[razorBlades]

Introduction about the bike: Well, VIT, college days.. was lusting for a motorcycle with a pride and an attitude. didnt look any other than the Yamaha RX series. Was confused between 135 and the 100, loved the 100's beat and purchased a second hand one for 16k in March, 2003.

Had a lots of fun, long rides over the weekend, frequent trips to the railway cantonment area for chai and chat with friends, it became one of us eventually. Few friends learned how to ride a motorcycle, loads of memories.

Eventually after college, got placed in Mumbai and because of the re-registration et all, left the motorcycle back home. Later when my brother was in college, he insisted on using this motorcycle than buying a new one, so another 4 years in college, he had his share of fun. Same story again placements, job and sad to see her rotting in the garage for close to 5 years as there was no one to attend to. My attempts to take her to Mumbai were futile due to the paperwork.

Finally got transferred back home and for the last 8-9 months was in search for a mechanic to restore her.

Finding the doctor I was on an official visit to Paris and I was lucky to go watch the motoGP at Le Mans circuit. While on the train, I was chatting up with few strangers, as I was travelling alone. Not sure if it was my south indian skin color, I noticed someone following me. When I looked at him, he asked "Indian?", I said "Oh yeah!", then he said, "Tamila boss?", and me with a big smile on my face, "aamaam boss, Chennai!". We started chatting and he took me the best corner where the slow overtakes happen (Garage Vert). Finally settled in and started enjoying the race (one down on the bucket list). We started talking about Chennai, motorcycles, racing, MMSC circuit. He said his brother was a professional racer and he now runs a garage at Ambattur. I asked him if he works on 2strokes and he nodded. Got his number and we parted ways back to Paris at the railway station.

Few pictures of her as is from Garage. She was not taken care of for a long time and I felt very bad about myself on what I did to her.







I was very itching to work on her myself, but did not have the courage to do it. Finally, manned up and I thought, well if the mechanic could do it, I too am an engineer, I should be able to do it! To be frank, it was a bad idea. Started dismantling the motorcycle, clicking photographs often to record the fitment. One after the other, due to rust started to break! The security guard in my apartment got curious and he started helping me too. Finished one full bottle of WD40 and with few scratches on my arm, elbow, shoulders, finally managed to remove most of the parts except the engine.





Hit the road block, I had none of the spanners to remove the engine parts!

I checked the manual and started searching for the required tool kit in almost 10 shops. With no luck, returned home with few RX 100 parts purchased.






Spares Procurement Cost (Lot 1)


Decided to leave this to professionals instead of further screwing up the motorcycle, called up the mechanic anna. He said he is available the next day and asked me to meet him with what is left of the motorcycle. Dumped all the parts into Qualis for a better tomorrow.




Met the mechanic. His name is Umesh and he was a professional racer and expert in 2strokes! Dumped the parts in his garage and he had asked me to give him a week to come up with an estimate. He asked me, if I am willing to replace all with OE parts or am I looking at a budget restoration. I told him, I am ready to spend till 50k (spares+labor).

Went and met him next week, he gave me the below quote.



And tentative spares list



I was kind of satisfied when he said he will try and get the cost below 35k, if there is no major engine work needed. Gave him 5k as advance to start the work. He told me he would deliver the motorcycle within a month. Next, Chennai floods happened!

[aah78]

Note from Support: Thread moved to the Motorcycles section. Thanks for sharing!

[razorBlades]

Chennai floods! Months went by and his garage was thankfully was not affected by floods. All the place around the garage were underwater. He could not work on the motorcycle as the access to his garage was blocked.

Finally in January 2016, we kicked off where we left off. He told me that he will give the chasis for sandblasting and painting with chrome plating the parts and bolt-nuts. He also advised to go for a new tank shield instead of repainting the old one as it was kinda rusty. (For rust removal and re-painting the tank, it almost costed the same as a new one)

Went and procured few spares from Yamaha Point, Royapet. Below are the list of parts with price.



Umesh anna,



The building of the motorcycle starts, bought HH rim and fresh spokes. The fresh spokes were chrome plated for a neat look and got the usual RX 100 MRF rubbers. Tyres costed Rs. 3570/-













Hit few road blocks as we were thinking of using the existing bore pistion, but it was already bored twice, which we came to know. Got a new bore piston from Sri Motors for Rs. 9618/-

Slowly we were progressing on the build. Got a call from Umesh anna in the middle of the week that, the motorcycle came to life and almost all the parts have been fitted. I was so itching to go take a look and ride her. Finally was able to go only on a Sunday. She was looking gorgeous!







Still there is work to do.. The seat, carb, battery were salvaged from his rx100 and he gave the motorcycle to me for running-in. Having a grin from left to right all the time when I ride her.

She is not as fast as the hooligan (390), but life @40km/hr has a new meaning. I enjoy it more than anything. The beat, the pride, the respect it commands on the road, the onlookers going awe, I started to remember my college days.

Special thanks to @SriramEfunds and @Mr.Boss for their advice and motivation.

Will keep the updates posted!

[razorBlades]

Before and After:


Completed 100 on the 100!


Issues noticed so far:
Handling => Front side handling little bit of niggle there
Gearbox => Gearbox feels very tight and makes some kinda noise on the 4th gear
Engine => Engine feels comfortable at 40kmph, but there is some kind of noise, not sure where it is from

Otherwise, everything else is perfect! The beat from the exhaust is too good.

Got an used gearbox from a contact for 700 bucks. Have to take her to the doctor and probably get it fixed along with other issues.

So far getting a mileage of around 28.5 kmpl. Have to complete the running in. Its too tempting to wring the throttle, but keep shouting at myself inside the helmet self control. Max speed touched is 65 kmph, but for very few seconds.

Will post updates when I have along with the final cost of the complete restoration.

[raghu.t.k]

That looks like a neat job. How is the riding and engine response?

[razorBlades]

Originally Posted by raghu.t.k

That looks like a neat job. How is the riding and engine response?

Thanks. Still running in did not try much. But, the engine is very responsive. Niggles in gear shifting and possibly could have a frame bent, which upsets the handling. Have given it to the mech today. Hopefully all the issues will be sorted out in a weeks time.

[v12]

Congrats on the wonderful restoration Razorblades. Your thread - especially the bike inside the Qualis - reminded me of my RX100. The RX series are damn good bikes - very practical, maneuverable, versatile and maintenance free. Even in today's times, the RX still holds its own against all other bikes for city commuting. Where in its heydays, the RX would be bought for its pickup and performance - today it's mostly bought for commuting due to its practicality and maneuverability - and more because of its image. Today the RX can be compared against most commuter bikes and I can say that it can still beat any other commuter motorcycle in city traffic.

Your thread bought back some fond memories of my RX as well as my RXZ. Keep the thread updated - it will be really helpful to all those who are looking to rebuild / restore their RXs.

[Mr.Boss]

Congrats buddy Somehow I missed your thread and fortunately I came across today. So how is she performing now? Gear issue solved?

[Captain Haddock]

Originally Posted by v12

- today it's mostly bought for commuting due to its practicality and maneuverability - and more because of its image. Today the RX can be compared against most commuter bikes and I can say that it can still beat any other commuter motorcycle in city traffic.

Well, it can still beat most things up to 150cc in 0-60Kmph. If tuned for power the engine is capable of good acceleration and considering it's sub 100 kg weight the RX can still be used for performance.

Engine can also be modified quite heavily while with most 4 strokes a filter is the only thing mechanics can think of today.

RX engine was modified by LTTE's gunrunners when they experienced a shortage in conventional YAMAHA boat engines.

RX is like an AK-47, an epitome of reliability and hassle free maintenance and has more road presence than most sports bikes(exclude speed demons like KTM 390 and CBR) and is certainly much more than a glorified commuter.

[rohitoasis]

Beautiful job restoring the RX. This is one bike which evokes too many happy memories. The fully restored bike looks gorgeous.

I have been begging one of my colleagues to lend me his RX for me to do a pet project of restoration, but he is too attached to it and wont let me touch it. Have however convinced him to bring it back to life. Hopefully seeing the beauty in these threads would encourage him further. Could you share the address or contact details of the garage somewhere in the thread.

[Mr.Boss]

Lock set mentioned twice? Or is it my misunderstanding against some other part?
Also what is side lock, ignition lock & lock set?