Just picked this up (Jan 2019), really wasn’t sure about getting another 4 stroke but couldn’t find a nice 2 stroke and got a great deal on this.
Notes
RM-Z 250 parts list and exploded diagrams Jun 2019 Race sag = 98mm, static sag = 46mm – static sag is too high, need softer spring Jan 2019 Race sag = 95mm, static sag = 41mm, preload length 255mm All damper settings set to stock Valve clearances: Exhaust 0.17 – 0.24mm (0.007 – 0.009″) Actuals Jan 2019: L 0.178mm, R 0.178mm Intake 0.09 – 0.16mm (0.0035 – 0.006″) Actuals Jan 2019: L 0.152mm, R 0.127mm
Fix crack in rear mudguard, again – plastic welding broke immediately, tried again using 3D printed ABS as filler but it didn’t adhere, went back to bigger tie wraps
The tie-wraps on the rear fender broke, plastic welded it to see if that holds better
Reset the race sag to 97mm (static sag 45mm?) to see if that helps with the back end kicking out and the tank slappers
Put rear compression damping settings back to stock
New U linkage – picked up a used set from a 2009 RM-Z 250 but is different part number, looks very similar, will take measurements some time
Straightened rear rotor and tried to re-seat rear tire. Rotor is badly worn, new one required. Even at 80 psi with washing up liquid, could not get the tire to seat properly, then noticed large cracks in some of the knobbies on the edges = new tire, ugh.
Saw this on Kijiji and thought it would be good for us all to play with and even for the wife to use as a pit bike at the MX track. Sadly when I got it home I found that most of the stuff I was told about it was not accurate …
“Brand new rear rim and hub assembly” – really, with dirt all over the hub and sprocket, a bent spoke with broken nipple and a dent in the rim???
“Upgraded battery pack” – looks like 4 x 10Ah SLA batteries to me, same as stock, what’s upgraded about it?
“It’s only been ridden about half a dozen times” – it’s 5 years old! And I suppose that in those 12 hours (charge lasts about 2 hours) the rear tire was worn down, and a lot of the stickers fell off???
Also, the rebound adjuster on both the forks AND shock was damaged so they wouldn’t turn, the rear end has been smashed so hard that the mount screw for the rear shock was bent and the bushing trashed, the steel bead in the rear tire was all bent, the front mudguard was snapped in half, there was no air pressure in the forks and the battery cover was under the battery.
Oh well, this all just shows that I should perhaps not be so trusting and do a better job of inspecting stuff before I buy.
Set to work on it. No room in the garage, sat it in the trailer,
After the MaxTakeoff treatment,
The torque on this thing is insane, but being a trials bike, it’s not very fast. You need to be super careful with the throttle response setting and it takes a bit of getting used to especially when riding slowly. It’s really designed for kids 9-12 years old but it is well made with decent components and easily copes with my 5’9″ and 160lbs. I was sold on it after watching this video,
We’re planning on frequent visits to the track this year and I wanted to be able to transport all 4 dirt bikes and keep all the riding gear out of the rain. We rented an open trailer from U-Haul last summer when we went camping but it was only 5’x8′ so could only really fit 3 bikes. I was looking at bigger open trailers but I soon found that I would have to increase my budget or buy brand new from Canadian Tire where I could get interest free equal payments on their credit card. As usual, the budget crept up until I found this 6’x10′ enclosed trailer.
It has some issues but seems to be pretty solid and once I’ve cleared out the shelving, I think we should be able to get 4 bikes in.
To Do List
Swap rear barn doors for a ramp door
Install rack at rear to hold bikes instead of door frame
Install skylight/vent
Paint frame again
Swap tires onto new wheels
Completed Tasks
Attach roof rack half to the A arms at the front
Make container smaller ready for bigger bikes
Find a way to secure the container to the floor – screwed blocks to the floor
Replace side marker lights
Remove sticker residue from back and sides – scraped off with Goo Gone and elbow grease!
Paint new wheels
Find a spare wheel, 205 75 R15 – Picked up 2 for $25 off Kijiji, cleaned up nice
Paint frame underneath and welded door supports – 60% complete
Bought new ratchet tie-downs for front bikes
Make some ramps – made one that locates on bottom door lock
Tidy up wheels – wire brushed and painted
Install new PS tail marker light
Tighten and grease wheel bearings, replace caps
Offer up all 4 dirt bikes
Repair side marker light and install new bulb in left tail light
Install tie-down anchors at front
Install shelf at front
Repair rear door supports – both had come away from the frame at the bottom, found that the screws are 8 point Robertson, removed frame, peeled back the panel and welded some metal brackets on 2 sides to re-attach supports to the frame
Purchase magnetic light
Register trailer and install plate
Obtain more tie-down anchors – 8 for $25 off Kijiji
Fix interior panel at rear
Remove all shelving
Fix wiring for lights – bad joints at the connector
Pick up 2 x padlocks for hitch and door
Sure enough there’s a good bit of room even with all the bikes loaded.
So I made a box to put the toolbox and gas cans in.
YZ250Fw parts list and exploded diagrams Valve clearances: Exhaust 0.17 – 0.22mm (0.0067 – 0.0087″) Actuals Dec2017: L 0.203mm, R 0.178mm Actuals Jun2018: L 0.203mm, R 0.178+mm Actuals Dec2018: L 0.178mm, R 0.178mm Shims: L 1.72mm, R 1.75mm New Shims: L 1.70mm, R 1.73mm Actuals Jan2019: L 0.203mm, R 0.178+mm
Intake 0.10 – 0.15mm (0.0039 – 0.0059″) Actuals Dec2017: L 0.102mm, M 0.102mm, R 0.127mm Actuals Jun2018: L 0.127mm, M 0.127mm, R 0.127mm Actuals Dec2018: L 0.102mm, M 0.127mm, R 0.127mm Shims: L 1.76mm, M 1.73mm, R 1.72mm New Shims: L 1.72mm, M 1.72mm, R 1.70mm Actuals Jan2019: L 0.152mm, M 0.127mm, R 0.152
Aug 18: Backed off pilot air screw ~1/4 turn to address hanging idle and tough warm starts (although we weren’t following the procedure in the manual)
To Do List
Replace upper rear shock bearing – got a set of bearings but there isn’t much play at all, probably install them next winter
New front brake lever
Completed Tasks
June 2019
Replace broken ASV clutch lever screw – Josh picked one up from TSR
Feb 2019
Oil and filter change – AMSOIL synthetic
Jan 2019
Re-fill with coolant
Install new head gasket
Check piston and con rod, visually inspect crank – looks good
After losing confidence in the YZ250F reliability due to the valve failure, I listed it on Kijiji for trade for a 2 stroke. I was offered a 2004 KTM 125sx that was ‘ready to ride’ and when I checked the reviews, this was the year that they sorted out the poor rear suspension. So I met the guy and my heart sank when I saw the condition of the bike and the huge dent in the expansion chamber but it started ok and sounded alright and for some reason, I went through with the trade. When I ran the VIN, I found out that it is actually a 2003, great but at least the VIN was not reported stolen.
When I got it home and started looking closer I found all sorts of little issues, front fender wobbling, play in front wheel bearings and rear shock lower bearing, bent rear sub frame, fork seals leaking, it looks like this poor thing has just been neglected – I would not class this as ready to ride. It amazes me how people will sell something without even washing it??? Pretty disappointed with the accuracy of the description but I could have walked away and the issues really are relatively minor … so far. So I got started on fixing it up, here’s a more recent pic,
Notes
125sx parts list and exploded diagrams
Jan 2010
Race sags: Josh/Jake = 95mm, Stu = 114mm, static sag = 44mm
Jet needle set to middle notch
24 Aug 2018
Compression damping on rear shock = stock + 2 clicks
Compression damping on forks = stock – 6 clicks
Jet needle lowered to 2nd notch from top to address mid throttle sputter – we’ll see??
Original
Race sag (Stu) = 105mm, static sag = 30mm
To Do List
Repair left side air scoop mount on tank
Completed Tasks
Jun 2019
Dropped the forks through the yolks so they were flush to try and address tank slappers
Previous
Give it a good wash
Fix wobble in front mudguard – Front brake cable clamp is missing that provided a spacer, put large washers in for now; new brake cable clamp installed
Fix huge cracks in rear mudguard – Used the old tie wrap stitching trick
Remove seat cover – original cover still underneath with only minor tears
Bend radiator mount tabs back, prevent them from fouling the forks
Threads damaged on oil level check screw – replaced with radiator mount screw since replacement screw had larger (10mm) head
Replace worn vent screw in fork cap – not needed, with good screwdriver not much effort is required to undo
Check rear brake cylinder, push rod comes out? – looks like it could be normal on parts diagram but the rod is well corroded
Replace front wheel bearings
Replace rear shock lower mount bearing – replaced with MSR bearing, not teflon
Fix seized rebound adjust screw on rear shock – got a 2007 XC-W shock PN 12178C04 mono compression control
Fix spring on kick-start shaft – ratchet gear was mis-aligned on shaft – rectified
Replace fork seals – refilled with AMSOIL SAE 5 synthetic
Thread in left side fork protector mount hole damaged – one or two threads seem ok, new screw held in with thread lock
Install new piston – plenty of blow-by on piston skirt, got Wossner piston and ring (awesome!) and new small end bearing
Cylinder stud broken, the nut and top of stud were glued in place!!! WTF?!?! – got the old one out with stud remover, installed new
Screw and bucket holding the rubber chain guard on the swing arm missing – threads in hole on swing arm trashed, aluminum is thin on swing arm not much there to hold heli-coil, tried tapping to M6 and thread locking, not overly happy with it though
Ball bearing for kick start – thanks Dan and TSR
New right side drain plug M10x1 – threads in clutch cover are trashed! There is a bit of the old threads left but the drain bolt slips straight in, tried installing an M10x1.5 Fix-A-Thred insert in the remaining threads but the hole was too small. Plugged with high heat JB Weld
Fix broken arm on sub frame – Josh welded it up in auto class. Update: the weld failed so a small steel bar was fashioned and inserted. Thought about filling around the bar with JB Weld or drilling holes and holding in place with screws but the bar was a tight fit and there should not be any load trying to pull it out the back of the bike so I think it’s good now
Spring for rear brake lever is missing – bought new one
Clutch basket and inner hub are both damaged – replaced with used parts found on ebay
Clutch holding tool required – used impact driver
Replace spark plug – ordered from Fortnine
Install new clutch actuator gasket, screw and banjo washer – screw was too long?? had to cut one down
Get mineral oil for clutch, top up and bleed clutch actuator – also bled the front brake again
Little play in rear wheel – replace bearings, ordered from Fortnine with grips
Installed new grips
Set race sag and suspension settings to stock – race sag = 105mm, static sag = 30mm, compression damping on rear shock = stock + 1 click
Clean rear rim
Install new Shinko rear that came with the bike
Adjust chain tension
Loctite the handlebar perch mount screws
New front tire – picked up a very lightly used Dunlop Geomax
Split engine and remove crank (big end bearing seized)
Install new Hot Rods crank and new bearings
Check power valve z dimension
Teach the lad how to short shift
Properly repaired the rear subframe using a strip of steel drillled and tapped to take 4 M6 machine screws and replaced all the broken zip ties
The little guy was way too big for the PW50 so started looking for an upgrade. I found a couple of 4 stroke TTR90s but didn’t get any replies and once the little guy got wind of a potential bike change, he put the pressure on! I found this PW80 fairly close by and it was listed as having ownership and manuals but was in pretty rough shape compared to some others that were a similar price. We went to see it the day before we went on vacation and as it turned out the guy didn’t have ownership, only some registration paper from the previous owner and no manual??? I should have left it but the guy was firm on his price and my lad was very keen on it (what a surprise) so we paid the money and brought it home.
Here’s what it looked like after a bit of cleaning up.
Replace driver’s seatbelt clip – pick up from Troy
New windshield
Troy installed Stage 1 ECU – cracked windshield during install
Replaced driver side parking brake cable
Replace passenger side parking brake cable – caliper was sticking
Replace fuel filter – not done, can’t remember why I was thinking of changing the filter?
Fix arm rest lid latch – velcro
Clean throttle body
New rear rotors
Install new front pads
Install new rear pads
Fix rust over windshield 1 – wire brushed windshield rust and painted flat black, if it holds I might fill over and smooth it out – it started rusting again!
Noticed the other day that about 1/2″ at the OD of a front rotor was not being touched by the pad. Thought perhaps the pads were hung up so I took the caliper off and made sure the pads and sliders were not binding. When I looked at the opposite side, the inside pad looked like some gravel had worn a groove in it so it was leaving bands of wear on the rotor and the pads were worn uneven in like wedge shapes. At this point I decided to put new pads on the new rotors – not sure why this wasn’t at least suggested in the safety inspection??
Took the lad out for a drive and the airbag light came on. After a bit of Googling I found that a common culprit is the seat belt clip wiring, in particular loose wires in the connector under the seat. When I checked my clip, I noticed it was wrapped in insulation tape – obviously a previous repair here. Sure enough as I removed the tape, I found a wire had come out of the clip so I soldered it back in place and taped up the clip. Then disconnected the battery for 10 mins to clear the light and … it came straight back on!?! I found a local guy selling VAG scanners for under $50 that can read and clear codes for engine, airbag, ABS and transmission (I know you can get them cheaper but I didn’t want to wait for shipping). Hooked it up and pulled the code (it was the seat belt clip) and cleared it – now it stays off. One thing about this scanner, it seems that you can only clear any and all codes in one go, you cannot clear just an airbag code and leave the CEL for example.
This is my 2002 VW Golf GTI 1.8T and so far I love it! For safety it only needed front rotors and it passed emissions but the CEL came on a few days later. Pulled the scanner out and found code P0420 – catalytic converter efficiency below threshold, will have to look out for a high flow cat. Had a look underneath and the resonator is on it’s way out and the hangar between the cat and the resonator was broken – welded it back on and put some JB weld over a leak at a joint.
November 2014 – I wasn’t really looking for another project but I had been toying with the idea of one day picking up a front engine rear wheel drive vehicle like the old Ford Escort Mk II I used to have in the UK. I have some RSS feeds set up and one of them brought a posting for a 1980 Porsche 924 Turbo to my attention. The good parts are that it is front engine rear wheel drive with a manual gearbox, it’s in decent shape and should have the awesome Porsche handling. On the down side, it has been off the road for 17 years, it doesn’t run (no power to the fuel pumps), there are lots of electrical accessories not working, and it’s purple!
I apologise for these bad pictures, it is winter so I’ll have to wait for spring to update with some better ones.
And at long last, here are some slightly better pics,
To Do List
Update the site more often!
Fix the bloody idle hunting!
New tires for front Boxster rims
New shock absorbers all round
New control arm bushings
Repair/replace hood latch release lever
Check/paint rear calipers
Remove dashboard
Remove remaining AC stuff in PS footwell
Check instrument wiring and grounds
Fix instrument lights
Hardly any air coming from defrost vents, fix/replace blower motor – no power getting to blower motor, blower motor does not spin when connected directly to battery
Paint A arms and heat shields
DS electric mirror not functioning and glass stained – stain covered with blind spot mirror
Driver’s seat cover repair
Completed
October 2019
Still struggling with this idle hunting, very strange – please let me know if you have any theories or ideas of something to try
Got some spacers made up by Josh and finally got my longer wheel studs so I could install the Boxster rims
Cleaned Idle Air Control Valve and fixed bad wire on connector
Installed new LED side marker bulbs in the front
Muffler hanger broke AGAIN! Used thicker plate to repair, hopefully the Mk3 will hold up
September 2019
Installed brand new fuel filters, both in the engine bay and the in line filter.
Removed and cleaned the cold start valve, it was a bit coked up.
Drained gas tank again and got more crap out with the brush, cleaned the in line filter and got more crap out than I hoped but it cured the slight idle hunting I was getting.
Figured out how to start it when it’s acting up, if I disconnect the cold start valve it fires up, the revs climb slower than normal but it does actually start. I suspect that the cold start valve is pouring fuel in rather than spraying, if it doesn’t sort itself out I’ll take it out and clean or replace it.
In line filter at tank is not getting as much dirt in it now. Drove to work for 3 days but then it wouldn’t start again ugh, started fine the next day but removed the metallic filter at the front and cleaned a load of crap out of that
Drain gas tank and get all the crap out, or replace – drained twice and brushed out a load of gunk and tried blowing out with air
Keep having idle hunting and starting issues. Cleaned the inline fuel filter several times and it seemed to be running ok so I drove it to work on Monday but it wouldn’t start in the afternoon so had to call CAA for a tow!! Not impressed! Got it started at home but the fuel pump was very quiet. Checked that it was getting power and it was good – now I’m wondering if the fuel pump is going bad, I have an in-tank pump from the RX8 that I might see if I can install.
Had another look at the horn, checked functionality by connecting direct to 12V, they work. Hooked up a check light and found no power getting to the horns, basically re-discovered that the horn fuse (#1) has a bad connection! I should have looked on here!
Gas is seeping from the bottom of the tank again, need new rubber seal – drained the gas and found the old seal was trashed, turned to powder trying to get it out, the guy at CarQuest gave me an O ring that fits!
Check nut on engine mount again – seems fine
Top up coolant – at max fill line
Check oil pressure sender – has 2 wires on it, one for gauge and one for light, the light wire is soldered on, the gauge appears to have a bad connection somewhere
Took quite a few turns on the boost controller before it started having any effect on the boost. On the last run, the boost gauge signal line blew off the T adapter, the line to the boost controller also got knocked off while replacing the gauge line. Put a tie wrap on the gauge line, think I should see about getting a 1/4″ T with adapter to 1/8″. With the boost turned up a bit, the car drives much better. Stock was about 6 psi boost, getting up to 7 or 8 psi now.
Had another look at the blower motor, no power seems to be getting to the motor and the motor does not spin even when connected directly to the battery. Could not remove the flap, seems like it’s going to break.
With the boost controller backed right off, we’re seeing about 6 or 7 psi of boost, dialled the controller in 1.5 turns.
Fixed a kink in the boost gauge signal line that was causing no boost reading
Moved the boost gauge wire to the radio so that it is lit up when the ignition is on – it is tinted so hard to see even in daylight.
Connected the boost gauge light wire to the oil pressure gauge signal wire so that the boost gauge is lit when the ignition is on but the oil pressure gauge went maxxed out??
Fix coolant leak – the bolt that was holding the wastegate vacuum line was also clamping a component to the head, I had not replaced the bolt when removing the vacuum line
Install new rear brake rotors
Install boost gauge ($45) and controller (used $20) – removed clock, moved oil pressure over
