Lisa's xt225 rebuild

[LisaS]

What a long cold winter we are having here in Maine- We have been in the negative numbers without windchill all week- and minus 25-35 with windchill.
I previously owned a 1995 xt225 which I ended up selling and then regretting I sold it. It was replaced with a wr250 which I do like, but it is quite a bit heavier and taller (even after lowering it 5 inches with fork/shock rebuild, lowering link, and electric knife seat rebuild). Last month, my wonderful husband located a 2007 xt225 on craigslist in Southern Maine and it ended up following us home:


So we are now taking advantage of the cold weather to spend time in the shop to personalize the bike. Still a work in progress, but figured I would start with some pics of what we have done so far, and will add more as we go.

[LisaS]

Ok, so here are the parts that have come in so far- still a few more to decide on an order. Shoein and I work as a good team when it comes to this- I figure out what it is I want, then we surfs the net and finds the best deals.



And here is the bike on the lift waiting for it's multiple surgeries:



First up is the footpegs. A sidenote here- with both of us loving to ride, there is NO filter on bikes or bikestuff. The upside is, we do tend to have some stuff leftover when done with modifications- so my new footpegs are the old ones from shoein's KTM250, here's a comparison pic for size between the xt225 and KTM peg:



A little modification was required to get the KTM pegs on the xt- I want to do most of the work on the bike myself, but I am just learning to weld and shoein has been doing it for a long time- so I am letting him do all the welding and grinding on the project it will look good when we are done:





A little paint to make them look snazzy:
:

And the outcome:


More to come... but oh look, it's a heat wave here today- temps in the mid teens- so I guess I will go do some outside stuff first!

[jon_l]

good stuff Lisa. Please keep updating this thread.

[SportsGuy]

Nicely done Lisa! Love watching winter projects as folks personalize their bikes. Great bike, too. ;)

[LisaS]

Originally Posted by jon_l

good stuff Lisa. Please keep updating this thread.

Originally Posted by SportsGuy

Nicely done Lisa! Love watching winter projects as folks personalize their bikes. Great bike, too. ;)

Thanks Jon & SportsGuy! The bike is getting a complete makeover, so lots more to come!


Next: Carb rejetting

Lets tear 'er down:




Giving it the Harley treatment..... although when I had a Harley, it never saw a toothbrush.... the folks that bought it accused me of Harley abuse



Carb out and waiting it's new jets....



Shoein has heard that the screws strip really easily, he insisted on him taking them out....


Here's the ones we want to go in:


Before:


After:


Jerry did the three turn screw trick for me, while the bike waited for its heart to be put back in:


There, better than new



Fortunately, we have really good supervision on this project:



Jerry fessed up this morning that he snuck out and did the Z1 mod when I wasn't looking..... kind of confirms my suspicion that the upgrades would go much quicker if I just let him do them himself

[cat]

And a kitty too! :-)

hello kitty!

[UtahFox]

Hey Lisa. I just read through your Wrr build post (I hope to be doing same in a few weeks). Questions about the Happy Trails stuff, are you going to move the same boxes over to your XT? Overall, what do you like/dislike about them? They look so big and unwieldy on the Wrr, but I can't really find a better solution out there for hard cases.

Dave

[kubiak]

nice build !

[LisaS]

Originally Posted by cat

And a kitty too! :-)

hello kitty!

That's Crookshanks- he is a super hard worker! I'll be sure to include more pics of him as he is a big help on the project.

Originally Posted by UtahFox

Hey Lisa. I just read through your Wrr build post (I hope to be doing same in a few weeks). Questions about the Happy Trails stuff, are you going to move the same boxes over to your XT? Overall, what do you like/dislike about them? They look so big and unwieldy on the Wrr, but I can't really find a better solution out there for hard cases.

Dave

They are big and unwieldy. Great for street riding- they do hold a lot of stuff, including my laptop for work. They are not going to go on the XT. I like the wr a lot, but it is heavy and tall (even after the 5" lowering) for me off road (I am only 5'2") and of course the bags and rack add even more weight. The wr is about 40 pounds heavier than the xt, and I am aiming the modifications on the xt to getting the weight lower on it if possible. The one time I went off road with them, ended up going down in some very slick muddy ruts- the bag that got landed on detached and got bent up- was able to get it straightened out and back on by having a Canadian jump up and down on it.Needless to say I have gone with soft bags since when I am off road with it- but the rack itself is still scary if you think about catching a leg under it.. I am actually keeping the wr- will use it for commute back and forth to work and dirt road rides. The xt is going to be mainly for off pavement riding and I am going to keep things pretty minimalistic as far as luggage.

Originally Posted by kubiak

nice build !

Thanks Kubiak!

[LisaS]

Some more pics of Crookshanks at work on the project. Spoiler alert: the back end of the bike is going to look radically different when I am done!

[LisaS]

New Clarke gas tank was installed. Not crazy about the color on the natural, but I do very much like being able to see the fuel level. One of the goals of this bike for me is to keep the bike as light as possible- so If we are not going far, I can put in just enough fuel to get the job done!

Relocating the horn was the toughest part of this- overall this was a very easy mod.



Nothing like a complete list of instructions- the bike seems to run ok, so I guess #6 could not have been too important!


TaaDaa!


Also installed a new roomier tool tube- Shoein has these on a couple of his bikes and they work great. He fabricated a bracket for me made from a piece of 3/16" thick aluminum plate cold forged over the anvil. Here it is ready to go on:





















The diameter is just a tidge over three inches- a little too small for a rear tube, but can fit a front tube and tire spoons.....



and all of the stock toolkit as well! I am going to make a list of all the fasteners on the bike and arrange a new toolkit so I will only carry what I need for trailside repairs.

[Carl Childers]

I like the tool tube! (welding rod holder?) who makes it and who sells it?

[LisaS]

Originally Posted by Carl Childers

I like the tool tube! (welding rod holder?) who makes it and who sells it?

You have a couple of options:

the $17 option

OR

the $4.99 option
(the pesky yellow graphics come off very easily with a bit of carburetor cleaner)

[Speedo66]

Originally Posted by Carl Childers

I like the tool tube! (welding rod holder?) who makes it and who sells it?

Harbor Freight also has them for $5 in orange, nothing a little black plastic paint can't cure.

[Carl Childers]

Thanks Lisa, that's just what I've been looking for and the price is right!