Bits and Pieces

So these are the forks that will not work, somehow they even look a little too long but I think that has something to do with the conventional style. 

This is the right side panel that came with the bike..I was originally was not going to use it. I thought that I could buy new ones for both sides, turns out NO. you can not do that.  So cleaning this one up and as I said in a previous post I found the left side panel on ebay and I hope that it looks good, it will have to do at least until I find a better one if that exists.

 

Remember the King Dome?

This is me in 1986 riding my KX125 Kawasaki in the King Dome. Notice in the back ground how smokey the air is.  The Dome didn't have the best air moving equipment. This was my first year riding in the Dome and on a Supercross track.  I can not remember how I finished so that right there tells me I didn't light the world on fire with my performance. Oh well it was an incredible experience that not many people get.

Look past where I am on the track, the guy in the red jacket is standing on a set of supercross whoops. Those things are no joke, very difficult to get through in one piece with any speed.

Its a good look right?  Also a fantastic gate pick. Pretty much got pinched going down the start straight, that makes you a mid pack finisher right there.

I remember making a few passes but also being pretty intimidated with the whole experience, that making it pretty hard to concentrate on the racing aspect.

Whats New??

There are a few things going.  I have ordered a few parts that I hope will work out.  A Fuel tank that is admittedly better then the one that I have but not ideal.  In the pictures it looks okay but I have not seen it in person yet so when I do I hope it is better than the photos.  I have also ordered a shock that needs a total rebuild so as long as it truly is the right part at least I know what I am getting into with this one. 
I purchased a KX250 of what was supposed to be the same year thinking that I would be able to use some of the chassis parts for my bike. Well it turns out that most of the chassis was from an 83 KX250 and as luck would have it Nothin fits.  Well the forks fit the clamps but the offset of the axle is all wrong and wont work with the correct wheel.  I think I could use them if I wanted to change the rest of the front end to match up but I would rather keep it closer to original.  The shock again is not right, a little too short and on the 250 was designed to mount with the body on the bottom so the angle of the reservoir is wrong.  So no luck.  So far only the clutch perch and lever will fit.  Kind of spendy for a clutch perch.  Oh yes the triangle stand fits also (basically a removable kick stand), and the one seat mount that I needed.
Another part that I ordered that is seeming to be a very hard part to find in good condition is a left side panel that also incorporates the airbox cover. It is very specific to the 86 KX125. Only made for that bike that year.  The one that I found has been cut a little at the bottom of the number plate and one of the holes is punched out but I think I can fix that.  It will work good enough for now and if I find a better one in the future I can pick it up later.  While I have been searching for parts I also have been trying to figure out if the wheels are going to work out with new spokes.  The diameter of the spokes has grown over the years and I am hoping that I can still find spokes that will fit through the holes in the hubs.  Still planning and trying to find parts and selling things on ebay to make money for the project.  Maybe tomorrow I will get some current photos up of the parts that wont work and some of the parts I have cleaned up and are ready to go back on when it is time.

Photo from 1986 Washougal

This photo is because there isn't anything happening with the bike right now due to the lack of parts and funds.  I'm working on the funding so I can get more parts but until that happens new old pictures will have to entertain you all. This is one of the photos that I have that follows the one from the last post where I ate dirt.  This is Washougal MX park the following day. Notice the rear fender is at an odd angle due to the subframe bending when the bike flipped over the top of me. For those of you that have been to Washougal MX park in the last few years you can see that things have changed a bit since 1986, (you would hope) the jump that this photo is taken at is still in use today however. The jump you can see in the background is no longer there, instead it is replaced by a 100 foot midfield triple. The announcers tower at the right of the photo is now three stories tall and has decking around it for officials viewing and entry sign up area.

Shocking!!! It WONT Work.

This part I didn't research deep enough. I checked this out as good as I could and took a chance. I have been having a hard time finding a workable rear shock from an 86 machine and found a nice one from an 87 and decided to give it a try knowing full well that it may not work. The Frame and mounts appeared to be in identical places on the bike and the length of shock is the same as well as the mounts on the ends. The difference in shock itself is that the 86 has a remote reservoir and the 87 as seen has a piggyback.  I figured that it would work because there is room left where the remote reservoir mounts that the other can sit.  That part actually would work if I were to remove the reservoir mount tabs from the frame, the problem is it seems that the diameter of the 87 shock spring is a bit larger than the 86 must be. This one will hit the back of the motor if I were to make it fit in the mounts.  Good thing I didn't get all carried away and cut those old reservoir mounts off. Well it didn't work and it will probably go back on ebay so I can try to recoup some of what I paid for it.

Wheel Leftovers.

 

This is all thats left of the wheels after today. I got them taken the rest of the way apart and cleaned up inside and out. Now the search for replacement parts begins, or should I say continues....

Crash & Burn

That's Me, on my 1986 KX125 Crashing my head into the dirt. I just thought I would put up a picture now and then of the bike from back in the day when I was racing it.  A few things to notice in the photo.1. my awesome Bell Moto 3 custom checker helmet with snap on visor, 2. The always trendy JT Chest protector with matching JT race pants. 3. Red AXO boots, also very stylish with left heel tucked under the fender trying to ride it out. 4. Probably wearing white cotton glove liners. 5. No racing jersey, long sleeve sweatshirt or t-shirt. 6. Duct Tape on the tank of the bike, my main investor/sponsor wanted to keep from scratching it up. Better for resale value. If you click the photo it will load a larger version of it to see the detail better. Its a little blurry but still visible.

I did get up and continue on my way in this race. The bike had a bent subframe but was still ride worthy. I Also went to Washougal MX the next day and Raced, Placing 3rd I think that next day.

This Photo was In the April 1987 Issue of Dirt Bike magazine I cant find my copy of it but if you have one take a look for it. The article was about proper safety gear I believe.

I have more photos around here somewhere and as I come across them I will post them up just for fun.

Wheels....more and less

Just a quick note, I have not had a ton of time to work on things this week even though I think about what I could be doing and what I want to do with it and the parts that I haven't got yet or the ones I haven't even ordered yet and which ones I should order first....Well it will come in time, I'm just not the most patient person when I know what I want.

For the time that I did have out in the man cave I took the rear tire off the rim and proceeded to work that over.  This is what I found..-->
I have never seen the inside of a rim look like this.  That's a lot of corrosion for aluminium. The good news is I don't have to worry about cleaning it up.

The bad news is that I could only get 8 of the 50 or so spokes to come out.  The rest will have to be cut out with the saws all. I may get to that tomorrow.

A Little More.

 I worked on this little item today, rear brake caliper.   It was pretty grungy much like everything else on this bike, it cleaned up nice and everything is working good. The shiny bracket below the caliper looks brighter then it really is, I think the flash made it stand out more. Again didn't take a before picture.

 This is a shot of the subframe with the airbox mounted into it. I put this together to get a  look at where the Shock it going to fit. (notice its not there).  I ordered one on Ebay so it should be in next week. You all know how much I like new parts.

The foot pegs are pretty worn down, a little bent over at the tops and the teeth are not as sharp as they once were. There really is no way to fix that so I painted them up to look nice and put them on the list of might replace some day down the road. I guess the problem with that is there might not be any to replace them with. I found a set of NOS ones on ebay for $36 if anyone wants to buy them for me, that would be great.

OH Crack!!

Dang it, early on in the project I wondered how this bike could have made it 25 years on the original wheels since in 1986 I broke mine in the first six months of racing it. Well, it wont make it any longer I was in the middle of cleaning the rear wheel diligently with steel wool cleaning spokes when I found this. That little jagged line just below the 100 is a break, I found three others like it on this wheel.

So yes I had to look at the front one, Yep found three cracks in that one too. Poop! the cost of the project just went up.  Wheels and spokes front and back, I did check the hubs and there is a crack in the rear one but it is outside the bearing race so that will be on the watch list but not replacing now unless I find a really cheap one.
I think that this bike never saw very much action on a track or anywhere else for these wheels to have lasted that long.