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Once again, a new top end was installed. I also decided to convert all of the bolts on the cylinder to M6 socket cap for future ease of service. Holes were drilled and tapped out.





At the track, this bike garnered a LOT of attention. I was getting complements from everyone who saw it.

My impressions of the 1990 RM125:

The ergonomics of this bike are definitely "90's". You sit "in" the bike compared to the newer ones. Of course, you had to rev it hard, and shift often, but this was the best handling bike I've ever ridden. It could carve an inside line like nothing else I've ridden. It TURNED! Maybe I wasn't that fast on it, but I felt fast, and I could not wipe the smile off my face!







After one more ride, I sorta parked the RM for awhile. It wasn't getting used much, so I decided to list it for sale. There were a LOT of lowballers and tire kickers. I ended up selling it to a nice young man who drove about 3 hours to come and pick it up with his dad. They were into vintage/EVO class bikes, and seeing how excited this fella was about his new bike made it easy for me to let go of it. Him and I shook hands on it over a fair price, and off it went to it's new home, with a box full of spare parts, and a Clymer manual.

Very nice article. My little brother had an older Suzuki 125 that we rode on the MX track. We could throw it around and it was really fun to ride fast.

WOW! Very nice! Congratulation on getting all that work done. You did a great job. That is a cool looking bike.

That white goop on the chain was probably cosmoline. I rinse that off with kerosene before putting them on bikes.

Thanks guys! Yeah it probably was. It was a non o-ring chain so could have just soaked it in my solvent tank overnight or something.

I just throw them in a 5 gallon bucket with a little bit of kerosene. An old toothbrush will get it off without a ton of trouble.

I don’t know why they even goop that stuff all over the new chains anyways. Maybe to prevent rust in shipping? Would be a lot better if they just used a light oil instead.

I think it is so thick it won't run.

Well I just blew my whole morning reading and examining this post - and enjoyed every minute! I’m envious of your discipline and skill set Sir!

Curious where you source your fuel lines and rad hoses… ?
Do you Cerakote in-house?
Your silencer looks awesome BTW, I love seeing things made like that.

MoonStomper wrote: ↑09:39 am Feb 12 2022 Well I just blew my whole morning reading and examining this post - and enjoyed every minute! I’m envious of your discipline and skill set Sir!

Curious where you source your fuel lines and rad hoses… ?
Do you Cerakote in-house?
Your silencer looks awesome BTW, I love seeing things made like that.

The fuel hose I just picked up a couple spools of RC car fuel line at my local hobby shop, it's about 1/10 the cost of the stuff that's "dirtbike specific" and I can get many colors. Yes, I do all my own Cerakote. The rad hoses I think were just eBay.

Ok, that was a nice build! And I like that the article was written after the fact, instead of waiting for a week or two to see what happens next as we all know these take time. Good tip on the fuel lines as well. I did a 1981 RM125 years ago, but didn't turn out near as nice as this. Awesome build. (note to self - need to build a cerakote oven & need to get a combo lathe mill unit)

Kawibunga wrote: ↑11:38 am Feb 16 2022 Ok, that was a nice build! And I like that the article was written after the fact, instead of waiting for a week or two to see what happens next as we all know these take time. Good tip on the fuel lines as well. I did a 1981 RM125 years ago, but didn't turn out near as nice as this. Awesome build. (note to self - need to build a cerakote oven & need to get a combo lathe mill unit)

Thank you kindly!

I bought the lathe and mill through KMS tools down by chinook. They usually have these units in stock. Got them both on sale. For the Cerakote oven, I searched a lot of thrift stores for a used toaster oven, but then I stumbled across a good deal on one at Crappy Tire for $50.



It works well for small pieces, for larger stuff like shock bodies etc I just use the kitchen oven. Cerakote doesn’t stink too bad, I’ll still open the patio door if I have to do it inside but I can do about 90% of stuff in the little oven.

A Vapour Blaster is what a guy needs too for this stuff! Good call on the little toaster oven. Good way to start with small stuff. I'd end up sleeping in the garage if I ever put cerakote in the wifes's ovens in the house......... maybe should have put a couch and bathroom in it when I built it

I always like watching these Aaron Colton builds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQYdjeFLBgw

Kawibunga wrote: ↑11:16 am Feb 17 2022 A Vapour Blaster is what a guy needs too for this stuff! Good call on the little toaster oven. Good way to start with small stuff. I'd end up sleeping in the garage if I ever put cerakote in the wifes's ovens in the house......... maybe should have put a couch and bathroom in it when I built it

I always like watching these Aaron Colton builds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQYdjeFLBgw

I’ve looked at building a Vapor cabinet, it’s a lot of work though. I have that little glass bead cabinet you can see on top of the parts washer above, it works really well. I find I can get a nice smooth finish if I dial the pressure way down on the beads, and change the media out frequently.

Great build. I did an '89 YZ 125 a few years back. I know exactly what you mean about finding parts for these old machines. I am in the process of finally putting graphics on it. I'm torn between stock and going all out on a Donny Schmit Chesterfield YZ.

Dekon wrote: ↑09:04 pm Mar 28 2022 Great build. I did an '89 YZ 125 a few years back. I know exactly what you mean about finding parts for these old machines. I am in the process of finally putting graphics on it. I'm torn between stock and going all out on a Donny Schmit Chesterfield YZ.

Thanks! I left this one sort of "modern-day" themed instead of doing a full restoration on it, I was happy with how it turned out!

Got a message today from the fella that bought the RM from me, he had recently installed a graphics kit and wanted to share. I gotta say, I think it looks absolutely AMAZING! it’s styled after the controversial ‘92 model year, but I gotta say, on this bike, I love it! Glad I hadn’t done something like that myself or I wouldn’t have been able to let it go! Well done man!

WOW! Nice! Early 90's style!!

Wow, that looks super nice!