1986 Yamaha YZ250 restoration

[@davidmarcey7970]

I had that bike as a 16 year old and it's still to this day my all time favorite. I've had big bore honda and kawasakis I've had the 250r 3wheeler even a banshee but my 86 yz250 was the best

[@rowlandrestorations]

That’s awesome. Nostalgia is a big part of why I enjoy restoring old stuff

[@joski9030]

I had an RM 250 at 15 it blew my mind only paid £250 for it sold it to my dad’s best friend, when my dad passed a couple years ago he gave it me back for free. Me being in a bad place I rebuilt and sold it and put it up my nose. Big mistake!

[@billylindsey3678]

Decades ago when I was young my brother had that bike and I'll never forget riding it for the first time.... that thing was a freaking rocket!!! I've since owned the 98, and 99 yz250s, great bikes. And today I ride a 2024 yz450F which is insane. But that said, I'll never forget the feeling I had riding that 86. Would love to get my hands on one.

[@russellhelms2835]

Bike looks good again! Good job man! My 3rd MX bike way back in the day was a 1986 YZ125; I’d still like to have it back, but so many bikes now. Love the older stuff (from my early years) and still ride a lot. Enjoyed the video💪always like seeing the “vintage” stuff. I really like the nice “rider” bikes & not so much the bikes that get pristine restorations & then never ridden. I ride all mine still😁

[@rowlandrestorations]

That's awesome! They are well made and the older ones require a lot less specialty stuff to keep them up so I agree! They should be ridden and enjoyed!

[@leeshayler7627]

I have just kickstarted my 5 year project into life last week. Sounds really sweet with all new engine bore and parts blowing thru a Pro Circuit pipe and FMF silencer. Just missing right red shroud and blinging it up now! Do not think the tank will ever be white again but trying a few options to get nearer to pre-snoking tooth colour! Keep up the restorations.

[@rowlandrestorations]

Awesome! Bet it feels good to get it going again! I hear ya. I ended up replacing this gas tank shortly after this for the same reason. It ended up being about $250 for a new tank but it looks SO much better

[@lena19191]

Oh man , at the dealership in 1986 , 4 of these bikes in a row , back then the redesigned radiator shrouds just completed the perfect looking bike . Then after 1989 RM was a sweet design too . 1990 kx 250 was a favourite…then there were CR models all in between …whaaaaa I want the 1980’s to come back

[@rowlandrestorations]

Oh I definitely know what you mean! They had great styling!

[@makeityourself1]

Nice!! LOVE the milk crate....my kinda mechanic🙂 I've got an 87 with a 6 speed tranny. Looking fwd to getting it going and surprising my friends with that extra gear 😊

[@rowlandrestorations]

Haha thanks! You do what you can with what ya got! Nice! Have fun!

[@joski9030]

I’ve restored a few mx bikes over the years very satisfying. Nice result ✊🏻

[@rowlandrestorations]

I appreciate that! Thank you!

[@Workerbee-zy5nx]

Say bro, is that a nickisil plated cylinder? If so you are not supposed to bore or hone it, ya have to have it replated.

[@rowlandrestorations]

This one has a steel sleeve but otherwise you are correct. Worn nikasil needs to be replated. That’s one benefit of the older bikes, less efficient but you don’t need as much specialized stuff to fix them

[@jamessharp9790]

Not bad at all. You can’t get the white tanks really white again . At least I can’t , and I’ve been professionally refinishing plastic tanks for over 10 years now.

[@rowlandrestorations]

Ya I tried my best but it still looked like crap. Lol. You are right. Once they’re yellow that’s it

[@jamessharp9790]

@@rowlandrestorations watch for Vmx racing to be producing more and more tanks

[@lucaseduardo6211]

Ótimo trabalho amigo, tenho uma idêntica a essa aqui no Brasil, onde consigo as carenagens do tanque de combustível e as tampas laterais do chassi?

[@rowlandrestorations]

Thanks! Plastics : www.dcvmx.com Fuel tank : www.justgastanks.com

[@nicnadu0515]

The only thing I don’t like about the old yz is how nearly impossible it is to make those white tanks look decent

[@rowlandrestorations]

Ya I agree! It looked so out of place I ended up getting a new tank shortly after this

[@xips420]

Can I ask what you spent on the rebuild?

[@rowlandrestorations]

Bought the bike for $200 in 2020. Spent I think $150 on a piston kit. $360ish for plastics, probably another $100-200 in supplies in paint, $275 for exhaust. Also bought tires and I think they ran about $200. I think when I added it up it was about $1500ish

[@xips420]

Not bad I picked one up yesterday for $200 but worse condition. Missing more stuff.

[@rowlandrestorations]

@@xips420 Nice! Good luck with the build! Some of the engine parts can be hard to find but hopefully you can find what you need!

[@Fogie415]

Where did you get the plastic kit?

[@rowlandrestorations]

@@Fogie415 DC Plastics

[@Fogie415]

@@rowlandrestorations Thank you

[@taranlewis954]

What exhaust did you put on it?

[@rowlandrestorations]

FMF Fatty pipe. www.motosport.com/fmf-fatty-pipe-2stroke?variant[FMF001X]=FMF001X-X001-Y085

[@MudOregonVet]

Did you powder coat or spray paint the frame??

[@rowlandrestorations]

Bought some color matched spray paint to keep it the factory color but it was anything but durable. I’ll be taking it back apart to powder coat the frame later. Thought I could save a few bucks but nope

[@MudOregonVet]

@@rowlandrestorations I'm currently in the process of rebuilding my own 89 yz250, any recommendations on where to get parts? I'm not trying to keep it vintage 😁 I just want to ride it

[@rowlandrestorations]

I used a few different places. DC plastics for…plastics lol. Wiseco piston and engine gaskets from different places on Amazon. Clarke gas tank from justgastanks.com. Mostly everything from Amazon for simplicity for me

[@MudOregonVet]

@@rowlandrestorations sweet, thanks, I don't know if it helps at all, but I just found out that the engine crank case on so forth are exactly the same as the Yamaha pantry of about the same year, If you ever need any of those parts

[@rowlandrestorations]

Sweet. Thanks 👌

[@Spectre1983]

Great build, love the cheesy low budget porn music too lol 😂