My $50 bike

jesse_54 · Oct 13, 2008

OK, so recently I bought a bike from a guy I worked with for 50 bucks. He said it hasn't been running in about 10 years so I knew it was in need of a lot of work. After bringing the bike home i took the plug out, checked for spark, put in gas and oil (the bike is oil injected) put a little bit of gas in the spark plug hole and the bike fired up after several kicks. Now here's my problem. The throttle sticks pretty badly. I took the carb off and cleaned it thoroughly, but the slide still sticks open. Now, the throttle cable goes to the carb and to the oil pump. The oil pump cover is off and the cable was cut. So a new cable is in order, as well as the cover for the oil pump. Do you think these parts will solve my problem?

Another thing is the bike is an 1981 yamaha mx175, but the manufacture date is October 1981..so maybe it is a 1982 model? I will post pictures soon.

Tom68 · Oct 13, 2008

Yeh, just make sure the oil pump is working you may have to run with premix whilst confirming.

jesse_54 · Oct 13, 2008

I am fairly sure that the oil pump is working because it's moving when the bike is running higher than idle, but maybe I will run premix through it for now just to be sure. Do you know where I could find parts for this dinosaur?

helio lucas · Oct 14, 2008

i don´t know very well those bikes but in others like dt the oil pump is connected to trhottle cable and also governated by rpm... so in high rpm you should have some move of the oil pump, but not suficient move... you might have just, say, 1/4 the oil you should have...
by the other hand newer oils run less ratio (from 20:1 to 33:1) but be aware... put some premix like tom68 have said... it´s better to have too much than too less oil...

jesse_54 · Oct 14, 2008

Here's a few pics...

jesse_54 · Oct 14, 2008

They are pretty bad pictures but the last picture is one of the oil pump cover I am missing. I also have a question as to where I can find that throttle cable. I found it on bikebandit.com but they sell those throttle cables individually ( plural because the throttle cable splits into two) and I would end up spending around $70 for a fifty dollar bike.

2strokerfun · Oct 14, 2008

Just because you paid $50 for it, doesn't mean that is all it is worth. You can't expect to get a bike this age running right without parting with some cash.

jesse_54 · Oct 14, 2008

2strokerfun said:
Just because you paid $50 for it, doesn't mean that is all it is worth. You can't expect to get a bike this age running right without parting with some cash.

Good point, but also the air filter is gone, as well as the guide it goes on. So between that, oil pump cover, throttle cable, and side panel I will need, on bikebandit, that stuff comes to around $300. I don't know if I am willing to pay that for an old beater since I will be starting college shortly. Do you think investing that much money into this project would be wise? Are there any other parts dealers that are cheaper or is this site in the ballpark with others?
This bike would just be a screw around bike, so it really isn't all that necessary to own.

Daf · Oct 15, 2008

Cool bike~!

I think you will find that the deeper you go with the repairs the more you will spend. A bike that old is way past due on some parts/components - unfortunately (regardless of year) those cost money. I bought an 03 KX125 - not that old - and have already sunk several hundred in it to get it where I want it. :)

When done you could have $500 (or more!) into that $50 bike. The reward, for all that dough, will be one sweet restored Yamaha MX175.

Ebay is a great source of older parts.

Good luck with the project!

jesse_54 · Oct 15, 2008

Thanks, and I think I've come to part with the money..it will just be a part here and a part there ..whenever I feel I have extra money lying around :clue:

2strokerfun · Oct 16, 2008

Thats what I would do. Start with most important stuff first: an air filter of some sort; throttle cable. Then nickel and dime it watching e-bay until you get it where you want it.

My $50 bike

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