1985/86 Yamaha Tri-Z 250 rebuild. Need help/advice/comments please.

[elvetost]

Hey fellows.
Just picked this up today.
Uber rare out here, never seen one in person until today. And I bought it. :P
Think it is a 1985/86 Yamaha Tri-Z 250.
Not had it running there, but it came from a friend that I've known for 25 years and he said it had been rebuilt (piston rings etc), ridden for a few times and then stored away for like 7-8 years..
It appears its mostly ALL there. Well minus a front fender and some little bits n bobs. Like very little.
Needs new cables all around, a good cleanup and the paint removed from the plastics. The plastics seem fine, no cracks, no splits.
Here's some pics..

195297195296195295195294195293

So what do you think guys?

Cheers,
Chris

[elvetost]

Oh yeah, the plan is to really USE this. Like kick the crap out of it! :D
This way I can keep my tecate mint and save it from been taken off road and kicked about. I'll still use that but not abuse it..

Next now, full service and get her started.

:D

[muthey]

well I will confirm that I believe it is an 85, I just don't agree with the thought of beating the crap out of it, you said they were rare over there so why make it harder to repair in the long run.

[adamszwheeler]

My guess is 85 too, looks like 85 forks from the style of the air fillers and the rake..actually looks pretty nice once you blow the dirt off. Parts aren't too hard to find, lots of threads on here as far as interchangeable parts. Tons still available from Yamaha as well, I wouldn't worry too much about braking/ wearing something out. Nice find!

[elvetost]

Hey thanks guys! Lets call this an 85 till I decode the vin then!(which will prolly confirm it) Good stuff! :D
Cheers for the comments too! Much appreciate the input.

Muthey maybe I phrased it wrong man. I meant to say that I will use the trike and not care so much if I scratch it or bent it(a lil). I never really abuse my toys, I just enjoy using them a bit hard sometimes. Then I fix them when they break. LOL. The tecate I got will end up a really nice trike, all sparkling so defo wont be so nice to "ride" it.. This one on the other hand will see a fair bit of use... ;)

Adam I spent a good 3 hours with the power washer and my preffered degreaser. It actually looks really clean now.

Then I started it. Drained the old petrol (more like oil left in there), unplugged the carb inlet tube, gave it a few kicks to clean the tubes out, then flooded the carb and she fored right up after 2 or 3 kicks!
The motor is super clean, seems really fresh and runs great! It makes a ton of power run cleanly through the revs, no hicks or misses at all! I am well happy that this is a good motor.
Everything else works. The brakes work, the suspension is dampening great, the forks work well, the lights work, everything works!

Allready stripped a fair few bits off it, gonna be buying some supplies and few odd bits locally tomorrow and will shoot some fresh pics. And a vid.

The thumb throttle's gotta go (never liked them, just personnal preference) and I got a twist throttle to put on from my kdx250.

These trikes as I said before are uber rare out here. About time I show them one then! :)

Really, really chuffed with this find. :)

Cheers!
Chris

PS. I sooooo want the frame back to the oem yellow.. And the forks black. With yellow gaitors.. On the to do list...

[elvetost]

There's progress in this. Been sanding frantically for 3 days now and the plastics are starting to show like they'll do a comeback! Albeit there a marks that will not come off (gouges), there are no cracks, no splits, no major issues really!

Here's what I done so far...

Stripped all the paint off with paint stripper.
Then scrapped all the oxidised plastic with a flat blade.
Then got to 100 grit dry paper.
Then 150, 320 and 600 grit wet paper..
Tried to get all the stress marks out with the heatgun seems to be working ok.

As it stands I want to sand them with 800 grit sandpaper and will be using the heatgun to melt a layer of the plastic and try to get some shine back.
I will prolly hit them with my polisher and some medium 3m compound too.
Was also given some of this stuff to try out as a final step. The treatment is meant to last for over 6 months and initial tests seem promising.. We shall see..

http://www.owatrol.com/pdf/technical-en-polytrol.pdf

Pics to follow when I hit the mancave latter tonight.
Cheers!
Chris

PS. got the gf out for a spin on the tri-z on sunday through some fields and some woods around home. was loads of fun. got heavily rained on from a summer storm that passed by, but we had a lot of fun still!

[elvetost]

So here are some pics of the tri-Z as it stands now.

I have gone through the plastics with the airgun and they have sealed up pretty good.
They have also shown all their imprefections..
Hmm, might have another go with 600 and 800 grit papers, just once more and go through the heatgun process for a second time.

In the meanwhile I picked up a sample from my powder coater who also is a good friend of mine.
The last 3 pics show the ral 1021"Rape Yellow" sample on the fenders. It is a good match to the plastics as they stand and looks just a hair darker than the yamaha yellow that was on the frame.
It is in stock and I think its a go with this one..

19607819607719607919607619607519607419607319607019 6071196072

Now the worst part of the pastics (scrapes and scrathes aside) is that big crack you can see on one of the pics. i'll think I'll plastic weld it from the bottom with my soldering gunand possibly consider reinforcing it a lil somehow. Not fiberglass though. Hate that stuff.. ;)

Tomorrow I'll try to ressurect the headlights. One need a repair in the bottom mount, the other the lens needs to be glued back on. Both need polishing to bring back and transparency on the glass. I know I can get replacements on ebay for circa 35bucks each but they'll have to wait and I gotta make do with what I got mainly for financial reasons.. Oh well.. At least they'll fill the holes up.. ;)

Sooo..l thoughts anyone? :)

[nd4speed]

Really nice work on those plastics, very impressive !! That TRI Z looks really good now...

[elvetost]

Thanks man, much appreciated.
It looks much better now actually. Managed to get 95% of the "dead" plastic off and will start polishing tomorrow. Not today though, its me birthday and I want my cake! :)
Cheers!
Chris

[homes1]

Killer job man, I would have never guessed you could make the plastic look that good!!!

[elvetost]

Thanks man!
They actually look much better now, after another 2 days of sanding down/melting with the heat gun. I also managed to get most of the distortion out of them too...
I also finalized my "custom" short levers setup. I had some Chinese sort levers lying around (from my kdx trials bike after a crash they got replaced for likes), a complete clutch perch and lever and a broken brake lever. Also had the oem broken brake lever.
So... combining the broken shorty and oem one I got this! :

196388196386196387

Also done various bits and bobs on the bike. I take it out every now and again to check up on stuff and finalize my works list, as it will be getting stripped down sometime this week for paint/powder coat/wrench report mods...

I have to say I am very happy with the tri-z. Yes it is not the most powerful, or the best handler (in oem form). but its a very compliant package, very cooperative and easy to work with. It fits my (big) frame (at 125kg LOL) VERY well and seems much easier to ride than my kxt!

QUICK QUESTION PLEASE: How extended is TOO MUCH on the rear axle? I got the wheels flipped 180 degrees (+3 inches? - works very well) and was thinking of the G-force extended axle(+3.5 inches?) and maybe even the extended hubs(+3.5 inches?) from rocky mountain atv. Maybe all this together is a bit much? I mean I know I can take components out if I wanted to, or flip the wheels, but all combined (at 10 inches?) WILL IT BE OK? It will be used like that on flat track (if I find a track lol) / duning. I don't really do jumps...

keep the comments coming guys. much appreciated!
Cheers!
Chris

[adamszwheeler]

WOW! Been a few days since I've been on and this thing looks nice!!!! I finally got mine running after 6 years last night. I will do a whole post on it soon. Still working out some bugs and just basically finishing it up. What I did and really like is- banshee hubs and 9" rims, stage one wrench porting, dg pipe and silencer- junk but it was the only game in town- just don't like the fit up, 36mm mikuni vm, power reeds, factory air box which I might have to change- fit like crap with the new carb but I was desperate to run a heat cycle last night. New sleeve, basically factory bore. So far its insanely impressive, hits hard, rides smooth. Nothing to really compare it to, rode it once when it was beat and then its been sitting waiting for time and money. My bet is there isn't much around that can keep up, this thing is FAST!

[adamszwheeler]

Oh running 25/20's with 13/42 sprockets, so far so good...hopefully pics and maybe even some youtube links after the weekend.... your's is impressive though, wish mine all I had to do was sand :)

[elvetost]

Hehe, thanks Adam! God stuff man, post some pics up will ya? :)
Trust me there is a LOT that need doing on my trike. Just started off by sanding lol.
Next step will be a complete teardown to take care of paint and maintenance issues.
My motor is running very strong. It has been rebuilt by a previous owner and they done a good job on it.
I will also be doing (most) of the wrench report mods too. looking forward to hearing more feedback from you man!

Stick some pics of the banshee hubs and 9 inchers for me please. Getting ideas this way, lol!

Cheers!
Chris

[adamszwheeler]

Here's a teaser...late Wednesday night after first heat cycle.

[KevinJ97]

Wow!! What a tranformation. The bike looks totally diff. I woul have thought it was a whole new bike. Job well done.

[elvetost]

Thanks guys!

Adam, I cannot make much out from that pics, but she looks clean and willing! Sweeeeet!!! Start a new thread and post many many pictures man!
How did the heat cycle go? Ironed the bugs out? :)

Kevin thanks very much man! She aint done yet, not even close. I am waiting for parts (2 weeks from today) and then its a strip down and paint deal. Should be fun this. :)

Again cheers guys. Hope you all are having bucketloads of fun!
Chris

[elvetost]

Here's a little update on the project. The skid plate is now done, so are the frame protectors..
Pics...

197057197056197054197055


Now on to the rest of the off-road "armouring/sizing". Next up, footpegs and skid plate for the swingarm/rotor/sprocket. Then it is oh-so-close to complete tear down for powder.. :D
The missing parts for the Z are now ALL on the way. So once the mailman comes knocking (rofl?) this project will see a good boost.. :D

Latters guys!
Chris

[adamszwheeler]

Looking good! Really digging those skids!

[JTHOMAS]

Man, that thing is lookin sharp!!where did you get the skid plate? Heres a pic of my z's, I am going to update the yellow one, or mabe go back to stock. not sure yet. 197062
!
Here's a little update on the project. The skid plate is now done, so are the frame protectors..
Pics...

197057197056197054197055


Now on to the rest of the off-road "armouring/sizing". Next up, footpegs and skid plate for the swingarm/rotor/sprocket. Then it is oh-so-close to complete tear down for powder.. :D
The missing parts for the Z are now ALL on the way. So once the mailman comes knocking (rofl?) this project will see a good boost.. :D

Latters guys!
Chris

[elvetost]

Sweet collection there man! I like the yellow one but the others are pretty sharp too!
A mate of mine and myself made the skid plate and frame guards. He is pretty handy this guy and can make you anything you want more or less, as long as you take your time with him and help out too.
He aint charging much either, and we get to do favours in exchange, like I fix his bike up and he builds me stuff. Works great.
Wish he could just weld a lil bit better. LOL. trying to help him with that..
Anyways, wait till he sorts out the arm plate and the pegs and I'll get more pics.
Cheers!
Chris

[JTHOMAS]

Thanks man, just got them outta storage last month.They had been storeage for lthe last 11yrs... keep us posted with pics.....
Sweet collection there man! I like the yellow one but the others are pretty sharp too!
A mate of mine and myself made the skid plate and frame guards. He is pretty handy this guy and can make you anything you want more or less, as long as you take your time with him and help out too.
He aint charging much either, and we get to do favours in exchange, like I fix his bike up and he builds me stuff. Works great.
Wish he could just weld a lil bit better. LOL. trying to help him with that..
Anyways, wait till he sorts out the arm plate and the pegs and I'll get more pics.
Cheers!
Chris

[smrover1]

I just picked up a tri z to my collection Nice work on the z

[elvetost]

A few bits and bobs have now arrived for the tri-z! I got no pics as of now as I am away (in and out more like) a couple of hunderd k's from home, so it all in a standstill while I make some time.. Looks like tuesday may be the day...

On the meanwhile, here is a pic of a bike I recently built (last 2 weeks) and have sold after riding it twice to a good friend of mine.. Oh well, at least its gone to a very good home and I paid my taxes too this way...
Enter kawasaki Z..

198175198174198173198172198170198171198169

Started life as a z750, which I took apart completely, rebuilt the motor using a z1000 block,head, throttle bodies, threw some zx9 cams in there, zx9 flywheel, a 4-1 manifold from the z750(i wanted the low end grunt) a rapidbike 3 parallel ecu and some other odds and ends. Then I fitted the z1000 front end and the Z1000 rear end swingarm and all. I believe it is the only z750 with a z1000 swingarm ANYWHERE as it was a biatch to do and involved me jigging up the frame and arm together to be able to do cutting and welding of the swingarm dogobne mount.(needed to be moved to the other side of the arm)

The rest of the bits are more or less available in the aftermarket market, well except the hotbodies undertail that is made for a zx6r and the rad scoups that were ade by a friend of a friend in germany. There's the ermax chin spoiler and rear seat cowl too..

The bike was built as a daily runaround kinda thing, and as a silly bike to hool at the hills around. I did not go for the most power I could make (reckon I could get another 15Hp out of it) but wanted a LOT of low end grunt, instant throttle response and a nice tight well lasting package. All the parts used more or less came from the oem kawasaki parts bin, so the reliability IS there.
Its pretty fast too. I hate dynos but my butt dyno says its around the 135-140Whp mark.. Plenty enough..

Hey sorry for the off topic here, but hey, its my thread. :D
Hope you guys like the pics. :)

[elvetost]

Here's some pics of the tri-z as it was, just before I tore it down.
It is now in a million pieces on the garage floor, along with my 87 kxt, 87 yz250, 81 rm125 and kx/kdx hybrid. They are all awaiting a bit of sandblasting and powder coating.
I have the powder coater booked for saturday, so a LOT needs to be done by then.
Anyways, you can get a glimpse here of the (unfinished) pegs, frame protectors, skid plate that we fabbed for the Z. They all turned up GREAT and with a lil more work they'll be done. :)
Cheers!
Chris

200671200672200673200674200675

[85triz-250]

That's a sweet bike to begin with I'm still working on mine but its a dog compared to that. I am trying to find a gasket for the pipe still.

[elvetost]

After a lot of cursing and pain, a couple of bent fingers and broken nails.... all the powder coating is done! Woooohoooo!
Here's some teaser pics for you lot. There's a few tiny weeny imperfections on the job, but hey, the guy is a good mate and he charged me minimal for for the work.
I done 4 bikes in this go (85 tri-z, 91 kdx250/kx250 hybrid, 87 yz250, 81 rm125x) and he only charged me like 150 euros for the lot...
Here's the pics:

20126120127020126920126820126720126620126520126420 1263201262201271

Now the plan is to finish the tri-z forst and then move to the rest of them.
For the time being I CANNOT for the love of God remove the lower trees bearing race from the frame. There is no-lip to catch the race from the top and drive it out, so I may have to resort to welding a bolt on the race and use a slide hammer to pull it out. So silly this yamaha, so silly...
Once this is done then the project will move forward at warp speed... Yeah right, sure... :D
Hope you like the pics chaps!
Cheers! Chris

[rdonald1979]

If your talking about the outer race then weld a stitch bead around the middle of it and it should pop out.

[elvetost]

Yeap, thats the one I was one about and yeap, I ended up welding my home made slide hammer on it and then procedded to yank it right out!
Good call rdonald, thanks man!
ALso done A LOT of work on the bike. THe forks are back together, so are the trees, motor is on and a lot of various bits and bobs.
Tomorrow I shall have a roller and possibly start it up. Maybe...
:)
Cheers!
Chris

[elvetost]

Hey guys!
The bike's been done for a while now. I actually might have to sell it on as I am in a bad financial situation right now. Got an offer I cannot really refuse..
Oh well, still got my KXT so its all good I guess and I can always try to find another one to do.
Anyways, here's some pics.

208565208566208567208568208569208570208571

Since the pics were taken I have also done the calipers up in black and also did the stencil for the lettering on the seat. No pics of them, sorry.
I am LOVING the wide pegs and the colour combo. A world of difference in handling these pegs.
The trike reminds me of playmobil for some reason! :P
Bike has been getting a lot of nice comments from both my riding buddies and strangers. Which is always cool. Kinda like a good starting point for lots of beer and a good old chat. :)

Cheers!
Chris

[New2Tri-Z]

The bike looks great man. You do excellent work on these machines and are pretty timely about it too. Amazing to se the transformation of what you got to where it is. Good luck on the financial situation.

[New2Tri-Z]

That's a sweet bike to begin with I'm still working on mine but its a dog compared to that. I am trying to find a gasket for the pipe still.

If you still need one and are on facebook, join the Tri Z group and ask Bryan Raffa about them. He was looking into making them. He even had a few sample done. I may have an extra used one if you are still on the hunt.

[Red Rider]

You're Tri-Z came out very sweet. Nice work!

[elvetost]

Hey THANKS guys!
I really liked the way its turned out too. :)
The YTZ is allready loaded in my mate's lorry and its heading down the highway to Athens to its new owner as I am typing this.
It was sad to see it go, but the money matey will (hopefully) bring back with him when he comes back should lessen the blow as little bit...
I did, of course, take it out for one last time, round the neighbourhood and opened it up a little bit. :P Didn't kick it much. :P
Then it had a good wash and... bye bye Tri-Z.

Today I been tearing down my 87 KXT and sorting out the bits.

I'll sure build another Tri-Z sometime in the future. This time I'll also build an arm for it and widen the axle a little bit too. Maybe throw some smaller tyres on it, or some paddles.. :P

Cheers!
Chris