might sound really strange, but I really like the fact I see you working on the floor of your garage on an old dirty piece of cardboard.... sometimes I feel like I can't do something because I don't have the proper space or professional equipment, but when I see you working in similar conditions it gives me more confidence. Keep up the great work 2vintage
You are totally right. I love joe and his videos. How he works with what hes got. Yes he has some special tools that's are needed. But he doesnt have a huge garage, or a huge work bench, or a fabrication table. And he gets some shit done!
Yeah I just rebuilt my first bike last year it was the first bike I ever bought for myself and google and TH-cam taught me a lot. And of course my dad taught me too
Leave your right hand off the throttle while you’re trying to start that thing. You’re not getting enough pressure through the pilot circuit when the slides up
@@n2vxc yea hes hard headed but also still learning, he only just started splitting cases few years ago. give him 10 more years of experience and he will figure it out.
@@evanowens8647 I wasn't dissing just stated that he is still learning. Also a good running bike should start with out the throttle, edit btw it dosen't really matter if he twists the throttle or not, ive seen it done were ppl will kick twice with throttle then kick without throttle and vice versa,
@@michaelzilio4268 because, a cold engine requires more fuel than air when starting it. That's what the choke does, either blocks off the air, or if it's an enrichener type choke it gives it more fuel, and less air. So by opening the throttle when the choke is on, you are letting in lot's more air than fuel, making it difficult to start, and defeating the purpose of the choke.
Claw hammers are for carpenters. Get yourself a set of ball pien hammers and dead blow hammers. Harbor Freight is fine.. Also sometimes using a piece of hardwood is best to set a bearing.
I've done quite a few of these crank bearings and I always use a small propane torch. Heat it up for around 10-15 minutes plus the cold bearing and no pounding needs to be done. A heat gun is not aggressive enough for the aluminum case
@@audiogarden21 heatgun is fine it needs to be around 100 celsius and a heatgun is more than capable to get it that hot, a blowtorch is just quicker. then its hot in couple of seconds
I was about to ask why he was not using a propane torch to heat the crankcase up to accept the cold bearing, as long as you aren't using map gas and some common sense this is the most effective way
2 stroke starting if it has sat more than a few days; Turn fuel on and lean bike over on its side until fuel pours out the over flow. Turn choke on, bring engine to TDC and WITHOUT turning throttle kick. FYI black oily spooge from the silencer is normal if bike isn't brought up to running temp long and ridden hard like it was designed to be. Probably needs silencer repacked and carb jetting tuned as these small bore 2 strokes are sensitive to temp and altitude changes. 96/97 rm125 was a fun bike with a good lowend(for a 125) and strong upper midrange. Head shake on these bikes could be scary af back in the day.
When it didn't start at first, it sounded to me like it wasn't sucking fuel. Surely when he fitted the carb slide, he knew to align the slide groove with the spigot on the one side of the carb. Failure to do so, means you're looking at a fast WOT break-in. One of my brother's friends was at our house doing a piston swap on his DT175. When the new parts were in and he fired that puppy up, it went straight to a gazillion rpm in an instant! Scared the crap out of our dog who was keeping us company in the garage! Of course, the bikes kill-switch wasn't fitted, so it was some time before he found that he could switch the ignition off and stop the engine. Fastest break-in of a new piston ever!
Freezing the bearing causes it to rust once it the condensation comes from going frozen to hot. The water is trapped between cases and makes the bearings go out prematurely
In my 30+ years of working on 2 stroke motors, I’ve never had crank bearings “drop in”. Heating the case and freezing the bearings makes it easier, but the only time that they will drop in is when the cases have bearings replaced so many times that the cases are basically worn out. I Love Your Videos!! Thanks for Sharing!!!
Love the Rms. I redid a 98 RM 250 a couple years ago. Bad crank bearings and piston. Still runs great. She's a rippa.🤘👍😁🇺🇸 Nice job. A lot if parts in those engines.
Hey joe for future use. When I was putting my rm85 back together. I didn’t put my crank in the freezer, I just got a socket that was big enough as the inner bearing. Heated it up and let it sit in the bearing for couple mins and the crank just went in, after couple mins. I was able to pull it out and put it back in. Worked for me and my rm is still running strong
Putting steel parts in a freezer to shrink them does very very little good, and more harm in some cases IMO. Just measure the diameter with a micrometer before and after the freeze, and you will see very little difference in their size, (like about .0001"). The bore in the aluminum cases for a bearing will expand about .002" in a 300/350 degree F. oven, and even the hot bearings will drop right out. Now, if you drop a cold bearing in there, it is likely you will start a bit crooked, and the cold bearing will suck the heat out of the cases, shrinking the bore to a press fit again, and trap your crooked bearing. I use heat to remove them today, and a press to install them at room temps.
Man you can really get that LIMP NOODLE WRIST going when you try to start stuff! HELL even before you tried to start it. Going to town like, WHA! WHA! WHA! Let me drop a bit on you, there's no accelerator pump there pal.😉
@@wisecampmotorcycles8258 So he has been told in the comments but keeps doing it? If so I wonder why he chooses to do something that is 100 percent incorrect? I have worked around people like this, they are not good at taking advice at all.
my Sunday morning wake up to a notification to vintage has uploaded a new video plan even before I have my coffee.. hands down the best channel for your dirt bike and four wheeler needs .. stay safe have a good day...
200k subscribers. Figured he would be more confident, which he is for the most part. But I sure was scratching my head a few times. Like why would you not clean the case if you’re going to completely disassemble and split?!
@@sygrene When I saw him start the rebuild I was wondering WHEN he was going to actually clean the engine cases inside and out. It never happened. I would never let him rebuild an engine for me without a full cleaning of everything along with a visual inspection. You go to the trouble of splitting the cases no point in skipping over a crucial part of the job. CLEANING!!!
Nice, have a '98 RM 250 I rebuilt frame up 2 years ago. They were the slowest out of the bikes in the shootouts back in those days. Plenty fast for the average rider like me lol.
I bet it is faster than my 2019 YZ250 2-stroke when stock. I rode for a couple decades and raced for a decade, but took 20 years off, and this is the slowest 250cc bike I have ever had. Fine for me at 58 and getting my feet wet again,---but I can fix that when needed. :) I also make my bike shorter,---like yours. The only reason to make a 2-stroke as tall as a 4-stroke has to be,---is stupidity. If I still had my 97 KX250, I would have just rebuilt that instead of buying this sky scrapper.
It’s the carb clean part for me lol , came back to the next scene and fired up ready good job . Enjoy all your work and patients when it come down to building .
Tip for rebuilding....clean everything!! I would not advise putting an engine back together until every single part is cleaned. The cases, trans...all of it! All that dirt 9:44 falling off the engine should not even be there. Clean the exterior of the engine before taking it apart helps. Then clean it again before rebuild. You dont want to risk any of that dirt getting inside the engine during rebuild.
BEST piece of advice to anyone with any vintage bike is to join ALL the forums/groups that you can relating to that bike. Odds are you will get to know (a) very knowledgeable people, and (b) most probably the parts you need - or a pointer in the right direction
Cometic gasket will make a new gasket for any gasket needed , you must first place a sheet of paper over the surface then take a pencil & trace or shade over the gasket surface back n forth to make an identical gasket drawing then send it in
I'm rebuilding my first bike currently. It's a 1999 RM250, same thing shattered the piston, and it locked up the crank. Crank bearings are rough, and the crank had the same problem. I had my crank rebuilt at CWI though.
when you were having "smash" them bearings in the case for the crank i had to look away i was nervous for you lol i thought the case was gonna crack but im glad it didnt an the tool still on when you checked to see if the crank was smooth had me in a panic too lol
Seems to be a lot of people coming here to give instructions, or supervise your videos, but thats expected. I learned alot from reading and listening to other people, and now from videos on the internet. I learned only a few knew what they were talking about, the rest were either guessing trying to impress you, or just fos. I'm 63, and still dont understand how you can talk into a flat plastic object, and hear someone talk back over a mile away , much less from the other side of the planet. Never did beleive in magic, but I'm beginning to. Being young... I didn't know then, maybe that was magic too. I'm gonna race motocross anyway !
I did the same thing with my crank and I thought the same thing as soon as I put the bottom in together just like what you did I was like man and took the toy off of the crank and then it moved freely thank God nice job on the crank the heat the case of the study using the heat gun I just used a torch instead and it seemed to work a little bit better!
You can use something to take an impression of the crank case, like when you take a piece of paper lay it on a penny and color you get your impression. Only instead you have the piece of paper taped to the case and only use the pencil where you want gasket material. Then you can cut out your impression and trace that onto gasket paper.
Crank seal goes with spring facing out to keep oil out of crankcase. So if you can’t see the spring, it’s in wrong. I didn’t happen to see which way you put it in so that bog and excessive smoke. Just a thought.
i loved my rm125 did the same thing bought it for 75 with the case split rebuilt the whole motor ran it a few years then upgraded to a rm250. which was also locked up did a full rebuild on that as well suzuki makes a great bike but cant make a clutch to save their life.
I bought a 1996 rm125 about 2 and a half years ago for $700 running. Your are right it is very hard to find parts for this year! I don't really understand why? I rebuilt the top end last summer and it runs pretty good. Just wished it started a little bit easier sometimes...
@@dieseltrucksfirewood2540 It is smoking because it is running rich on gas. Believe it or not, a 2-stroke, (carburetor type) will not smoke much at all when it is jetted well, even with more oil. When it is jetted well, the bike will no longer black goop's up the pipe either, and things like power valves tens to say working freely longer. I agree, 32:1 is probably the best mix for a 2-stroke MX bike, and just mixing from 40:1 to 32:1 will lean his jetting a bit, (less gas going through the jet because there is more oil. The amount of gas is what counts for jetting,--not the oil.).
Also that has bridge exsuast port so piston lube holes should be drilled. Suz pistons don't come pre drilled like yam/kaw. Also easier to but engine all together on bench . But nice job 👍 good old bike raced one of those one time back in 97'.
No they don’t, just rebuilt my top on my 99’ rm250 and if wiseco wanted the holes to be pre drill and the piston is specifically for the bike, they would have done it from the factory.
had to laugh as i was only talking about the first start rev to the moon strategy the other video PUT A CHAIN ON because occasionally the kill switch will do nothing when its revving so hard and you just stall it , but with no chain you cant and all your hard work goes bang. but well done it runs and looks cool
You better define how you stall the bike with the chain on. I would jam the rear brake, but I am sure some kids will end up launching their bike across the garage floor. :)
You are flooding the damn bike dude... Why do you twist your hand every kick. A well tuned two stroke should start 1-2 kicks when cold and 1 kick warm every time. Only when its warm might you need to give it a little throttle.
@UCyBYWvHr2Gqgl-fs9IG65ow 😜 too many clapped bikes I've seen and like you said 25 kicks to start a bike.. Clapped out. Bad reeds, worn out top end or rings, and wrong improperly tuned jetting will all make a bike be a 25+ kick bike. I fix up two strokes and all my bikes idle and start 1-2 kicks when cold, even in -7 below zero with 12 inches of snow on the ground. Too many clueless people think this guy knows what he is doing, and they praise him for it. He doesn't even leak down test engines.. Seen him hammering metal on metal 😂 kids got no sense about not screwing stuff up.
@Mark Deaton oh he would be the kind of guy to tell you "two strokes aren't supposed to idle"... Lmfao every shitty mechanic uses that one because they don't know how to prolerly adjust the idle screw and jet the bike properly where the pilot screw has an effect.
Because he doesn't know how to start a bike properly. He's been told this a hundred times, but obviously doesn't take any notice about twisting the shit out of the throttle every time he tries to start a bike. Some people just refuse to listen.
@@2vintage the huge plume of smoke when it fired up was a bunch of extra fuel. Either way if it doesn't start without throttle input then you need to clean the carb. Cranking the throttle to get stuff started is a bad habit.
Lean out the air fuel screw a lil. That thing will like a 50:1 oil mixture alot after breaking it in. Looked good on assembly. A propane torch or map gas would of gotcha hot enough for a straight bearing drop but you got it done. Great job. I enjoy your videos. Thanks for sharing
a few tips. when starting. hold it at half throttle and kick it very soft a few times. the point of this is to avoid dry starts by allowing the fuel/oil to spread around the crank and cylinder. it also primes the motor for starting conditions. then turn the choke on. cycle the piston until u feel it at top dead center. then a firm kick with no throttle should start it right away. turn off the choke almost immediately. i cant remember the last time my 2 stroke didnt start 1st kick using this method. With the crank and trans bearings. u need a torch. and way more time. like 5-10 minutes per side. and definitely dont use the throttle cable to adjust the idle. i suspect u did this only to keep it running temporarily but that is a no no for long term use. there should be slight play in the throttle grip. the cable should have no tension on it. the idle is then adjusted with the idle screw on the carb. this was a great video though. really enjoy this content man keep it up
Well done. Stick the bearings in the freezer if anything - Heating up expands the metal making it more difficult - Using a vice whilst placing the old bearing on the new bearing using it to press in the new one as you tight/close the vice - Anyways, reminds of a KMX 125 I bought for £600 which I repaired - Barrel re-chromed at local engineers, and I gave the bottom end to a mechanic to change the bearings.
When you heat up a bore, the diameter gets bigger, not smaller. With the case in the oven at 300 deg F., the bearing bores will grow up to about .002", and the bearings will pretty much fall out of the cases. A frozen steel bearing is about .0001" smaller in diameter, (about 1/20th the thermal expansion rate of aluminum), so the difference in that diameter for temp differences is very small. The problem I have with a frozen bearing, is it getting suck a bit crooked because the cold bearing sucks the heat out of the cases, and the case bore shrinks on a slightly crooked bearing. Today, I use heat to remove them, and a arbor press to put them together all at room temp. I got tired of burning my fingers trying to drop a bearing straight into hot cases.
Make new gasket from 30 pack box. Wipe used black motor oil on case place case on cardboard. Now you have outline of case. Punch all holes first can use proper 1/4 drive socket with extention to punch holes. Place card board over metal plate use socket and hammer to punch holes. Then cut remaining cardboard with scissors and or utility knife. Whalah new gasket!
Just love the sound of these RM's, I used to dream about them when I was younger. Got my eye on a restoration project but they want too much for it at the moment.
My dad taught me this and I’ve done it many times and never had a failure yet.. if you need a gasket, make one out of the back of a notebook. Use the thin cardboard. Works like a charm!
I wasted years kicking reluctant Villiers based strokers into life and more than one meeting without a ride .At this time (about 1974),I visited a friend who owned a Greeves 250 Challenger and while chatting to me idly eased the kickstart down and the engine just quietly started running.By the way his bike was cold and hasnt been used for over a week.Same with model diesel engines that could be hard to start in the days before electric starters,when anyMills ,75 would always start in any direction too!
You need a LOT MORE heat. When i do crank bearings i put them in the freezer overnight and i heat the case with a MAPP gas torch, you need a lot more heat in it, thats a big heatsink pulling the heat away and a heat gun won't do it. Get it up to a couple hundred degrees, if its case half with nothing in it get an old oven set it to 200 degrees and toss it in and let it bake for 10-15 minutes, don't do this in your kitchen stove though... lol... After its up to temp grab the bearing out of the freezer and it will drop right in. Make sure it won't creep out though, a C-Clamp if you can around to the other side just snug it and then let it all sit and cool down on its own. Less chance of damage this way. If you can fully support the back side a small cheap press from harbor freight would do the job, i have been meaning to get one myself but know someone with one, however heating and freezing always got it done for me.
I understand that it can take time to get parts for any given bike which is why you interleave videos on several bikes, quads etc. that you are working on over the same period. Some other channels hold back videos until they have a "soup to nuts" series they can put out in sequence and this really improves the viewing experience. Just a thought...
Engine parts are interchangeable between 1992 and 1996 on the rm125s so check for other years too when looking for parts. Maybe you can find a gasket set from 92-96.
Thats why I love my yz80 any parts 1993 - 2001 will work. My bike is a 2001 and my 3rd gear is from a 84 or 87 yz80, I've haven't had trouble with 2nd yet but when i do im changing all gears to 98s
Anyone on here know what parts are interchangeable on 2001 kx125 tried to do research and nothing came up with earlier years or later years that work in the engine… be helpful if someone could help me out,
love watching your videos!! you simplify these builds and make your videos in a manner where people can follow the builds and tackle their own bike rebuilds! personally i rebuilt my old 03 yz250 and I wouldn't have even attempted it if it wasn't for your informational videos! keep up the awesome work and keep the videos coming. your the man!
@@bananabrooks3836 The whole engine is dirty. Seeing him start his rebuild with a dirty ass engine case has me scratching my head. At some point I hope he realizes you need to clean everything before rebuilding. I clean and inspect every single part. Especially for a bike this old there is bound to be a ton of worn parts besides that damaged crank.
what gasket maker did you use for the case halves? Is it permatex "motoseal" or something gas safe similar, need do split the cases on my kx125, thanks
I imagine that at a motorcycle shop they would use liquid nitrogen to get the bearings super cold or they might actually press them with a hydraulic press. It seems like it would be very important that the bearings are in perfect alignment.
I worked in a shop that did install bearing on to shafts as part of larger and i mean LARGE assemblies. 300-400mm wide shafts and over. Bearings were craned in in some cases. No joke. Shafts were Liquid nitrogened, and bearings warmed via a induction element, looked like a flat coathanger arm And magnets were attached to allow a circuit (i think) but yes that was what i observed
I know auto shops use a press and you can feel its bottomed when you're pulling on the press handle and suddenly there is resistance. Presses are getting cheap too.
Where do you find all of your parts for all of the old dirt bikes and four wheelers you have? I have a 1986 trx 250 Honda and it will run and drive but once you start driving and get on it it dies and it just sputters out.
Check the CDI, I had a CDI die and it would start and drive, checked everything. Swapped a CDI from a diff bike and it ran great. A spark checker should tell you if the spark is dying out while riding.
if my bikes or another engines example boat / lawnmower / trimmer, have stand a long time,I take out the spark-plug cap and filter out of the carburetor and place my hand in front of the hole and kick or pull the starter rope a few times, so the piston starts sucking gas from the bottom of the carburetor and you notice if it works because there comes gasoline also in your hand, so then put the spark-plug cap and filter back on and try to restart the engine but if nothing happens then the carburetor needles are clogged. 💪🤠🤜
I miss my 87RM 125, I let a friend borrow it and it got caught on the train tracks and he refused to let it go and he got killed trying to get it out, so I have a hard time buying and riding a yellow and black RM anymore even though I think they are awesome js
I hate to tell u this but i think u put the right side crank seal in backwards. Check a manual but the ouroose of that seal on that side is to keep trans oil out of the crank tunnel so the hollow side of the seal with the garter spring faces the oil which means the hollow side of seal faces you when you are tapping it in
Hi, I have a 1992 rm 125 what I have a question about if you could help me? On the left side of the engine on the barrel, is there an overflow pipe or should that be connected up ? I bought the bike in 3 box’s so I’m unsure of the correct way to pipe it up. Thanks Lewis.
Nice rebuildt, but if I were you, I would change my gloves when luring up the piston and cylinder.. That way you don't get any fragments that can wear out the engine faster.. It should all be 100% clean when installing..
You've got the crank case seperator connected to the end of the crank to pull it back together that's why the crank won't turn (@ 13:47) DOH! Then you realised your mistake :-)
I wanna get into dirt biking but I've been looking around and can't find used 125s have any ideas where to buy bc I don't wanna buy new unless I get a 250 or something
For anyone planning on rebuilding a rm125 between 1997-2001 I would highly advise against it. I just had to give up on my total rebuild because I was sitting around about 3 grand, not including the bike. Parts for these bike are extremely hard to come by and expensive. Just in bearings alone I spent near 200 dollars. You will be doing allot of guess work. With allot of parts being discontinued like the crank which leaves you at the mercy of old diagrams, eBay and machine shops to help rebuild. The final nail in the coffin for me was a incorrect sized transmission bearing that cracked the case. While I could have probably caught this error it’s probably not something that would have happened if I didn’t have to do all the guess work. In the end you will save more paying a bit more for a bike that had a better aftermarket and more accessible rebuild kits and parts
What 2 stroke oil do you run? I have a cr250 an rm125 and I mix 40-1 with Castrol 927 an never had an issue. I haven't had to rebuild it yet. An on the plus side it smells amazing!
What do you suppose causes the bearing failures? Lack of proper lubrication? Poor maintenance? Wrong type of oil? Enjoy your videos. Thanks for sharing.
More times than not rod bearing failure, especially on case induction reeds, like mostly 85 an 125 use it they fail from lack of lubrication from oil an gas was to lean or water From a wet air filter.
might sound really strange, but I really like the fact I see you working on the floor of your garage on an old dirty piece of cardboard.... sometimes I feel like I can't do something because I don't have the proper space or professional equipment, but when I see you working in similar conditions it gives me more confidence. Keep up the great work 2vintage
Same man this guy takes all my excuses away
Simple set of wrenches, some Google nowadays. And a comfortable space. You can get a lot done with that nowadays :)
You are totally right. I love joe and his videos. How he works with what hes got. Yes he has some special tools that's are needed. But he doesnt have a huge garage, or a huge work bench, or a fabrication table. And he gets some shit done!
Yeah I just rebuilt my first bike last year it was the first bike I ever bought for myself and google and TH-cam taught me a lot. And of course my dad taught me too
I don't have a garage...
Leave your right hand off the throttle while you’re trying to start that thing. You’re not getting enough pressure through the pilot circuit when the slides up
ive been saying this for years. he cant understand why its so hard to start engines...dont waist the effort typing, trust me, cant tell him anything
@@n2vxc i doubt you are on to tell 2vintage what to do. He obviously knows what he is doing and has a ton of experience. no need to get upset
@@n2vxc yea hes hard headed but also still learning, he only just started splitting cases few years ago. give him 10 more years of experience and he will figure it out.
Y'all stop dissing on him its a 2 stroke you need to twist the throttle
@@evanowens8647 I wasn't dissing just stated that he is still learning. Also a good running bike should start with out the throttle, edit btw it dosen't really matter if he twists the throttle or not, ive seen it done were ppl will kick twice with throttle then kick without throttle and vice versa,
When starting cold with an enrichenment circuit in the carb for starting, do NOT give it throttle when cranking.
People tell him this in every single video. He just won't take the advice.
Yeah, don't touch throttle when choke is on or totally defeats it. Same w 4 strokes fellas, if it doesn't start in 3-4 kicks stop, figure it out.
yeah i was gonna say i was getting triggered
Can you explain me why? I want learn something new
@@michaelzilio4268 because, a cold engine requires more fuel than air when starting it. That's what the choke does, either blocks off the air, or if it's an enrichener type choke it gives it more fuel, and less air. So by opening the throttle when the choke is on, you are letting in lot's more air than fuel, making it difficult to start, and defeating the purpose of the choke.
Claw hammers are for carpenters. Get yourself a set of ball pien hammers and dead blow hammers. Harbor Freight is fine.. Also sometimes using a piece of hardwood is best to set a bearing.
While you are at Harbor freight...grab proper wire strippers and terminal crimping pliers!
Antique shovel handles cut in appropriate lengths and sizes
Free bearing driver (The old wood trick)
no one cares
He can use whatever hammer he has
@@CleanFc250 sure but having a heavier hammer would work better.. more impact energy..
I've done quite a few of these crank bearings and I always use a small propane torch. Heat it up for around 10-15 minutes plus the cold bearing and no pounding needs to be done. A heat gun is not aggressive enough for the aluminum case
That was my thought. Heat guns are great for re-liquefying glue or something but not so great for metals, otherwise it would melt itself.
@@audiogarden21 heatgun is fine it needs to be around 100 celsius and a heatgun is more than capable to get it that hot, a blowtorch is just quicker. then its hot in couple of seconds
Dry ice for bearings and halves in the oven until ready.
Bearing in the freezer case half in the oven. Works every time.
I was about to ask why he was not using a propane torch to heat the crankcase up to accept the cold bearing, as long as you aren't using map gas and some common sense this is the most effective way
@19:23 I like how he said "We'll try to torque that down" then proceeds to give it some oooga doogas from the impact.
I like your style
yep, and that's how you over tighten and and strip/damage parts. Do it the right way per the manual or not at all.
Threated on or cross threaded....tights tight! 😆 if its cross threaded no worries of having to use lock tight 😄
Rebuilding a 1998 myself right, I’m a fan of the old RM’s ✊🏻💨
Lol that ain’t old. Try a 78 rm 400 or a 78 yz 400
When you put the nut on the clutch basket you didn't bend the lock washer back onto the nut?
I didnt think anyone else noticed good eye 👍
I came here to see if anyone else noticed. That nut will work it self loose for sure. Done the same mistake myself.
2 stroke starting if it has sat more than a few days;
Turn fuel on and lean bike over on its side until fuel pours out the over flow.
Turn choke on, bring engine to TDC and WITHOUT turning throttle kick.
FYI black oily spooge from the silencer is normal if bike isn't brought up to running temp long and ridden hard like it was designed to be. Probably needs silencer repacked and carb jetting tuned as these small bore 2 strokes are sensitive to temp and altitude changes. 96/97 rm125 was a fun bike with a good lowend(for a 125) and strong upper midrange. Head shake on these bikes could be scary af back in the day.
When it didn't start at first, it sounded to me like it wasn't sucking fuel. Surely when he fitted the carb slide, he knew to align the slide groove with the spigot on the one side of the carb. Failure to do so, means you're looking at a fast WOT break-in. One of my brother's friends was at our house doing a piston swap on his DT175. When the new parts were in and he fired that puppy up, it went straight to a gazillion rpm in an instant! Scared the crap out of our dog who was keeping us company in the garage! Of course, the bikes kill-switch wasn't fitted, so it was some time before he found that he could switch the ignition off and stop the engine.
Fastest break-in of a new piston ever!
@@christopherknee5756 lmao
Lol I get on my dad's 125 trials after 6 months and just Choke it and it starts 2nd kick I never do none of that
Freezing the bearing causes it to rust once it the condensation comes from going frozen to hot. The water is trapped between cases and makes the bearings go out prematurely
In my 30+ years of working on 2 stroke motors, I’ve never had crank bearings “drop in”. Heating the case and freezing the bearings makes it easier, but the only time that they will drop in is when the cases have bearings replaced so many times that the cases are basically worn out. I Love Your Videos!! Thanks for Sharing!!!
If you put the case in the oven… and freeze the bearing… it will essentially drop in.
I rebuilt one and i just put the case in the oven for like 10 minutes and the bearings essentially dropped in with little effort
Great job, at least you showed the real struggles of starting the bike. Instead of skipping it in the video.
Love the Rms. I redid a 98 RM 250 a couple years ago. Bad crank bearings and piston. Still runs great. She's a rippa.🤘👍😁🇺🇸 Nice job. A lot if parts in those engines.
Every so often you release a video that makes me face palm. This is one of those🤦♂️
Hey joe for future use. When I was putting my rm85 back together. I didn’t put my crank in the freezer, I just got a socket that was big enough as the inner bearing. Heated it up and let it sit in the bearing for couple mins and the crank just went in, after couple mins. I was able to pull it out and put it back in. Worked for me and my rm is still running strong
Putting steel parts in a freezer to shrink them does very very little good, and more harm in some cases IMO. Just measure the diameter with a micrometer before and after the freeze, and you will see very little difference in their size, (like about .0001"). The bore in the aluminum cases for a bearing will expand about .002" in a 300/350 degree F. oven, and even the hot bearings will drop right out. Now, if you drop a cold bearing in there, it is likely you will start a bit crooked, and the cold bearing will suck the heat out of the cases, shrinking the bore to a press fit again, and trap your crooked bearing. I use heat to remove them today, and a press to install them at room temps.
But, freezing a steel part that presses into another steel part may help some, as the press fit is very light.
Man you can really get that LIMP NOODLE WRIST going when you try to start stuff! HELL even before you tried to start it. Going to town like, WHA! WHA! WHA! Let me drop a bit on you, there's no accelerator pump there pal.😉
He doesn't listen, people tell him over and over.
@@wisecampmotorcycles8258 So he has been told in the comments but keeps doing it? If so I wonder why he chooses to do something that is 100 percent incorrect?
I have worked around people like this, they are not good at taking advice at all.
@@jcaashby3 LoL man, and he has done the same thing in every video since this one. There's just no helping some people !
my Sunday morning wake up to a notification to vintage has uploaded a new video plan even before I have my coffee.. hands down the best channel for your dirt bike and four wheeler needs .. stay safe have a good day...
You didn’t look really hard for a gasket set did you They is all kinds on eBay I just rebuilt one of these same motors last year little short kick 125
Guesses are he didn't look typed it into Google and heaps popped up.
200k subscribers. Figured he would be more confident, which he is for the most part. But I sure was scratching my head a few times. Like why would you not clean the case if you’re going to completely disassemble and split?!
@@sygrene When I saw him start the rebuild I was wondering WHEN he was going to actually clean the engine cases inside and out. It never happened. I would never let him rebuild an engine for me without a full cleaning of everything along with a visual inspection. You go to the trouble of splitting the cases no point in skipping over a crucial part of the job. CLEANING!!!
Bro, your the Bob Ross of mechanics. Keep the videos coming.
Nice, have a '98 RM 250 I rebuilt frame up 2 years ago. They were the slowest out of the bikes in the shootouts back in those days. Plenty fast for the average rider like me lol.
I bet it is faster than my 2019 YZ250 2-stroke when stock. I rode for a couple decades and raced for a decade, but took 20 years off, and this is the slowest 250cc bike I have ever had. Fine for me at 58 and getting my feet wet again,---but I can fix that when needed. :)
I also make my bike shorter,---like yours. The only reason to make a 2-stroke as tall as a 4-stroke has to be,---is stupidity. If I still had my 97 KX250, I would have just rebuilt that instead of buying this sky scrapper.
That's a really clean bike for the year it's worth fixing for sure!
It’s the carb clean part for me lol , came back to the next scene and fired up ready good job . Enjoy all your work and patients when it come down to building .
I would recommend next time putting assemble lube in those crank bearings. Just saying
Agree. And put a piece of metal over the hole when heating. All that hot air was just blowing through.
Growing up my best best friend had 93 rm 125 that thing ripped!! Great job on the rebuild!!
Just a little tip make sure the bearing is straight when you put it in thats why it was so hard to install the crank breaings
got alot to learn but keep going, bike rebuilding is one of the most fun things to do
Tip for rebuilding....clean everything!! I would not advise putting an engine back together until every single part is cleaned. The cases, trans...all of it! All that dirt 9:44 falling off the engine should not even be there. Clean the exterior of the engine before taking it apart helps. Then clean it again before rebuild. You dont want to risk any of that dirt getting inside the engine during rebuild.
BEST piece of advice to anyone with any vintage bike is to join ALL the forums/groups that you can relating to that bike. Odds are you will get to know (a) very knowledgeable people, and (b) most probably the parts you need - or a pointer in the right direction
You don't need to give it revs when your kicking it. Just put the choke on. Love your videos man, been a subscriber for years 👍
The crank went in nice
That was pretty slick
Cometic gasket will make a new gasket for any gasket needed , you must first place a sheet of paper over the surface then take a pencil & trace or shade over the gasket surface back n forth to make an identical gasket drawing then send it in
I'm rebuilding my first bike currently. It's a 1999 RM250, same thing shattered the piston, and it locked up the crank. Crank bearings are rough, and the crank had the same problem. I had my crank rebuilt at CWI though.
when you were having "smash" them bearings in the case for the crank i had to look away i was nervous for you lol i thought the case was gonna crack but im glad it didnt an the tool still on when you checked to see if the crank was smooth had me in a panic too lol
For the future I’d heat the entire case together or put the main bearings on the crank and use the puller to bottom them out
agreed
If that is putting a sideways force on the small bearing race, I would not do it that way.
They sell a gasket kit for it that comes with the case gasket on ebay
Seems to be a lot of people coming here to give instructions, or supervise your videos, but thats expected. I learned alot from reading and listening to other people, and now from videos on the internet. I learned only a few knew what they were talking about, the rest were either guessing trying to impress you, or just fos.
I'm 63, and still dont understand how you can talk into a flat plastic object, and hear someone talk back over a mile away , much less from the other side of the planet. Never did beleive in magic, but I'm beginning to. Being young... I didn't know then, maybe that was magic too. I'm gonna race motocross anyway !
🤙 glad to see you got it running 🤞 good luck getting it tuned. Can’t wait to see next vid.
I did the same thing with my crank and I thought the same thing as soon as I put the bottom in together just like what you did I was like man and took the toy off of the crank and then it moved freely thank God nice job on the crank the heat the case of the study using the heat gun I just used a torch instead and it seemed to work a little bit better!
You can use something to take an impression of the crank case, like when you take a piece of paper lay it on a penny and color you get your impression. Only instead you have the piece of paper taped to the case and only use the pencil where you want gasket material. Then you can cut out your impression and trace that onto gasket paper.
Crank seal goes with spring facing out to keep oil out of crankcase. So if you can’t see the spring, it’s in wrong. I didn’t happen to see which way you put it in so that bog and excessive smoke. Just a thought.
i loved my rm125 did the same thing bought it for 75 with the case split rebuilt the whole motor ran it a few years then upgraded to a rm250. which was also locked up did a full rebuild on that as well suzuki makes a great bike but cant make a clutch to save their life.
Just bought a tusk crank Case gasket last month for a 96 rm125
I like working on 2 strokes because they are such simplistic engines and so easy and cheap to work on
We see that banshee in back 👀👀
I bought a 1996 rm125 about 2 and a half years ago for $700 running. Your are right it is very hard to find parts for this year! I don't really understand why? I rebuilt the top end last summer and it runs pretty good. Just wished it started a little bit easier sometimes...
You should run 32:1 on your 2 strokes that’s what most of them run from the factory
Exactly, he puts a 40:1 ratio and then wonders why it is smoking.
@@dieseltrucksfirewood2540 It is smoking because it is running rich on gas. Believe it or not, a 2-stroke, (carburetor type) will not smoke much at all when it is jetted well, even with more oil. When it is jetted well, the bike will no longer black goop's up the pipe either, and things like power valves tens to say working freely longer.
I agree, 32:1 is probably the best mix for a 2-stroke MX bike, and just mixing from 40:1 to 32:1 will lean his jetting a bit, (less gas going through the jet because there is more oil. The amount of gas is what counts for jetting,--not the oil.).
Also that has bridge exsuast port so piston lube holes should be drilled. Suz pistons don't come pre drilled like yam/kaw. Also easier to but engine all together on bench . But nice job 👍 good old bike raced one of those one time back in 97'.
No they don’t, just rebuilt my top on my 99’ rm250 and if wiseco wanted the holes to be pre drill and the piston is specifically for the bike, they would have done it from the factory.
@@logannaramore54 99 250 doesn't have a bridge
had to laugh as i was only talking about the first start rev to the moon strategy the other video PUT A CHAIN ON because occasionally the kill switch will do nothing when its revving so hard and you just stall it , but with no chain you cant and all your hard work goes bang. but well done it runs and looks cool
That is a Huge issue in the diesel engine industry. It's called a "run-a-way" The last thing you want. Man, Always have a quick kill solution.
You better define how you stall the bike with the chain on. I would jam the rear brake, but I am sure some kids will end up launching their bike across the garage floor. :)
@@EarthSurferUSA That sounds like a learning experience.
Love the videos but my knees and back ache watching them! Build a nice work bench will ya!!!! 🤣
You can cut you own gaskets. Just go to the auto parts store.
You are flooding the damn bike dude... Why do you twist your hand every kick. A well tuned two stroke should start 1-2 kicks when cold and 1 kick warm every time. Only when its warm might you need to give it a little throttle.
@UCyBYWvHr2Gqgl-fs9IG65ow 😜 too many clapped bikes I've seen and like you said 25 kicks to start a bike.. Clapped out. Bad reeds, worn out top end or rings, and wrong improperly tuned jetting will all make a bike be a 25+ kick bike. I fix up two strokes and all my bikes idle and start 1-2 kicks when cold, even in -7 below zero with 12 inches of snow on the ground. Too many clueless people think this guy knows what he is doing, and they praise him for it. He doesn't even leak down test engines.. Seen him hammering metal on metal 😂 kids got no sense about not screwing stuff up.
@Mark Deaton oh he would be the kind of guy to tell you "two strokes aren't supposed to idle"... Lmfao every shitty mechanic uses that one because they don't know how to prolerly adjust the idle screw and jet the bike properly where the pilot screw has an effect.
Because he doesn't know how to start a bike properly. He's been told this a hundred times, but obviously doesn't take any notice about twisting the shit out of the throttle every time he tries to start a bike. Some people just refuse to listen.
Did you see that the carburetor needed to be rebuilt? That's why it wasn't starting right away.
@@2vintage the huge plume of smoke when it fired up was a bunch of extra fuel. Either way if it doesn't start without throttle input then you need to clean the carb. Cranking the throttle to get stuff started is a bad habit.
That clutch basket has some teeth.
Tightens puller all the way, then wonders why crank won't spin lol good video tho 💯💯
Great job mate so many people on here quick to judge your skills and not one with a TH-cam channel lol
IT'S ALIVE!!!!
Dude use a higher oil mix than 40:1 for first start up and brake in. I'd use 32:1 smoke a bit but will always be lubed.😮
Lean out the air fuel screw a lil. That thing will like a 50:1 oil mixture alot after breaking it in. Looked good on assembly. A propane torch or map gas would of gotcha hot enough for a straight bearing drop but you got it done. Great job. I enjoy your videos. Thanks for sharing
a few tips. when starting. hold it at half throttle and kick it very soft a few times. the point of this is to avoid dry starts by allowing the fuel/oil to spread around the crank and cylinder. it also primes the motor for starting conditions. then turn the choke on. cycle the piston until u feel it at top dead center. then a firm kick with no throttle should start it right away. turn off the choke almost immediately. i cant remember the last time my 2 stroke didnt start 1st kick using this method.
With the crank and trans bearings. u need a torch. and way more time. like 5-10 minutes per side.
and definitely dont use the throttle cable to adjust the idle. i suspect u did this only to keep it running temporarily but that is a no no for long term use. there should be slight play in the throttle grip. the cable should have no tension on it. the idle is then adjusted with the idle screw on the carb. this was a great video though. really enjoy this content man keep it up
For the bearing u might want to use like a blow torch instead of a heat gun but I don’t know if that would be too hot
I believe you forgot to bend the clutch washer around the nut?
I had to take it off again when I remembered I hadn't done it.
Well done.
Stick the bearings in the freezer if anything - Heating up expands the metal making it more difficult - Using a vice whilst placing the old bearing on the new bearing using it to press in the new one as you tight/close the vice - Anyways, reminds of a KMX 125 I bought for £600 which I repaired - Barrel re-chromed at local engineers, and I gave the bottom end to a mechanic to change the bearings.
When you heat up a bore, the diameter gets bigger, not smaller. With the case in the oven at 300 deg F., the bearing bores will grow up to about .002", and the bearings will pretty much fall out of the cases. A frozen steel bearing is about .0001" smaller in diameter, (about 1/20th the thermal expansion rate of aluminum), so the difference in that diameter for temp differences is very small. The problem I have with a frozen bearing, is it getting suck a bit crooked because the cold bearing sucks the heat out of the cases, and the case bore shrinks on a slightly crooked bearing. Today, I use heat to remove them, and a arbor press to put them together all at room temp. I got tired of burning my fingers trying to drop a bearing straight into hot cases.
@@EarthSurferUSA ok thanks, didn’t know that.
For all the knowledge you have, and you sit there flooding it while you try and start it.
Make new gasket from 30 pack box. Wipe used black motor oil on case place case on cardboard. Now you have outline of case. Punch all holes first can use proper 1/4 drive socket with extention to punch holes. Place card board over metal plate use socket and hammer to punch holes. Then cut remaining cardboard with scissors and or utility knife. Whalah new gasket!
Just love the sound of these RM's, I used to dream about them when I was younger. Got my eye on a restoration project but they want too much for it at the moment.
Make an offer! Don't let it slip away.
@@Davido50 Thanks, but it would probably cost an arm and a leg to ship it to the uk.
My dad taught me this and I’ve done it many times and never had a failure yet.. if you need a gasket, make one out of the back of a notebook. Use the thin cardboard. Works like a charm!
You can get gasket material that you can cut gaskets out of.
Cant beat that heck that’s a steal
I wasted years kicking reluctant Villiers based strokers into life and more than one meeting without a ride .At this time (about 1974),I visited a friend who owned a Greeves 250 Challenger and while chatting to me idly eased the kickstart down and the engine just quietly started running.By the way his bike was cold and hasnt been used for over a week.Same with model diesel engines that could be hard to start in the days before electric starters,when anyMills ,75 would always start in any direction too!
You need a LOT MORE heat. When i do crank bearings i put them in the freezer overnight and i heat the case with a MAPP gas torch, you need a lot more heat in it, thats a big heatsink pulling the heat away and a heat gun won't do it. Get it up to a couple hundred degrees, if its case half with nothing in it get an old oven set it to 200 degrees and toss it in and let it bake for 10-15 minutes, don't do this in your kitchen stove though... lol... After its up to temp grab the bearing out of the freezer and it will drop right in. Make sure it won't creep out though, a C-Clamp if you can around to the other side just snug it and then let it all sit and cool down on its own. Less chance of damage this way. If you can fully support the back side a small cheap press from harbor freight would do the job, i have been meaning to get one myself but know someone with one, however heating and freezing always got it done for me.
Love the old RM. Dude your a young wizard. Love you stuff bro…
the sound of the bike is awesome
Hell yeah lil quarter kickstart used to have one of these same year miss it grate bike from what I remember!!!!!
I understand that it can take time to get parts for any given bike which is why you interleave videos on several bikes, quads etc. that you are working on over the same period. Some other channels hold back videos until they have a "soup to nuts" series they can put out in sequence and this really improves the viewing experience. Just a thought...
Engine parts are interchangeable between 1992 and 1996 on the rm125s so check for other years too when looking for parts. Maybe you can find a gasket set from 92-96.
Thats why I love my yz80 any parts 1993 - 2001 will work. My bike is a 2001 and my 3rd gear is from a 84 or 87 yz80, I've haven't had trouble with 2nd yet but when i do im changing all gears to 98s
@@gabe10222 I have a 1995 yz 80 haha, great bikes.
Anyone on here know what parts are interchangeable on 2001 kx125 tried to do research and nothing came up with earlier years or later years that work in the engine… be helpful if someone could help me out,
@@trev9177 1999 to 2002 I think for the kx125
@@gabe10222 1999-2002 are suppose to be interchangeable?? You think
love watching your videos!! you simplify these builds and make your videos in a manner where people can follow the builds and tackle their own bike rebuilds! personally i rebuilt my old 03 yz250 and I wouldn't have even attempted it if it wasn't for your informational videos! keep up the awesome work and keep the videos coming.
your the man!
Are you a paid actor. Jesus
I’m concerned that you might have put that right side crank seal in backwards.
Also he put it down on dirty cardboard!
@@bananabrooks3836 The whole engine is dirty. Seeing him start his rebuild with a dirty ass engine case has me scratching my head. At some point I hope he realizes you need to clean everything before rebuilding. I clean and inspect every single part. Especially for a bike this old there is bound to be a ton of worn parts besides that damaged crank.
what gasket maker did you use for the case halves? Is it permatex "motoseal" or something gas safe similar, need do split the cases on my kx125, thanks
Use yamabond
I imagine that at a motorcycle shop they would use liquid nitrogen to get the bearings super cold or they might actually press them with a hydraulic press. It seems like it would be very important that the bearings are in perfect alignment.
I worked in a shop that did install bearing on to shafts as part of larger and i mean LARGE assemblies. 300-400mm wide shafts and over. Bearings were craned in in some cases. No joke. Shafts were Liquid nitrogened, and bearings warmed via a induction element, looked like a flat coathanger arm And magnets were attached to allow a circuit (i think) but yes that was what i observed
I know auto shops use a press and you can feel its bottomed when you're pulling on the press handle and suddenly there is resistance. Presses are getting cheap too.
Your hardwork pays off, sir.!! Nice bike and crispy sound👍🏽👍🏽
Gaskets are the same 92-97 plenty of kits on line. No reason not to use a kit even if you don't use them all and save them for future builds.
Well I'll be darn it!? 😕 Joe is the man. Let him be bro.
No the 96 an 97 rm125 engines are different from the 91 to 95 bikes
I really enjoyed this project fairplay to you u no yr way round a bike engine👍
Have you ever thought about cleaning those cases while you wait on parts? I’ve noticed that you’ve worked with dirt on parts a lot.
Where do you find all of your parts for all of the old dirt bikes and four wheelers you have? I have a 1986 trx 250 Honda and it will run and drive but once you start driving and get on it it dies and it just sputters out.
Check the CDI, I had a CDI die and it would start and drive, checked everything. Swapped a CDI from a diff bike and it ran great. A spark checker should tell you if the spark is dying out while riding.
Very informative video. I learned a lot. Thanks 👍👍
When doing bearings you should heat it up with a torch, torches get hotter then the heat gun but if there are seals then just heat it up a long time
if my bikes or another engines example boat / lawnmower / trimmer, have stand a long time,I take out the spark-plug cap and filter out of the carburetor and place my hand in front of the hole and kick or pull the starter rope a few times, so the piston starts sucking gas from the bottom of the carburetor and you notice if it works because there comes gasoline also in your hand, so then put the spark-plug cap and filter back on and try to restart the engine but if nothing happens then the carburetor needles are clogged. 💪🤠🤜
you sound like another youtuber i know also love the content
Great handling bike and its pretty light.
I miss my 87RM 125, I let a friend borrow it and it got caught on the train tracks and he refused to let it go and he got killed trying to get it out, so I have a hard time buying and riding a yellow and black RM anymore even though I think they are awesome js
I hate to tell u this but i think u put the right side crank seal in backwards. Check a manual but the ouroose of that seal on that side is to keep trans oil out of the crank tunnel so the hollow side of the seal with the garter spring faces the oil which means the hollow side of seal faces you when you are tapping it in
Thats a cool bike bro, great vid!
Hi, I have a 1992 rm 125 what I have a question about if you could help me?
On the left side of the engine on the barrel, is there an overflow pipe or should that be connected up ?
I bought the bike in 3 box’s so I’m unsure of the correct way to pipe it up. Thanks Lewis.
Wow man u shoulda filed those clutch dragging grooves outta the clutch basket while there...
Nice rebuildt, but if I were you, I would change my gloves when luring up the piston and cylinder.. That way you don't get any fragments that can wear out the engine faster.. It should all be 100% clean when installing..
Great sounding bike! Awesome Job!!
Rocky mountain has these gaskets..
You've got the crank case seperator connected to the end of the crank to pull it back together that's why the crank won't turn (@ 13:47) DOH! Then you realised your mistake :-)
I wanna get into dirt biking but I've been looking around and can't find used 125s have any ideas where to buy bc I don't wanna buy new unless I get a 250 or something
For anyone planning on rebuilding a rm125 between 1997-2001 I would highly advise against it. I just had to give up on my total rebuild because I was sitting around about 3 grand, not including the bike. Parts for these bike are extremely hard to come by and expensive. Just in bearings alone I spent near 200 dollars. You will be doing allot of guess work. With allot of parts being discontinued like the crank which leaves you at the mercy of old diagrams, eBay and machine shops to help rebuild. The final nail in the coffin for me was a incorrect sized transmission bearing that cracked the case. While I could have probably caught this error it’s probably not something that would have happened if I didn’t have to do all the guess work. In the end you will save more paying a bit more for a bike that had a better aftermarket and more accessible rebuild kits and parts
What 2 stroke oil do you run? I have a cr250 an rm125 and I mix 40-1 with Castrol 927 an never had an issue. I haven't had to rebuild it yet. An on the plus side it smells amazing!
A small torch and keep the heat moving is the best way I found a heat gun just ain't enough heat
What do you suppose causes the bearing failures? Lack of proper lubrication? Poor maintenance? Wrong type of oil? Enjoy your videos. Thanks for sharing.
Yeah im thinking gas/oil mixture was wrong. When I drained the gas It didn't seem like oil was in it.
More times than not rod bearing failure, especially on case induction reeds, like mostly 85 an 125 use it they fail from lack of lubrication from oil an gas was to lean or water
From a wet air filter.