Project Lowbucks 1982 Yamaha YZ125, Part 9: Finally Done!

Rick “Super Hunky” Sieman’s Project Lowbucks 1982 Yamaha YZ125 is finally complete. Would he go through the whole ordeal again? Probably not.

Scott Rousseau
Project-Lowbucks-1982-Yamaha-Y125-02-28-2017
It was time to put the rest of the motor together. First we put a fresh piston in and made sure it was the right size. PHOTO BY RICK SIEMAN.

I finally got this particular Project Lowbucks completed and let me tell you, it was no picnic.

As I mentioned earlier, a whole lot of the little parts that were needed were not included with the project bike. It was my fault, and I certainly should have checked a lot closer before I bought it. But, I started a project and found out rather rapidly that I was spending a lot more money on all those little parts than I had planned.

Project-Lowbucks-1982-Yamaha-Y125-02-28-2017
Next, the barrel was slipped in place and the bolts snugged down. PHOTO BY RICK SIEMAN

It also made what should have been fairly easy job, a miserable SOB! A simple thing like not having motor mount plates meant that I had to make a pair from scratch and it would turn a simple thing like assembling, into about a three hour fabrication job. So I’m going to warn you one last time, if you start a Project Lowbucks, make sure that as many of the small parts that you’re going to need are already in that crate. It’s one thing to pick up a piston and a set of rings, it’s another thing entirely to fabricate dozens of little pieces. And then you have the other thing that drives you nuts, and that is to go on eBay and buy those little pieces for money that adds up.

Project-Lowbucks-1982-Yamaha-Y125-02-28-2017
Naturally the head was the last in place. PHOTO BY RICK SIEMAN.

The whole concept behind Project Lowbucks is to buy a bike fairly cheap on Craigslist or some kind of a classified ad, and turn it into a decent running dirtbike for low bucks. Now we bought the 1982 Yamaha YZ125 for 130 bucks, which seemed like a real good deal at the time. But we had to add up a lot of money we spent to buy a pipe to pick up all kinds of little nuts and bolts; it didn’t seem like such a bargain at that point.

Project-Lowbucks-1982-Yamaha-Y125-02-28-2017
Airbox was fitted in properly so we could line up the carburetor. PHOTO BY RICK SIEMAN.

Anyway, in spite of all the hassles we got to this final point and want to share it with you.

Project-Lowbucks-1982-Yamaha-Y125-02-28-2017
The view from the backside shows how the carb and the airbox line up. PHOTO BY RICK SIEMAN.
Project-Lowbucks-1982-Yamaha-Y125-02-28-2017
The crucial mounting point on the exhaust pipe is up near the front of the frame. PHOTO BY RICK SIEMAN.
Project-Lowbucks-1982-Yamaha-Y125-02-28-2017
The radiator for the motor and the front number plate all mount on the bars. PHOTO BY RICK SIEMAN.
Project-Lowbucks-1982-Yamaha-Y125-02-28-2017
Here you can see the radiator from the rearview. Oddly enough, there were reports of the forks fading from the oil getting too hot from the radiator. The gas tank and rear fender were then mounted. PHOTO BY RICK SIEMAN.
Project-Lowbucks-1982-Yamaha-Y125-02-28-2017
At last the saddle was put in place. All of the little plastic pieces, stickers and such followed suit. At this point, we had a pretty darn clean 1982 Yamaha YZ125. Just don’t ask us to do another one! PHOTO BY RICK SIEMAN.

In case you missed any installments on our Project Lowbucks 1982 Yamaha YZ125, you can hit the links below to see how the whole project came together:

Project Lowbucks: 1982 Yamaha YZ125, Part 1

Project Lowbucks: 1982 Yamaha YZ125, Part 2

Project Lowbucks: 1982 Yamaha YZ125, Part 3

Project Lowbucks: 1982 Yamaha YZ125, Part 4

Project Lowbucks: 1982 Yamaha YZ125, Part 5

Project Lowbucks: 1982 Yamaha YZ125, Part 6

Project Lowbucks: 1982 Yamaha YZ125, Part 7

Project Lowbucks: 1982 Yamaha YZ125, Part 8

Comments

 
Terms of Use
Copyright
Privacy Policy