So some of you may know I've been planning this build for a while now. I'll start at the beginning.
A few years ago when I was riding my first DT125RE, a friend wanted a 125 too. He saw this TZR125RR Belgarda parked up outside someones house locally. It looked uncared for and he knocked on the door. The owner was actully in the loft at the time looking for the log book to get it up for sale. It wasnt running and he parted with it for a small amount of money.
We then researched a bit about the bike and found out it was a "4DL Belgarda". At the time I'd not heard of the belgarda models but research and forum posts showed it to be more than a normal TZR. There are a number of them as well as the 4FL which is similar but uses the same frame and fairings as the TZR250 3XV.
*The TZR125RR as it was originally*
*A TZR250 3XV SPR - V twin cylinders on these babys!*
Back to this model and its the later 95 RR model. It had a damaged/repaired Jolly moto exhaust which seemed to be a talking point online and people were offering to buy it from him straight away. Turned out the bike was a CAT C write off a few years ago which explained the exhaust damage and the strange paint job, not to mention the different colour fork legs. For those that dont know, Cat C is generally an economical write off, meaning it would cost more to repair than pay out the value the bike was insured for. Easy to see why when the fairings are all but obsolete.
Mechanically it wasnt far from being on the road. The ending needed sorting, the brakes needed a refurb, a brake light switch replacing, rear master cylinder repair, indicators and a new set of tyres.
Initially my friend and myself did a few bits towards getting it on the road. We got the engine running ( badly) and he got the brakes rebuilt by a local shop. We found a few spares through ebay including a 2nd hand wiring loom, CDI, carb cap, choke, standard 4dl exhaust and silencer. A few other small things were done to the bike and then he lost interest. It sat for a year and then he tried again. We stripped the top end off. The bottom end was in good condition but the barrel was scored. I sent it off for a rebore for him and got a new piston kit. The barrel came back and sat at mine for ages.
Then one night in the pub he popped the question. Would I like to buy the tzr? I think he knew that he might as well have put a "when" on the start of that sentence. He worked out how much it owed him and the deal was done.
I bought it and put it away in my rented garage. Out of sight but not out of mind. For ages it was all I could think about. Trying to decide what i would do with it. It had matching frame and engine numbers and experience told me to keep it like that and as a 125 but my heart told me to put a 350 engine in it. I'd seen a few example of this before. Originally the frame was designed for the TZR250 engine so it could take it with some small mods. With other projects on at the time, thats how things stayed for a while, ideas banging around inside my head.
Then in late 2013 I was browsing ebay at (about 7 in the morning) for "YPVS" and an intersting bike caught my eye. It had just been listed and I suspect i was one of the first to see it. A Laverda 650 based project with a 350 YPVS engine in. I had a read through and a look at the photos and it turned out it came with 2 spare YPVS engines amongst other mini treasures. It had WP forks and a nice Ohlins shock. The thought of 3 powervalve engines and the tzr sitting waiting made the urge too much to resist. I hit buy it now and messaged the seller. The owner had built it himself and had ridden it to the TT. Without appearing to be giving the hard sell and after I had alredy committed to buying it, he told me how much he loved the bike but had been injured on a push bike and was finding riding difficult. He had built the bike himself and ridden it to the TT a few times.
*A few photos of the Laverda*
So theres my engine sorted. The barrels have been ported but i dont know how good a job has been done so might get someone to take a look. I'll be re boring them and getting either Wiseco or Vertex pistons. I'll be rebuilding the bottom end. The carbs are TM32SS from an RGV250 and I'll probably be using some kind of pod/ K&n style filters as an airbox will be a pig to fit.
*Engine pr0n*
*32mm Flat/D slide Mikunis! *
I went up and collected the bike and spares with my motocross trailer and brought it back. It had modified swarbrick pipes with huge stingers to bring the silencers up to just below the ducti seat unit. I wasnt really interested it all that but it was an impressive bike. I stripped the engine out, leaving all the cdi, servo, etc etc in place as it would be nice for another enthusiast to use with their own 350 engine in. With the engine removed and the spare engines tucked away it went back on ebay and sold easily. Its now in Wales somewhere being made into a "trackday weapon".
*The TZR and Laverda together, soon to become one!*
Since then I've had alot on my plate. I've gone through a hellish process of buying my first house ( this started in november) and everythings gone on hold. Well...almost. I've bought a nice set of tyres for the project, kept an eye out for 2nd hand fairings and seat units and other bits that had to be bought when they appeared, incase they didnt again. I've now got a spare fairing, 2 spare seat units and the correct battery cover thats missing in all the photos so far. Rare much? I also managed to get a spare set of forks which will be rebuilt and a spare swing arm. ( they came up cheap, what can i say).
I've decided on the shock from a CBR900RR. Its a popular mod with these bikes and is relativly easy to do. A 350 friend has one for me to buy and i just need to go pick it up.
Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago and I've got in the house finally. I've had the TZR125 engine up for sale for while and this time i listed it on ebay I had about 3 people wanting it. Someone sent the money through and so I thought, oh right....I suppose i better get the engine out of the frame now! I trailered it back to my new garage and started stripping. I'd forgotton that most of it was held together with cable ties for the sake of space down my rented garage. Luckily nothing seemed to have come off on its trailer ride home.
Everything came off relativly easily and is now packed and ready to be collected to go down to its new owner in the New forest. He's going to be putting it in a DT125R Supermoto.
*The TZR in its new home and the engine coming out*
So whats next? Well I've got a big shopping list and a mortgage to pay...might have to sell the GF or something.
Banshee Racing Coils - Alot of the 350 guys use these and highly reccomend them. ZeelTronic PCDI-10V - Seems like they are the way forward. Bottom end rebuild - Going all out with crank rebuild, gearbox bearings, etc etc Rebore Barrels - I want to start on fresh bores and new pistons. The engine was apart when i bought it, for the sake of a top end refresh. Pistons - As above. Genuine Gasket kit - Not going to take any chances with pattern. Maybe athena small end bearings Vfocrce reeds 3 or 4 - Still unsure on which to go for, budget may decide this. Powder coat wheels - Almost sure these will be black now, for the sake of cleaning as much as looks! Powder Coat Frame - I'm going to have the frame and swing arm in Black, a bit like the SP with a matt finish. Still looking into methods of doing this. Pipes - I'm going to have to get custom pipes made. I really want GP style ( both silencers on one side) but have been told by a couple of pipe builds that the sus linkage is very droopy and hangs in the way so we'll see how this goes. Fairings paint - This will be the last thing to get done and may not be for years due to the expense involved. I've had a few ideas but still not sure on how it want it to look.
*A play around with colour schemes ( helped by some chaps on here with the photoshop)*
*A black frame, hard to see but its the same on as on the 3xv in the photo near the top. The frame is slightly different to mine*
*An example of GP pipe on a TZR350- You can see they've moved the shock, probably for that reason of the linkage!*
So, a bit of a story but thats where I am at the moment. Its in the garage as a rolling chassis at present. I am planning to rebuild the garage roof ( asbestos cement at the mo) so it may be some time before real progress is made but the first step has been taken. I've probably got more ideas that I havnt written yet but I'm on nights at the moment and so my brains not running on all cylinders and you're probably bored of reading by now anway! More soon...hopefully!
-- Edited by AndyYam on Wednesday 19th of November 2014 02:58:47 PM
A couple of small updates. I bought my CBR900RR shock. I think I'll have to mod the battery tray to make it fit but it'll be worth it.
I now have a box of fairings and seat units to choose from when I finally get to that point.
...and now she is just sitting and moving around the garage to avoid the leaks in the roof. Awaiting some friends to have some time off and I can order all the materials and get the garage roof done.
-- Edited by AndyYam on Saturday 26th of April 2014 01:17:35 PM
Oh and I think I've decided on my colour scheme. I was watching the unrideables on itv 4 the other night. About the 500 Grand Prix in the 90's. Yeah.... I fell in love.
The one below is not quite the same model as mine, fairing wise, but gives the idea. I personally prefer the RR fairings and cant find any others in the marlboro colours that have the RR fairings. Could be a nice one off!
Looks interesting. You was selling one not too long ago, on eBay wasn't you? Or a engine and all the stuff.
Cheers mate, hopefully ill keep it going often once the garage roof is done. feels like someone doesnt want me to to truly start this project but i will get there! I sold the engine, carb etc etc on ebay to a chap down in the new forest. He's putting it all in a DTR in fact. I will try and get him on the forum once its re opened for new members.
I had alot of people trying to buy the bike because of the photos ( or lack of) that i used. I just didnt have the time to get some decent ones and the engine was still in the bike when the guy paid!
All sorted now, just forgot to send one of the CDI's apparently. Gotta find it now!
DT-R_bradders wrote:
Im liking where this is goin andy. I think it will look pretty sweet in blue. Different. Yamaha didnt do them in blue did they??
Yeah i do like the blue, saw a nice 350 in the kinda blue i would want ( on ebay), but i think the marlboro will be more satisfying for me.
The only colour they did this model in was the purple,red,blue flames thats in the photos above. The 3ma style one was more like this in the red/white and there was also a grey/black version but no blue. Theres one around ( or was) in Go GO GO rossi rep colours which looked alright but surely you gotta do it in a 2 stroke bikes colours not a 4 stroke!
Calum122 wrote:
Personally I love the colour it is already.
That wouldnt really be an option. It looks ok in the photos but it really is bad. Also needs repairing.
Energized wrote:
Gotta give you a thumbs up on the Marlboro colour scheme choice. My personal favourite.
Cheers dude, ive been really struggling with what colour to do. I think this is the right option. plenty of time to change my mind before i get around to the painting anyway though!
-- Edited by AndyYam on Monday 28th of April 2014 09:00:48 PM
-- Edited by AndyYam on Monday 28th of April 2014 09:01:38 PM
This is still happening. I've now replaced the roof of my garage at my new home ( almost). Once thats finished I can start. Still have a big shopping list and not much money but im still optimistic. Havnt had to sell my rd350 and dont plan on it either.
I hadnt realised I had 2 similar threads going about the same project. Damn my split personalities.
Here's an update.
The garage roof was finished during the end of the Summer. It was a huge project for me as I've never done anything like that before but i spent ages researching and ended up costing £1400 which was under half of what I was quoted by a local roofer. If anyone wants any info on it then pm me. I spent ages researching so have loads of info on roofs now....
With the roof done the floor was realy rough concrete and so I ended resurfacing it. I cleaned it, used liquid DPM on it to prevent damp...
Then used 7 bags of Wickes ultra strong self levelling floor compound. Really good stuff and easy to use...
Then I got luck with HotUKDeals and found halfords clearing their jigsaw style floor mats. The high quality rubber ones would have cost £400 to cover my garage floor. I got these cheaper rubber ones for £81 with spares. The floor is now nice to work on and they're alot stronger than i expected. The stands leave bits dents if they go directly on it but usually return to normal after a day...
So I now have a garage I can both store the bikes in and work in. I really cant tell you how great this is. As a retreat from life for my own sanity and as a comfy place to work on the bikes.
Now it's done though, I have realised that theres going to be a few other little projects that I need to sort before I can get to the TZR but I'll get there. No rush. Here's a photo of my brother DTR that I've been fixing up for him. If anyones interested in buying it then let me know and I can give you the details. Still got a few more stickers to sort and a few other cosmetics but its a nice 1989 3MD.
Since then I've decided to strip the TZR down into parts to store easier whilst i finish off the other projects. That was fun and was the first real "bike thing" ive done in the garage. Really comfortbale in there.
The bike came apart nice and easy, brake disc bolts aside!
As you can see the headlight fairing is gonna need some repairs. I've looked up a few plasic repair kits but havnt decided yet.
Forks came off nice and easy and the black and decker prooved a great rest.
The subframe is really grim at the moment. One of the lugs for the battery tray got really bent but as the battery will probably have to live elsewhere anyway, who cares?
C'mon, now that is one hell of a nice frame/swing arm set up! :)
And there she is, well most of her. Upstairs in the spare room. Saves the space in the garage and that room is the junk dumping room at the moment. The girlfriend even knows its there! She's a keeper!
However...now I'm doing more research into the build, im wishing I had the bike complete so i could measure bits and stuff. No promises but I might build it back up in the spare room. I've always wanted a bike in the house!
Here's an update on some of the other bits of this build.
The Engine:
Theres some photos of the engine when I first got it, towards the top of this thread. Since then its sat i my rented garage for ages and suffice to say I want a full rebuild.
Heres some more :P
I effectively have 3 engines to choose from. I have 2 more engine cases with cranks, gearboxes etc. 2 sets of barrels are still on the original 64mm bore! One set has had some diy porting work on them. Anything that doesnt get used will NOT be sold. I keep an eye on the 350ypvs engine prices and they keep rising! The extra money would help pay for the build but they'll be better than money in the bank and could fund a future project.
So i'll need:
Crank rebuild Rebores Aquablasted cases and barrels all new seals and bearings matika/wossner pistons
etc etc =/
It's gonna cost me about £700 just in parts and service (blasting, crank and rebores).
One the carb front, I'm not sure if the carbs I have will fit very well. I've been told the angle is wrong which could be why they were running modded inlets. It's something ive gotta consider so may end up needing a different set if i used standard inlets set but we'll see how it goes.
The exhaust pipes are becoming a bit of an issue too. Either way they're gonna need to be custom made. I've got a guy who makes them and works closely with Mick Abbey i think. He's made a set for a 4dl/350 set up and they were GP but they were different fairings. The suspension linkage hangs very low on these and means theres not much room for the crossover pipe for the left hand exhaust. One way for sorting this would be to move the lower mounting point for the shock, directly onto the swing arm ( on top) but I dont know how this would be done or how exact the measurements would need to be. If anyone has any advice then please let me know!
I think I'm going to stick with the single brake on the front. Others who have done similar projcts have done so and said that it was fine.
I'm still planning to go for Zeeltronic igntion and powervalve and banshee racing coils. I'm thinking about the V force reeds due to the extra money involved. It' something i can add later if I feel i need to.
I've now split the crank cases and been researching engine parts. It turns out rebuilding these engines is a hell of a lot more than a DT engine.
There's 4 gearbox bearings and they're quite specialist as they have grooves in the outer rim for clips due to the cases being split horizontally rather than vertically. The whole crank with bearings and crank seals on can be lifted in and out of the lower cases so the grooves/clips are locating.
PJME do all of the bearings but one of them is £45 so I've managed to track down a place that does the same bearing, with the groove for £25 delivered. And it's Koyo so no need to sacrific quality.
Total Gearbox bearings cost £78
The crank will need a rebuild. I can get a replacement new crank for £285 but it turns out they are taiwanese are a few people have found them to be out of true by far more than they should be. So I've decided to go with a rebuild at PJME.
Labour £48 con rods £80 lab seal £23 Bearings £63 Crank seals £27
Total cost about £240
I'm debating whether to get the crank cases vapour blasted or not. It's about £50 plus postage and really trying to keep the costs down. I'll clean up and paint the barrels and head.
For pistons I'm going for mitaka. It's never going to be really trashed and I've never had an issue with mitaka pistons before. £100 for the pair.
Both barrels are getting a rebore at £30 a go. Another £60.
The engine seals come to about £32, an Athena gasket kit is £35, a water pump bearing is £12.
I'm also getting the oil pump rebuilt by a guy from the rd forum. He's well known for his oil pump rebuilds and it will cost me £60.
I'm sure theres going to be other bits ill need like tab washer, clutch rubbers, powervalve seals, circlips, thrust washers etc.
At the moment the engine rebuild cost is about £700!
-- Edited by AndyYam on Saturday 29th of November 2014 03:38:16 PM
Get saving Cal! The prices of engines alone are constantly rising. You've got the RD350LC which is the most sought after bike and the RD350 YPVS models which were the later versions like mine. Obviously the YPVS models differ from the LC's as they have powervalves and the lcs didnt. So alot of people put the YPVS engines in their LC's. Then you've got loads of people putting them in specials like I am, so theres huge demand for the engine. I think any old complete engine will set you back £500 now and then it'll cost £700+ for a rebuild. Thats not including carbs, electrics, servos, exhaust etc.
Still worth it though :) The powervalve model bikes can still be picked up for 1500-2000 somtimes though so if you do want one I'd buy one soonish even if its just to store. They're gonna keep rising. Theres loads of mods you can do to them too so you'd love them Cal.
My 4DL alone cost me £300. That wanted masses of work. Yeah I will one day. But all my money is literally going on my car at the moment which needs loads of work doing to it... :(
Looks like a great project that should be a great ride too, hope it goes well for you! I see you're doing up the garage too, with the sort of stuff you have in there don't skimp on your security! That up 'n over door looks like a real weak spot. As you said, LC/YPVS stuff is in demand and there is a good supply of scrotes willing to take it off you. Ok, you might already be on the case with that, in which case feel free to tell me to wind my neck in!
My 4DL alone cost me £300. That wanted masses of work. Yeah I will one day. But all my money is literally going on my car at the moment which needs loads of work doing to it... :(
Na, screw the car. Mine cost £350 and is still going strong. My Driving simulator setup cost more than my car lol. It's all about the bikes! Probably got about 20x more money tied up in bikes and spares than I do in the car.
Looks like a great project that should be a great ride too, hope it goes well for you! I see you're doing up the garage too, with the sort of stuff you have in there don't skimp on your security! That up 'n over door looks like a real weak spot. As you said, LC/YPVS stuff is in demand and there is a good supply of scrotes willing to take it off you. Ok, you might already be on the case with that, in which case feel free to tell me to wind my neck in!
Cheers mate. Yeah your right I really do need to sort the security. I've got some ground anchors I need to fit. I've also got some of those garage door bolts/locks you fit at the bottom, but again I havnt fitted. I thought about CCTV. Like a full set for the house with 4 cameras. Its about 200-300 quid. I got a couple of sensor alarms with keypads that I might fit up too. The garage is in a nice position so no one really ever sees it open or even goes around there so it's relatively safe as it but I do need something better.
