Posts
93
Joined
2/18/2019
Location
SoCal, CA, USA
Edited Date/Time
8/20/2026 2:40pm
Started a 1988 YZ125 build. Took about a year to find one of these and picked this up last week. Only got to clean it up and start to take apart the motor. It kicked over, had spark (weak) and shifted through the gears. Compression was non-existent so never tried starting it. It's clapped out and is going to be a challenge, can't wait to get it done.
Every build has interesting finds, I took off the ignition cover expecting to find some oil seepage past the main seal, but instead found this..
It's looks as though the ignition cover has some JB weld from a hole. I imagine they ran it for some time prior to fixing it. At least the internals looked good with no signs of water in the trans/engine.
I trust you will keep that sano front headlight setup 😂I”ve done a few like this….there will be lots of challenges but when completed it is very rewarding…..assume you have some prior history with an 88 YZ125?
The removal of that headlight will be the easiest part of this build LOL. Yes, building it for a close friend that had one and also won the Baja 1000 on it in 88.
The Shop
DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
Your friend must have hauled ass to win the Baja 1000! Look forward to seeing your progress👍
was this the year with the clutch actuation problem?
Very little progress the last few days. Had to get the torch out and old skool enginuity due to rounded cylinder nuts. Once the cylinder was off I was surprised to see a basically new "HotRods" rod kit installed. The cylinder is fairly decent and the piston not much wear at .50 over.
With the low compression I was expecting to find a mess in the cylinder, but instead everything looked good. I measured everything out and was in spec for a "1" over top-end. I then measured the ring gap and I think I found the problem. It was at about 3mm, as opposed to the .25ish. I'm thinking maybe a standard size ring was put on a "1" over piston/bore??
Whoa, that's crazy.
That frame is looking quite cancerous.
Post a reply to: 1988 YZ 125 build