Building a 1981 Yamaha YZ465 Factory Replica...

With all these life events going on I never completed the Unadilla Moto 2 results. So let's see if we can finish that up before moving on.

We last left off at the end on Moto 2 - lap 1, with that big blue IT490 doing it's best to chase down that pesky Maico.

Lets pick up the action with some more photos by

Here we are once again rounding turn 1 for the start of lap 2. Maico guy in 2nd place leads me through,





Out of the Gravity Cavity I am doing my best to close down the gap!



You can see 4th and 5th place are not far behind and have not given up!



Finally, I have pulled back up to Maico guy and cant help to admire those fancy Ohlins piggy back shocks he has back there.







This time through I follow Ake's advice and choose a alternate line rather than "follow the leader" so as not to run into anybody.



I really though I had him here as I cut to the inside but he still beat me to the next corner.



I tried to pass again in the back section but nearly got bucked off through some whoop-de-doos. This allowed Maico man to pull a nice gap on me as seen in next photo... rats!

I should have stiffened the rear suspension between motos. I had a nice lunch instead.



Although it was looking bad, I was still not done. Two more turns and we where into the "Sky Shot" section. I caught him again and out braked him on the following down hill where I then block passed him in the corner.

This next one is not a great shot but it is the first one where I am leading him!



Starting the final lap, roles are reversed and it is Maico man that gives chase!



Now, here we are dropping into the caviity!



And out for the final time!

We are flying ever higher and I remember thinking "what the heck am I doing???".





You can really see the IT suspension really compress here. Throttle is WFO!








Even though all looks OK here, I am worried about next few sections after almost being bucked off on previous lap!
How about those grooves?




Sure enough, I slow down too much and crafty Maico guys repasses me for 2nd place!!!
Same place as where I had problems before and with only 1/4 lap to go!



This shot shows the 1st place rider as he comes through for the win on a '79 YZ400. No catching him!



Meanwhile I try to close the gap to 2nd but am quickly running out of time!



Still trying, still trying....



But too late!

Out pops the checkered flag, you can see Maico man just ahead. It was a good dice we had going and announcers gave us plenty of air time.

And right after this photo was snapped he turned and gave me a very hearty wave... a great display of sportsmanship!

So he got 2-2 for 2nd overall and I got 3-3 for 3rd overall. And yes, this result far exceeded my expectations!





More to come...

Ok, so what did this 3rd place get me?

How about this cool Unadilla plaque (and of course this nice picture with the trophy girl, also know as )?



And if that is not enough, take a closer look at the plaque.



That #6 is Brad Lackey wearing a Camel Challenge bib just like me. And Number 27? That's Ake Jonnson from the Technique of Motocross book I had been reading prior to the event.

Kind of spooky don't you think :eek1!

More to come...

First off, sorry about your daughter Kevin--very glad she's okay.

A big thumbs up for everything else though!! So you bought the farm, did ya? Happy for you, man.

Excellent race between you and Maico Man--wish I was there to see it. Great job!

Sure would be fun to watch...

Nice report!

So you bought somewhere to ride? Well now ya can't just say that and not at least PM me and tell me where. After all it will be good to have a seasoned tech on site now won't it?

Completed rebuilding a 510cc motor with IT490 crank.
Details?

It is in Northern Baltimore Country in a place called Upperco, about 1/2hr from where we live now.

And yes, a seasoned tech would be nice but if your saw the house up close I think you would agree that what I really need is team of carpenters and/or a psychiatrists .

Here is the old farm house and horse barn. I snapped this picture today.


Another part of property


The property is pretty but I have a serious project on my hands.:eek1 Our plans for this are still hatching!

Kevin

This one is based on an IT490 motor. It has a 2mm oversize Wiseco piston which results in ~510cc's.

I built this one from a parts motor I had sitting around. I really like the power characteristic of my IT490 and thought it might be due to the heaver crank (compared to the 465). The 490 seems to have more low end grunt too, it really hooks up off idle.

My plan is to try this motor into one of the yz465's. I will report the results back once I have it running!
Kevin

And now for something completely different.

I bought this 1980 Husky CR250 from a guy in Pennsylvania this past August. Even though I had been looking for a 79/80 Suzuki RM250/400 (like one I used to race) I couldn't resist when showed up on ebay with a BIN price of $500 (stuck motor).

I always thought they were neat looking even if behind the times a bit. And its a twin shocker like my old RM so I thought I would give it a go.

Anyway, here's where it gets interesting. The guy I bought it from purchased it new and still had the original paperwork from the dealer. That was neat but the real surprise came when he told me he raced the Unadilla MX-Rewind event this summer.

Not only that but he was in my very race. In fact, he got the hole shot in moto 1!

How cool is that?

Also neat was that he turned up in a lot of photos my wife took . You can only imagine how shocked and pleased he (Mike) was to get these.

So how about a couple of photos?

Here it is arriving home. Wife is still at work .




Ohlin shocks too. But they leak so I will have to learn how to rebuild them.




And here is one of the photos of Mike (#6, the former Husky owner) on his CR480!



More to come!

Hello, The Husqvarna's used Magnesium Cases and if the Motor is stuck You might have the dreaded Gut Rot. The first thing to do is have a look at the under side of the Engine below the Crank. If the seam between the Cases looks corroded then for sure You have issues. If its OK that doesn't mean all is well You will have to remove the Top end and look below the Crank with a Flash Light. The Husqvarnas looked behind the times in this era but they were not. The 250's were down on top end power to the Asian Bikes but they had better low end. Just what is perfect for Vintage today. One of the best features of owning one today is the wealth of info that Café Husky has on there Vintage side.

OK so I'm new to the sight. I'm building what I call a Greatest Generation collection of MX Bikes. What I mean by this is early 80's Open Class. Soon after this era the open Class would end. At this Point in time all the manufactures were producing there best ideas and each and ever Bike had its own look. For those of Us who were in this era we could never imagine the Cookie Cutter Bikes of today were its just a matter of picking your favorite color. I have restored a 82 Husqvarna 430, and just finished my 81 Maico 490. Last Night I picked up a very sad looking 465G. Its lived an abused life, and it would be shameful to even snap a picture of it in its current condition. On the good side is that it is suppose to run, the frame rails aren't smashed in, the Engine cases and Fins aren't cracked, and it was cheap.
This Thread has been a good one to say the least. The other Two Bikes have had a flavor of there own and different sources for parts. Some were better than others, 1/2 the battle is finding the right guy to buy from. As I'm new to Vintage Yamaha I'm a bit lost on where to go. Somebody must of scanned a Micro Fish and has a Parts list on the Web ? Who besides Dc has Plastics including a Tank? Where are we getting whats left of the OEM Parts? Where are we finding reproduction Parts? Thanx a bunch in advance.

Probably not the most original idea but I am considering building my 465G into a Marty Moates re-creation. I have watched the 1980 USGP Movie countless times. Google is not producing a whole lot of info other than some Pictures. I see the bike sold at Auction and that Duback rode it to honor Marty Moates. Other than the Simmons Forks I don't see a lot of change from a stock YZ. Even the Pipe looks to be stamped and not a Cone Pipe. Anybody have a source for more info ? How about some LOP Decals ?

For OEM parts try Bike Bandit, Cheap cycle parts and Rocky Mountain ATV. I have used all three with great success for yamaha parts. Just Gas Tanks sells clarke brand replacement tanks for the older yz's and IT's. DC plastic is your best bet for body work, sometimes original stuff comes up on e-bay.
I have restored an 83 yz125, an 84 yz250 and now have an 83 yz490 I'm working on. I think the yamaha's are the easiest to find original parts for.

Greatest,

You have great taste in dirt bikes. I have a beat up '81 430 in the shop too.

I know clark manufacturing sells a replica tank but think it is closer to a 250 tank than a 465. they sell the same tank to fit both models.

You can still buy the '82 yz490 from Yamaha. It fits the 465, is yellow and is cheaper than other suppliers if you buy from boats.net (they have the microfish online, search for yz465g, or yz490j).

Kevin

There was an old Cycle News article on the LOP Yamaha that Moates raced. If I recall correctly it was bored larger than 465 and also had Boyesen ports cut into the cylinder.

LOP decals can be found from FastGuyStuff.com

http://www.fastguystuff.com/SearchResults.asp?Search=lop&Submit=


FastGuyStuff sells on ebay too. I bought KYB fork decals and other stuff from them, always happy.

And I have the 1980 USGP Movie too. It's great! I hope you will post progress on your moates replica!
Kevin

Being the attentive husband that I am, I took a break from tinkering with the vintage bikes this afternoon to give my wife some help with seasonal decorations around the house.

On left is her autumn pumpkin display... on right is my version .



Turns out she really didn't much help from me after all .

Love the Husky tanks.

my god what a time warp. if you can pick out a Maverick in there it might be the one who's trunk I slept in cringing that the crazies who were screaming and burning would suddenly come look for people sleeping in trunks.

what I always enjoy talking most about Unadilla's night life is that nobody knows that the crazy behavior wasn't anything new or unique for the 70's upstate crowd, they just happened to do it at Unadilla that weekend. One can rest assured they did the same things the previous and following weekend.

it's so strange to look at the camping field now from the east side of RT8 it looks SO much smaller now. back then at night it seemed like it was an entire planet. I went every year from 71 -81 and then had a gap until 2009. been every year since. this year I did VMX, PRO QUAD MX, Pro National MX, and the GNCC and I got the shirts to prove it. Actually this years Unadilla shirt for the VMX was one of my pictures from 2012.

I was thinking of doing a 510cc to my 465. I have been looking a cylinder to buy.

What is the port differences between the IT490 and The YZ490.

Thanks