#mid2k YZ250

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So as I said in the original post the suspension is will be a massive upgrade over the stock stuff and is going to get a full rebuild and revalve, I also had a lot of stuff sent off for hard anodising. I polished the fork tubes most of the shock body.

Fork and shock done in a brown that mimics Kashima





Shock pieces in red and blue



Also had the swing arm done in Grey.



While I was waiting for all of that to come back from the anodisers I did the first batch of Cerakote, did all of the brake parts, fork lugs, shock clevis and steele preload nut, shock retainer collar and axles. Honestly it was hard to believe these parts were off a 2014 model, they were so dirty the rear brake calliper was seized on to the bracket aswell as the piston and nearly destroyed it trying to remove it.









Quick mock up of the shock.

Not anything major just little things for it, I've decided to get my WR450F supermoto back on the road first, its cylinder head is away getting work done so once that thing is sorted ill start making big moves on this rig. But anyway, first lot of serious parts, New OEM tank, Luxon clutch cover, ARC clutch perch and a new OEM ignition cover.



New tank next to the old one



The ARC clutch perch is a really nice bit of gear but honestly it comes in second to the Renthal Gen2 intelli-lever, which bends in every direction whereas the RC8 bends forwards only, also the intelli-lever perch set up looks way cooler. I went with the ARC mainly just to try and I'm going to run Pro Taper bars on this bike (how can you not run Pro Taper on steel frame YZ?) and I'm pretty big on brand clashes so yeah.



I dyed the ignition cover black and it turned out really good, first time I've ever dyed anything, I toyed with going with a billet Luxon cover but I think when you look into it its hard to justify replacing things like this with a Billet version especially if you are spending a lot of coin on losing weight with titanium, carbon was another option but I've found that durability is an issue especially in high wear areas and quality is a big let down with what I have seen lately, cant beat OEM Yamaha quality.



I'm going to rip the engine pout of the frame soon and strip it down, I actually rebuilt this engine around 5 years ago for my father in law and it would only have a hand full of hours on it, but that was back when I was just getting right into doing all my own work and I used a Hot rods crank instead of rebuilding the oem crank with a new rod. So I am going to weigh up my options, and see if i can put a good rod and bearings on the Hot rods crank which should bullet proof it and put a new piston in it. The cylinder has got a cast iron sleeve so I'm confident it will be good, may need a hone.



I've got a modest list of titanium for it, mainly just to pretty up the more visible things like triple clamps, fork lugs etc. all of the engine hardware including the two big mount bolts, axles and suspension linkage bolts are going to get cerakoted in Micro slick,

Big items on the hit list include, Lectron carby, PC works pipe and some new wheels which I will be building myself with Excel rims, Excel OEM replacement Stainless spokes and EZE hubs, again with the wheels I honestly see no point in these mega oversized "bulldog" stainless spokes, they are fucking heavy and I don't think they are any better. I am by no means a pro rider nor would I consider myself hard on the gear but I've never even busted an oem stock standard wheel let alone one I've built myself with good gear, I see no point in oversize stainless spokes, pair them with with the equally stupidly heavy chrome plated brass nipples that are usually standard unless you specify anodised nips you are adding considerable weight to the exact area you should be doing everything in your power to reduce weight to, Unsprung weight... if I could deal with how shit plated steel spokes looked long term I would use them on all my bikes. Im going to use EZE hubs because the guy is Australian and yes I realise that Billet hubs are generally heavier than the cast OEM units but the original hubs have seen a lot of bearings so need replacing anyway. I had this idea of using as many Aussie brands as I could on this build, but when I sat down and went through it the list was pretty small... and Disappointing, I cant even find an Australian company that makes sprockets anymore but nonetheless where practical to do so I will rep Green and Gold.

I am digging the Polished silver

We will see I kind of had my heart set on the polished silver but when i get a bit more of this rig built and see which way the build has gone I will decide bronze is nice but I guess I want to be a little understated with this build. .

OEM crank is long gone, Ill put a good quality rod on this crank with new oem bearings and either a wiseco or wossner piston. In the end its still just two lumps of steel connected by a pressed in pin, I've never seen or heard of a hot rods or wiseco crank failing at the journal? As far as I've seen their issues were with shitty bearings.

Honestly not much to tell, I imagine he just cleaned it well with contact cleaner dabbed some on his finger and wiped it over the crack. looks terrible but it sealed the fuel inside for 3 or 4 years.

Back on this thing full steam ahead, I sold my Husky and got good money for it so I spent a heap of money on this thing. I fully stripped and assessed the engine and chassis parts, aside from the frame/subframe, airbox and engine there isnt too much left of the original bike so that wasnt a massive job. I ordered a heap of genuine Yamaha parts for this thing including a new crank, all of the engine bearings, shift lever, select powervalve parts, all of the plastics and a few other bits and pieces for the chassis to make it nice.

This time im going to be a bit smarter with the parts selection, i have realised that not always the coolest parts and mods make the best bike to ride especially for me, eye watering power and supercross style snap is not what i enjoy riding and will just make me tired and hate it. My husky taught me that with how much you can change the power around with the power valve spring and the silencer. Was a cool bike though.

For the engine my plan is to clean up the casting flaws in the cylinder, match the cylinder to the cases and match the exhaust port to the pipe. For the pipes I've changed my mind, I'm not Chad Reed so I'm not going to run a PC works pipe, I'll refurbish and sell the R304 shorty. I'll be running a DEP Werx pipe and their standard length silencer, reed cage will be ported standard with Boyesen power reeds and I'll be running a Lectron, Also going to jam on a Steahly 9oz flywheel weight.

Quick recap of the chassis stuff, 2014 YZ250F forks and triple clamps, 2009 YZ250F swingarm & shock, 2014 YZF brakes all round with a 280mm disc on the front, this should bring the handling up a few notches. I'm going to build this bike with a Solva shock I have and see what its like, I'll still build up the KYB and try it but it will probably get sold.





I spent most of a day just cleaning up rubber and plastic bits, the airbox surprised me there was a near mint condition airbox under all the dirt, mould and stickers.







Cases look pretty ratty but they will look better than new soon.





Also found this gem... the CDI is saveable but the plug is destroyed, looks like new harnesses are no longer available from Yamaha so ill have to see if I can get one second hand.



I've got a shitload of parts on the way and lots of cerakote to do...

No but the newer four stroke brake lever I have here is damaged so I think I'll just run the original, after its refurbished.

Cheers mate, Yeah naturally we get smashed with an excess on almost everything but usually the big equalizer is the extra cost of shipping from the states or Europe that makes it not worth it and having to just fork out the extra, but I've been a bit savvy this time around and used a shipping consolidation service in the states. Most times spending over a nominal amount like $150 you get free domestic shipping so I buy the stuff I want from the different vendors at the cheaper US price (even after converting to AUD) then have them shipped to my "American" address and then once they are all there I consolidate them into one package and have it sent to Aus. sounds like a bit of a dick around but with the service I use I can write my own customs declaration on pricing and avoid the import tax on low value imports over $1000 AUD which can jam the price right up, so for instance I priced a new OEM crank for this YZ and came out at around $700aud and on back order with no ETA, bought an OEM crank from partzilla for $299usd which is $385aud... makes a big difference

Long winded unwanted explanation but some context for you haha.

The tropical thing takes it toll but this bike has copped a hiding with limited love.

Had some parts rock up today, The DEP silencer looks very nice and great quality although the can doesn't looked to be sealed to the core just looking at it in my hands, I guess ill drop out the 3 bolts and pull it apart then seal it with some hi temp black silicone. The Werks pipe looks great and will be a candidate for some clear cerakote. In the same order I had the new Excel rims arrive with the Excel stainless replacement spoke kit, no need to go full FMX spec with 1/4"spokes that add 4 kilo's of un-sprung weight to a build when I have never even blown out an OEM wheel set let alone one I've built...

And legit DEP need to sort their deal out with this not supplying stickers with their pipes, take a page from FMF's book.



I've ordered all of the M5, M6, some M8 titanium for this build, I have some brake parts also on their way from another supplier. I've mainly ordered everything I need for the engine so I can build it. I will order all of the chassis specific stuff when the build gets on a bit more. I'm not going Ti axles or suspension bolts, yes I know that's where the greatest weight savings are to be had but those items are too expensive, I'm already pushing my morals on spending upto $14 on a bolt that realistically gives a performance increase that will be barely noticeable for me.

I found a used harness from an 07 YZ250, the only difference is with the coil signal wire and earth, on the 05 + YZ's they went to a two pin plug rather than a spade and eye fitting, shouldnt be too hard to sort out.

I was in the right place at the right time the other day and snagged this KTM engine stand for nothing, came close to buying one of these ages ago but the price put me off, looks like its been used once or twice and stashed in a box for years. It will get used on this build for sure.

My wish list as it stands.

Graphics kit.
Seat cover.
Pro Taper Carmichael bend.
ODI grips.
Lectron HV carb.
YZ-X powervalve shims.
Clutch cable.
Linkage bearings.
Talon sprockets.
Wossner Piston (changed my mind)

To do list.

Skim hubs and cerakote.
Build wheel sets.
Hone cylinder
Port match cylinder everywhere clean casting flaws.
Port match oem reed cage.
Blast and paint frame (colour undecided)
Build KYB shock
Cerakote lots and lots of bits...
Build engine.
Re build PV governor,
Build Forks.
Decide between the YZF or CR 11mm Master cylinder, I'm going to strip both and compare.
Decide on HPSD fitment.

I am KEEN as a MF'er to get this build done, waiting on parts is killing me.

So I see a lot of bikes get the CR/CRF front master cylinder swap, its 11mm bore moves more fluid for the same stroke and thus offers more power over the same surface area of the brake pistons. I have also noticed that the Hondas aren't the only one that get the 11mm piston, for instance the one on my 2008 RM125 is 11mm so is the standard MC off this YZ and so too was the one on my Gas Gas EC200 (the exact same mc as the CR125 unit I have except it is painted black)

So I decided to strip three of the ones I have on the shelf and compare them, a 2014 YZ250F 3/8" , 05 or 06 CR125 11mm and the original one off this project bike 02 YZ250 11mm. Now I realised after pulling them all down that the CR mc is an older version and that later on they got the ball and pushrod set up which is said to make it "smoother", quite honestly I put that claim in the same basket of gimmick as rubber mounted skid plates that don't affect the frames "flex characteristics" and the KTM 3 piece rear axle kit that improves rear traction and "feel". if you ride that bloody much that you can feel that shit good on you, I like to spend money but every now and a again I see a gimmick that makes me laugh (FCP I am looking at you).

Any way only real difference I could see between the Honda and Yamaha 11mm units is the piston itself, the Honda has a slightly higher shoulder for the piston retention clip that makes it reside a little deeper in the bore and a little shaft in the spring that does... I dunno... As best I can recollect Yamaha went to the smaller mc when they went to their smaller more compact calliper design, my guess is to maintain the modulation at the same ratio as the older system, big pistons in the calliper need a big piston in the MC. So for me I don't think the Honda master cylinder is an upgrade, unless somebody knows something I don't, maybe the ratio is different but the ratio only relates to feel which I don't care about. The big upgrade here will be the newer YZF calliper coupled with the YZ's bigger 11mm MC, remembering that pressure equals force over area.

Here's some weights for the diet conscious because why not. all weighed with no lever, rubber boot or banjo bolt for the sake of fidelity as the levers were all different length and are often replaced with aftermarket as well as banjo bolts.

First lot of Ti arrived today too, only thing is I ordered the wrong length bolts for the head stay... 65mm instead of 55mm.

Also received my 2nd hand engine harness. its from a 2007 YZ but its 98% the same, only difference is the coil wires are now in a 2 pin plug rather than a spade and eye fitting, the kill switch also gets a 2 pin plug over 2 bullet connectors and it has a plug for the gear position sender that's on the newer bikes, that's not needed so I will just un pin it from the cdi plug and blank off the hole. The lengths are a little different due to the newer bikes having the cdi mounted on the side of the head tube, which is where I will relocate mine to, that way it is away from the hot engine and exhaust, I am guessing that's what damaged the original plug, maybe it was an issue on the older bikes and that's why Yamaha moved it.

The PV shims I did read up on a decent amount, I haven't actually ordered them yet but I will this week.

Now as for the CDI plug... No I didnt know you could buy them, I could only find one place to buy them after a quickish search for 15 minutes and with the plug itself, the pins, weather seals, blanking plugs the crimper (I more than likely have a crimper that will do the job already but with a turn around of at least a week why take the chance) and shipping the final costing ended up very close to the used near new harness I bought from eBay. Interesting that you know the manufacturer and plug type, how?

Not a problem mate, my knowledge is your knowledge use it how you wish.