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Last updated: 1/11/10
Just put the finishing touches on it this morning, but I've had it running for the last couple of days. It's an absolute blast to ride. Very light and nimble, good brakes, adequate power, but I have some mods planned for the future that should help in that area. Quite a bit different than the big four-stroke enduros I've been used to riding. I'm headed to the mountains this weekend and the weather's supposed to be nice, so I think I'll take it along.
I was going to re-paint the tank and side number plates, but it shined up pretty good. I did re-paint the radiator shrouds and the headlight cowling using Krylon Fusion. I'm happy with the results, good paint for plastic. It is a dirt bike after all. I replaced a lot of the fasteners with stainless and polished the rest.
I had the frame and engine powder-coated, as well as the pipe and various other bits. I wanted to replace the pipe, but ran short on funds. That will be left for a future upgrade, as well as Boysen reeds. The motor was completely gone through and re-assembled with new main bearings and all new seals and gaskets. The bore, pistons, and rings were fine. I rebuilt the carb and petcock.
I rebuilt the brakes front and rear using new pads and stainless-steel lines. Had the calipers powder-coated gold. Even powder-coated the kick-stand. A new chain and sprockets were also added.
The headlight cowling is Acerbis with spotlights I bought at Lowes. They are amazingly bright. Tires are Duro 90/90x21 HF903 up front, 120/80x18 HF904 in back. I purchased them online for less than $100 for the set. Rear fender is from a early '90s CR250 motocrosser. I made the license plate holder out of aluminum stock. The rear shock was refurbished, the forks had the fluid drained and replaced with Belray 10w.
All the lights work, even the blinkers. The speedo reads in KPH, and it has the usual array of idiot lights, including a high water temp light and low injection oil indicator.
There you have it, my latest dip into lunacy by finding a way to occupy myself while staying out of the pubs. I have to admit I love rebuilding these old bikes and get a great feeling of accomplishment when I'm done and get to enjoy the finished product. I've had both the Chevelle and the Jeep torn apart in the garage for a couple of years now, and have promised the wife I'd get to those before starting another motorcycle, but I like doing the bikes so much more. In fact, I'm picking up a 1980 Yamaha IT425 in Georgia this weekend. The seller says it needs some work.....
And a couple taken after I put the stickers on it. The top picture shows the new FMF pipe.
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