1987 RM125....I”m a sucker for old Suzuki”s..

Black Diesel Bomber 4/18/2019 8:03pm
4/18/2019 8:03pm
sandman768 wrote:
Cleaned up the pipe, blew out some dents, blued the welds some, heat clear paint... [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2019/03/25/333938/s1200_873EABAD_80DE_4085_B215_2F92FF159040.jpg[/img] [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2019/03/25/333939/s1200_67761A18_56A1_4207_AAA2_2625363A4C41.jpg[/img]
Cleaned up the pipe, blew out some dents, blued the welds some, heat clear paint...


Can you please elaborate on the "heat clear" paint? What product did you use and does it hold up well?
sandman768
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sandman768 4/19/2019 5:17am
4/19/2019 5:17am
sandman768 wrote:
Cleaned up the pipe, blew out some dents, blued the welds some, heat clear paint... [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2019/03/25/333938/s1200_873EABAD_80DE_4085_B215_2F92FF159040.jpg[/img] [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2019/03/25/333939/s1200_67761A18_56A1_4207_AAA2_2625363A4C41.jpg[/img]
Cleaned up the pipe, blew out some dents, blued the welds some, heat clear paint...


Black Diesel Bomber wrote:
Can you please elaborate on the "heat clear" paint? What product did you use and does it hold up well?
VHT clear heat paint in spray can. Autozone sells it, I can take a photo of the can when I get a chance...holds up great on garage queens! On a rider it does wear eventually but makes raw pipe maintenance much easier , when it starts wearing you will see it, take pipe off, scuff with red scotchbrite, shoot it again with the clear, I do all my raw pipes like this now, especially after a I just spent 6 hrs restoring one?
Black Diesel Bomber 4/19/2019 9:43am
4/19/2019 9:43am
sandman768 wrote:
Cleaned up the pipe, blew out some dents, blued the welds some, heat clear paint... [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2019/03/25/333938/s1200_873EABAD_80DE_4085_B215_2F92FF159040.jpg[/img] [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2019/03/25/333939/s1200_67761A18_56A1_4207_AAA2_2625363A4C41.jpg[/img]
Cleaned up the pipe, blew out some dents, blued the welds some, heat clear paint...


Black Diesel Bomber wrote:
Can you please elaborate on the "heat clear" paint? What product did you use and does it hold up well?
sandman768 wrote:
VHT clear heat paint in spray can. Autozone sells it, I can take a photo of the can when I get a chance...holds up great on...
VHT clear heat paint in spray can. Autozone sells it, I can take a photo of the can when I get a chance...holds up great on garage queens! On a rider it does wear eventually but makes raw pipe maintenance much easier , when it starts wearing you will see it, take pipe off, scuff with red scotchbrite, shoot it again with the clear, I do all my raw pipes like this now, especially after a I just spent 6 hrs restoring one?
Nice, so you're saying it's a lot easier to maintain this way than the old "coat it with WD40" after every ride? Sounds like a plan. Is this the stuff you use?



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sandman768
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sandman768 4/19/2019 9:56am
4/19/2019 9:56am
That’s it, they have a can that is clear coat...yes, makes maintaining much easier, all the little areas you can’t get to, stay rust free longer.

The Shop

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sandman768 4/26/2019 3:53pm
4/26/2019 3:53pm
Cylinder back from Ken O’Conner racing, nice job on the sleeve install. Thought I would clean up some casting flaws & match transfers to cases.



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sandman768
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sandman768 4/26/2019 3:55pm
4/26/2019 3:55pm
Base gasket fits better after case transfer cleanup
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sandman768
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sandman768 4/26/2019 3:58pm
4/26/2019 3:58pm
Polished exhaust port
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sandman768 4/30/2019 10:18am
4/30/2019 10:18am
Not happy with fit of cylinder on top of cases, I can see some gaps, cylinder bottom has been surfaced and is flat. Was prepared for a battle with the case studs, but 3 of them were loose! Installed new case dowl pins & screws to make sure cases were lined up correctly. Used a sharpie marker to check the flatness of cases.
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sandman768 4/30/2019 10:23am
4/30/2019 10:23am
After a couple light figure eights on my surface board
Little more time on the board
And a few more figure eights, gets it flat, matched and hopefully air & coolant leak free
6
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sandman768 4/30/2019 10:32am
4/30/2019 10:32am
New Case bearings next, then I can move on to refinishing the engine components before final engine assembly. I must have a solid 8 hrs into prepping these cases for reassembly and refinishing.!
40
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40 5/1/2019 4:39am
5/1/2019 4:39am
sandman768 wrote:
New Case bearings next, then I can move on to refinishing the engine components before final engine assembly. I must have a solid 8 hrs into...
New Case bearings next, then I can move on to refinishing the engine components before final engine assembly. I must have a solid 8 hrs into prepping these cases for reassembly and refinishing.!
Few people realize how much time and effort these projects take unless you've done a few yourself.
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sandman768 5/1/2019 4:50am
5/1/2019 4:50am
sandman768 wrote:
New Case bearings next, then I can move on to refinishing the engine components before final engine assembly. I must have a solid 8 hrs into...
New Case bearings next, then I can move on to refinishing the engine components before final engine assembly. I must have a solid 8 hrs into prepping these cases for reassembly and refinishing.!
40 wrote:
Few people realize how much time and effort these projects take unless you've done a few yourself.
These old bikes require a lot more than slapping a new top end in....its amazing the damage that can be done to the soft aluminum cases & surfaces when using the wrong tools....every time I work on an old Suzuki I say it’s the last one! Good rainy day project, which we seem to have a lot of around here...
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sandman768 5/1/2019 12:41pm
5/1/2019 12:41pm
All new bearings in cases, parts prepped for paint.....


sandman768
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sandman768 5/3/2019 9:42am
5/3/2019 9:42am
Moving along... I broke the original clutch lever attempting to straighten it, Tusk replacement fits ok, had to modify the perch a bit but works good now...
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sandman768 5/3/2019 9:46am
5/3/2019 9:46am
Air box appears restrictive, looks like Suzuki felt the same way, they actually have templates to drill the box in 4 spots..so I Went ahead & drilled some holes...




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sandman768 5/3/2019 9:49am
5/3/2019 9:49am
Most of the engine case Phillips screws are in good condition but I had some Honda case bolts laying around the shop, 8mm headed bolts much better...
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sandman768 5/3/2019 9:56am
5/3/2019 9:56am
Good to mock up along the way so no surprises..Fit & finish was pretty pathetic for Suzuki around this era, frame straight as an arrow, all oem/ original parts & they still fit like they were designed by a committee that never met.

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VintageRacer
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VintageRacer 5/3/2019 9:07pm
5/3/2019 9:07pm
Looking great Dennis

Pit Row

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sandman768
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sandman768 5/4/2019 4:44am
5/4/2019 4:44am
VintageRacer wrote:
Looking great Dennis
Thanks....slowly coming together..
40
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40 5/4/2019 11:07am
5/4/2019 11:07am Edited Date/Time 5/4/2019 11:10am
sandman768 wrote:
Most of the engine case Phillips screws are in good condition but I had some Honda case bolts laying around the shop, 8mm headed bolts much...
Most of the engine case Phillips screws are in good condition but I had some Honda case bolts laying around the shop, 8mm headed bolts much better...
Honda bolts are always a welcome addition on a Suzuki, or Yamaha, etc. etc.
Incidentally, Rocky Mtn sells Tusk brand imitation Honda bolts inexpensively in various lengths and diameters. And they are pretty good quality.
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sandman768 5/4/2019 11:24am
5/4/2019 11:24am
sandman768 wrote:
Most of the engine case Phillips screws are in good condition but I had some Honda case bolts laying around the shop, 8mm headed bolts much...
Most of the engine case Phillips screws are in good condition but I had some Honda case bolts laying around the shop, 8mm headed bolts much better...
40 wrote:
Honda bolts are always a welcome addition on a Suzuki, or Yamaha, etc. etc. Incidentally, Rocky Mtn sells Tusk brand imitation Honda bolts inexpensively in various...
Honda bolts are always a welcome addition on a Suzuki, or Yamaha, etc. etc.
Incidentally, Rocky Mtn sells Tusk brand imitation Honda bolts inexpensively in various lengths and diameters. And they are pretty good quality.
Good info, thanks, Most of the tusk parts I have bought have been good quality
40
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40 5/4/2019 1:13pm
5/4/2019 1:13pm
sandman768 wrote:
Most of the engine case Phillips screws are in good condition but I had some Honda case bolts laying around the shop, 8mm headed bolts much...
Most of the engine case Phillips screws are in good condition but I had some Honda case bolts laying around the shop, 8mm headed bolts much better...
40 wrote:
Honda bolts are always a welcome addition on a Suzuki, or Yamaha, etc. etc. Incidentally, Rocky Mtn sells Tusk brand imitation Honda bolts inexpensively in various...
Honda bolts are always a welcome addition on a Suzuki, or Yamaha, etc. etc.
Incidentally, Rocky Mtn sells Tusk brand imitation Honda bolts inexpensively in various lengths and diameters. And they are pretty good quality.
sandman768 wrote:
Good info, thanks, Most of the tusk parts I have bought have been good quality
The only Tusk parts I've been extremely disappointed in are their clutch plates.
The majority of other Tusk items such as sprockets, chains, levers, air filters, etc. have been a good value.
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PTshox 5/4/2019 1:37pm
5/4/2019 1:37pm
Why did you sleeve the cylinder vs just replate it?
Ken's a good guy to work with.
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sandman768 5/4/2019 8:14pm
5/4/2019 8:14pm
PTshox wrote:
Why did you sleeve the cylinder vs just replate it?
Ken's a good guy to work with.
It’s a sleeved cylinder From the factory, they were not plated in 87, I would not sleeve a cylinder that was originally plated. Not a lot of options for this cylinder, no nos available, used were all junk, mine was ,80 over, so sleeve back to standard bore is best option, now if I wanted to preserve that bore I could have it plated, but I”m trying to keep cost within budget. Plus KOR”s sleeve included a piston kit, that was cost effective when comparing to A new cylinder, if you could find a new cylinder.


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sandman768 5/6/2019 9:47am
5/6/2019 9:47am
Finally a decent warm day to get this refinished



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sandman768
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sandman768 5/7/2019 11:01am
5/7/2019 11:01am
Cylinder all loaded & ready...


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sandman768 5/7/2019 1:31pm
5/7/2019 1:31pm
Figured I would o/h the front brake caliper, I knew the pad screws could be frozen, so I had soaked them in PBblaster weeks ago. I had a similar problem on my 88RM250 build, had to drill the pins out, I was lucky to save that caliper but there was no saving this caliper, these pins were frozen solid, no amount of heat, or force would budge them. Out came the drill, even drilling the heads off did not loosen them! Screw threads now ruined, caliper was shot, may as well just try to get the brct off, 3 hrs later I got it apart. Few on eBay for cheap, but good possibility the pad screws are frozen on the eBay calipers also. Remembered I have a complete 1990 KX500 front end in my loft, Kawi & Suzuki share the same brake pads from that era, so.......yep, the 1990 K5 caliper is the same! Mount brct is different & banjo bolt is different. I was able to get the pad screws out of the K5 caliper & swap everything over, now I need to media blast & rebuild the caliper.... the K5 caliper mounted to the fork leg...



lcgordon711
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lcgordon711 5/8/2019 6:04am
5/8/2019 6:04am
This is my favorite build to watch
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MXVet261 5/8/2019 7:28am
5/8/2019 7:28am
I wish PJ1 still made the Suzuki blue paint.....at one point I hoarded several cans of that but I'm out now.
sandman768
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sandman768 5/8/2019 7:30am
5/8/2019 7:30am
MXVet261 wrote:
I wish PJ1 still made the Suzuki blue paint.....at one point I hoarded several cans of that but I'm out now.
I searched for a long time for some...all gone...

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