Posts
7
Joined
2/9/2022
Location
NZ
Edited Date/Time
3/27/2022 1:07am
So a bit of background for you, I cant ride at the moment following a recent crash. But what i can do is start yet another RM125 build thread for you to read and have a good yarn about!
This is my 2007 RM 125 that I bought off a young lad and his dad back in 2016. It was his transition bike before going to 250f and then his dads to do some trails and beach rides on here in Auckland, NZ. I got it for a bargain when you look at todays prices. The coolest part was all the history it came with, the dude kept a log of every ride but also all the f*** ups with maintenance, like putting a piston in the wrong way!!
Anyway - here are some photos of it around the time of purchasing. Your typical rockstar energy RM 125!
The decals drove me nuts so they swiftly got pulled off and I ran just plain white and yellow until I decided to tear the bike down and give it some real attention.
And the missus trying it on for size and comparing to her YZ85 BW that she started on. Safe to say the RM was a better fit!
At this point we stopped riding a little, began travelling some more and learning to surf! So it was the perfect time to get into a rebuild. I wish i took more photos of the tear down, but you've all seen enough old bikes so can imagine what shape it was in.
This is my 2007 RM 125 that I bought off a young lad and his dad back in 2016. It was his transition bike before going to 250f and then his dads to do some trails and beach rides on here in Auckland, NZ. I got it for a bargain when you look at todays prices. The coolest part was all the history it came with, the dude kept a log of every ride but also all the f*** ups with maintenance, like putting a piston in the wrong way!!
Anyway - here are some photos of it around the time of purchasing. Your typical rockstar energy RM 125!
The decals drove me nuts so they swiftly got pulled off and I ran just plain white and yellow until I decided to tear the bike down and give it some real attention.
And the missus trying it on for size and comparing to her YZ85 BW that she started on. Safe to say the RM was a better fit!
At this point we stopped riding a little, began travelling some more and learning to surf! So it was the perfect time to get into a rebuild. I wish i took more photos of the tear down, but you've all seen enough old bikes so can imagine what shape it was in.
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The plan at this stage was to really focus on addressing the rust and wear / tear on the frame. It was getting pretty bad from years of poor washes.
The list!
Powder Coat frame and subframe
New steering bearings
Inspect linkage bearings (recently done before I purchased it)
New plastics & Decals
New controls
I actually wanted to do heaps of Cerakote, Ti and an engine rebuild but one the budget didnt allow and two, Im a slow rider so things like Ti will do me no favours! Except look cool on a build thread!
Disclaimer - I took HEAPs of inspiration from other build threads, both RM and other models on here so props to those of you that get into builds!
Freshly powder coated chassis - it was super thick too, the guys done an epic job. Keeping in mind that was done in 2018, barely a mark on it today!
New races for the bearings
So I decided against any engine work. I literally put in on the bench, covered it up and waited for the frame to come back. During framing, it simply got a quick wash and went straight back into the frame.
The same actually applies to the front end, I slid the forks out with the wheel steel bolted up as I had no intention on making any changes there. You'll notice them in some of the other photos sitting in the BG all hooked up still.
I will get some more posted up later in the week as i dig out images from the archives!!
I ordered a some graphics, new plastics and a full bolt kit for an RM125 and after moving house, swiftly got some more work done to it.
I got a great deal on some graphics from SKDA in australia, super impressed with the quality, communication and turn around time. It was awesome!
And here it is - finished, at least for the time being. At this point i was kind of happy with the outcome (6.5/10) but there was still more i wanted to. My wife at this point had just got a TTR230 after selling the YZ85 and just wanted to ride so I had to get mine done.
As for the RM - well, it was time for a new top end. The current one had a LOT of hours on it. But for the level of riding i do, it was still holding good compression and power. Just a little rattly when cold.
So off the top came. I am a stickler for keeping my bikes clean and every wash i do is a mission for most of my friends that i ride with. But, it pays off, this bike has had zero issues over the last years.
The top end got done, we got another 7 hours of riding in and then COVID happened. No riding here in NZ for 3 month back in April-June 2020.
We mostly do trail riding as we were a little intimidated by the busy mx tracks at our local spots. But the trails gave my wife and I a good chance to get acquainted with different types of conditions.
I lost the wife on one of the 12km loops and upon going back around I found her in 4ft of Bog after trying to jump it! There were arrows telling you to ride round! Props for trying though!!
As i said though, that bike was just too heavy and too slow for some of the steep trails we were riding. I was at our local Husky shop when the parts manager told me about a customer who was selling a 2018 KTM 250SXF for a GREAT PRICE in order to cover the cost of a pair of new TE 300i Huskys. A day later, this was in the garage and the Yamaha was up for sale!
It didn't look like that for long - Our first ride out with the KTM was in some pretty wet and muddy conditions especially for some rookies. Her first ride resulted in two broken levers and one broken fork guard. But she trooped on for another hour before we called it quits.
This was a mates bike that day to give you an idea of the conditions! Super fun!
It was safe to say though - she loves the KTM. A Lighter in general, way light when riding. More power and easy to ride! So many people told me it was a bad idea putting her on it! I call BS, she has gone from strength to strength in such a short space of time.
The RM at this point started to feel really soft and saggy when sitting on it. I knew the linkage bearings and wheel bearings were good, so assumed it was the rear shock. A neighbour in the suburb that I live in owns a WP service center and is the support crew for some local Husky/GasGas/KTM teams so i reached out about getting it serviced.
I am happy doing most things on the bike. But rear shocks was new territory for me and I assumed I also didn't have the tooling needed.
Turns out it wasn't in too bad condition, but was long overdue a service, Whilst it was apart, i had the Body cerakoted in burnt bronze and a few other parts in jet black. After installing and getting out for the first ride on it was great. Felt much better for sure.
This was the beginning of my cerakote obsession and the motivator for build 2.0!!
The Shop
DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
Free shipping: VITALMX
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
I rode the bike maybe for 6 fours on that shock rebuild before deciding it was time address my new cerakote addiction. I had a baby on the way and knew that I wasnt going to be getting a whole lot of riding in over the coming months, so what better time to strip the RM down and get to work right?!
I had a friend help fabricate me an engine stand so I can store the motor away and work on it easier in the future.
Once she was stripped down, the frame got a much needed clean and I removed any clear tape that was present to stop the powdercoat from rubbing.
At this point our son arrived which was kind of perfect because I had a list of things to ship off for coating.
- Hubs (Bronze Cerakote)
- Rims (Black Powdercoat)
- Triple clamps (Black Cerakote)
- Fork Lugs (Black Cerakote)
- Fork Tubes (Bronze Cerakote)
- Ignition Cover (Black Cerakote)
- Drive Side Cover (Grey Cerakote)
- Clutch Cover (Black Cerakote)
- Water Pump Housing (Black Cerekote)
I also needed to order some parts:
- Pro-taper levers
- Pro Bolt drilled washers and Bolts (Triple clamps, pinch bolts, exhaust mounts, plastic washers and bolts etc)
For anyone in NZ reading this, i had all my coating (except for Frame) done via P1 Moto and 77Coating. Troy at P1 is my go to for access to people that can do that kind of stuff and for when I am doing any suspension stuff that puts me out of my depth. Rear shocks mainly!!
Anyway, here is are some shots of the parts when I got them back from coating. It was still winter in NZ so had some time before some of my local tracks opened back up to get her built back up.
I decided I was going to do the fork rebuild myself. I have done a few pairs of Japanese forks before so felt good doing these!
The spokes were horrific and I was at the edge of my budget. If I were to sell this, I wanted to be sure I am making some money so new spokes were not on the cards!
I took my time with the forks, but turned them around pretty quick. If i am honest, I do wish i didnt have the lugs cerakoted, it didnt hold up too well.
I am not going to lie, I was STOKED AS when i finished the forks and slid them into the clamps. it served as a massive motivator to finish framing the bike and get her rolling again. By the following day I was mostly done except for a couple of things i needed to order.
One thing that i didnt take any photos of while on the stand was the engine with its new covers and engine bolts. I wish i had!! Here is the one photo i did have. The color combo was just what I was after!
The first ride back ended up being right before a public holiday so the track was quiet, prepped and the weather in New Zealand was on-point!
I made a few changes to it during this rebuild, a little extra oil in the forks (I am 94kgs on a 125!) and some other ergo changes. The ride this time around felt great and I was stoked with how its turned out.
There is more I had on my list, such as brake upgrades and cerakoting and so on. But for now, I just wanted to get back out riding and get more seat time.
It was a dusty as day by the time we finished but i was just stoked to be out riding and getting to enjoy the bike after all the effort I had put into over the previous months.
So thats a wrap, for anyone reading, I hope you like it and maybe got some inspiration and ideas. It may not be everyones cup of tea or a 'factory build' but It is an example of what you can do on a small budget!
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