jimmythemoonlight Posted October 23, 2011 Posted October 23, 2011 hi folks, i have been looking at some posts on line and i thought i would get on board, i am a 30 something year old beer guzzling curry munching hairy arsed builder with a passion for the two wheeled wonders and of course women, i bought an xvs 125 about a month ago, i was on the guiness on a Sunday afternoon looking at ebay, any hows to cut a long story short i won the bike bidding by accident, the bike was advertised as sales or repair ,a runner but a bad runner , never the less i thought i would bid up to £600 the bidding got to £590 so i thought i would place a final bid of £602 having had one too many of the black velvet i typed in £60,020 and to the missus' never ending despair i won, in the last second some one using that bidding sniper thingy whacked in a bid for £900, i called the guy who was selling it and i had to explain that i was in error and i was only good for 602 quid, to my surprise the seller said ok the 600 quid will do just come and get it and so i did a 2 hour drive and 600 quid later hey presto i got my chopper, i fell in love with this bike for what it is, going by what people say its underpowered bla bla bla doesnt phase me at all, its not power or speed its just theres something about the xvs 125 that i really like, any hows i gets the bike home admittedly i got the feller to start the bike before i paid for it (bumpstart) and it ran with a knocking noise from the rear cylinder area, so it sat in the garage for sometime , having a limited budget i was thinking that i would have a go at fixing it up , i have a good mechanical understanding , any way i got talking to some bike enthusiast he said he would have a look at it and give me a diagnosis, i just have to fix his ridge tiles in exchange, i thought half way to solving a problem is finding it so back in the van it went round to this fellas garage, a week later he said to me" F that , get rid its goosed, i stopped taking it apart because there was bolts missing, some effer has been f'ing with this its not worth fixing it needs a new rear cylinder and possibly more," oh bollox i thought looking at the price of engines£300-400 i am going to have to get saving,unable to decide what to do i thought i would put it on ebay again i advertised it with a reserve of £600 as tatty and needs loads of work and surprise surprise it never sold. well thats my decision made for me. i dont do things by halves tho, i am going to strip it down , get it shot blast and powder coated, and rebuild it ,as a result of this i am hoping that i can link up with people in the same boat as me for knowledge and parts of all types, and i am on the hunt for an exhaust too ,
neversaydie Posted October 23, 2011 Posted October 23, 2011 A good lesson in how not to buy a motorbike Having said that, welcome to the forum. It sounds as if you may have to splash some cash to get this up and running, if your mates diagnosis is accurate First off, many folks have asked about xv125 manuals, turns out there as rare as rocking horse shite, so your question about pistons etc compatability may have to be directed to Yamaha Better news on exhausts though. i recall seeing an advert by Custom Cruisers in Alfreton Derbyshire, advertsing xvs 125 custom exhausts for around the £170 mark. Bear in mind that when you take the bike for an mot, you may have to fit baffles to make it legal. It might pay if you post some more info about the bike, mileage for start. The Dragstar 125s arent know as unreliable, apart from an early batch of dodgy crankshafts, build quality was good and so was reliability Use the search function to locate the workshop manual
Moderator Airhead Posted October 23, 2011 Moderator Posted October 23, 2011 Greetings Jimmy Brief intro lol... a comprehensive intro and a sorry tale to boot PM me your email I think I have a service manual somewhere i'll send you
jimmythemoonlight Posted October 23, 2011 Author Posted October 23, 2011 ahh yes a bad example of buying a bike indeed, thanks for the reply, that info ref the exhaust is very welcome indeed once again many thanks, to give you an idea about the bike mileage on the clock it has just under 18k , i didnt get a great deal of history on the bike but the feller who sold it to me had a bike shop and took it in over two years ago as part ex complete with problems, his so called mechanic had put a new chain and sprocket on it and its alleged that they fell out and the mechanic walked out leaving the bike and his dummy behind, well thats what was said at the time of the purchase i will say i did feel that he was talking straight to me but i will never know, the bike looks like the owner who part exed it used it as a daily all weather commute and i dare say didnt look after it (going by the general rust from lack of polish) taking this into consideration i think i would be fair to say the servicing was minimal at best, when the bike runs there is a knock from the rear cylinder like a piston head or for some reason i feel its bottom of the (i think its the conrod) but i guess i will have to open her up for inspection, there is plenty of pressure pumping out the exhausts tho, i wll keep you posted when i get up to that point. oh and thanks for the info on the manual i down loaded it before ... made up, although there is one on ebay at the mo for 18 quid.
slice Posted October 24, 2011 Posted October 24, 2011 Welcome to the YOC jimmy, Oh my what have you done? Still at least you like the bike and that's a start, don't know much about the XVS125 but they look cool. Next time you have a bevvy switch OFF the computer. Still good luck with the engine probably just needs a few parts and it will be sweet as a nut, big ends are easy to replace and you can get the crank reground so not a complete disaster, oh and thanks for giving me my first laugh of the day just off now to change my underwear.
realrayzor Posted October 25, 2011 Posted October 25, 2011 Welcome,, great intro. Good luck with the build, u'll love and respect the bike more after it's up and running.
jimmythemoonlight Posted October 25, 2011 Author Posted October 25, 2011 thanks , i am anxious to get it up to standard thats for sure
Moderator drewpy Posted October 25, 2011 Moderator Posted October 25, 2011 welcome Jimmy, is that your passport photo i can see? good intro mate, just ride a 75cc bike and take off the rear cylinder
Columbo Posted October 25, 2011 Posted October 25, 2011 I have a digital copy of the owners manual. Send me your e-mail address and you can have it for nothing Welcome to the club.
jimmythemoonlight Posted October 25, 2011 Author Posted October 25, 2011 ahh big thanks for the offer ref the manual and stuff, thanks for the warm welcome too, i have got a manual, and service manual and parts list since i joined the yoc, quite overwhelming as it happens, yes thats my best photo of myself i had just had my hair cut donned my best shirt and got my sunday glasses on, as you can gather looking at the photo a lot of the women get me confused with will smith when i am out, i just hope i can get a decent helmet that doesnt mess my hair up!!
Moderator drewpy Posted October 26, 2011 Moderator Posted October 26, 2011 ahh big thanks for the offer ref the manual and stuff, thanks for the warm welcome too, i have got a manual, and service manual and parts list since i joined the yoc, quite overwhelming as it happens, yes thats my best photo of myself i had just had my hair cut donned my best shirt and got my sunday glasses on, as you can gather looking at the photo a lot of the women get me confused with will smith when i am out, i just hope i can get a decent helmet that doesnt mess my hair up!! I thought you were wearing your helmet!
Ttaskmaster Posted October 26, 2011 Posted October 26, 2011 Now THAT is an Intro!!! Welcome aboard, chap! Certainly come to the right place. Ya know, at £600 for the abike and maybe £400 for a new engine, that ain't so bad - A good nick 125 Dragstar will cost you at least £2,000 anyway, so you're doing OK. Plus, by the time you've sorted all the other little niggles, you'll know a LOT more about the bike than most 125ers do! Nothing like learning by fixing it! Any questions, ask away and we'll do our best to help!
barkwindjammer Posted October 30, 2011 Posted October 30, 2011 Welcome to the 'ward' Jimmy-that face is gonna fit right in, see you've met some of the inmates
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