A dive into Post-Vintage Dirt Bike restoration yielded my latest, and possibly greatest, project.  Yamaha.  IT465.  Two stroke, big bore, open class vintage trail bike with some modern touches.  Truthfully, it's a bit powerful for trails, but with some finesse and a solid riding position, the bike does OK in a variety of terrain.

The original rat bike had already undergone an important update in the hands of the present author....43mm forks with disk brakes. After a few rides, I started to get the hang of "bull riding", and began to enjoy riding the beast!  One fateful day, she gave up her cases; a mortal crack by the mainshaft bearing which showed signs of previous repair.  So, I decided to do a budget restoration and make a decent trail and hillclimb bike out of her.  A good spare bike that captures some history, and still provides a thrill.  Gotta turn heads one way or another, right?

So the bike came apart into its last piece.  Frame painted, new motor cases procured and bead blasted. New bearings and seals throughout.  Clutch plates were fresh, as was the bore. 1989 YZ490 forks carry the front; these are conventional, cartridge damped forks which were recently revalved for trail riding, and provide the critical front disk brake update.  A refreshed swingarm, good used shock, new bearings, and a rear wheel with stainless spokes bring up the back.  New OEM or stainless steel bolts throughout. New Yamaha bits everywhere, from foot peg springs to brake arm pivots to cylinder nuts.  New, though mismatched, plastics, a sanded and painted original tank to match, and homemade tank graphics round out the style.  A cool looking retro racer in great shape!

The bikes life started tough, but quickly became solid and dependable.  Upon first starup in the driveway, she fired, but soon came to a halt, leaving a spinning sound inside the motor which also quickly slowed to a stop.  OUCH.  Not a good sound.  I felt throught the compression, the internals seemed fine. Probably the stator sheared its key and spun on the crank, killing the timing.  Simple disassembly, and it was the case.

With that fixed, she fired again.  Nice!  Pulled in the clutch, slid her into gear, and a lurch backwards!  What?!? Did I add an extra gear somewhere??  Did I install the carb onto the exhaust port??  No way.  Kick again, clutch....and backwards!  Well, reed valve two strokes can definitely run in reverse...but its the ignition timing that dictates which way it will want to go. So, I went through timing with my trusty dial indicator, and its was spot on. ?!? So, I kicked it...it ran backwards.  Advanced the timing...it ran backwards.  Retarded the timing..it ran backwards.  Back to square one....which yielded a crossed wire to the CDI unit....Ooops!  But maybe a handy tool...I've been fished into bushes and mudholes, just wishing I had a reverse gear!  Hmmm...I could wire up a switch...

So with that fixed, the bike ran great.  Things rattled loose. It needed jetting. After dialing the bike in, it's a consistent, powerful, plush-sprung trail bike that begs for straightaways.  The steering is a bit obtuse, but the power is awesome!

Well, she got her day in the limelight...the RMX shredded another top end, leaving the IT465 to do the chores of finishing up Memorial Day Weekend riding, and entering my first race ever, the Santa Clara Motocross June 3rd event at Metcalf in San Jose.  A combination MX and GP track with some singletrack, trails, and a hillclimb.  It was the oldest bike by at least 20 years, but she placed well....high in the C class of mostly fast young MX kids...wow!












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