251LC

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JonW
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Re: 251LC

#91 Post by JonW » Fri Sep 14, 2018 7:19 pm

Thanks for the kind words Mark. Im loving this one, I cant wait to build it, I have 95% of the parts and just need to do some welding to the frame for the PV motor and check the swingarm alignment and its ready for powdercoating. Wont get build anytime soon but Im getting there :)
80 XT500 Supermoto!
81 RD350LC Resto
82 RD421LC Hybrid
82 RD350LC decapitation project
82 RD250LC JDM '251LC' YPVS
83 RZ350 Resto
84 RZ500 Resto
85 RZ350 F1 Resto
86 RZ350 F2 Resto
86 RZ350 F2 Hybrid

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hondaror
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Re: 251LC

#92 Post by hondaror » Tue Sep 25, 2018 1:28 pm

You've been busy.
Rory
2 1984 RZ350s
1985 RZ350
9 1986-1990 RZ350s
2000 ST2
2005 749
2005 749 with 999 engine

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JonW
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Re: 251LC

#93 Post by JonW » Tue Sep 25, 2018 7:42 pm

Yeah its good weather for getting out in the garage in Spring, but it wont last long I suspect... gonna be a long hot summer i fear :/
80 XT500 Supermoto!
81 RD350LC Resto
82 RD421LC Hybrid
82 RD350LC decapitation project
82 RD250LC JDM '251LC' YPVS
83 RZ350 Resto
84 RZ500 Resto
85 RZ350 F1 Resto
86 RZ350 F2 Resto
86 RZ350 F2 Hybrid

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JonW
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Re: 251LC

#94 Post by JonW » Mon Oct 15, 2018 8:17 pm

So much for long hot summer... so far its been more like a UK summer here. I know its only spring, but wow weve seen some rain! :(

Anyway, that means stuff is getting done. I've fabbed up a bracket and welded it in to hold the PV servo.

Image

Ive also picked up a CDI for this one as well, the correct 51L-50 unit, thanks to a good friend. I also gathered a few more grommets and small parts and it really does feel like I'm nearly ready. Im just deciding on which type of stand (modded or OEM) to use on this build and test my swingarms (which i fear are all bent) before I send the frame/swinger for blasting and powdercoat.
80 XT500 Supermoto!
81 RD350LC Resto
82 RD421LC Hybrid
82 RD350LC decapitation project
82 RD250LC JDM '251LC' YPVS
83 RZ350 Resto
84 RZ500 Resto
85 RZ350 F1 Resto
86 RZ350 F2 Resto
86 RZ350 F2 Hybrid

Like Watches? www.PloProf.com & www.DeskDivers.com

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kobra
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Re: 251LC

#95 Post by kobra » Tue Oct 16, 2018 4:04 am

Amazing work!

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JonW
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Re: 251LC

#96 Post by JonW » Tue Oct 16, 2018 8:24 am

Thanks!
80 XT500 Supermoto!
81 RD350LC Resto
82 RD421LC Hybrid
82 RD350LC decapitation project
82 RD250LC JDM '251LC' YPVS
83 RZ350 Resto
84 RZ500 Resto
85 RZ350 F1 Resto
86 RZ350 F2 Resto
86 RZ350 F2 Hybrid

Like Watches? www.PloProf.com & www.DeskDivers.com

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JonW
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Re: 251LC

#97 Post by JonW » Fri Mar 01, 2019 7:52 am

Ive been quiet of late, Ive been working on other things, not least the 500 I bought at the tail end of last year. 500s are a money and time sponge of course... and Ive been mostly hanging out on the 500 side of this forum of course. So, with that bike now fully stripped I finally took my zinc plating in as the buckets were as complete as I could make them (for now lol)... plus, I really wanted to move my projects on.......and first out of the traps was the seat for this bike! The plating buckets held the captive bolt plates that fit under the seat foam. I mean if youre going this far with work, you'd want these plates nice as well as the parts that bolt to them, right?! :)

With the base all cleaned up back to its original white in my mates ozy juice parts washer, I fitted the plates and then fitted the brand new Daytona foam and JDM seat cover from Webbike. Quality stuff as you would expect from Daytona, with thick vinyl and the plush modern foam. It'll be interesting to feel how different this seat is compared to my resto LC's seat which has a brand new foam from a UK supplier and a nos OEM cover.

I dont have a pic at the mo, but it looks like the pic on webbike... lol

Image
80 XT500 Supermoto!
81 RD350LC Resto
82 RD421LC Hybrid
82 RD350LC decapitation project
82 RD250LC JDM '251LC' YPVS
83 RZ350 Resto
84 RZ500 Resto
85 RZ350 F1 Resto
86 RZ350 F2 Resto
86 RZ350 F2 Hybrid

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JonW
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Re: 251LC

#98 Post by JonW » Wed May 15, 2019 9:51 pm

If anyone is interested in reading about what im doing with this one in a more condensed and rewritten form, Ive hosted the build on my website now:
http://2smoked.com/Yamaha_251LC_1982_RD251LC_Home.html
80 XT500 Supermoto!
81 RD350LC Resto
82 RD421LC Hybrid
82 RD350LC decapitation project
82 RD250LC JDM '251LC' YPVS
83 RZ350 Resto
84 RZ500 Resto
85 RZ350 F1 Resto
86 RZ350 F2 Resto
86 RZ350 F2 Hybrid

Like Watches? www.PloProf.com & www.DeskDivers.com

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Re: 251LC

#99 Post by JonW » Thu Jul 04, 2019 4:27 am

Finally been back in the garage and did some welding repairs to this frame and its now been picked up by a mate to take it to the blaster/powdercoaters. Amusingly after a few hours I'd rather forget where I fought some corrosion on one of the tubes my friend noticed I'd completely missed the fact one of the center stand welds had split... luckily he will attend to that before dropping it at the powder place. Proof, were it needed, that 2 sets of eyes are better than one!

I started going back through my boxes to order the last parts needed to start the build up and in the process came across some parts Id bought/restored-but-not-yet-fitted to some of my sub assemblies, like the rezinc'd dash bracket with the 2 rubbers I didnt have and the NOS tacho loom I bought from France last year. 10mins on the bench and I had a compete dashboard. Not bad considering how rough and missing parts it was when I got it. :)
80 XT500 Supermoto!
81 RD350LC Resto
82 RD421LC Hybrid
82 RD350LC decapitation project
82 RD250LC JDM '251LC' YPVS
83 RZ350 Resto
84 RZ500 Resto
85 RZ350 F1 Resto
86 RZ350 F2 Resto
86 RZ350 F2 Hybrid

Like Watches? www.PloProf.com & www.DeskDivers.com

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JonW
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Re: 251LC

#100 Post by JonW » Wed Aug 21, 2019 8:30 pm

Im back now from a very long 5 week trip across multiple US states and along the way managed to meet up with two forum friends and pick up a bunch of parts for this build. They say that travelling broadens the mind and while I agree with that and it's even better when you get to get to hang out with a couple of the folk that you met on line. Its fun to check out their fleet IRL and meeting those people that youve got to know over the years on the forums in person is one of my favourite pastimes. I am very grateful for the hospitality and kindness of these friends. Thanks guys!

While in the USA I spent a very large wedge of coin in parts for my projects with the local OEM suppliers and in the parts haul were a number of parts for this and other builds. What's exciting is that while I was gone a mate here did sterling work managing the process of having two frames powdercoated for me; this LC and the LC2 resto bike. The powdercoating wasnt without its problems due to rust issues but he valiantly sorted those for me, and im very grateful to him.

I picked up the LC frame yesterday, it looks great and this or the LC2 will be the next project on the lift... watch this space!
80 XT500 Supermoto!
81 RD350LC Resto
82 RD421LC Hybrid
82 RD350LC decapitation project
82 RD250LC JDM '251LC' YPVS
83 RZ350 Resto
84 RZ500 Resto
85 RZ350 F1 Resto
86 RZ350 F2 Resto
86 RZ350 F2 Hybrid

Like Watches? www.PloProf.com & www.DeskDivers.com

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JonW
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Re: 251LC

#101 Post by JonW » Tue Aug 27, 2019 10:10 pm

And so it starts....

First up as ever was to add the Chassis plate back onto the frame. I found some nice stainless captive rivets for this that are used in roofing so the ends wont fall out and let any moisture in.

Even though the powdercoater plugged the threads I've found that it's still good practice to chase them before use as a damaged or blocked thread will only bite you later. This frame was unknown to me so worth cleaning them out of rust, blast media, any stray powdercoat that had got in and any damage they had incurred over the years of ham fisted mechanics.

Next up I fitted the steering bearings. This was a bit of a nightmare as over the years the lands had been damaged by people levering the bearings out. After much tidying the bearings went in nice and flat, phew. Fitted the re-zinc'd lower triple and powdered top triples with rezinc'd caps and nut.

With the center stand fitted and some forks in I now had something I could start to hang my restored parts on:

Image

Then I started with the unrestored (lol) wiring as this loom not only needs some repairs but also to have the PV servo loom (robbed from an old F2 loom) incorporated into it and somehow I need to locate the 85 CDI and PV unit on the frame so I need to check space and work out what will work and what wont with the length of the wiring and connectors I have along with integrating the 85 CDI into the LC loom. That might be a day where progress is made but everything looks much the same... hmm...

I did fit the rebuilt ignition switch, powdercoated headlight ears and fitted some re-zinc'd short (LC2) indicator arms as I had them handy (I do have the originals as well if they look silly) but we all cut these down back in the day and this is an 'more yam' approach to having shorter arms I guess. All the fittings on this bike are either OEM rezin'd items or occasionally where I didnt have any spare (I usually buy bare frames and boxes of parts, not whole bikes so am often missing fixings) Im using stainless as this is not a restoration as such, more of a resto mod.

Image
Last edited by JonW on Wed Aug 28, 2019 8:58 pm, edited 3 times in total.
80 XT500 Supermoto!
81 RD350LC Resto
82 RD421LC Hybrid
82 RD350LC decapitation project
82 RD250LC JDM '251LC' YPVS
83 RZ350 Resto
84 RZ500 Resto
85 RZ350 F1 Resto
86 RZ350 F2 Resto
86 RZ350 F2 Hybrid

Like Watches? www.PloProf.com & www.DeskDivers.com

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Smoker
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Re: 251LC

#102 Post by Smoker » Wed Aug 28, 2019 7:38 pm

Excellent work.

Looking forward to more. :smt041

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JonW
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Re: 251LC

#103 Post by JonW » Wed Aug 28, 2019 8:59 pm

Thanks Pete, should have another update later today :)
80 XT500 Supermoto!
81 RD350LC Resto
82 RD421LC Hybrid
82 RD350LC decapitation project
82 RD250LC JDM '251LC' YPVS
83 RZ350 Resto
84 RZ500 Resto
85 RZ350 F1 Resto
86 RZ350 F2 Resto
86 RZ350 F2 Hybrid

Like Watches? www.PloProf.com & www.DeskDivers.com

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JonW
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Re: 251LC

#104 Post by JonW » Wed Aug 28, 2019 10:22 pm

Next up I started bolting on some of those completed sub assemblies I have been doing over the past 12-18 months. Always a happy job for me :)

Started with the front end as I needed to run the wiring and I usually find that starting at one end is the way to do that, the front is usually preferable as there is a lot of connections in that headlight bowl and you want to make sure everything is long enough, but also not too long...

So, first up the headlight bowl went on... and I found I was missing one of the rubber washers on the mount, part 18. Sigh.... I searched high n low thru the boxes and couldn’t find one in all the headlight bowls and parts I have. Don’t s’pose anyone has a bunch of these spare do they? I’ve got lots of the other rubber/plastic headlight fixing parts, just none of these.

Image

While trying to think of places I might find part number 18 I fitted the headlight adjuster and made sure everything else in this area was right, even adding the brake splitter and a brand new top brake hose. I was originally going to fit a single horn as this bike was originally a 250, but I didn't have one that fitted the restored bracket I had and as I have the 350 bracket parts I just decided I'd order the twin horns up as the new good quality re-pros are very nice indeed, plus the twin horns is part of the iconic look of the LC I think. When they arrive they will go on, tho I need to add extra wires to the 250 horn loom to run the second horn, easy job when Im doing the other wiring of course.

Keeping the momentum going I reassembled the headlight rim. The outer was one that I had re-chromed. It originally came from my mate Rob on this forum and he had had it re-chromed but the chromer had polished off some of the chrome so it wasn’t usable. I was able to put it back in for chrome when LB was chroming some parts and I picked it up last week when I collected this frame. It came out really well this time. Phew! The inner rim I had rezinc’d along with all the other small screws and headlight adjuster bolt and spring. I know the inners were chrome when new, but I couldn’t see the sense in doing that this time round, zinc is cheap and cheerful and I can easily redo it, chrome isnt like that round here. Assembling it was fiddly but intuitive enough and Im very happy with the result. These complete rims are very expensive now, and while I have an NOS outer on my site listed for sale, I would rather clean up and reuse and old part if I can since I had the time to get the parts done how I wanted etc.

The headlight bowl on this build is also a recycled part, new bowls used to be sensible money but suddenly prices skyrocketed and I’m glad I didn’t need to spring for a new one. I did have to buy new indicator rubbers as of course I had run out of them, another issue with buying bikes in parts I think, you often don’t get usable rubber parts. Fowlers provided these for sensible money actually.

Image

I slipped on the bars, a new 55K set which is what Yamaha supplies now as new bars for LCs. They differ slightly from the 4L0 version (very slight bend difference and my feeling is that maybe they are slightly less wide - I need to check that, gloss not satin black etc) but work very well unlike he aftermarket bars I’ve tried before which never fit right and are end weighted as per the OEMs which aftermarkets never are. I put on the switches I restored from the junkers I’d collected over the years – powdercoated bodies, new decals and any switch parts as needed and full clean up of the connections, plus re-zinc of the steel parts of course. A new throttle was fitted and I have new leaf and grips to go on later. I also was able to add the refurbished 250 1/2” master cylinder (with a new rubber lid seal that I picked up recently) and clutch perch. Its so nice to be bolting on parts that look like new, knowing that you spent the time to refurbish them and now you get to finally use them

Next up the clocks went on as well, another of my previous refurbish jobs. Like many of us I do like the parts you see and touch when riding to look and feel the part. Those touch points make or break a bike for me and I’m very happy with how this is coming out so far.

Image

My next issue is the wiring. I’ve already had to fix the front brake light switch connections in the bowl as one came off in my hand and now I’ve got to deal with the mess you here; At some point the regulator fitted to the bike this loom came from fried, taking out the fuse box and melting a side panel – I actually bought it as an almost whole bike which was to rusty to restore and could see the damage which when I worked through it made me feel like a forensic investigator haha! The PO had replaced it with a fuse box kit and I reckon it worked ok as the bike had been run like that, but the job wasn’t exactly beautiful, even less so when the loose tape was removed. I also spotted that one of the white wires is broken on the hexagon connector and there are some other repairs to sort out. I just need to get the soldering iron out and retape this all up when done in a prettier manner. Not a nightmare perhaps and typical of an old LC loom I guess.

Image

Image

To add a little more VP (Visible Progress) on went the battery box and regulator and with the repainted rear subframe, number plate holder and a refurbished rear light added it’s finally starting to look like a bike is appearing from the parts.

Image
80 XT500 Supermoto!
81 RD350LC Resto
82 RD421LC Hybrid
82 RD350LC decapitation project
82 RD250LC JDM '251LC' YPVS
83 RZ350 Resto
84 RZ500 Resto
85 RZ350 F1 Resto
86 RZ350 F2 Resto
86 RZ350 F2 Hybrid

Like Watches? www.PloProf.com & www.DeskDivers.com

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JonW
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Re: 251LC

#105 Post by JonW » Fri Aug 30, 2019 1:34 am

I added a few more parts after a bit of searching as this bike was always going to be tough to locate parts for, being bought in dribs and drabs and sourced from scratch, not a whole bike. I found some engine mount plates and bolts, got the swingarm pin in and a few other little bits and bobs that will make it easier as parts are now all in one place.

Image

My next plan was to get this bike to be closer to being a roller. The easy part was to take the refurbished (painted, polished, new bearings) rims to a local tyre shop and have them bang on some rubber. I chose BT45s as they’re my go-to on our bikes for a good quality tyre that won’t break the bank. I fitted brand new Honda (OMG! Yes I did day that!) tubes. I found these for under US$9 each and of course with Honda part numbers on them you know they’re quality items. These were the best value tubes I could find and the tyre fitter was happy with them which was good to hear.

TUBE, RR. WHEEL (3.50-18")
Options: Old Sku: 42712-283-000
Item #42712-446-631

TUBE, TIRE (2.50-18)
Options: Old Sku: 44712-268-222
Item #44712-205-000

The fitter also fitted black weights to the black painted part of the wheel as we both knew that the polished rim is worse than rubbish for holding weights, the ones on the resto Lc fell off on a hot day... hmm.

I still need to clean up the black tyre soap and give them a polish before fitting.

Image

The not so easy part was the forks... In my hurry to get going on this build I slipped in the first set of forks I came across and really I should have spent a bit of time working out which set to use and restoring them first. I had already restored some lower legs and wanted to the use the Goki Air Caps as I had them and wanted to try them plus so I only really needed to work out the best stanchions to use with them, check the rest of the parts and fit new oil etc. This is all much easier when you’ve not put forks on a bike, especially with all the headlight/clocks etc.

Ahh well, I don’t like to make my life too easy haha. Do as I say, not as I do.... ;)
80 XT500 Supermoto!
81 RD350LC Resto
82 RD421LC Hybrid
82 RD350LC decapitation project
82 RD250LC JDM '251LC' YPVS
83 RZ350 Resto
84 RZ500 Resto
85 RZ350 F1 Resto
86 RZ350 F2 Resto
86 RZ350 F2 Hybrid

Like Watches? www.PloProf.com & www.DeskDivers.com

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