Bought a nice 1980 Yz 250 yesterday

vanillaice782
Edited Date/Time 6/6/2015 6:19pm
I did some vintage races on my dad's bike last year and finally got a chance to get my own bike. I'm really excited about racing it this year. It feels like I got a good deal at $1400. It basically just needs a once over to make sure everything is tight and a few random nuts and bolts. Has a fresh top end, lots of nee bearings, a powder coated frame, triple clamps, hubs and I'm really liking the gold rims.







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vet323
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vet323 1/18/2015 9:49am
1/18/2015 9:49am
That does look sweet!

That's a great bike for vintage, too (as long as the tracks you will be racing on don't have steep, bumpy downhills!).
vanillaice782 1/18/2015 10:09am
1/18/2015 10:09am
vet323 wrote:
That does look sweet!

That's a great bike for vintage, too (as long as the tracks you will be racing on don't have steep, bumpy downhills!).
Haha thanks. I really wanted an 81 because they have the bigger fork tubes but this was too nice to pass up. Most of the tracks end up really smooth because the promoter doesn't allow any modern bikes to ride so I should be able to avoid bumpy downhills!
450exc115
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450exc115 1/18/2015 10:18am
1/18/2015 10:18am
vet323 wrote:
That does look sweet!

That's a great bike for vintage, too (as long as the tracks you will be racing on don't have steep, bumpy downhills!).
Just add some fork emulators and racetech parts to the shock and it can handle the rough stuff a lot better.

Great bike, the 80/81 YZs are my favorite Yamaha of the air cooled motors.

The Shop

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vanillaice782 1/18/2015 2:23pm
1/18/2015 2:23pm
Shawbridge Husky wrote:
Go easy on your tranny, use clutch and change oil often.
Only soft spot on that bike.
Thanks for the advice. I usually get pretty lazy with the clutch towards the end of my moto. I'll have to get a new peech lever and cable because the current one is tough to pull in.
ledger
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ledger 1/18/2015 4:09pm
1/18/2015 4:09pm
Congrats, and she's a beauty. Look's like an oem shifter ? Great find.
BM255
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BM255 1/18/2015 11:02pm
1/18/2015 11:02pm
Awesome looking bike man, great find!
My first bike was an 81 YZ80, so I've always had a soft spot for the early 80's YZ's.
sandman768
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sandman768 1/19/2015 5:04am
1/19/2015 5:04am
great looking bike at a great price! gotta have the Hannah bolt on the yammie!
vanillaice782 1/19/2015 6:15am
1/19/2015 6:15am
Yea that is an oem shifter. I think I'll try to take a majority of the rare stock parts like that off before I start riding it. I want to get some lightning bolt stickers like Hannah's bike had. And of course would like to find some old sponsorship stickers to put on the fenders to make it look like his old factory bike.
project racer 1/19/2015 12:59pm
1/19/2015 12:59pm
Lunched the transmission on my new G model in less than four months . Very fast 250 ,though.
MaxPower
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MaxPower 1/19/2015 7:49pm
1/19/2015 7:49pm
I had a 1980. Never an issue with the trans for me. I slammed it just like my Suzuki 125.
You did get a great deal. Your bike is the perfect example of buying a bike restored already is way cheaper than rebuilding a rat.
captmoto
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captmoto 1/19/2015 11:08pm
1/19/2015 11:08pm
43mm forks and clamps from a 465 will bolt right in. As was posted Race Tech can totally dial you in. Take a look at their vintage page. They went way deep with the YZ suspension.
vanillaice782 1/20/2015 11:03am
1/20/2015 11:03am
MaxPower wrote:
I had a 1980. Never an issue with the trans for me. I slammed it just like my Suzuki 125. You did get a great deal...
I had a 1980. Never an issue with the trans for me. I slammed it just like my Suzuki 125.
You did get a great deal. Your bike is the perfect example of buying a bike restored already is way cheaper than rebuilding a rat.
Cool, that's what my dad had said too. He said he had a 1980 Yz 250 and the tranny survived a whole year of thrashing it. I guess it depends on a lot of things but he will be a great asset to help keep this thing together in one piece.

That's an excellent point about letting someone else do the work. It took me a while but I finally learned that it is cheaper and easier to let someone else do the work and buy the finished product. I takes a little more patience but it's a lot less of a head ache.
vanillaice782 1/20/2015 11:06am
1/20/2015 11:06am
captmoto wrote:
43mm forks and clamps from a 465 will bolt right in. As was posted Race Tech can totally dial you in. Take a look at their...
43mm forks and clamps from a 465 will bolt right in. As was posted Race Tech can totally dial you in. Take a look at their vintage page. They went way deep with the YZ suspension.
I will definitely check that out. The forks were rebuilt and seem to be working alright for now. We might just experiment with some thicker oil. But I still haven't taken it off a jump yet. I will see if I can put the 43 mm's on there down the road.

Pit Row

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450exc115
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450exc115 1/21/2015 7:21am
1/21/2015 7:21am
captmoto wrote:
43mm forks and clamps from a 465 will bolt right in. As was posted Race Tech can totally dial you in. Take a look at their...
43mm forks and clamps from a 465 will bolt right in. As was posted Race Tech can totally dial you in. Take a look at their vintage page. They went way deep with the YZ suspension.
Any reason it's just the 465 and not the later years 250/490 forks/clamps?
AHRMA361
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AHRMA361 1/21/2015 10:06am
1/21/2015 10:06am
captmoto wrote:
43mm forks and clamps from a 465 will bolt right in. As was posted Race Tech can totally dial you in. Take a look at their...
43mm forks and clamps from a 465 will bolt right in. As was posted Race Tech can totally dial you in. Take a look at their vintage page. They went way deep with the YZ suspension.
450exc115 wrote:
Any reason it's just the 465 and not the later years 250/490 forks/clamps?
43mm forks and triples off a '81 250 also work.

I am a supporter of Race Tech mods for the forks and they build an awesome rear shock or update your original one. My '81 was night and day different after the RT stuff went on.

Wheels can be a bit brittle so look for cracks on them.

Nice ride. You will love the bike.
captmoto
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captmoto 1/21/2015 2:35pm
1/21/2015 2:35pm Edited Date/Time 1/21/2015 2:40pm
captmoto wrote:
43mm forks and clamps from a 465 will bolt right in. As was posted Race Tech can totally dial you in. Take a look at their...
43mm forks and clamps from a 465 will bolt right in. As was posted Race Tech can totally dial you in. Take a look at their vintage page. They went way deep with the YZ suspension.
450exc115 wrote:
Any reason it's just the 465 and not the later years 250/490 forks/clamps?
It will work as long as he buys them as a package. You would have to put the 465 stem in the 490 clamps. I was just thinking he wanted to keep it 80-81 swap. I just let a DLS brake panel go last week.
I have 84-85 triple clamps on my bike. They work because it moves the bars into a more modern feel instead of back in your lap feel
ben990
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ben990 1/21/2015 2:59pm
1/21/2015 2:59pm
Yours is almost as nice as mine! Smile

I did the same thing as you, buying it fully restored. I am putting yellow number plates with black backgrounds and a white "1" on it for more of a stock look.





And I am the one who has the 1980 YZ250G lower end and other parts on Mark's.
ben990
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ben990 1/21/2015 3:01pm
1/21/2015 3:01pm
Here it is next to my 1981 YZ465:

newmann
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newmann 1/21/2015 3:20pm
1/21/2015 3:20pm
Sweet bike!

And so it begins..... You realize the average vintage enthusiast has 21 bikes, don't you?Smile
captmoto
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captmoto 1/21/2015 5:07pm
1/21/2015 5:07pm
newmann wrote:
Sweet bike!

And so it begins..... You realize the average vintage enthusiast has 21 bikes, don't you?Smile
I just sold 2 and am down to 4.
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YAMATHUMP 1/21/2015 5:28pm
1/21/2015 5:28pm Edited Date/Time 1/21/2015 5:29pm
newmann wrote:
Sweet bike!

And so it begins..... You realize the average vintage enthusiast has 21 bikes, don't you?Smile
captmoto wrote:
I just sold 2 and am down to 4.
Sounds like he's got cash now to buy a couple more.

Good looking bike sir.
vanillaice782 1/21/2015 6:30pm
1/21/2015 6:30pm
newmann wrote:
Sweet bike!

And so it begins..... You realize the average vintage enthusiast has 21 bikes, don't you?Smile
Haha thanks! I believe it. I'm 27 and already have 5 bikes if you include mini bikes and the street bike that I'm parting out.
AHRMA361
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AHRMA361 1/21/2015 7:02pm
1/21/2015 7:02pm
newmann wrote:
Sweet bike!

And so it begins..... You realize the average vintage enthusiast has 21 bikes, don't you?Smile
Damn Joe...I was hoping you said the average was 34. I could of then printed that off and shown the missus I was just the average enthusiast. 21? C'mon Man! Laughing
newmann
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newmann 1/21/2015 7:04pm
1/21/2015 7:04pm
Well, that average was actually from around 1993. Take into account inflation and all?Smile
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Cancerman 1/21/2015 9:29pm
1/21/2015 9:29pm Edited Date/Time 1/22/2015 10:57pm
Boy, I never seen to find those vintage deals like you guys. Killer for $1400. I'm rebuilding a G model 250 right now, but man it needs almost everything, and it does add up. I do enjoy doing the work though. I raced a 250 and 465 in 1980. Never broke anything on either bike, except my collar bone.Whistling

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