This will be my Third time building an MX bike. I learned all the downfalls of the stock Z the first time around. I really planned and built a sweet 250R last year, but now I THINK I have it ironed out. I'm going for tons of torque and total modern suspension.
I'll finally be starting this project in a couple weeks. For now i'm doing a bunch of research and planning. The basic set-up is a 2004 YZ450F engine wedged into an 86 Tri-Z frame.
Since pretty much everything on the Z is not up to my standards for MX, we'll be changing everything but the frame. I went with the Tri-Z frame because of the extra tall engine bay to attempt to fit the 450 engine with minimal mods. I also like the fit of the Z as far as ergonomics compared to the R.
I'm going to drop the horrible footpeg design for a set of custom pro-pegs based off the Honda 450R stockers. I'll be losing the rear fuel tank and building some sort of top mount. A steering stabilizer is also on the list this time around.
As far as suspension goes, I picked up a set of YZ125 Inverts which we will be modifying to fit the Z. I'll mount those to some custom steel triples. Using forks that are 4 inches too long is no easy feat. Extensive research and modifications must be made to these to work correctly.
After contemplating rear suspension forever we found that the 06-07 450R rear swingarm is a good fit and has almost identical measurements as a stock Z swingarm. With that conversion i'll not only get the benefits of the lighter aluminum swingarm but a good concentric chain adjustment and better shock selection. I'll be reconstructing a top shock mount and lower linkage mount based on the 450R's geometry and adding a new 450R shock. I hope to make the whole rear end a true bolt on deal.
Here are my starter pictures. The frame will get blasted, cut, welded, modded, and then painted. The forks will also get modifyed and polished.
I'll update this thread as progress moves along.
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