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Make sure when you order the radiators, that they are definitely 83 ones. GPI and the rest always advertise the radiators as 83/84 but of course the cap on the 83 is on the left and the tank is built to suit that configuration. I told GPI this when i sent the original set of radiators and hoses to get reverse engineered years ago, but for some reason they all keep advertising them for both models. Nicko, only use 83 hoses on 83, and 84/85 on those. There is a difference. I got GPI to reverse engineer my original hoses and they do fit perfectly, but they add a bit of "green" that you can trim off. In other words, they make them slightly longer so that you can trim them to fit perfectly.
With the exhaust, one of the best mods i did was use a JEMCO cone pipe. I have the original and Jemco and i have 2 YZ125K's. I swap pipes and the Jemco shortens the power band but makes it POP. If you like running a 125 WFO then the JEMCO is the pipe to get. Unfortunately they are hard to come by.
The rear shock is also a pain. The shock body was never hard anodized and a lot of bodies are fucked internally. I had to give 3 shock bodies to Race Tech Australia before they would rebuild one, as the others were unserviceable.
I have had some problems with my Gorr cylinder and head. I have had 3 seizures. I finally gave it to a tuner/builder to run measurements and it was detonation caused by fuel being trapped in the corners of the cylinder head. The solution so far is to add a base gasket to lower compression and change the squish. I think Gorr tuned it for race fuel but we are only running regular pump gas.
Good luck with the build..
Cheers,
I went ahead and caved on getting the DLS setup for the front brake. One had been sitting on eBay for more than I wanted to spend. Low balled thinking there is no way he'd accept, and a few minutes later i get an email saying I won the auction so that should be here soon
Ordered some new hardware for random parts of the bike this past weekend. Figured it would be better and cheaper to replace some of the hardware that could be replaced for $1-$2 versus cleaning up and having them zinc plated.
Holding off on sending some parts off to be zinc plated but I need to get on that ASAP. The platers hours are terrible (6-~3:30, closed weekends) being an hour away so not too many opportunities to get out there since I work a 7-4:00 schedule usually, but I think i go to second shift for a couple days to help out production so a window may open up in the next week to do so. First need to get those tid bits cleaned up. May make that a weekend project along with cleaning up the garage.
Also got a sneak peak from the engine builder yesterday.
Lately i'm getting an itch to try out vintage MX, doubt i'd use this bike with the $$$ i'll end up in it, but i'll be keeping an eye out for a pre-liquid cooled YZ. Not sure the wifey will buy off on that or not
The Shop
DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
Free shipping: VITALMX
Can't say enough good about Tom Morgan. Great communication (phone & email) and a quick turn around. By far the best person i found when trying to find an engine builder.
Spent some time in the garage tonight. Installed the triple clamps while the wife prepped parts for the zinc platers.
We're headed to watch some vintage MX racing east of Grand Rapids Saturday. Think I have her on board with me getting another bike to start doing some racing. As of now, i'm thinking a late 70's Husky which seems like it'll be a challenge to track one down for a reasonable price.
I had an internal fight with myself about buying another bike. You can see in the photo how that ended up going
Motor & Swingarm went on tonight.
Still waiting on getting the suspension & gas tank back.
Next on the to-do list for the time being will be electronics & install the carb.
I'm still struggling to track down a good air box to use for this build. I got one from the guy i bought the bike from, but it's not in the best shape. Think it'll be worth it to upgrade to a nicer box.
Hopefully we will get a chance to knock out a few more things over the long weekend. Once we get the suspension on, I suspect things will start flowing a little quicker.
Now just need to decide what i want to do for graphics.
Something like this (different number plates, not a fan of these on this bike). My lower fork tubes will be anodized black, need to be careful to not put too much black on the bike.
or this in yellow
The pipe on the bike is in really good condition, think we decided to reuse versus buying a Jemco. Wanting to cut cost a little bit so i can get some parts for the Husqvarna (Pipe, pegs, pedals, etc from HVA Factory). Just bought a new frame for the Husky so i can get it prepped and ready to start swapping parts over during winter to be ready for next season.
I've got a 125L with a K cylinder and standard K 34mm carb, I've picked up somewhere in these threads that fitting a IT250K carb was in the wrench report for the 83, I have got the 36mm carb off the 84 which I believe to be identical apart from the main jet so I'll be giving this a try.
Have you got any more pieces of information off the wrench report or any other hop ups you can advise me on?
Thanks.
Cheers,
Suspension will supposedly be back to me on Tuesday from Noleens. Will see how it all looks when it comes in. Just over 16 weeks from when i sent them off... Still a bit ticked over how long it took them. Very good on answering the phone but got told shipping next week probably 8 times. Hopefully they're worth the wait.
Cheers,
Slid the forks in last night and got the fender on this morning. Finally resembling a bike again.
Struggling to track down an air box for the bike. The one i have has holes drilled in it and is in too poor of condition to use for this build. Been watching Ebay but the options are less than stellar for the few that do pop up.
I need to get the radiators on order so i can get those on, at that point I don't think i'll be too far away from having the front half of the bike buttoned up once i get my wheels back.
Wife's new bike is in the background. It's a 2017 KLX140G that we accidentally stumbled upon with 1 ride on it for half the price of new. My dad just happened to be looking for a CRF230 as a friends/family spare bike so he grabbed that last time they came to visit. Ended up about breaking even between getting rid of a 12 year old bike for a 1 year old one. Can't beat that, so far seems like a good little bike that she's much more comfortable on.
Pit Row
Got the radiators from GPI, not quiet as thick as the originals so had to get some aluminum spacers to get clearance for the radiator hose on the brake side against the frame.
Front wheel is currently getting a tire put on and the goal is to button up the front of the bike and begin moving towards the back.
Got lucky and finally tracked down an airbox for the bike. Found someone on FB with a NOS air box so working on moving everything over to the new box from the old. I need to test riveting a couple pieces together on the old one to make sure it won't pull it thru the plastic.
Need to order a couple odds and ends this week and hopefully have a front tire on the bike before the end of the month.
Glad to finally see something that resembles a bike again.
Bars mounted and front wheel installed tonight.
Got the back wheel mounted last night, was missing a few things on the brakes and had to buy a rear brake plate to get a couple bushings that went missing. Got that done Friday and the wheel put on yesterday afternoon. Went together smoother than i was expecting.
Ending up tracking down that a 1998 YZ125 uses the same sprocket so was able to put a Renthal sprocket on it. I'm a fan of the drilled hole style sprocket they are known for, and the options online for a 83 YZ125 in general aren't that great.
Shifter side number plate is installed, hoping to get the exhaust side and rear fender on later today.
Seat was on just to help get the number plate lined up, it will get a new cover and probably foam at a later date.
Bike is finally starting to look like a completed bike, a few more things and this should be very close to being finished.
Exhaust side, i need to hold off on getting the number plate installed until the exhaust is on. Need to start looking for options, i really like the Jemco, however reviews and lead time make me going else where is a better idea. DG is a decent price, just not a fan of the styling on the expansion chamber. Rather a more factory style looking pipe, but options are limited for the bike last i checked.
No major updates over the last year.
Work consumed a ton of time, a move from Michigan down to Texas and a lack of motivation contributed to the limited progression. Ordered the majority of the parts needed to wrap the build up.
The bike has a new home in the room above the garage. Thankfully wife was cool with us putting a bike in the house
Last major thing i need to get is a pipe and why i'm posting. Trying to track down a vintage period correct pipe. I have the stock pipe and ideally not wanting to use it or a DG (no real reason other than i want something more unique). If anyone has a line on something let me know.
I've reached out to a couple pipe builders, the one i'd prefer to use if i'm going this route has a 3 month wait so looking to see if i have any other options. Craigslist, Ebay and FB have failed me unfortunately.
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