XT500 Yamaha Build Part 3. Paul van Wyk's nuts and bolt build comes to its end.

STOP THE PRESSES! Paul won the Classic and Overall prize at the Thumper concours on the first weekend of September 2024.
Paul van Wyk's build quality and enthusiasm is now well known. This is the last video of a three-part series where he's building his 11th and possibly finest XT ever.
With classic bike builds you are permitted to put in new stainless steel nuts and bolts. But the new nuts and bolts have the maker stamps and part number stamped in them and Paul's gone to the extra step of grinding off those marks and polishing them back so they don't shout out at you 'I am new'.

[@sandorjablonkay5478]

The absolute pinnicle of all XT builds. The latest silver and black is the best I have ever seen anywhere ever! Beautiful, a work of art.

[@lawrenceatkinson5884]

Those are fine and powerful words. I will pass them on to Paul. I'm very lucky that he built (or rebuilt) my XT about 6 months ago. I had done 12,000 km on it, some extensive off-road and rough terrain work. As well as driving to the gym in the supermarket. It started looking a bit sad and the frame had cracks in the paint and spots of rust so I said that's just strip it down and get the frame painted. Well you've seen the quality of his work and one of his favorite phrases is, "I don't do patina". So now I've got an XT nearly at the standard of the one in the video. Luckily I have a tt500 that I can use and abuse, while I keep the XT for showing off. Thanks again for your kind words.

[@sandorjablonkay5478]

@@lawrenceatkinson5884 Cool. I have watched all your posts about Paul's builds. The first one I saw I watched a few times. Good luck, safe riding!

[@edwardweiszbeck1649]

Wow world class restorations 👍👍

[@lawrenceatkinson5884]

Thanks for your compliment

[@ferkuzuel]

Awesome restorations!

[@lawrenceatkinson5884]

Thanks. As I always quite Paul, "I don't do patina"! I've been lucky to both work with him (under him) as well as hand over my xt for him to rebuild. If I go and visit him he'll always head off towards by a bike at some stage and start fiddling and fixing and cleaning up. And it's all done with passion. For me it's the passion that is important

[@sulaimancasoo]

Awesome work Paul.

[@lawrenceatkinson5884]

He just won the Thumper Concours, part of the Thousand Bike Show, in Johannesburg. With his 1980 XT500.

[@jamespolucha8790]

Man really nice,I have a 1977 tt500 wish I had a street legal one

[@lawrenceatkinson5884]

I'm fortunate to have both a xt500 1980 that Paul has done a full nuts and bolts for me, and a resurbished 1981 TT.. the TT was licensed about 20 years ago and has lights and indicators etc. you'll see some videos of the TT on my channel. I painted it the 1978 yellow, raised the suspension new exhaust etc etc.. Could you not do that with your TT, is it not an opportunity in your part of the world to put these on the road?