TM/RM125 project

[Doc]

not a lot of progress this week..spare time being all but nil.

I have decided I fecked up by painting the frame the colour I did. When I slipped on the white guards and yellow tank it looked worse than a Smartie™ packet oops anyway the deal is now the guards and covers will be stealth black, the frame remains the same and I will learn to live with my mistake the top end will be black but with my regulation buffed edges..thank you Mr Ya ma ha The rear brake hub is black and drying as I type..hopefully without the mosquito's this time I have a tyre on the front..not new but it matches the not new rear perfectly The tank colour is still up in the air (suggestions)..was thinking the same stealth black with yellow 75 Sunburst stickers or maybe the yummy pearl yellow with straight black sunburst zook stickers I will mix and match till I find something but silver like the frame could be claimed  as an Elsinore wannabe The rear wheel is loose in the pic too..I don't normally show my adjusters in the secret alternative mounting method as shown..was tooling around fitting a slightly longer actuating arm for a little better feel at the time..I do like a good feel! Flat spots in the rear rim look fugly but it runs true which is unusual for me so they can remain until I break them or the opportunity to repair it arises. A little wait for some parts and plenty of work at hand means progress next week will be slow but ya get that. Please excuse the mess, it's normally much worse.

[DJRacing]

Hey Doc, it gets exciting when the wheels and motor are in the bike.   I understand your dilemma about the tank colour??

[Doc]

yeah DJ, for me once the frame was painted and the forks in the clamps I felt a whole lot better. The rest of it is pretty easy. I should lash out and buy a bucket of 'new' screw/bolts/nuts and washers though   rummaging through my large and extensive but also very pitiful collection looking for the right fastener causes much anxiety and wastes mega time. I think the tank maybe Pearl Platinum like the frame but it's going to be trial and error. Black would not work for me.

[Quicksilver]

Doc.
What do you think of the idea of going with deep orange tank, black guards. Black sun on the tank.?

[Doc]

yes I had thought of orange Quicky. I sat an orange tank on the bike to get a rough idea but it still didn't look right. I'm inclined to go with silver tank with a wide satin black stripe down the middle like the old XL Honda's. Might be boring but I think I'll keep it just 2 colours, silver and black..I've made a big enough mess of it already

[Doc]

okay..I seem to have pulled myself out of the shit with my poor colour co-ordination 

Whipped off the top end last night, light hone, new rings, gudgeon brg, pin and clips, new gaskets, cleaned up ports and gaskets yum yum, a coat of black and bolted her back together. Zee 32mm powerjet carbarooster left from the US this morning (thanks Buzzy  ), no bloody idea what to do about the tank colour, polished alloy would be nice but woh there sunshine! not in this lifetime ya don't! need a sprocket cover, cdi, front plate, clutch cable, chain guide and presto..something different but not so different it can't be taken back to original easily

[no.13]

Hey Doc back in the 70s my tm was black with silver metaflake!!!! Always been a bit left field and by the way niether of us went any faster but the bike sure looked pretty

[Quicksilver]

Bet your tank ends up yellow.  Go on Doc, you know you gotta have Suzuki flagship colour on her somewhere.

Bikes looking good. Black engine looks great.

[Doc]

Donny are you saying it's not just ya movie star good looks!  How else would get such a female cult following aka #13 Cheer Squad!  I reckon you're spot on the money..who cares how fast ya can go, you just have to look the part! hopefully not having to push it home..very uncool 

Quicky, I have noooo idea!  thinking silver with red zooki stickers ala the old SP370 style but Tony maybe the only person who knows what I'm talking about when 1 mentions an SP ..will know for sure by the weekend. 

[oldfart]

Maybe an RL look a like      Chris  have a play in paint shop

[Doc]

had a play and no matter what I do it still kinda looks shitty..

anyway it appears it will either run a yellow or black tank depending on my mood..

the stealth black doesn't look too bad ( will have '75 RM gunmetal grey emblems)..can't say I've seen another the same, no-one as silly I guess 



I do admit, I stuffed up but that happens 

the ingredients are..

TM125 frame/swing 1975 - donated
TM125 triples reamed to 35mm
XL250K3 forks and front wheel - paid $20 for a roller
rear wheel TS185ER - dime a dozen
rear shock - TS185ER ditto
chain - new Izumi - $30
rear alloy sprocket - ebay $10
inner rear guard - ebay $15
rear guard - saved from dump
front guard - donated
front plate - piece of perspex from god knows where
front cable guide - fabricated
bars - used - repainted
kill switch - JR50 - ebay $4
seat RM125C
tanks - RM125S/M
clutch cable - ebay nos - $15
throttle cable - ebay nos - $12
rear brake cable - ebay nos - $15
muffler TM125 - kindly donated
motor RM125S - swapped items for this little baby
carb - ebay - $20
levers - donated from parts bike
grips yet to purchase

shipping was cheaper as I collected the parts in the US and had Buzzy (damn fine bloke!) ship them in 1 lot.
 
That's a cut down RM125C seat fitted btw..the RM seats do fit my TM's but others have problems..usually a slight mod (elongation) to the rear mount hole is needed or simply make new ones, this one needed new rear mounts fabricated anyway but I used the original holes and a few pieces of 20x3 flat drilled accordingly. Not the prettiest beast but it's a budget bike remember..a bit of wheeling and dealing, some generous people, add about $300..no make that $400 and there we have it..instant vmx soup still waiting for the carb, clutch cable and a few little odds and sods

[mx250]

the ingredients are..

TM125 frame/swing 1975 - donated
TM125 triples reamed to 35mm
XL250K3 forks and front wheel - paid $20 for a roller
rear wheel TS185ER - dime a dozen
rear shock - TS185ER ditto
chain - new Izumi - $30
rear alloy sprocket - ebay $10
inner rear guard - ebay $15
rear guard - saved from dump
front guard - donated
front plate - piece of perspex from god knows where
front cable guide - fabricated
bars - used - repainted
kill switch - JR50 - ebay $4
seat RM125C
tanks - RM125S/M
clutch cable - ebay nos - $15
throttle cable - ebay nos - $12
rear brake cable - ebay nos - $15
muffler TM125 - kindly donated
motor RM125S - swapped items for this little baby
carb - ebay - $20
levers - donated from parts bike
grips yet to purchase

Not the prettiest beast but it's a budget bike remember..a bit of wheeling and dealing, some generous people, add about $300..no make that $400 and there we have it..instant vmx soup

Damn impressed Doc. Well done. I love ingenuity as much as the detail 'as left factory', or the 'open cheque book bling factor' resto.

[firko]

Great job Doc.....You are the poster child for the point I was trying to  make with my $100 VMX project bike.... You don't have to spend a shitload of moolah to enjoy our sport. Not only have you done it on the cheap, you've done it neatly and other cheapo racers could learn a lot from you mate. All anybody needs to build a cheapo project is a lateral view of the sport, a pack rat mentality, an eye for a good deal and the ability to make things fit that shouldn't, and do it neatly!.
 If you bring this little sweetie to CD5 we'll have to do a photo shoot of both your and my bikes together to push the point that anybody can build a cool vintage bike, no matter what their financial circumstances are.

[DJRacing]

Geez Doc great stuff, I dont know which colour you should go for. I actually like both, the black looks very different, mean looking even 

[Doc]

thanks peoples but I have to thank a few generous people also who helped along the way..Donny supplied the frame quite a while back. Wayne (dodgee) well shit..if I ain't got it he sure helps find it! Anyway the front guard and kick start from dodgee, the muffler which I hope and pray can keep it under the required limit was from Sully (Ray) motor also came from same source but there was an exchange of suzuki goods which suited the other better And thanks to Buzzy in the US for looking after my crap and seeing to it that it all found it's way here safely. 3 years ago if someone had said to me, piece together a TM125 or something similar I would have  said, yeah right! Where the heck would I find the parts required 
 Well the truth is most of the parts I found right here sitting on my bum sipping coffee till the wee small hours  the internet is my biggest asset not only egay but for parts houses and contacts alike. By the way, the frame was supplied roughly the same time as Pokey started his TS185 project so it's not like this has all happened in a week of posts.. 

Firko, I'm hoping to have it 100% by the months end so CD-5 could be all good so long as transportation permits. It's not that I don't want to bring it..I'd like to take them all  but..this 1 would be the pick of the bad bunch 

DJ..Black..mmmmm..it says something..just trying figure out what..porpoisefull if nothing else and so easy to touch up