(Newbie) Restoring Old Dirt Bike

[morganpchai]

You can see it on Youtube /watch?v=r-j18_5Shw8&feature=plcp

The guy wants 1700 Baht for it. It was left outside for a year - it was running before that.

Now the engine won't turn. All the other parts are well worn.

I have some really newbish questions:

๑) What bike is it?

๒) How do I know what size engine 125 or 250?

๓) Where do I get spare parts from?

๔) There's a fuel tank and in front of that is a 2T tank, does this mean I don't have to mix fuel/oil myself?

๕) I will most probably have to take it to a shop and get them to open the 'engine' and see if cleaning it up does the trick.

๖) Would a Suzuki dealer be a good place to go - or try and find a helpful local garage.

This is an opportunity for me to take up three new hobbies; motorcycle maintenance, dirt bike riding, and speaking Thai for motor mechanics.

[VocalNeal]

You will have to do the YouTube link again as we can't see it.

EDIT: Deciphered that http://www.youtube.com//watch?v=r-j18_5Shw8&feature=plcp

Ask If you can take the spark plug out? Then empty half a can of wd-40 into the spark plug hole. Go back the next day and gently see if it will turn over. Then for at least there is a chance it will run without major surgery.

It will have to be a labour of love and may involve importing parts. If I am wrong it is your good fortune.

Edited October 16, 2012 by VocalNeal

[martindavies]

Looks to me to be a mix of about 5 different bikes so good luck with that.

[morganpchai]

I've got the bike now. He'll let me try and get it running before I buy it.

[morganpchai]

I had suspected that, martindavies. On the plus side, I could keep on bodging it Thai-style, as the previous owner must have done.

[martindavies]

I wouldn't have thought a top end rebuild will be difficult at all it's just getting the correct parts.

Does it have a engine or frame number that would help ID it?

Here is what a old RM 125 looks like

Edited October 16, 2012 by martindavies

[martindavies]

And post a couple of clearer photos if you can. I have some experience with older dirt bikes.

Edit - Just watched the video again and it appears to be air-cooled? The only air-cooled RM I can see is 1975 ish but then the frame wouldn't look like that. Maybe its just a old scooter that has been converted.

Edited October 16, 2012 by martindavies

[morganpchai]

I'll take some photos tomorrow in the light.

The engine has SuzukiJet Cooled 1050 ml, can't find an engine number.

There's a number on the frame front column BE13B-TH12499s

Looked it up - doesn't match anything from Suzuki. The frame looks like it's been hand welded!?

vocalneal's WD-40 trick sounds a good idea before taking it to the shop.

Edited October 16, 2012 by morganpchai

[martindavies]

Yep I can't find anything online relating to a frame number like that.

http://www.ozebook.com/compendium/suzi/engine-nos/engnos.htm

I'm sure someone will be able to identify it once you put a couple of photos up.

[denkiblue555]

I wouldn't go near it.

If it is a mix of bikes, It's not really much of a project IMHO as it's not exactly restorable.

May be waaaaaay cheaper in the long run (ie. bike won't kill you) to just look for some dirt cheap deals on mocycdotcom etc.?

As a vehicle like this could bring you pain in the wrong situation - I would really wanna be riding something I could trust not to break at that very inconvenient moment.

If you do decide to go ahead with it, I would start with a 'factory' frame and go from there!

Good luck!

[martindavies]

Google is telling me that the engine may be a 110cc Suzuki scooter engine

[morganpchai]

Oh crap, it's not really a proper dirt bike is it.

I can still use it to putter around the rice fields, nothing extreme.

[martindavies]

You can have fun on a 110 cc bike if you get it running but as the other guy pointed out if it has been home made / welded / bits and bobs made to fit etc etc I wouldn't fancy going too fast on it anyway!

I have been on a couple of liitle scooters that have been converted to dirt bikes and they were great fun!

And your first post I can't work out if that's a typo or not with the crazy prices here. Does he want 1,700b or 17,000b for the bike?

[morganpchai]

1700 Baht.

Earlier this year we bought a really old non-running retro scooter for 1500 baht, spend about 1000 baht to fix it then sold it for 3000 baht.

[martindavies]

1700 Baht.

Earlier this year we bought a really old non-running retro scooter for 1500 baht, spend about 1000 baht to fix it then sold it for 3000 baht.

1700b - Not even worth thinking about then just buy it!

Tell you what, if you can't get it running I'll give you 3000 baht for it. I love having bikes to pull apart

[loserlazer]

just buy it man, 1700 is the money you spend for chips, right?

It looks like a two stroke engine and you can have lots of cheap fun with it on dirt.

[VocalNeal]

Oh crap, it's not really a proper dirt bike is it.

I can still use it to putter around the rice fields, nothing extreme.

it doesn't look like the horizontal step thru engine at least from this side

If it is a step thru it is like this

[martindavies]

Cylinder head looks similar VN. You can just get a glimpse of it in the youtube video (43/44 seconds into the vid). And the side casing at 53 seconds into the video is very similar to the image above.

Difference being the OP's bike has a clutch.

I hope the OP returns with better photos.

Edited October 17, 2012 by martindavies

[VocalNeal]

Could be but the oil filler is in the wrong place. I didn't see the fin thingies sticking out on the cylinder head.

Someone once said you get two things when you combine a telephone with a camera. A bad phone and a bad camera!

[monty]

Bit of a mistery engine.

Did Suzuki make an underbone sport bike in the 2 stroke age? Like we had the Honda nova and Dash?

I can't really recall a jet cooled engine with a clutch, most of the clutch sport underbones had regular aircooled engines with the cilinder angled upwards...

Still, Suzuki made very good engines back then, the suzuki RS and later the crystal solidly outsold the honda dream all the way untill 2 strokes got banned and honda came out with the wave...

And very cheap to keep going, overhaul means honing cilinder, piston plus rings, few bearings, gasket set and good to go again!

Sent from my GT-I9001 using Thaivisa Connect App

[martindavies]

Come on OP post some pics. The suspense is killing me

[BSJ]

If it is circa 1975...and the frame has been repaired once or thrice...metal fatigue maybe a seriously limiting factor when it comes to fun riding the trails. You can only work those tubes so much before they loose the will to live!

[VocalNeal]

I once rented a kart at a small track in Medan Indonesia they all had "jet cooled" Suzuki 110cc 2-stroke underbone engines, off course stuck in one gear. Went like hell, had they only had brakes! But then one cannot always have everything

[martindavies]

If it is circa 1975...and the frame has been repaired once or thrice...metal fatigue maybe a seriously limiting factor when it comes to fun riding the trails. You can only work those tubes so much before they loose the will to live!

I could be wrong but it looks to be a fairly recent aluminium frame.

[fasteddie]

If it is circa 1975...and the frame has been repaired once or thrice...metal fatigue maybe a seriously limiting factor when it comes to fun riding the trails. You can only work those tubes so much before they loose the will to live!

I could be wrong but it looks to be a fairly recent aluminium frame.

Doesn't look ally to me.

[martindavies]

Doesn't look ally to me.

Probably right, but the frame is defiantly a lot younger than the circa 1975 mentioned above! I have viewed the video a few times and I have no more ideas. Unless the OP comes back and adds a few more pics that is.

[expatsupreme]

good luck with this crap

[expatsupreme]

go buy a used one maximum 2 years, dirt bikes dont last that long

[monty]

go buy a used one maximum 2 years, dirt bikes dont last that long

I'd say as the bloke is new to the scene, and the bike is only 1700 Baht then go for it.

Cheap and will be a good learning exercise...

Sent from my GT-I9001 using Thaivisa Connect App

[martindavies]

good luck with this crap

go buy a used one maximum 2 years, dirt bikes dont last that long

Well the only thing 'supreme' about you is your stupidity it seems.

monty is spot on.