Taking to the streets

After much work not to mention cost, the bike is finally road worthy.

The registration/transfer documents also arrive, which allows me to get the insurance done.

Time to go home...

Still I have much to do to have it completed; from little things like handle grips and footrests to tuning the carbs and painting the body to factory spec.

What matters is that a machine that would have surely ended up getting cannibalized is salvaged and restored to roadworthy condition. 

Fast tracking the build

More time, focus and energy fast tracks the build, as I look forward to the moment of truth. Starting the engine.

New clutch plates are installed

Carbs are installed with repair kits ordered on ebay from Japan











Also installed...
Havolin 2T and Engine oil
Fork oil and oil seals
Wynn's Coolent
NGK plugs
Sourced an original 29L kick lever

All ready to get the motor started.

Accelerating the progress

By now it seems the worst is over and I could could speed up the work. Getting the motor running is the most important job; yet we need to put the chassis and engine together for that.

Finally things appear to be falling in place. The engine and all parts to be painted black are primered and ready.

Feeling good after overcoming the engine fiasco.

After complete strip down, the naked chassis. Not much to look at.

After stripping the paint to the metal and primer, the original basic red paint is sprayed on; What a difference, almost gives life the chassis. Replaced new handle cups for the steering column.

To continue in a project like this you need to have a vision, a goal as to what your final outcome should be. The following picture inspired me and is the benchmark. (except for the red and blue decals; they will be similar to the RR model as shown below)

Easy said, but getting there is a tough road.

Completing the Engine rebuild

After incurring much expense and the stress of whether the crank could be salvaged, I manage to repair the crank and replace the bearings and push rods with new ones.

A brand new engine packing set for the LC model will be an exact fit except for the head gasket which is not needed.

All assembled, the engine is ready to be stripped of it's old paint and prepped for painting

After stripping the chassis bare all nuts, bolts and brackets are anodized to look brand new.

Funny how all the shinny parts lift the spirit and makes you forget all the bad stuff.

Stripper time

While attending to the engine rebuild, we continue with stripping the chassis bare.


Not a very pretty sight is it?

Every step of the way you can be sure to face an obstacle. Two bolts that hold the left front disc to the wheel refuse to budge. Using some brute strength only breaks the heads leaving the thread area lodged in the wheel.

Many of the nuts and bolts have been replaced with cheap damaged ones, and whoever attended to this bike wouldn't have known why washers were invented. Will have to get new nuts, bolts and washers.

Moving forward with a failed Engine

I remember removing and inspecting the fuel tank prior to towing the bike for repairs, when I found a thick mixture of corrosion and what seemed to be mud accumulated in the tank. There also was an occasional drop of water that trickled from the underneath of the engine, which we didn't take too much notice of.
However with the completion of the electronics when we removed the carburetors we found them waterlogged and full of gunk. Recollecting that the bike was left in the open to face the elements and a couple of monsoons, we suspected there was a chance water might have found it's way into the engine.
We had no choice but to take down the engine and do a proper inspection. Which Mr Rohan agreed to do the next day.

Sure enough I get a call the next day from Mr Rohan's son Chathura who asks me to come by their place, that there is something I need to see.

Wasn't a prettey sight, the total oposite.

Not something I wanted to see; not what I expected when making the purchase and most certainly not what I was expecting to spend on. A total rebuild of the engine

Opening the engine we find that it has seized due to taking in water and the subsequent build up of corrosion over an extended period of time.

Our worst fears have come true. Just overcoming one obstacle I face a new one.

 A close look at the sump reveals the absence of engine oil and that one side of the engine has sustained more damage.

The piston bores are completely covered in corrosion. You can imagine the condition of the piston rings. We had unknowingly kicked on the kick lever making the internal components move and might have caused further damage.

 The Crank reveals corrosion and needs to be repaired with new bearings, pushrod etc. The worst part is if it cant be repaired it will have to be replaced; only there are no cranks in the local market and importing one will cost me more than the bike itself.

Thankfully the Gearbox wasn't affected and the pistons were salvageable.

Rebuilding the engine was not something expected and incurring such cost was going to be hard.
At this point it gets quite depressing.
However you cant turn back now. Got to keep moving forward even with a failed engine. As they say... What to do?

The search for a CDI finally successful

After a depressing few days I finally catch a break. A motorcycle cannibalising yard on the outskirts of Colombo suburbs had apparently sold some RZ parts in the recent past to a garage I visited. Without wasting any time I got the address and decided to visit the location; it was in a little village named Kiriwaththuduwa in the Thalagala area away from the busy Kottawa town.
After a one-and-a-half hour ride and asking 5 or 6 persons for directions I finally reached a large 2 story building surrounded by high walls that stood out like a castle among the little low budget single story houses scattered among large expanses of unattended land. Walking into the yard I see Thushara, the guy in charge, only in a pair of long trousers sitting on a concrete bench in the shade of a jam tree he seems to be in no rush to greet or inquire of my need. Thushara stands about 6' with tattoos and a long rasta style hairdo, at first sight I'm not sure if this guy is on his day off or just has no inclination of conducting business.
Walking up to him and greeting him I inform him of my need. Taking his time and without a word he gets up and climbs the stairs to the top floor of the building, I too follow him; reaching into a large plastic box full of various CDIs, almost without even looking he grabs the first unit that comes to his hand and asks me "is this what you want?", not knowing the part number all I had to go on was the recollection of wire colour-coding and the fact that the CDI had 9 wires; after some close inspection I said it may be a match. He assured me that this would do the job; however I had him confirm he would give me a refund if the part is faulty or incorrect which of course he assured me wouldn't be the case. He gets a little talkative and we have a short chat about how great a bike the RZ is and Thushara tells me of the riding experiences he had with the model long years ago. Indicating I might be back for more parts in the future. I leave.

Riding straight to Mr Rohan's, we fix the newly found CDI and keeping a close eye on the plug tip, kick down on the lever; "yes yes", is the response, as the plug generates a strong spark. The CDI is functioning perfectly and now with that success we can move to the next stage of the build.

Testing the electrical system and CDI

Starting the engine was the first thing we wanted to do, but with a high degree of caution as we were unaware of the engine's internal state. The seller had mentioned that the bike only needed the CDI replaced, so we decided to first check if there was a spark being generated at the spark-plug.

The existing CDI had been repaired and was in horrid shape, even unrecognisable, no part numbers, brand or any identification to help source a replacement part. Attempting a few kicks revealed that there was no spark being generated to the plugs. Testing reveals the CDI is shot and beyond salvage.

 Making some calls to used parts shops in Panchikawatta (The area most famous for used motorcycle and car parts) we find that there are a couple of CDIs available that may be compatible but need testing. Bringing the 2 CDIs on the condition they will be returned if not working, on the same day we try them, but no luck whatsoever.

We would now have to consider many factors for the failure to generate a spark. Could it be the messy wireharness that has been cut and chopped, the flywheel coil, pulser or any other electrical component? Next day.

The coil checked and confirmed to be in good condition, and wireharness repaired, we test the temporarily purchased CDIs; all attempts turn out unsuccessful, the CDIs are faulty and we need to get an item that works. Making calls to every possible used parts shop and visiting every motorcycle garage I pass proves to be futile. ebay has a few CDIs listed but at ridiculous prices and there is no guarantee they will work. Also checked on programmable CDIs, these costs over 4 times the price I payed for the bike itself; that's most certainly not an option.

The bike will stay this way till I find an 84 ypvs CDI which by no means is going to be an easy task.

Documents and licensing

In a project like this, while building, repairing and restoring the machine is important, just as important is having the documentation up-to-date; while having to possess valid documents to legally ride the machine is mandatory, this also increases the value of the bike. Very few of these older 2strokers have up-to-date valid documents.

Fortunately I had the seller obtain the revenue license (an annual licensing that is mandatory to prove the vehicle is roadworthy without which you would be fined and probably have to visit the courts). As the older expired copy of the license was lost, licensing had to be done from the date of first registration which meant incurring penalty charges from 1991 to 2013. This cost the seller Rs. 12,000/- after having to financially motivate some employees at the department to illegally issue the license as there was no roadworthy machine or recent emission certificate.

For transfer of ownership from Abans Ltd. to my self the only document pending, the revenue license now obtained, I lodged the transfer application and collected the following receipt. Apparently it takes 1 to 2 months for the new ownership registration book to be ready.

Starting the project with much enthusiasm

Remembering my visit to Mr Rohan's I decided to give him a call and tell him of my new acquisition; he immediately agreed to help me get the bike started and on the weekend, my Dad was kind enough to tow the bike, with me at the handles, to Mr Rohan's where the bike build would take place.

The first step is to check the wire harness and electrical system after the claims that the CDI doesn't work

Hope to have the bike looking as good, if not better than it's big brother 350 in the background.

Yamaha RZ 250 project. How it all came about.

The attraction and passion for powered 2 wheelers has been in my blood for as long as I can remember. Maybe its because when I was little, all we had in the family were motorcycles, or my Dad's stories and pictures of riding British bikes.
Anyway all the history between the machines and I will probably be another blog altogether.
Around 3 years back I was on the hunt for a Honda CB4 when I happened to visit a gent named Rohan in Nawala, he had a wonderful collection of old, rare and powerful Jap bikes; among many CB250 Hawks were a couple of CB 400 classics, CB 750, Kawasaki 1000 and stuff. In between were a couple of 2 stroke Yamaha RD 350 LCs and a RZ 350R ypvs; Mr. Rohan would praise the bikes and tell stories of how he used to race the bikes in his day. I never took too much interest though.
With work and family commitments my involvement with motorcycles had thinned out until I decided that it might be fun getting a bike and restoring it together with my 14 year old eldest son Devon. In trying to figure what to get I thought back of a bike I was very fond of, a Yam TZR125 94/95 model which was the last series of that range and came with certain extras. I remembered teaching my wife Jackie to ride a motorcycle for the fist time on that bike and that bike held lots of memories for me. While looking for this particular model is when I stumbled upon a for sale ad on www.ikman.lk of a Yam RZ 250 R; it looked like it was in very good condition and the seller assured me that it was in running condition but needed a new CDI unit.

That's where this project starts from.

On the 20th of August 13, my friend Rajee and I drove in his pickup truck to Kandana and struck a deal with the seller, paying only a portion of the committed price as he was to hand me the documents later, we loaded the bike in the back of the cab and headed back home.

The bike originally belonged to Abans Ltd., an organisation in SL, that had given the bike to one of its AGMs together with the transfer papers which he had lost together with the revenue license. The AGM had in turn given the bike to his subordinate - the seller, to repair and ride. Long story short, the bike has gone from hand to hand, garage to garage. It was seen at one time outside a garage weathering the elements for some months.
The transfer documents were however re drawn and given me by Abans and the seller had to update the revenue license from the date of first registration which cost a tidy sum.
I lodged the documents for transfer in the second week of September for a normal transfer whick takes 1-2 months; hopefully should get the new registration book sometime soon.