Posts
33
Joined
7/16/2016
Location
AU
Bought a second hand YZ65 for my 6 year old. Once I got it home, I had a quick ride and realised its way to quick for him. I've decided to pull it down and give the whole thing a good clean up. Bikes in decent shape, everything's straight, it starts. I think it was never cleaned properly.
Might have been looking for an excuse to clean a bike up. I get off on bringing parts back to life. Not a fan of anodised aluminium parts and don't wana dump a heap of money into this thing. Tear down, clean up and slap back together. Uppa
Night before I stripped the bike I jumped onto MXstore.com and grabbed plastics, hour meter, muffler packing, renthal bar pad, guts seat cover, vertex top end kit, chain, sprockets, gear lever. Also, ordered a set of number plate graphics from rival ink.
The Shop
DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
Free shipping: VITALMX
I spent a full day drinking beers, pulling the bike apart and pressure washing the thing. Living. The Gernie was red hot by the end of the day and so was my neighbour. He was in my shed abusing me about the noise. Fuck him, it'll make reving the piss out of this thing once it's done so much sweeter.
Strategy for the build is clean every part up and try and have it better then new. Pick a part from the pile of dirty bits and throw it in the box full of clean fresh parts ready for assembly.
First part, swing arm.
Degreaser, alu brite, battery drill with a poly brush head. Scourer, steel wool pad with soap. Came up pretty clean.
Muffler, tore the packing out and same process as the swing arm
Weapons of choice for the cleaning.
Poly brush on the drill does a good job with plenty of CRC and Degreaser.
Wire brushes on the Dremel are awesome for the tight spots. Carbon steel brushes for the best results, not stainless. The stainless brushes tear the aluminium whereas the carbon steel polishes and cleans the aluminium.
so far you've created a thread with yourself, so i'll just chime in and say "Nice job"!
Well done, looking forward to the end of this build !
Radiator came up sweet. Alu brite, battery drill with poly brush and scourer pad on a pedestal grinder.
The Dremel came in handy for the hubs. The scourer pad on the pedestal grinder finished it off. Hoping the polished finish helps keep the grime out of the porous aluminium.
Biggest unintentional splurge of the build was powder coating the frame, rims and shock spring. Done this after talking to my brother and him telling me a powder coated frame from a pool fencing mob would cost me $150.
Had the frame, wheels and spring blasted for 2 cartons of great northern cans. Then dropped the parts off at the powder coaters. Brother asked me what there charging, I said I never asked going of his verbal promise of $150. Gave them a call and $680 later I have these to show for it. Bit pricey but they look sweet.
This build is a compelling showcase of what can happen when mechanical precision meets genuine passion. Your work on the bike transcends mere restoration it's a full-scale resurrection. The thoroughness with which you disassembled, degreased, and reconditioned each component is nothing short of exemplary. From the swingarm’s meticulous cleaning to the precision wire-brushing of the hubs and nooks, it’s clear every part was treated with both technical care and artistic intention. The end result isn’t just clean it’s borderline surgical in its presentation.
The powder coating, while understandably more expensive than expected, was absolutely the right call. The final finish brings a visual harmony and elevated feel to the build that OEM just can’t replicate and for what it’s worth, your brother shouldn’t shoulder any blame for that pricing. The results speak volumes, and they more than justify the cost. The black frame, shock spring, and wheels inject a sharpness and contrast that makes the bike look like a factory concept piece rather than a six-year-old 65cc.
You’ve taken something once overlooked and transformed it into a rolling tribute to craftsmanship, patience, and pride. It's not just impressive it's inspiring. Can’t wait to see it fully assembled and tearing it up (or at least parked in the garage too clean to ride)
This is the fucker that mislead me with the powder quote price
Doing anything in Mackay is going to cost you more than you could ever imagine
Motor turned out sweet, liking the polished finish. Scourer pad on the pedestal grinder tore the paint of the clutch cover. Polished it up from there.
Motor is in the frame. Fresh top end put in. Need to replace the bump stop in the shock so looks like I'll have to strip the shock down. Never attempted this before. Anyone know where I can find a free service manual for a YZ65? I'm a tight arse.
Pit Row
Looks amazing! Hope you left a spot to the frame for the ground.
Thanks mate, have ground the powder coat off where needed.
I hit a snag with the shock. Paid for the workshop manual which told me not to pull the shock body apart. Fuckers. I then found a good YouTube video and decided I won't be pulling it apart. I don't have the tooling or the syringe looking thing to drain the nitrogen. I'll send it in for a service and have them install the bump stop.
Dummy assembled the shock with the white spring and laced the wheels too. Going to buy a wheel true stand and dial them in myself.
Make sure to throw a works connection rad brace on it. They are fairly flimsy and kids always seem to fall onto that side.
Buffed the black paint off the clamps, cleaned them up. Turned out good. Skimped on the truing stand, dialed in the wheels on the cheap.
I've dropped the shock off. Hopefully pick that up today and I can put the back end together. New bar pad, grips, graphics on the plates. I bought a full plastic kit but like the stock shrouds with in mold graphics. They hold up better.
Stellar job!
Fresh rubber. Happy with how the powder coated rims and stock hubs turned out.
65 build still in progress. Distracted with other moto inspired projects. Built a ripper attachment for a tractor. Have access to a block with a very basic track for the kids to ride. Ground is like concrete, so finally built something to turn the dirt over.
Removed the old footpegs. Buffed them with wire weel & scourer pad on the pedestal grinder. Primed and painted with a Dulux metal shield paint. Look good, not sure how they'll hold up with the paint used.
Keeping the paint on the YZ65 frames is impossible. We ran grip tape to help.
I blasted the pipe and hit it with wet and dry, WD40, scourer pads, soapy steel wool pads.
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