1997 Chaparral YZ125!

acerbis
Profile picture for user acerbis
Posts
96
Joined
5/17/2011
Location
Pinon Hills, CA US
acerbis
Edited Date/Time 11/28/2018 6:23am
Picked up a nostalgic bike the other week.




Just kidding. Kind of.















My high school friend still had Greg Snells 1997 YZ125 in his shed! After some reminiscing with him about the days where we could ride out of our garage to the local riding spots I asked if he was going to rebuild it? Long story short, here is at my house.
I jumped at the opportunity, I've been thinking about 125's lately and how it could make me a better rider as well as be a ton of fun. I remember the day he rolled this thing out to the riding spot. The bad news is that during senior year the bike locked up on him and it's sat ever since. I'd love to get it back to its former glory and hopefully put a bunch of hours on it.



15
|
Bman_145
Profile picture for user Bman_145
Posts
867
Joined
12/30/2015
Location
Nor Cal, CA US
Bman_145 11/9/2018 11:48pm
11/9/2018 11:48pm
Can you take a picture of the AMA Tech front number plate decal and measure it for me. I made them in photoshop for replica builds but never had that good of source images. Thanks!
acerbis
Profile picture for user acerbis
Posts
96
Joined
5/17/2011
Location
Pinon Hills, CA US
acerbis 11/11/2018 6:25pm
11/11/2018 6:25pm

Looks like 30mm dia.


pulled the engine and got down with some cleaning


Speaking of the engine...this was may first peak at what's to come.


This was nice to find. I was expecting to find a bunch of aftermarket parts but that's turning out not to be the case.


I don't know how this even happens? Not using distilled water?


ow...













2
acerbis
Profile picture for user acerbis
Posts
96
Joined
5/17/2011
Location
Pinon Hills, CA US
acerbis 11/11/2018 6:38pm
11/11/2018 6:38pm

The piston and cylinder don't look that bad. I'm not sure what this mark is on the cylinder.












1

The Shop

See All »
acerbis
Profile picture for user acerbis
Posts
96
Joined
5/17/2011
Location
Pinon Hills, CA US
acerbis 11/11/2018 6:59pm
11/11/2018 6:59pm

Found the culprite.


I started pricing out replacement clutch baskets and i don't like it. I'd love to get a hinson setup but that's $259. I'm looking at a bit of money considering I need a new crank, piston, head (it didn't have one on the bike) and that's just the engine. I still need to go through the suspension and running gear (tires/chain/sprocket). Getting a little bit of cold feet since i'd rather spend the money on a new 125! The technology on the ktm/husky 125's is impressive. I'll keep plugging away.


Ordered a replacement airbox since this one is broken.




The replacement. Turns out yamaha doesn't offer a replacement one anymore.


little different in the airboot. I'll have to research if this replacement would be better or if the original one is best.













Bman_145
Profile picture for user Bman_145
Posts
867
Joined
12/30/2015
Location
Nor Cal, CA US
Bman_145 11/11/2018 11:54pm
11/11/2018 11:54pm
Thanks so much! Good luck with the build!
acerbis
Profile picture for user acerbis
Posts
96
Joined
5/17/2011
Location
Pinon Hills, CA US
acerbis 11/12/2018 6:10am
11/12/2018 6:10am
rongi#401 wrote:
Leave that ama frame sticker on there
no doubt. Eventually i'd like to get it powder coated so hopefully i'll be able to transfer the sticker.
mattyhamz2
Profile picture for user mattyhamz2
Posts
10886
Joined
7/6/2015
Location
So Cal, CA US
Fantasy
846th
mattyhamz2 11/12/2018 7:31am
11/12/2018 7:31am
Nice find man! Following this build for sure!
acerbis
Profile picture for user acerbis
Posts
96
Joined
5/17/2011
Location
Pinon Hills, CA US
acerbis 11/17/2018 8:20am
11/17/2018 8:20am
Found a titanium subframe for sale and swooped it up! Unfortunately its not going to work on a 97 YZ125. The thing is a work of art and feels significantly lighter than the stock aluminum.













If anyone can help me identify what year this would fit on i'd appreciate it. It's for sale.

Moto Mofo
Profile picture for user Moto Mofo
Posts
858
Joined
1/17/2008
Location
TX US
Moto Mofo 11/18/2018 6:58am
11/18/2018 6:58am
Saw Greg Schnell at a local track in TX yesterday... yeah, he still rips.
mattyhamz2
Profile picture for user mattyhamz2
Posts
10886
Joined
7/6/2015
Location
So Cal, CA US
Fantasy
846th
mattyhamz2 11/19/2018 7:54am
11/19/2018 7:54am
acerbis wrote:
Found a titanium subframe for sale and swooped it up! Unfortunately its not going to work on a 97 YZ125. The thing is a work of...
Found a titanium subframe for sale and swooped it up! Unfortunately its not going to work on a 97 YZ125. The thing is a work of art and feels significantly lighter than the stock aluminum.













If anyone can help me identify what year this would fit on i'd appreciate it. It's for sale.

Is that the one on Craigslist?
acerbis
Profile picture for user acerbis
Posts
96
Joined
5/17/2011
Location
Pinon Hills, CA US
acerbis 11/19/2018 8:05am
11/19/2018 8:05am
It's not listed yet. I'm not really sure what year its for? A lot of the stuff lines up, some of it doesn't.
mowerys
Profile picture for user mowerys
Posts
38
Joined
9/26/2018
Location
Mitchell, IN US
mowerys 11/19/2018 2:23pm
11/19/2018 2:23pm
How much are you asking for the titanium subframe? This will be an awesome bike when you’re done. I’m currently building a 97 YZ125 too, but just a stocker, no cool history
acerbis
Profile picture for user acerbis
Posts
96
Joined
5/17/2011
Location
Pinon Hills, CA US
acerbis 11/19/2018 3:03pm
11/19/2018 3:03pm
mowerys wrote:
How much are you asking for the titanium subframe? This will be an awesome bike when you’re done. I’m currently building a 97 YZ125 too, but...
How much are you asking for the titanium subframe? This will be an awesome bike when you’re done. I’m currently building a 97 YZ125 too, but just a stocker, no cool history
IDK, I really wish I could use it. Somewhere around the $200 mark.
mowerys
Profile picture for user mowerys
Posts
38
Joined
9/26/2018
Location
Mitchell, IN US
mowerys 11/19/2018 4:20pm
11/19/2018 4:20pm
Would you do $210 shipped to 47446? If so, what’s your PayPal?
acerbis
Profile picture for user acerbis
Posts
96
Joined
5/17/2011
Location
Pinon Hills, CA US
acerbis 11/20/2018 6:14am
11/20/2018 6:14am
mowerys wrote:
Would you do $210 shipped to 47446? If so, what’s your PayPal?
I'll get back to you. I'm going to give it one more go on using it tonight.

Pit Row

See All »
acerbis
Profile picture for user acerbis
Posts
96
Joined
5/17/2011
Location
Pinon Hills, CA US
acerbis 11/21/2018 11:18am
11/21/2018 11:18am
mowerys wrote:
Would you do $210 shipped to 47446? If so, what’s your PayPal?
acerbis wrote:
I'll get back to you. I'm going to give it one more go on using it tonight.
PM sent. I have enough to do besides get this to fit up.
mowerys
Profile picture for user mowerys
Posts
38
Joined
9/26/2018
Location
Mitchell, IN US
mowerys 11/21/2018 11:34am
11/21/2018 11:34am
How far off is it? Such as what all needs modified on it to work other than a spacer at the front and moving a bracket for the silencer? I was willing to gamble on it before CrGuy identified it as a 250f, as I was hoping it was for another year 125 or 250.
acerbis
Profile picture for user acerbis
Posts
96
Joined
5/17/2011
Location
Pinon Hills, CA US
acerbis 11/21/2018 11:58am
11/21/2018 11:58am
mowerys wrote:
How far off is it? Such as what all needs modified on it to work other than a spacer at the front and moving a bracket...
How far off is it? Such as what all needs modified on it to work other than a spacer at the front and moving a bracket for the silencer? I was willing to gamble on it before CrGuy identified it as a 250f, as I was hoping it was for another year 125 or 250.
I think that's it, the spacer and tabs for the air box. I've been looking at the pics pretty closely and it seems spot on. Your call though. No biggie if you don't want it.
mowerys
Profile picture for user mowerys
Posts
38
Joined
9/26/2018
Location
Mitchell, IN US
mowerys 11/22/2018 5:33am
11/22/2018 5:33am
mowerys wrote:
How far off is it? Such as what all needs modified on it to work other than a spacer at the front and moving a bracket...
How far off is it? Such as what all needs modified on it to work other than a spacer at the front and moving a bracket for the silencer? I was willing to gamble on it before CrGuy identified it as a 250f, as I was hoping it was for another year 125 or 250.
acerbis wrote:
I think that's it, the spacer and tabs for the air box. I've been looking at the pics pretty closely and it seems spot on. Your...
I think that's it, the spacer and tabs for the air box. I've been looking at the pics pretty closely and it seems spot on. Your call though. No biggie if you don't want it.
Thank you but I think I’m going to pass. Fitting the air box would probably be tricky
acerbis
Profile picture for user acerbis
Posts
96
Joined
5/17/2011
Location
Pinon Hills, CA US
acerbis 9/13/2019 10:32pm
9/13/2019 10:32pm
Long time! Moved, have Ted's one year b-day party coming up 10/2 and bought and E-bike! But I did get the YZ started today! I ended up finding a 2000(ish) replacement motor off offer up. Didn't know if it would start or not until today. I had an issue though that held me up for longer than it should of with the 2000 cylinder not accepting the 1997 pipe. Different flang altogether, but I got lucky in finding the correct pipe. I'll have to get one adapter bracket made up, but compared to a new clutch basket and who knows what else due to the rust on the crank with the old engie, I'll take it as a victory. I still have to get the front brake sorted out with the cr style routing.
Titane
Profile picture for user Titane
Posts
267
Joined
6/24/2017
Location
FR
Titane 9/14/2019 3:33pm
9/14/2019 3:33pm
Maybe the carb is also from a 250
acerbis
Profile picture for user acerbis
Posts
96
Joined
5/17/2011
Location
Pinon Hills, CA US
acerbis 1/7/2020 8:36am
1/7/2020 8:36am
Sorry for the lack of updates but I've got the bike almost complete now! Found a used engine on offer up. Pretty big gamble buying an engine like that but it started up and I cruised around the block! The last hurdle as I see it is getting a reproduction seat cover. I've reached out to numerous graphic companies but none of them can recreate this...
I'll take some pics tonight as she currently sits.



1

Post a reply to: 1997 Chaparral YZ125!