The Dionysus Project (Aprilia ETX 125 Rotax 122)
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Hhhhmm, yeah well probably no surprise to anyone but there were seemingly a bunch of other issues with the frame than just the rust coming through....
It would appear that the frame was severely rotted throughout!
Even parts of the tubular frame had split
Many pin holes throughout the frame and really it needs to go back to the bare metal so I can see the extent of the damage...
So the frame was inspected and any obvious holes in the frame were ground back and then welded up.
This isn't a "forever" bike and I don't want to spend too much money/time on it as the idea of this bike is to be used off road. That said, part of having an offroad bike is cleaning and maintenance and with these holes in the frame it wouldn't take like for soapy water/moisture to seep into the frame and begin rotting it from the inside out again...
So the frame is back off to the powdercoaters after being welded up and I should hopefully get it back in a week or so.
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Yeah definitely will want some protection on the insides once it comes back from the powder coaters. It's probably not the best frame to be working with unfortunately. There is another frame on eBay for £50 that I suppose I could get, but I shall see how I get on for now.
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@Calum
What will £50 be after blasting & coating? £150?…
If you’re happy that there are no more’soft spots’ hidden and waiting to bite then there’s no point getting a replacement. It has a logbook & number?…Fuxing fleabay! 🤬 There’s good sellers on there but the $h!t you have to wade through to find them!…
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Hhmm, still not got the frame back. Decided to crack on with the engine refurbishment instead...
Considering how bad the rest of the bike was, I was ready to be shocked!
To my actual surprise however, the cylinder is in tip top condition and the head is immaculate!
Stator is badly corroded however, I will probably swap this out with one of my spares. It doesn't look too healthy.
One of the bolts that holds the clutch cover on was completely rounded off and the clutch cover was sealed using an adhesive...
So a little bit of work to get it off.
Under the covers there are no nasty shocks or surprises. Actually looks pretty tip top under the grime.
No nasty damages to the gearbox or anything.
Crank/Cases/Internals all good. Bearings were also tip top condition, but I shouldn't really be surprised given how restrictive these engines are.
You could argue that the engine didn't really need doing, but the plan is to almost double the power output of this motor. I have a Polini 160cc big bore kit for this that I plan to fit. So it's really important that the engine is in a healthy state of tune so it can be ready to take the demands of the big bore.
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Go BIG bore or go home...
Polini 154 kit for the Rotax 122 power unit. I also decided to go for the Italkit adjustable pneumatic valve, the ETX does not come with a powervalve and I have found the RAVE solenoids unreliable.
The adjustable valve is like double to price of the non-adjustable one and I don't know if I need the adjustability, but I just couldn't not buy it then find out I needed it.
Crank cases gone off for vapor blasting and the frame has finally returned to me so I'll wait a few weeks to ensure no rust comes back before I start reassembly.
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Wow...
This bike should have been nearly reassembled by now, but once again the powdercoating process has failed me.
That's it now, off to a different place.
Had the engine cases vapor blasted and these have come back gorgeous as you might expect.
So that's something at least. Haven't got much in the way of progress, just tidying and cleaning bits and bobs. Trying to get my car road worthy so that's really taking my dollar at the moment.
I do think I need to sell up a few bikes/cars and just concentrate on one thing at a time.
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@Calum
You’re going to have to butt heads with the owner of that firm, that is seriously skeevy powder coating. I worked at a factory that had their own blasting setup, powder ovens. Even had acid dip tanks and a trichloroethane vapour tank. I saw a lot of ‘lunch hour’ amateur jobs. That coating is not acceptable
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So...what's going on with this project? That's a good question, Frame is still rotting away in the garage, rust coming through the paint as we speak (very annoying). I think the frame needs to be acid dipped again and the bare metal looking at, I suspect there are holes in the frame which need welding.
Hhmm, thought I had some photos, but can't find them.
Brand new Koyo bearings and oil seals fitted. Crank cases are back together, in the middle is an Italkit Billet CNC'd rod
Stock ImageFastened together with Ti5 Cap head bolts to try and minimise all weight. If it hasn't been made clear already, the Polini 154 kit will be used mated with a flat slide VHST 28mm carb (I'm not going for all out power here, even if Polini quote 37 ponies in race trim) I actually plan on using this bike on the road and therefore want it to have some resemblance of reliability...for as far as a tuned barrel goes anyway.
Oh the topic of fasteners (purely so I don't have to write it all down again)
Rotax 122 Engine Fastners Quantity:
- M6 45mm X 7
- M6 30mm X 16
- M6 25mm X 7
- M6 20mm X 12
- M5 25mm X 10
- M5 15mm X 4
Lots going on at home at the moment and I simply don't have the funds to get any of the projects I'm working on shifting, so just chipping away at each as and when I get the dollar coming through.
I'll get some photos of the superb rebuilt crank/rod and engine when I'm next in the workshop.
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Okay, got some photos for ya!
Bolts are in...
To minimise weight, Grade 5 Titanium. This is everything I needed plus a few extras and it's not even a Kg! Crazy how much bolts weigh up to!
This was a picture of the rod I'm using.
Sweet jesus gawd that rod's expensive, it actually makes me cry a little. This isn't even a bike I particularly care a great deal about
But it's spent now so...on to the cylinder
The parts all together.
- Polini 154 Barrel/Head
- Italkit Pneumatic Valve
- ETX doesn't come with a powervalve system & I CBA to run electrics (even though I'll be using a Zeeltronic)
- VForce3 Reed Block
- Brand New Genuine Inlet Manifold
This is a collection of 2 years worth of parts...I've had a lot of this sat around gathering dust.
The inlet manifold is like the DTR, and therefore needs chopping to fit
I didn't fancy chopping a brand new old stock one, so chopped my old one instead...w/e
Actually, to tell you guys the truth, since we're all old pals, the VForce3 reed block came with a job lot of parts I bought a few years ago. I thought it was mad someone threw that in as well. It was missing the petals though, so £60s worth of petals. I was actually going to use this on my Spains No 1, but figured this would be put to better use here as I don't actually plan on using the Spains No 1, and I want that bike to be as OEM as possible, whilst spending as little as possible.
Anyway, that's it for this project for the moment. I am absolutely skint at the moment and this literally took years of collecting to assemble (I had the VForce3/Polini from before I even owned the bike).
Next is, I want/need new genuine clutch. New balancer shafts and oilpump gears. I forgot to get the clutch cover vapor blasted, so that needs sending off. I'm also thinking TYGA sprocket cover... dunno yet.
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@MadGyver It's been sand blasted and acid dipped. What ak believe is happening is that they are not baking the frame properly and eliminating all the acid. As such it's just eating the paint and coming through the frame.
So annoying as I'd have this back together by now if it wasn't for that.
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@Calum When doing work on the frame after stripping the paint,I was washing the frame with acid for 2 hours until no rust was found,then did a good wash with a chemical base diluted water to eliminate the acid.
A good soap water bath and drying up with a butane based torch. Then did the protection steps.
4 years in the weather (no garage) no rust on frame.
Maybe you should DIY at home to know what is done on the frame.
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