Restoring a 1983 Suzuki ALT50

[windupdevl]

Well, this is my first post, so hello everyone. Glad to be here. I recently came across this tiny little guy on Craigslist and decided it would be awesome for riding wheelies in front of the house. Once I got it home I realized how much work it needed. I never really intended on a full restore, but it's kind of going that way. I'm not trying for a mint restore, but it will be as nice as I can get it within my budget. Anyway, I'll post up some pics....

These are pretty much how it came home. I took the wheels off and the seat....I was too excited and didn't take too many pictures along the way. sorry.

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I completely tore the engine down only to find there were no piston rings and the bearings were shot. So it got all new crank and transmission bearings and seals. A new +.020 piston and the head shaved down .030 to up the compression. Again, no pictures of all this. =(

The frame got sent to the powder coaters and this is pretty much how it sits now....I'm still waiting for the new plastics and seat cover to arrive, and I need to repaint the tank....but it's coming along.

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I'll get some better pictures during the day....it's dark in the living room and my camera wouldn't work well......anyway, thanks for taking a look....

[dcreel]

Looks great.. good job for sure. How did you manage to find new plastics? Those seem to be real hard to find. Looks great and welcome to the site..

[windupdevl]

Thanks for the welcome! It's actually just the rear fenders that I've got ordered. They are still available through suzuki apparently. I'm going to try my hand at restoring the front fender when I come up with the free time. I've heard of NOS front fenders, but never actually come across one....maybe someday.

[chuckiedog04]

amazing job so far. keep posting with progress and pictures!

[atc007]

Welcome!! And awesome!! Look up restoring plastics at the top of this section. You can do it!! Thanx for sharing!! I missed one last night,,off my game I guess. ALL 100% OEM,, I was balling.. Anyhow.. great work,can't wait to watch it all come together!! And Yes,,,you need to pull the recoil off and paint it too!! ;) Great work!

[coolpool]

Very nice work. "it's dark in the living room..." If you are married you had better keep her, she's a saint. If you're not...good luck! lol.

[thestud25]

Welcome to the boards!! I am the self proclaimed resident ALT50 guy. I did a thread on restoring an ALT50 fender. Search my thread posts and you will find it. You are extremely lucky to have that front fender in one piece and salvageable. I have spent over 7 years searching and buying these front fenders. I have 3 nice ones and one NOS ALT50 front fender:)!!!!! Let me know if you need any help or parts.

P.S. I can restore those rears and the front fender if you want me to.

[thestud25]

Here is a link to the ALT50 fender I restored. http://www.3wheelerworld.com/showthread.php?133623-ALT50-Front-Fender-Restore-with-pics&highlight=

[windupdevl]

Hey thanks for all the kind words and offers.

Hey theStud25, since I got the new rear plastics in I probably won't be working on the old set but thanks for the offer anyway. You do some damn fine work. One of these days I'll get the free time to sand up the front fender.

atc007, I'm still not convinced I need to paint the pull start housing for some reason. I guess my thinking is, people's shoes are going to rub the new paint and that would upset me, so if I leave it as is, I won't care.

and coolpool. You have no idea how right you are. My ol' lady is amazingly lenient. I completely reassembled the engine on the kitchen table...lol...we haven't been able to eat dinner at the table for about 3 years because of all my little projects. I even keep my table saw in the kitchen....I'm a lucky fella'.

Anyway, I finally got the parts in, and instead of taking pictures, I put it together and rode the hell out of it. My neighbors just shake their heads and walk away when they see me coming. I'm 6'1" so I look like a monkey humping a football on this thing, but it's a blast. It accelerates like a beast but tops out pretty quickly. Makes me wish I had a second gear, but oh well. It's a wheelie machine for sure.

I did, however, manage to clean it up a little and snap some pics this afternoon. Take a look:

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I decided not to paint the tank just yet. It runs fine the way it is. And I have 3 new tires for it. They'll be replaced next week when I have access to a tire machine. These little buggers are a pain to break the bead on.

That's all for now...I'll post some more when I have some more. Thanks for the interest.

[johnny's X]

Little trick I do when breaking beads. Works great on the minis. Pull valvle stem gut and lay the tire down on its side. Get in your truck and drive over the tire just missing the rim. Works every time! Little redneck but it works

[thestud25]

Looks good, I have one on my bench right now getting the same treatment!

Tell you what, I will make you a deal, give me the old rear set and I will clean that front one up nicely for you. PM me if interested.

[Fungo Wizard]

Welcome to the boards!! I am the self proclaimed resident ALT50 guy. I did a thread on restoring an ALT50 fender. Search my thread posts and you will find it. You are extremely lucky to have that front fender in one piece and salvageable. I have spent over 7 years searching and buying these front fenders. I have 3 nice ones and one NOS ALT50 front fender:)!!!!! Let me know if you need any help or parts.

P.S. I can restore those rears and the front fender if you want me to.
My 73 ATC 70 fenders think you can not restore them, better bring them to you and let you prove them wrong!!!! LOL

[IronBear]

It looks fantastic windupdevl! I just picked one up for really cheap and would like to restore it. I was told the machine was sitting for 4 years, and ran before it went into storage. Here are some pictures of it:

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It seems like it has great compression and would like to try and get it started this weekend. I'm going to completely clean the carburetor, fuel tank and oil and put fresh fluids in.

Also, I'm trying to find a free downloadable service manual. Can anyone tell me where I can find one?

IronBear

[Keepah Rolln]

nice liitle ride. its coming along nicely. Is that a 85 250 sx with electrical tape on the grab bar..:w00t:

[windupdevl]

IronBear: I sure wish mine was that complete when I started. It's funny I just started this little guy up last night and rode it around the block a few times. Been busy lately so I don't get to fool around on it much these days.

Keepah Rolln: Thanks, and you are close. It's an '87 250sx with electrical tape on the grab bar. Like that when I bought it.

[Keith Salyer]

How fun, my neighbor had one of those.

[windupdevl]

http://youtu.be/xUCKqlKR_Rs The ol' lady riding around out front.

[3 Wheel Burnin']

"I'm 6'1" so I look like a monkey humping a football on this thing, but it's a blast."

So funny & well put, I am 6'3" & when I would ride my pocket bike with my knees in my face I would get the same reaction! Love this little 50, you did a real nice job on it!

[Julimaginaire]

Awww I know it's an ol thread, but I can't pass throuh it!! I have my own Alt50 since I'm 3 and now that's my girl who ride it. It's still stock and running.
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i'm actually trying to change my brake pads, but I think they're too rusty cauz I can,t get to them. :(

[Moliver]

Hey how's it going. Just bought a alt 50. Any ideas where you can get your hands on a front fender. You seem to have a lot of knowledge about them
Thanks

[alt]

Hmmm maybe they're available for my 185 as well. Couldn't find them so for now I sanded and fiberglassed under the fenders in 2 small spots ...just to preserve what's there