YZ125 L 1984 Basket Case Restore

[evo550]

Ji,
Another thing to be wary of is the "all balls" kits purchased through ebay.
They are nortorious for being filled with the wrong bits, when purchased from a bike shop at least you can take it back and get it sorted, from ebay your stuck with what you have.
Good luck.

[Ji Gantor]

Hi Evo,
Is that right?
How many times has that happened to you?

Ji

[Ji Gantor]

Steering head bearings.
After thirty years of use, water, lack of maintainance and over tightening they are probably cactused.
Mine sure were.
After the forks came out I rotated the head and as it turned it was like it had a ball location selector.

The manual states that the bearing cups should be drifted out.
No chance ! The guy that wrote that manual obviously never removed the cups himself.
On these there is only one simple method,  but you have to take your time and that is with a Dremel and grinding stone.

Ji

[Ji Gantor]

Use the smallest diameter grinding stone and grind down to just before you reach the frame.
Then tap the bearing with a drift to crack the remainder.
Once there is a complete break the cup should come out easy.

Ji

[Ji Gantor]

If you have done it right there should be very little damage if at all to the frame.

Back to the manual, it states that there should be a gap in the cup stop so a punch can be placed on the back of the cup and tapped out with a hammer.
I know my eyes don't see as well as they used to but I don't see any gap in the cup stop.

Ji

[mx250]

Well that one way. I would have welded some waste steel in, like an old bolt, and whacked it with a punch from the other side .

[Ji Gantor]

Cool,
That is another great way to get the job done.

Great add mate.
No damage method.
Just need a welder.

Ji

[Ji Gantor]

Hey VMXKen,
Stop me any time if you would like this restore in the magazine !

Ji

[evo550]

Twice Ji.
The dealer even gave me a verbal disclaimer of sorts when I ordered it, stating, "don't yell at me if their wrong I don't pack them, just supply them"

Both swing arm linkage kits. I've also eard of steering stem ones being wrong.

[tony27]

Use the smallest diameter grinding stone and grind down to just before you reach the frame.
Then tap the bearing with a drift to crack the remainder.
Once there is a complete break the cup should come out easy.

No need for grinding, a couple of small welds on the bearing causes them to pull away from the frame as they cool

[Ji Gantor]

Sounds easy Tony I will give that a go next time.

Ji

[Ji Gantor]

The front hub may be of interest to some that are doing a similar restore.

Ji

[Ji Gantor]

These are just like modern hubs except for the brake arrangement.

Ji

[tony27]

Are they the dreaded z spokes?

[Davey Crocket]

Yes, they are the dreaded Z spokes but fear no more as Buccanon Spokes in Good o'l sunny Californny can make e'm for you and there cheap too. Those hubs and spokes are one of the best looking combo's around in my opinion!!!.... and it's a twin leader as well. Just remember they are 32 spoke rims. My TY350 I restored has black hubs, stainless Z Spokes and black excel rims, looks awesome!!!.