait to ride... Especially because i did the fork bushings / rings and progressive springs up front, shock piston band and o-ring, and the aluminum 51t jt rear sprocket. Wife hooked me up for my 40th bday ! It feels good in the garage, just waiting for decent weather to go and actually ride. ☺









kruspy378
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kruspy378 3/18/2018 10:25am
3/18/2018 10:25am
Cleaned and jetted the original carb, put it back in. 280 main jet and 30 pilot jet. Think the stock pilot was a 35? There was a 45 in it when i got it. Seemed a little rich to me...
kruspy378
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kruspy378 3/24/2018 2:49pm
3/24/2018 2:49pm
Rode it today around the property. Got the needle clip in the 2nd poition. Re oiled the air filter. Changed spark plug to NGK BR8EIX. Wow, what an improvement... little stuff added up. The suspension is very smooth feeling. The springs and damping seem good for my skill level and weight. I went about 2.0oz more with fluid in the forks, kind of what the 250 would take stock about 20.5 oz + -. 0 psi in the forks. The gearing change was for the better too . Really comes to attention, imho.
kruspy378
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kruspy378 4/15/2018 1:41pm
4/15/2018 1:41pm
Finally got to ride at our friends property and the bike was great. Even at 35 to 40 degree temps the bike really ran nice. The aluminum sprocket really helps the rear wheel spool up quicker. It comes alive pretty nice. Really snaps to attention and minimal clutching, as long as its ridden in its powerband. Good power from mid to top imho. Bottom is decent, not great. Really good on top. We had a 1984 CR125R that was in good shape, when we had it circa early 90s. This RM would blow it away...☺

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