A few more things completed on the YZ project.  The first was the fuel tap.  A pretty simple job really.  First job was to strip it down.  Doesn't look very happy to be apart!

Once it was stripped down I compared the parts found to those on the Yamaha parts diagram.  It must have been leaking at some stage because someone has added two extra seals that shouldn't be there.

The main body and lever are aluminium and have the same finish as the carby body.  The front plate thingy is steel and looks like it was zinc plated. 

As with the carb, the main body and lever were lightly sand blasted and then soaked in kero to get the desired finish.  The front plate was cleaned and sanded with 2000 grit paper before zinc plating.

From there it was just a matter of reassembling with new seals and screws and then installed on the fuel tank.  Job done.

One part that has been bugging me for a while was the chain slider / guide that protects the swingarm.  The one that was on the bike was well worn so I sourced a new old stock one.  Problem is, instead of being a nice black plastic, it was an ugly army green!

Looking through my collection of photos of 1993 YZ80's showed that when they were brand new, like in the magazine tests etc, the chain guide was black.  All of the second hand bikes show them in different shades of green.  Strange.  I can only assume that they loose (or gain!?) colour over time with UV exposure.  Even though my new old stock replacement was still in the original packaging, it had turned 90% green.

Anyway, I wanted it to look new - black.  I could have painted it but thought that was a bit dodgy.  So, I thought I'd have a go at dying it.

I used some Rit fabric dye that I found on eBay.  It comes in a little packet in powder form.

First step was to get a pot big enough to fit the part in, fill it with water and get it hot on the stove.  I had it just below boiling and then added the dye powder.  I wasn't sure how much to add so I just put the whole packet in and mixed it up.

Once it was mixed I backed off the temp so it was hot, but not bubbling at all.

Next, I used a zip tie to suspend the part in the dye so it wouldnt be resting on the bottom.  I figured that if it was resting on the bottom it could potentially melt and it wouldn't get an even coverage of dye.

With the part hanging on a piece of timber and in the pot, I left it to cook for about an hour.

After about an hour, I took the part out, gave it a rinse in cold water and dried it off.  Luckily, it worked!  It looks like brand new black plastic again!

Today I made some more progress.  Unfortunately I didnt get any progress shots but I've now finished the rear shock and also re-plated the footpeg assemblies.

The rear shock seemed in good mechanical condition.  The hardest part was color matching the pink spring.  In the end I had a friend mix up the correct colour for me - matched by eye.  Came out spot on.

Footpegs and their springs were cleaned up, repaired and then zinc plated.

Here are some pics of the restored bits installed:

And for good measure, I temporarily held up the sidecover and bolted on the rear guard to see it more completed.  Happy so far!

Not a huge amount to add today.  However, the YZ is one step closer to completion with the exhaust system now finished.

No real rocket surgery here so I'll let some photo's do the talking...

Getting there!

YZ80 Engine

You might remember that I mentioned the engine in the YZ ran really well.  To me, it ran as good as it would have when new - plenty of compression, easy starting, nice and quiet and a steady idle.  Doing anything mechanical wouldn't have improved it.

So, the engine just needed a cosmetic freshen up.  Easier said than done!

Before I did anything, I noted the different surface finishes of the different parts. 

The head and barrel appeared to be raw aluminium - as cast.  A light blast in the sandblaster would achieve the same. 

The crankcases looked to have the same finish as the swingarm.  I had the paint sorted for that.

The clutch side cover was a brighter silver colour.  It also had a crack in it so it would go in the bin.  I sourced a new old stock replacement which made that side easy.  The magneto side cover was plastic grey - again, I had a new replacement for that.

To do it properly, I stripped it completely so I could start from bare cases.  Whist the outside looked pretty ratty, inside looked really good.  No work needed.

With the cases bare, they were cleaned, lightly blasted, cleaned again and then painted in the same paint used on the swingarm.  No gasket in between them so some ugly gasket goo went on and then the first part of assembly.  New seals and bearings for good measure too.

Head and barrel went in for a sand blast and came out looking spot on.

And with that, along with a few other bits and pieces, the engine was basically complete and looking much better than what I started with!

Im still waiting on the clutch cover to arrive from the States but I couldn't wait to throw it into the frame along with the new radiator and water hose.  Luckily Doug the master bike mechanic was on hand again to remind me how it went together!

Next, I thought I'd have a go at restoring the carb.  At first it looked pretty ugly.

An overnight soak in kero, some light work in the blaster and then another soak in the kero bought the body up looking like factory again.  New screws and fittings and it all looks pretty good again.

And onto the bike with new fasteners.  I threw the new seat and tank (which im not happy with - a story for another day) on for good measure.

And that's it, for now...

YZ80 Restoration Continues...

I've been a bit slack with the blog updates lately but work on the YZ has continued pretty quickly.

The next part I've tackled on the bike is the rear suspension.  When I got it, the rear shock linkages and swingarm bearings were flogged out to the point where in the case of the swingarm, there was no bearing left at all.

So the first step here was to strip it all down.  That's the easy bit.  Getting the original swingarm decals off was much harder!  Before I removed them though, I did a quick drawing with some locating measurements so when the time comes, the new ones will go in the correct positions.

With the decals off, a degrease and quick grit blast had the swingarm ready for the next step.

Trying to replicate the original finish on the swingarm wasn't straight forward.  After blasting, the alloy was very clean but also very dull.  My only real option was paint so I spent the next few weeks trying to get the right shade of 'aluminium'.

Whilst buying up silver paint all over town, I started work on the linkages.  A quick bath in degreaser for all of the parts and then I pressed the original bearings and bushes out in preparation for new items.

The only parts to be saved from the above photo were the aluminium shock linkage and the plated steel connecting link.  Everything else went in the bin and the two linkages were blasted.

The aluminium link had to be finished in the same paint as the swingarm so that was put aside untill a suitable paint was found.  The steel link was zinc plated though...

I've used zinc plating kits before for other restorations.  You can do it yourself at home with a small benchtop plating kit.  I got mine through Jane Kits.  The most important thing with plating is preparation.  The parts must be spotless before making it ot the plating bath.  Grit blasting gets most of the grim away but before the bath, the part goes into a detergent wash.  Here's the link getting cleaned:

... and into the plating bath:

After about 45min it's all done and looking just like a new part from Yamaha!

So before I pressed in any new bearings to the linkages I needed to find a paint that replicated raw aluminuim.  I eventually found what I needed - a VHT high temp satin aluminium for car headers and exhausts.  Most of the others I tried were far to bright and glossy.  The satin finish of this paint was perfect.

So, with that, the linkage was painted and the bearings pressed in.  Pretty happy with the result all-round.

Now that I found the paint, I could finish the swingarm.  It had received a few battle scars over the years so they were filled before painting.

With the swingarm completed, I could do my first part of assembly!  Bolting new parts together is the best part for me.  So much fun!

Finally, I was able to bolt on some of the new old stock parts I've collected.  New master cylinder, hydraulic brake line, brake pedal, chain guides etc.  Even the bolts are new Yamaha.

Next - The engine...

Mini takes a back seat for a while...

It's been a while since my last update.  There has been very little progress on the mini.  I've been spending most of my free time working on my YZ80 project since I finally picked it up a few weeks back.

My very first post in this blog gave some info about this bike.  It's a 1993 YZ80E1.  I've wanted one for ever but they seem to be very hard to find!  So, when this one popped up on ebay I jumped on it.

Here it is, as purchased:

Fortunately, the engine runs perfectly so it will only require a cosmetic rebuild.  Everything else is pretty tired. 

First step was to strip it down.  Lucky Doug, the expert mechanic Pug was around to lend a hand :) 

Next was the part I hate the most - stripping paint.  I started doing it by hand with stripper.  Urrggh!

I quickly decided that was too hard and took it to work where there is a proper industrial sand blaster.  With that done and some fresh bright white two-pack paint, it came up like a new frame.

Next, I started on the rear suspension but thats a post for another day...