YZ125G Build

[alexbrown64]

I clicked every link I could find an still couldn't find your photos craignduke. Can you put a direct link in this thread. Love to see your H as well. 

[alexbrown64]

The G arrived from SA, and as usual i was a little disappointed. Bikes always look a bit better in the pics. It was great to meet up with a G again, but she is in a bit of a sorry state. I started nit picking and got myself wound up.
Anyway, took her out and gave her a degrease, bit of a scrub, a bit of a sand of the plastics, pressure wash etc.. and she came up much better.

Its going to take a shit load of time and money, but i think i can get her over the line... I got my issue of VMX delivered with craignduke's G in it and it looks fantastic.  I don't think i can quite get to that standard, as the owner found a nos front plate and tank and the bike was virtually rebuilt using all new parts.

I am taking an approach from another angle.  This G has nearly all the original parts on it.  I want to clean, scrub, polish, anodize, zinc, and rebuild the bike using all the parts that came on this bike from when it was first in the showroom. 

Anyway, pics below of day 1.....



I used an orbital sander with a medium grit to really sand all the grime, yellow and everything back.  After only 10 minutes, i removed most of the discolouration.  Of course, it will take hours on each piece to get them perfect.. and even then, i have a few small cracks to repair.



The tank will take a lot of work, but the inside was pure white, so the outside will come up great with a lot of work.... Also, the original front plate is toast, but it is on now showing the original mounting brackets....



Under the seat, its all in reasonable condition and stock.  The muffler is like new, but needs a really good clean up. Shock needs a rebuild and everything needs the full monty...



Its a shame the front plate is so cracked up.  They are rare as rocking horse shit.  There are some rubber caps missing from the tops of the forks.. i have nos ones on the way..



Cheers,

[alexbrown64]

There is a vintage guru in Canada name Tim Lee.  He creates perfect reproductions of warning labels.  He is making me a full set for the G.  This includes the one below, including the original serial numbers.  Also, the KYB fork decal, and two rear mudguard stickers, one of which shows year and month of manufacture.



She still has the original front DID decal.  I can get perfect repro ones on Ebay.  All my original decals will come off and be saved in a folder. The rims will need to be stripped and reanodized.  Spokes rezinced, hubs done etc...



The bars, grips and throttle cover are all original.  Bars need straightening.  The levers are not OEM, as they had notches in them for your fingers.  I have some original polished alloy ones at home.



The front guard is actually OK, but has a 15mm split.  I hope to get this repaired and then sanded and polished back to new.  Check the front tire.  Its still relatively new and is the original Bridgestone M21.  Another win was the gaiters.  These are the originals and like new.  These are super rare as they are 36mm and have 24 bellows.



A lot of work to do here..
The carb still had the original boot over the cap.  Everything is corroded and worn out here and will need attention. Interestingly, the kick lever, carb bands, rear brake lever and engine 6mm bolts were all done in what is know as Olive drab passivate. "Green /Olive drab (hexavalent) passivate is very popular in old motor/bike restoration and military circles due to its very specific dark matt green colour. It gives the best protection out of all available passivates, on average 200 hours salt spray to white corrosion" http://www.ddgplating.com/processes/zinc/
You can still see the green on all the parts.  If you buy same parts now, using the same part number, they usually come in black.  But i made the connection when i was looking closely at the brand new G (pic below) from East Coast Vintage.  Then i looked closely at some original old ones on Ebay.  Also my ones confirm it.  This process and colour can be replicated with a kit from Caswell, which i will be getting.





Well, that's it for now.  The seat has a tiny nick in it, but it's the original cover and is in excellent condition, so i will repair it.  I am in the process of getting the 9 1/4" Yamaha stencil to refresh the back and sides.  I also had to find another rear axle as something funky is on there at the moment.  I found a G axle with all the nuts, spacers and adjusters included.  These will be rezinced.

More pics to come, and up close you will see how much work really does need doing.  The frame may need some minor welding touch ups and then off for a blast, prime and gloss black powder coat.

Cheers,

[alexbrown64]

Trying to squeeze in a lot of projects, but the G is the most fun.

I pulled the seat off.  Hmmm some of the gussets between the frame rails are pretty rusty.  I think some water has been sitting in there.  Thats going to take a blast, inspection and some weld repairs.
I also noticed that my bike has a frame gusset welded in just under the airbox, on the left side, where a modern day subframe would be bolted on.  All the H model frames have it, but i have only seen it on a few G's  and just wondering if it came standard on later frames, or was an aftermarket item.  Craigndukes nice OEM G has the gusset as well as the two that i have posted below.  Anybody have any info on those?





I ordered a vinyl repair kit and the 9 1/4" YAMAHA stencils last night, so that i can restore the original seat cover.  While i had the seat off this afternoon, i removed all the rusty staples and took the cover off.  The 3R3 foam seat cover is still in great nic.  I massaged Dubbin into the seat cover which cleaned and softened up the vinyl.  Just the work on the seat will be time consuming.  I have to clean and re zinc the 3 mounting brackets and bolts as well as refresh the stencils and repair the nics in the cover.  I have a super duper heavy duty American staple gun with 6mm sharpened staples to refit the cover.

I have also ordered a ton of OEM parts like tank straps, cable guides, bolts, fork and engine oil seals, gaskets etc.. from Partzilla.

Also ordered was the full set of warning decals from Tim Lee. He has added my serial numbers so they are a perfect reproduction. Below is a pic of the full set, but my serial number for the decarbon shock will be different.



The DID rim decals have also been ordered in the right sizes 1.60 x 21 and 1.85 x 18.

I opened the airbox and there was just a pile of rotted foam at the base.  I will have to clean it up, check for spark, pop a bit of oil down the plug hole, put a bit of juice in the tank and kick her in the guts.. let you know how that one pans out.....

The exhaust has a nice crack in it and some small dings.  Luckily the Pipe King is not far away and i will let him work his magic. If you have not seen his work, check him out on Facebook.. amazing!.  I remember i cracked my G  pipe when i was a kid.  I am pretty sure the gasket wears out the the pipe vibrates on the cylinder and cracks.  I have also ordered a new oem gasket.




Cheers,

[alexbrown64]

The post man came today and dropped off the rubber fork caps.  These were used on a lot of the IT and YZ bikes back in the early days for a few years.  They mostly disappeared pretty quick as they got knocked off, misplaced or just left of and then lost.
These are needed for a good restore, but unfortunately most people on Ebay know they are rare and not on the Yamaha parts list anymore.  NOS ones cost a bit these days....



Cheers,

[rocketfrog]

I am sure I must of had a draw full of those at one stage. I am one of the guilty ones who could not be bothered to refit them

[alexbrown64]

If you find them tucked away in the draw Rocket Frog, you will be sitting on a fortune. Per ounce, worth about the same as 24 karat gold.
Still searching for the elusive Bridgestone M22 rear tyre.
Found a reasonably priced nos chain slider that is now heading my way. 
I have decided to go with the Jane zinc kit. Seems better value than Caswell.
Fun project, but it is going to have to sit awhile as work commitments have to take over...

[Tomas]

exactly same as Suzukis fork valve covers. partzilla sells for US 4.50 how do I know? have 1981 YZ 125 forks on my 1980 Rm 125 and caps are exactly same as my 1979 suzuki rm 125 fork valve caps which are exactly same as 1980 Suzuki Rm 125, 250 and 400 fork valve caps and probably same as all 38mm suzuki suspension forks. This is a KYB part not suzuki. KYB forks are used on lots of bikes. Not just yamahahas 

[alexbrown64]

Hey Tomas,  i just checked the Partzilla website and can't believe how cheap the caps are and are still available. But they are for 38mm forks.  My G forks are 36mm (no wonder i kept bending them when i was a kid), and they were tight to get on.  Maybe there are some Suzuki caps still available for 36mm KYB forks. Someone is making a fortune...

[alexbrown64]

Hi all, looking for a nos chain guide 3R3 22199... craignduke, do you have a spare? 
Cheers,
Alex..

[huskibul]

78' rm125c caps look the same

[craignduke]

yes i do

[alexbrown64]

That's good, I will pm you,
Cheers

[huskibul]

  There's a Yam nos intake manifold on aus ebay atm that suits the G (also suits E/F & 81 IT ?) -in classic parts if you need one

[alexbrown64]

Thanks ra77,

I saw the nos one on gumtree and emailed the bloke, but it was sold. Mine is fine. I have sourced a bunch of nos parts but she doesn't really need much. Just lots of tlc.