Motorcycle - The Mundane Side Of Refurbishment

Restoring a Motorcycle and the mundane parts


Maybe I'm being a little bit anal about this refurbishment/renewing/restoration of this old dirt bike. Each time another part goes on I find myself not being able to just slap it back on without at least trying to make it look some better.
Below is a case in point - the engine mount bolts. When reinstalled no one is even going to see the shaft of the bolt, all that will be seen is the bolt head and nut but the shaft had some grungy look and a little of the aluminum funk from the engines mount through hole, you know the oxidation powdery substance when aluminum begins to "Rust" and it was left on the bolt. So, it was polished and coated with metal wax protectant and it even made inserting back through very easy. Nobody would ever see it or know had it been left alone except me.  

Got the radiator guard all nicely redone and cured prior to reinstallation today.

Sprockets, the original one's were just to used up when going this far with the build so a new one was put on today,

and the counter sprocket was also replaced and installed today.

Just a back picture so people can see it for reference. Still waiting on the new chain and swing arm bushing guide but we'll keep moving forwards.

Actually got pretty far on reconstruction today and hopefully will have more to share tomorrow.

Making Old YZ80 Wheel Spokes Shine

Making Older Spokes Look Better.

I don't know, maybe you can tell from these pictures, maybe not, but they look a ton better in person. First picture shows how dull the YZ80 spokes were before cleaning up a little.

Here is one of them done with the rest still dull.

I may should have chosen a better spot in the light to get these other two pictures of spokes cleaned up. This is the sprocket side...

and this is the brake side. Cleaned up the rims as well.

Here are some shots of my antique Ironhead front wheel done same as the YZ,

Rim, spokes and forks all re-shined up. It is a time consuming project but well worth the effort. Just need to work on the spoke nipples on the YZ80 wheels to be happy with it.

YZ80 1990 Frame Painted

YZ 80 Frame Painted
If you have done this before then you know what it takes. If you never have your in for a lot of work. Clean, clean and clean. Then after it dries check it over and clean some more, there is always that nugget of dirt hiding just when you think you've cleaned enough. Foaming engine cleaner does wonders to rid the frame of grease and oil. Most times you don't have to strip all the paint off to bare metal, plenty of sanding and wire brushing should get the job done. Feather edge any places where paint has been worn or knocked off.

I was very pleased how the frame paint turned out, although I did have a couple of small paint runs. Easy fix, just sanded the runs out after the frame sat drying for a day and then recoated. Some overspray is to be expected leaving a slightly rough texture in some places - a real paint booth would negate this - but none to worry. Wet sand the whole frame with 1000 or 2000 grit wet dry sand paper and it will be smooth as factory fresh.

Here is a shot of the air box, swing arm and brake pedal going back on.

Here we were checking the tank and seat out to get idea how it was going to come together. Yamaha lettering is only mocked up at this point and tapped on for general idea. Having a stencil made for the lettering.

1990 YZ80 Stator Cover Fix

YZ 80 Stator Cover Repair

The shift lever - which is not correct for this bike - had rubbed a groove into the cover.

Filled with JB Weld plastic repair and sand with 220 grit.

Kept working it down with 220, 400,600, 800, 1000 and 2000 grit wet dry paper. Feather edge the edges...

Sand rest of part and primer,

Coat with ten light coats to build paint, let dry two days and viola it's done.

YZ80A Brake Rod Refurbish

Renewing The Brake Rod and Arm

We just couldn't stand to see this dirty, rusty brake rod making it's way onto the bike as it is. Buy a new one? No, just refurbish the original.

Yes, these pictures are in the post just before it except...

this is how it looks now and we think it will definitely add to the finished bike.

As it happens so often, one refurbed part leads to doing another to make things look best. The brake backing plate stuck out like a sore thumb when the refurbished brake rod and arm were held next to it. Probably to shiny for stock but wait until it ages. Now this will probably lead to getting the wheel spokes looking better. See, this is how you can wind up over spending on a project unless you know how to use affordable resources and do work yourself.

How to Dress Up Screws

Dressing Up Screw Heads

Just a quick tip for dressing up those screw heads that get buggered up from use. People have asked me how it's done. Frequent turning or the wrong size screw driver can gall up the top of the screw head with little sharp edges. They also get grungy looking with age, you can buy new ones or try to save them. I try to save them whenever I can, especially ones that can be readily seen after assembly.

Take a file and file down the sharp edges left from screwdriver slipping from the slot, holding the screw and file in your hands works better but I had to hold the camera.

People have also asked how I clamp the screws and bolts in a vice without messing up the threads. Get several different sizes of rubber fuel line, insert the screw or bolt,

now clamp in the vice without worry of messing up the threads. Use some WD-40 or the like and squirt some inside the slots and on the heads; let soak a few seconds. Usually good to go by the time you grab your drill.

Use a drill with a wire wheel of your choice to clean up the heads. Don't clamp down on the vice like some gorilla, just nice and snug as the rubber hose squished against the threads keeps the screw or bolt from flying out or spinning. 

Use a small pointed tool to get down in the slot with a shop towel to remove any grime in there. To keep the heads looking good longer coat them with some Blue Magic, Mothers or your choice of metal polish. The screw head below looks almost new.

1990 YZ80 Airbox Cleaned Up

Refurbished YZ80A Air box.

Look at this air box, it's so nasty inside and out that it's a wonder if it'd ever been cleaned. You should see the filter that was in there. The whole thing was disassembled and given a good cleaning. The chrome metal retaining band on far left seems to be a factory mistake and made backwards. The recessed groove that by looking, should go over the rubber air boot to seal it to the air box housing, but when installed it is with groove up instead of down. In the picture it is not oriented with the air filter retaining ring, flip it in your mind and it goes together but as said the flange is wrong. Enlarge picture for closer view.

Here we have the air box all cleaned up and the rubber pieces look new again, even have the mud flap refurbed and installed. I keep my secret on how to do the rubber parts, and no it's not that product your thinking of.

YZ80 Stage Three, Brake Linkage and swing arm links.

Brake and swing arm links


Showing here how the rear of the brake rod, brake arm, and wheel adjusters are installed. Also note the teeth on the sprocket. Both front and rear sprockets are worn out as was the chain; all three being replaced with new.

Front view of the rear brake rod and how it and brake lever is assembled.

Suspension link orientation for when we go to reassemble the swing arm. Also note the direction the pivot bolts are installed.

Just another picture so we can document the rear link assembly. When taken apart all the bushings and bearing will be cleaned and checked to be sure they are still in good condition. (Actually already passed this point and finished. Don't think any pictures were taken of the process.)

Taking 1990 YZ80 Apart #2

Baby Out Of The Cradle
I have made a lot of progress since the last posting, actually behind on the updates as we are in the reassembly and mundane stages now. Mundane is fixing, gathering new pieces as we come to them and/or refurbishing original parts.
First picture is not much more than the engine out and on the bench waiting further cleaning. In order to refinish would require a complete tear down... not sure we're going to do that as it runs and shifts great. 

Picture of the engine cradle, note that the rear engine mount bolt also doubles as the pivot point for swing arm.

As we tear down the rest of the YZ80A,  we slid the rear engine mount/swing arm pivot bolt back. Having that in helps when removing the rear wheel, also made it easier to wheel the bike out of the way while we tended to other removed parts.

Rear shot showing the shock before removal. Remember, plenty of pictures aids in reassembly process.

Removed the front forks after taking off the handle bars and top triple tree clamp. The grease in the bearing race was probably factory and had long ago lost any semblance to grease. What was left was fouled with years of dirt and was packed in and dry. Be very careful when removing the front end as the steering stem may slide out un-expectantly leaving you with ball bearings jumping all around the floor.

Looking at the steering neck and you can see how little grease was left here. Those bearings where running dry as a bone, lucky they weren't trashed.