1981 yz125 value

special K
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special K
Edited Date/Time 3/3/2020 12:32pm
Why does 1981 yz125 seem to not sell for much or hold much value? It was the first year water cooled and last year before power valve and had the ugliest radiator fairing ever designed. Seems that would put some rarity on them but when you do see one for sale not to often they don’t get much money. I have 2 of them and one is restored to excellent rider status not museum collector and I was told $1500 would be top dollar. Makes me not even want to attempt to restore my all original well used daily rider because it would be throwing good money at bad money.

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ATKpilot99
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ATKpilot99 10/26/2019 8:14am
10/26/2019 8:14am Edited Date/Time 10/26/2019 8:15am
I don't know what they were thinking when they designed that radiator shroud. The works bikes had the fork mounted radiator as far back as 76 or 77 and they just had a vented number plate I'm guessing made out of aluminum? If I were going to race one that's what I would run but if course if you're restoring you need that shroud. Oddly the CRs had the hideous hangnail numberplates the same year.
special K
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special K 10/26/2019 8:24am
10/26/2019 8:24am Edited Date/Time 10/26/2019 8:44am
I’ve got my eye on one of the vented number plates but not sure I want to stray from the stock look although I do have the rare vinyl tank cover on one of them.
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KHI Guy
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KHI Guy 10/26/2019 8:34am
10/26/2019 8:34am Edited Date/Time 10/26/2019 8:18pm
They were not good bikes when they were released, and they are not sought after by collectors or post vintage racers. I wouldn't mind having a nice example because I like bikes from that era. I don't have a personal attachment to that particular year, and that is about what I would pay for the one you have. Someone that needs that particular bike (for whatever reason) would probably pay more.
rob.boucher.547 10/27/2019 11:15am
10/27/2019 11:15am
I do not think you are connecting with the correct buyers.
The bikes are worth way more!
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Shawbridge Husky 10/27/2019 3:07pm
10/27/2019 3:07pm
I still have min in boxes and will get to it someday. I came close to making it into a 175 air cooled but decided against it. It's going to be rebuilt as a resto-mod and rework the leak prone steering stem issue. The 1980 G seems to be more sought after on account of the cooling issue bit otherwise they are practically the same bike. Being I'm no longer weighting 115 lbs bit more like 185 I think the water cooling will be a huge plus for engine longevity.

The MXA test of the '81 YZ125H was pretty good and they liked the bike, but yes on bad radiator placement.
Anyhow I'm into air cooled only and this model being the exception as it was desirable to me in 1981 when I was still
on my '79 YZ125F

Rob Boucher please post of some of your former build's pics as that was what a real 1980 YZ125H should be built like !
special K
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special K 10/27/2019 3:53pm
10/27/2019 3:53pm
The cooling set up is really crazy but I’ve been lucky and haven’t had any leaks since I lathed a few thousands of the steering stems to clean them up and polished them to a mirror finish and fitted them with new seals that are the same O.D. As original and the I.D. I got 2 thousands smaller than my new appropriate calculation for seal size so they fit tighter and put a thin layer of right stuff sealer on the O.D. I try to drop the the lower tree down every winter and wipe the stem down real good because any little bit of rust is what tears the seals up. I used a very very high quality lathe because you don’t want even the least bit out of round when a seal is concerned.
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EastFlorida
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EastFlorida 10/28/2019 4:14am
10/28/2019 4:14am
I'd pay you more than $1,500 for that bike... Where are you located?
special K
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special K 10/28/2019 5:36am
10/28/2019 5:36am
Not really sure I am selling. I was kind of just wondering if it was even worth the time and money to restore my daily rider. I didn’t keep track of the money I spent on the first one because I didn’t care at the time. But after I was told a few times that they aren’t worth much I’m hesitant to open my wallet to restore a bike that runs like new and is a blast to ride.
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Shawbridge Husky 10/28/2019 7:40pm
10/28/2019 7:40pm
You're right just ride it, heck it looks great as is ! A 250/465 G or H is a better candidate investment wise as they are sought after and will always be in demand.
Shawbridge Husky 10/28/2019 7:43pm
10/28/2019 7:43pm
Rob Boucher's above the bike that has EVERYTHING !
special K
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special K 10/28/2019 8:35pm
10/28/2019 8:35pm
Damn that’s nice. Can’t believe my best friend had a 465 back in 1993 and sold it for like $500 in perfect running condition. What we didn’t know then. They where just old bikes. Glad I hung onto mine even though I was the little guy with the 125’s.
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450exc115
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450exc115 10/29/2019 9:15am
10/29/2019 9:15am
81 YZ465 you say... Love mine.
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special K
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special K 10/29/2019 5:30pm
10/29/2019 5:30pm
Man what I’d give for one of those. All I remember is it was like riding a rocket ship with terrible brakes. And the rear fender had dozens of holes from bolting it back on from all the times it got ripped off. We where only 21 at the time and found it for $500. I weighed 150 pounds and could only tip toe one foot after my 6’4” buddy started it because the bottom of my foot was destroyed from the kick back.
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450exc115
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450exc115 10/29/2019 6:08pm
10/29/2019 6:08pm
It's got plenty of power and it feels like a strong modern 300 but with less over rev and more vibration. Lol

It does get going in a hurry but the brakes are decent if you remember vintage racing is about carrying speed on the outside lines of the corners. Wink

A more modern version of the shock helps a bunch too. I've run a fox twin clicker now but a modified stocker works pretty good too.
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special K
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special K 10/29/2019 7:24pm
10/29/2019 7:24pm
I was looking through my original service manual and got a laugh out of the diagram that says works style cooling. Appears I have some valuable works bikes. 😂😂😂😂😂. And yes that was a joke.

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Shawbridge Husky 10/31/2019 9:48am
10/31/2019 9:48am
It was a big deal back then ! I drooled over that thing coming off a '79 YZ125F
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skypig
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skypig 10/31/2019 6:30pm
10/31/2019 6:30pm
That was the year of Watercooling.

I was lucky enough to buy an RM125X

My friends had the YZ’s
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special K
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special K 10/31/2019 6:47pm
10/31/2019 6:47pm
When they came out I was 12 years old riding my 1979 yz80 that was getting to small and not so impressive. I remember making my dad get me every issue of every magazine in 81 like dirt rider, dirt world, etc. because he was manager at a Kroger grocery store. I never got one but ended up going through a KX80, yz100 , 1986 yz125, XT350, and stripped down DT250. Then in 1991 I found both of these bikes crazy enough in my home town 5 miles from each other both in the same month. Got one for $200 and my daily rider for $500. Only bikes I’ve never even considered parting with. Not sure why.
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Shawbridge Husky 11/5/2019 12:46pm
11/5/2019 12:46pm
Wow that's amazing special K ! I had the '78 YZ80E and yes on outgrowing it I remember that all too well, broke the frame twice. Got the '79 YZ125F late in the summer of that year when I was a 16 year old senior in high school, I could barely touch the ground on it.. I tried my freinds '80 YZ125G the summer after and thought it was HUGE !
DoctorJD
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DoctorJD 11/11/2019 1:39pm
11/11/2019 1:39pm
I bought one new back in the day. Probably one of my biggest regrets as it pertains to bike purchases. It looked soooo trick, with the gold rims, water cooling, and right-side drive. Not that the bike was a dog, while not a fire-breather, it was no slouch. I think the only problem I had with it was a bent shift fork, so it was pretty reliable. It was just extremely top heavy -no - just heavy in general, at least if felt that way. I still had my 79' RM125 at the time, and I could hop off of that YZ onto the RM and it felt like I was riding a bicycle compared to the YZ. Plus, the RMs felt lower to the ground.

That was the same year that the Full-Floater RMs came out, and I made this mistake of riding a friends. Then, I rode another friends 81' YZ250 and it just got worse. Moral of the story: NOTHING good can come from riding someone else's bike. I raced it (the 81') for one season before I went to college. I sold it to a local guy and he rode it for several more years.

special K
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special K 11/27/2019 1:52pm
11/27/2019 1:52pm
First one for sale on eBay in a few years right now. Going to watch and see what it goes for. Looks to be nice but not as nice as mine.
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Michael2112
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Michael2112 3/1/2020 7:07am
3/1/2020 7:07am
I’d be interested in purchasing a 1981 YZ 125 let me know . I’m from Pittsburgh
special K
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special K 3/2/2020 6:30pm
3/2/2020 6:30pm
There’s a 1981 yz125 for sale right now on eBay. Appears to be missing the carb manifold and a few other things. Seat is not correct. Probably priced to high for what it is but who knows.
mb60
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mb60 3/3/2020 12:32pm
3/3/2020 12:32pm
My parents bought me one that was left over when the 82's came out. I rode motocross and cross country on that poor bike and put like seemed a million miles on it. Was a decent bike at my age going on 15.
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Scott Mallett
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Scott Mallett 9/17/2023 1:09pm
9/17/2023 1:09pm

This thread is a few years old but folks here may find this interesting....

Here is my 1980 YZ250G with a hand-built water cooled setup on it. 

This was local Florida pro Steve Martin's setup built by his mechanic Ryan Saari.  Steve was on the LOP race team at the time and was not allowed to race with this setup so in 1981 I ended up with it, as well as with a handful of other goodies like the F-model shock body turned into a shock reservoir for the G model which you can see bolted to the downtube.

Ryan machined off the stock cooling fins and welded up the cooling jackets as shown.  The radiator was behind the front number plate (that's how it was done back then lol)......a Shinobi radiator from the Honda kits at the time.  It was thermo-syphon (no water pump) and worked quite well.

IMG 20200621 070441539.jpg?VersionId=.p.PGbrhYIrQkL.Rf2ljXBB8

 

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mxracer106 9/20/2023 6:28am
9/20/2023 6:28am
Scott Mallett wrote:
This thread is a few years old but folks here may find this interesting.... Here is my 1980 YZ250G with a hand-built water cooled setup on...

This thread is a few years old but folks here may find this interesting....

Here is my 1980 YZ250G with a hand-built water cooled setup on it. 

This was local Florida pro Steve Martin's setup built by his mechanic Ryan Saari.  Steve was on the LOP race team at the time and was not allowed to race with this setup so in 1981 I ended up with it, as well as with a handful of other goodies like the F-model shock body turned into a shock reservoir for the G model which you can see bolted to the downtube.

Ryan machined off the stock cooling fins and welded up the cooling jackets as shown.  The radiator was behind the front number plate (that's how it was done back then lol)......a Shinobi radiator from the Honda kits at the time.  It was thermo-syphon (no water pump) and worked quite well.

IMG 20200621 070441539.jpg?VersionId=.p.PGbrhYIrQkL.Rf2ljXBB8

 

Wow! Very cool innovations going on back in that era! Any other pics of that bike you can share? How long did you race it? Any idea where it is now?

h20
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h20 10/17/2023 1:04pm
10/17/2023 1:04pm Edited Date/Time 10/17/2023 1:04pm

My buddy had this Suzuki.  Literally lasted 30 some years!

 

I think this is a 1979

IMG 0229 0

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