DTR Build Up
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Right well it's been 2 months since the last update, and 300 miles later the bikes shagged again. Only conked out on me a mile from home this time though luckily, on a lovely hot day too. The first we've had in ages so home now and i took the spark plug out, all looks fine there. Did the stupid thumb over the spark plug hole and kicked the bike, it couldn't even push my thumb off. So i put some oil down the bore and kicked again. This time it actually had compression.
So obviously need to do a top end and properly this time, but i've also got a horrible clunking sound from the bottom end and without knowing the previous history of this engine i'm going to do a full rebuild. However obviously this takes time and money, something which i'm short on at the moment having just renewed my car insurance, having to pay for uni deposits etc. So this is going on the side again for a while Right at the beginning of nice summer too! been getting tempted at selling it to be honest, but i've put so much work into this! I don't really enjoy it all to much, scared of it constantly breaking and hardly enjoying offroading. The bike has no low end power and is hard to cruise at a single speed.
So thinking of either selling up, breaking the bike or stop being a little bitch and rebuild the engine, fit a 3 wire servo and go supermoto! Sad really i wanted a bike for summer
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Hang in there dude, she's a nice DEET. It feels like a money pit, but it will be worth it. Your project has definitely pushed me starting full rebuild this year, and just saying fuck it to however long it will take, and blowing spare cash a little bit at a time.
I know if I sell mine now, I'll only want another one later on.
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ConnorDTRreplied to Darty on 4 May 2016, 22:03 last edited by ConnorDTR 5 Apr 2016, 23:08
@Darty It's hard at the moment, wanting a nice bike to ride but not be scared of breaking down is the main. Thank god i don't have to rely on it though.
Thing is i don't get much spare money, working all my days off from college and having to save up for uni, pay for deposit for uni room, car insurance and the bike insurance then fuel. It all adds up and i'm left with nothing to even put away for an engine rebuild.But i'm in the same boat, i'll regret selling it after the work and knowing they're going up in value. Just have to put it away for a bit i suppose. Also i'll grab the info for the ignition soon!
also anyone have any recommendations for cleaning the plastics? Brand new and they're stained, doesn't rub off
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@ConnorDTR If your saving up for Uni, maybe sell, it's worth it in the long run if you could get a good price. I've thought about it for while. It's such a big investment, and it's always nice to have a great toy lying about. It's a hard one, makes me sad just leaving mine in the shed for months with all these ideas and no time or much cash to realise them.
For plastics try Contact cleaner, or brake cleaner. I had this silicone spray, can't remember what it was called, but it gave a nice sheen, with a little protection, left a waxy' top layer and kept the bush and branch marks off a little bit offroad.
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@ConnorDTR definetaly try and keep the bike if you can! I was in a similar situation 6 years ago and ended up selling my DT and instantly regretted it and also ended up paying more than double the price for another one a few years later. I think you should rebuild your engine and have a look on good old eBay for a bottom end to tide you over for the summer whilst you save up to rebuild the other engine in the bike, there's a few cheap bottom ends on eBay that are in good condition from reputable sellers so you could just put your top end on one and try put money aside till you have a enough cash to fully sort it out .
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@Darty Thing is though i know i'll never get back what i've put into this bike money wise! It's very nice though to have a toy lying about, it's a good fun bike when i'm going for it. i'll give brake cleaner a go, that think works wonders! My college tutor was using it to clean class tables aha!
@Biker_123 i agree, this would definitely be something i regret through my life. I genuinely think i should just tuck it away until i can afford it again
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We've all been there.
You know sometimes you do have to make the sacrafice for the bigger picture.
I am surprised you're having issues. These engines in stock form are very reliable. Put it this way, you could sell the DT and buy something else as that little toynfor the nice days. But the DT needs to be running else you really will lose out.
Personally I feel that no job is too hard on such a small bike. The most expensive part of the rebuild is the odd sized crank bearings.
The rest is trivial and can be done cheaply. Spread over a few months its like 50 quid a month. And that's if you want it to look sweet. 150 will see a bottom end rebuild stripped and built back up with all new gaskets.
But it comes with its own risks. Gotta do it right and make sure it doesn't fail on you.
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@Calum I could probably get it up running again, i'm guessing a ring has just come loose and spun round. But i won't know until i take the top end off. But i just want it rebuilt to find out what the bottom ends like and what the noise is.
But i'm decided on keeping the bike, just fixing it when i get the time. I agree that nothing on the bike is hard, it's so easy when there's a full video on youtube stripping it too. This is just something i need to space out in time, i won't be getting it done in one month at all
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So finally caught that bike bug again, always had a hit and miss relationship with this bike the fact that it keeps breaking down. I think i have found my reason why, everytime i take my piston out it is a four point seizure, this indicates running lean. I thought that skimming my head would rectify this as i originally thought it was an overheating issue. However upon closer inspection it is still running lean, i believe some of this is to do with my oil pump. I've got it set all the way in the junction box to the carb, so my oil pump is already damn near full wack at idle. Which is why i eat through a litre of oil in about 2-250 miles and why it breaks, apparently too much oil can upset the Air to fuel ratio causing a lean condition.
So still on a full engine rebuild i've gotten to work, today i got the engine out of the bike and i've fallen in love with working on this thing. Everything is so simple and easy to get to and all using conventional sizes. So in just an hour and a half i've had the bike from completely together to stripped apart with the engine out. Whilst it is off the road i'm going to respray the tank as it has rust holes everywhere that need filling and tank needs respraying.
http://i.imgur.com/LBAV798.jpg?1
http://i.imgur.com/oNIVAJE.jpg?1
http://i.imgur.com/hwhiJUC.jpg?1
Not a bad transformation, so cute how small this engine really is. That's my days work done today, was going to sand down the tank and get it primered tomorrow but i'm off with my brother to view a car. Need to order an impact driver so i can take the stock screws out and then with it apart i'm going to clean and paint the engine! Atleast this is what i hope to do, also going to go a jet larger in the main aswell as get the right throttle cable -
@ConnorDTR Nice maN. Bike is looking good. Shame about the motor. Any problems be sure to throw them up. These enines are very simple.
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@ConnorDTR Glad to see your keeping the bike mate Im still loving the colours of this bike makes it stand out such a lovely build
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how much have you spent so far
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@Biker_123 well i couldn't get rid of it, too much work for what i would get back from selling, it's a project after all it's supposed to break and need fixing! That and my student loan turns out more than i expected and i'll be keeping my job every other weekend when i'm at uni. The bike looks tatty as anything i reckon, the plastics are all stained and it's way too plain, i'm feeling some stickers when everything is sorted, make it stand out a bit more.
@Calum Will do, nowhere i could think of where i can get any better advice. There's a complete strip down video on youtube which i must have watched about 10 times by now aswell!@jimmydc98 God knows, wouldn't like to know either. Too much
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@ConnorDTR Have you decided if your keeping it trail or going SM with it mate once it's up and running again? Yeah some graphics would set it off although its still a good looking bike as it is in my opinion.
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@Biker_123 Definitely supermoto, i never go off the road really as there isn't anywhere decent round here and i prefer to get the bike over on a nice road! Thanks dude, but it's too plain for me at the moment. But i've got more important things to fix than aesthetics first
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Well she's up and running again, I stripped my engine completely and split the crankcases.
http://i.imgur.com/hwhiJUC.jpg?2
http://i.imgur.com/9HYlAnw.jpg?1
Then looked on ebay and found a running engine for £250 plus delivery. So i've bought that and installed it back into the bike. It's from a later 4bl bike and i've found that you can use the later stator with the early style wiring loom and cdi. Just have to change the connectors over! Only thing i'm having trouble with is my speedo keeps turning on and off (koso clocks) So i'll just wire it to the battery. Went out for a rip with my friend who just recently purchased a ktm 125 six days and that is a complete different league in terms of bike. So much more grunt than what i am used to! Still though dt kept up with him at about 70mph but he said he wasn't wide open.
http://i.imgur.com/fA2HyQ8.jpg?1
So i plan on keeping this offroad setup now, much more fun when you have a friend to ride with and a bike with an engine that doesn't break. Completely fell in love with it again, however my clutch cable frayed so i had to ride about 8 miles home with not clutch, was quite easy to be honest hardest part is getting goingMy plan now is to rebuild my original engine, new rod, big end and crank bearings. Gearbox bearings etc seals you get it complete bottom end rebuild. Then maybe a 170 with ports corrected Who knows, but next payday this things having a powervalve servo fitted onto it
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Those ktm 125's are crazy quick! Glad your bikes up and running mate and you can finally enjoy it again .
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Nice bike dude. I'm envious that yours is running.
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@Biker_123 They're mental, only blipped the throttle in second gear at like 10 mph and it just wants to shoot off! Deffinitely what i would upgrade to.
@Uber_Beluga Don't be envious! As my luck goes this will last all of 2 weeks haha