Yamaha PW80 upgrades- suspension, gears, exhaust!

The good old PW80 gets some love to make it better for an adult rider. A little more power, stiffer suspension, and lower gearing make it a whole lot more fun to ride. Don’t expect a race bike, but you can definitely wake these up a bit for very little money. It does wheelies a lot easier and doesn’t bog going up hills anymore. Great chase bike for following the kids around!

[@CONSTANTG003]

Sweet build man! Makes me want a kx65 shock now for my nephews bike.

[@jackcompton8752]

Oldest grandson races enduro on crf110. This weekend I picked up an 06 pw80 for little brother. It runs decent & appears all original, including drips from carb & oil res. Thanks for the schooling. I've got 3 weeks to get her squared away before his bday.

[@misterts7635]

If you end up replacing the carb, don’t be tempted to buy the Chinese knockoff. A genuine Mikuni is under a hundred bucks and will run a whole lot better. The decals came from a company called Kalair and they sell them on Amazon. Lots of different designs and a quick turn around time. Have fun and good luck with the project!

[@waylonloper224]

Man don't knock no pw mine has never lost to a 110 even the new fuel injected ones with 4 gears

[@liftedmike7415]

awesome video man!!! i am thinking about changing up the exhaust outlet also. Thanks for showing that.

[@Olliedowling]

same, are you just using an angal grinder?

[@liftedmike7415]

@@Olliedowling i ended up using an angle grinder to grind the little pipe down to the expansion pipe and then a die grinder to remove the welds that remained and to also make the hole bigger for the new size tubing

[@TheBroshipCaptn]

I found a sweet shock for mine that is an alternative to the KX shocks with adjustable length! For the Honda Navi; an NCY shock purchased from Steady Garage. It adjusts from 300-342mm. It was like $160 and I had to drill out the mounting hole just a little to get the OEM pin to fit. Also, great video! To the point and informative. Much appreciated

[@REALISMMODSAC]

hi buddy was your swing arm also at a limit ive squeezed a shock in and realised i forced it in and theres pressure on frame before weight now is that safe is that how its dont the swing arm hit a limit i didnt forget to losen something did i?

[@TheBroshipCaptn]

@@REALISMMODSAC I’d love to help answer your question… but I’m not sure what your question is…

[@REALISMMODSAC]

@@TheBroshipCaptn when i re drilled a hole for my shock i hita limit with my swingarm and had ti force the shock in i didnt forget to take something off to stop the swingarm hitting a limit or do they all hit one after abit more sag

[@TheBroshipCaptn]

@@REALISMMODSAC I used the stock mounting holes in the frame and the original mounting hardware. I don’t have the issue you’re discussing.

[@AridersLifeYT]

what year model KX60 shock was that ?

[@t.e.h.7711]

Your video is one of the best I’ve seen. I have a PW80 I’m working on and I enjoyed your tips. Would you mind giving me more information on those items you used so I may purchase them ? Thanks bud. Happy trails !

[@misterts7635]

Glad you found it helpful! Which parts are you looking for more details on?

[@t.e.h.7711]

Thank you so much for actually responding !!! Please tell me about your sprockets, as well as the muffler(silencer)

[@t.e.h.7711]

@@misterts7635also, please tell me where I can find the seat strap like the one you have

[@tinygaragepowersports0122]

What size sprockets did you end up using? I'm looking at one on Marketplace and I like your ideas. I'm about 165 pounds so I think your suspension tuning would be in the ballpark for me. By opening up the airbox....I assume you mean removing that rubber plug up top that had 3 tiny holes in it?

[@misterts7635]

I went with 14/36 gears and it woke it up a lot. I actually bought an even bigger rear sprocket but haven’t installed it yet. I’ll have to get a longer chain. Opening up the airbox and exhaust allows the bike to rev quite a bit higher, so you’re not losing much top speed, if any, by gearing it down. For the airbox, I removed the snorkel and used a hole saw to make a few large holes in the top. It was either 3/4” or 1”, I don’t remember exactly. Just make sure you don’t do it on the engine side of the filter, or the air won’t be going through the filter anymore! Good luck with yours!

[@EBthere]

Enjoyed the video. Would you know if there is another shock that would work without the reservoir? I'd like to keep my oil injection.

[@misterts7635]

Stock KX60 and KX65 shocks don’t have a reservoir- this one is an aftermarket Works shock for a KX65. Find yourself a stock shock and it drops right in.

[@EBthere]

@@misterts7635 Thank you. Hopefully a stock kx60 or 65 will be way firmer than the stock one that's in my PW80. Thanks much.

[@howardkey6152]

Almost positive that a kx60 shock. The 65 shot has two different mounting points

[@misterts7635]

Good to know, thanks. It was sold to me as a kx65 shock but I never saw the bike it came off of.

[@greghughes7777]

Hi, what mod did you do for the air box?

[@misterts7635]

Just pulled off the tiny snorkel and used a hole saw to drill some holes in the top.

[@tylerk9924]

What year kx65 did that shock come off of?

[@misterts7635]

It was sold to me as early 2000’s, but I don’t know how reliable that is because they also said it was from a kx60.

[@Crystal9123.]

How did you delete your oil injection

[@misterts7635]

Remove the clutch cover, pull the clip that holds on the oil pump drive gear, remove the screws that hold the pump in, pull the pump out enough to slide the gear off the shaft, reinstall pump without gear. When you’re done, the pump is still in there but without the drive gear it’s just acting as a plug. You can also buy a plug kit to remove the pump completely, but I didn’t see the point.

[@hectorvarg9384]

Does it matter what year kx65??? Thanks

[@misterts7635]

To be honest I don’t know. I believe the one I picked up was from an early 2000’s bike. I don’t know if they’ve changed them much.

[@k1only421]

What sprockets used? What good for low end?

[@misterts7635]

If you want low end, you need a smaller gear on the trans and bigger on the rear wheel. I used 14/36 and am switching the rear to a 40t.

[@k1only421]

What’s 40t gonna do better?

[@misterts7635]

@@k1only421 40t will give you more low end power and acceleration, less top speed.

[@royolson9441]

You wouldn't happen to be located anywhere near Chicago, would you?...need someone knowledgeable near us to do some upgrades

[@misterts7635]

I am, actually. I’m in the northwest suburbs.

[@royolson9441]

@Mister T's wow...thats awesome...tinley park here...I would love to have you do some upgrading work on our pw80 if youre interested...would you be interested?...i can give you our email and you could let me know your rates etc...

[@misterts7635]

@@royolson9441 I might be able to help you out this summer. I’m a teacher and a track and field coach, so the next few weeks are very busy. After May my schedule opens up.

[@kylemiller6805]

You can make them fast

[@REALISMMODSAC]

bro silencer wrong way round btw one of the best explaining videos bro just

[@misterts7635]

Yeah, it was easier to make it fit using that little bend in the tailpipe as an inlet. It’s just an Amazon cheapo, so it’s a straight-through perforated pipe with fiberglass packed around it. Makes no difference which way it goes. Good eye though!

[@REALISMMODSAC]

im glsd you realise and it werent a mistake i thought youd laugh at yourself reason i mentioned lol but seein as it was purpose your the more clever one really. haha i wanna ask when you put a way longer shock in does the swingarm only have like a inch to fall back on does it limit out for example ive squeezed a big 330mm shock in and it was a tight squeeze i had to pull it back to force it in while swingarm was maxed out furthest away from front mounting spot is that safe to be mounted with so much pressure before sitting on it @@misterts7635

[@REALISMMODSAC]

ohh okaqy buddy amazing video i had to point that out tho can i ask can you squeeze a shock in so its at max leverage with high preload on spring forced into new spot?@@misterts7635

[@REALISMMODSAC]

@@misterts7635 because when i cut the front mount a inch and half back wheel was at mac leverage and had to literally squeeze shock in have i forgot to do something with swingarm to give more leeverage or is that how it is you force it in? because i am worrried my springs just preloaded now befoire sitting onnit

[@misterts7635]

@@REALISMMODSAC I didn’t have to compress the spring to make it fit. I let the swing arm hang and the shock went right in. I’m not an expert by any stretch, but I don’t think you want to have to compress your shock to make it fit. Imagine how high that’s going to raise the back end of your bike, too!