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Only $10 for all 2026 SX, MX, and SMX series.
Look up Mike Wier on FB. He does a great job repairing cases.
Keeping a spreadsheet of what you spend or prefer not to be reminded?
Yes, I will keep up with expenses. As of now I am projecting an investment of ~$3500-4000 to get this bike stable and reliable for the long term. I'm dumb because as everyone knows we'll likely never see any return on that investment.
The moment it goes on marketplace I'll get lowball offers of $1500 cash or would you trade for a geeetar or fo wheeler that needs some work
why do we do this haha
Plan to build this over winter but projecting at least $2k. Agree will never get money back but don’t plan to sell but keep as garage art. How do you decide to post project in bike build vs old school forum?
The Shop
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
Bike builds is exactly what that is for. Old school Moto is in my mind for more discussing the old days like the old races and talking about the old bikes and such. I might have it backwards but that's how I look at it
Bug and tar remover works on glue, or just spray adhesive remover.
Problem with the 1990 forks is there are no parts, no spring options. You could run a set of 95 forks, they have the mid valve, if you want to look more stock. Double check axle diameters, there was a change early 90s iirc.
I'm planning to run the 91-93 (not sure what year I have exactly) 43mm forks in place of the '90 41mm forks.
That said I keep hearing that the '90 has no parts etc, but this came up with a quick search on ebay.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/267256027986
Nice build!
Also, I restored a 2000 CR125 and couple years ago..was easily $6000+ in parts..the money adds up fast when buying OEM parts, new wheels, tires, exhaust…so on and so on..
Do you still have it or did you end up getting rid of it? Remember your build thread, you did a great job!
"parts" meaning spring options, valving, etc. Last time I looked up on the 90 bikes you had to buy custom springs.
Look for cracks in the frame before you refinish it.
I honestly did not plan on repainting the frame it looks like it was painted not too long ago in its life. I'm also going to try and just replace a few broken spokes and clean the wheels up as best I can. I cannot find replacement wheels for this bike anyway and that would add another $1,000 easy. Assuming I could find a set of wheels with silver rims and silver hubs.
That said do you happen to remember or no what frame modifications were made to 90 factory bikes back in the day?
If I'd been thinking straight last month I would have held on to my money spent $3,000 and got something that was already in rideable condition.
I'm living the sunk cost fallacy right now I think
+1 for recommendation to consider stripping the frame. Given the condition of the rest of the bike, you might find some rot lurking?
In my experience, projects never recoup the cost but we are really buying the experience and not an investment
So I have the 91-93 blue anodized forks which look fantastic.. but hearing they had some harshness.
I think I can use up to 95 with the same triple clamps I got for the '93 forks, but I'd also need 95 front wheel and caliper.
Are the '95's really that much better and worth the hassle of shipping a set here?
FWIW, I had a 93' CR back in the day. Hated the forks. Had them revalved and still hated them. My brother had a 91' KX with the blue forks that was down for an engine rebuild one time, and he offered to let me swap the entire front end of my CR with his KX (triples, forks, wheel, brake, ect) to try out. I can say without a doubt, the KX front end was better than my revalved CR.
Those early 90s CR forks were absolute jackhammers.. the 1990 CR250 especially caught my attention at a demo day.. it was so harsh I went back to my clapped out Yamaha IT and had a much better time.
Haha, so true! But was just trying to point out that the 91' KX forks aren't that bad...😄
I had a 1991 KX125 back in the day myself, and I don't remember those forks being bad at all. My next bike was a 1999 CR125, and it felt much harsher than the KX. I guess it depends on what bike you're comparing it to.
Pit Row
Almost ready to pull trigger on a set of 1999 KX125 forks + triples. That will also solve at least one of my wheel issues.
The Kx swing arms are actually easier to repair than the bare anodized arms….repair the imperfections, if just cosmetic, any quality autobody filler will work, prime repaired spots and then just refinish the arm in silver, GM has a silver thats a very close match…..Most auto parts stores will have everything u need. Replace any bearings before u start repair/ refinishing process, wash arm in warm soapy water, then a good quality wax & grease remover before starting any sanding of the arm. I was an autobody painter in another lifetime….

Queen: I have a brand new stock 90 seat cover from Evo-Mx….excellent quality reproduction …still in plastic packaging…I did not need it for my 90 KX250 I lightly restored a few years ago….original cover still very nice so I left it alone…….send me your shipping address, I will donate to your project…..

Some of best looking bikes ever made👍
I wouldn't waste any money on what would be a marginal suspension improvement at best. Are you trying to race it against modern bikes? Or just have fun? The juice isn't worth the squeeze unless you're doing an SSS swap or Ohlins etc.
yeah.. after I re-read what I wrote earlier.. it feels like throwing good money after bad. Appreciate the confirmation.
I was going to SSS swap my 2000 YZ125. But then I realized I only ride it twice a year, and that’s a lot of work and money 😂
I got burned on my 2018 CRF rebuild as well. Plenty of surprises when it comes to DA's that wont do maintenance on a bike.
I very rarely buy used bikes that aren’t already in boxes for this reason. At least I know what I’m getting into then.
Wow, this thread is like a trip backwards in time for me. I used to work in the parts dept. at a high volume Team Green dealer from 1989 to 1994. These part #'s are all so familiar, I had them all memorized because we sold sooooo many top end rebuilds it was crazy. This has really brought back some pleasant memories of a fun time in my younger years. They used to call me the "human microfiche" because I had everything memorized. Midtown Kawasaki LTD in Rocky Hill, CT. They stayed in business until 2011 but gave up the ghost.
Cries in 92045-1252
NLA 😭
https://www.123bearing.com/bearing-housing/deep-groove-bearing/single-r…
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