DT80 rebuild

daverwheeler · Renault 5 Driver Joined: 27 Oct 2009 Karma :

Robby · Dirty Old Man Joined: 16 May 2002 Karma :

Looks to be quite complete and solid. Values are going up quite sharply, so worth doing it right.

There's a very good old-school engineer over in Bexley, on Yell as Engineering Solutions. I went to him to get my one of my CB250RS engines vapour blasted and some threads sorted.

Would be worth getting the frame and bits blasted and powder coated. The blasting will show any bits that need welding up too.

The paint looks fairly good. I think it would look good with the frame and such cleaned up and coated, but the painted parts just cleaned up and polished, keep it looking a bit scratched and used.

Don't go crazy with the engine. Pull the head and fit a new set of rings, but leave the bottom end well alone if it still runs ok. If it hasn't been messed with (big bore kit, silly exhaust or kiddy "tuning") then it should be fine.

symonh2000 · Crazy Courier Joined: 20 Feb 2005 Karma :

That will be great once it is done. I love old DT's. Cool

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Four strokes is two strokes too many.

Casper · World Chat Champion Joined: 12 Jul 2010 Karma :

That was my first legal bike. I parked it is the side of a Fiat and also had my first trip to Hospital in an ambulance.

ipaul19 · Nova Slayer Joined: 03 Jul 2012 Karma :

Can't wait to see this one, looks very solid and could look fantastic if done right

daverwheeler · Renault 5 Driver Joined: 27 Oct 2009 Karma :

corf · Nova Slayer Joined: 06 Jul 2008 Karma :

all way take each part and give it 100%,

like your brake hub paint it,

it make all the difference

few of my mate had dt50 back in the day
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KLR600 · World Chat Champion Joined: 15 Mar 2005 Karma :

No no no no no. This is not a very good project thread at all. Some fool has clearly greased all the important parts before ripping it around a forest and has stupidly stored all of the spare parts required to put it back on the road in a safe place. Further to this the OP seems to have a background in the motor trade and knows what they're doing so won't have the joy of bodging everything to within an inch of it's life, snapping every other bolt and stripping every second thread. Simply unacceptable in a project thread.

Laughing

In all seriousness this looks like a really good project. My first bike was a 1984 DT125LC (it was older than me!) so I have fond memories of older DT's and this one looks like it'll come up great Thumbs Up

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daverwheeler · Renault 5 Driver Joined: 27 Oct 2009 Karma :

Am trying to find the right balance for the look of the bike when its done,
In an ideal world, I would paint or powder coat everything, unfortunately that's out of the question at the moment.
I didn't paint the brake because without a wheel rebuild I cant paint the hub, and the spokes are OK but not perfect, so now its is all mechanically very good (or will be when I get the new wheel bearings) and all looks in very good but used condition.
The yokes however were in a worse state, so I painted them.
This may well be stage 1 where I get the bike looking hopefully very good, but re-do it in a couple of years to make it perfect.
It will be mechanically spot on or it will piss me off!

stevo as b4 · World Chat Champion Joined: 17 Jul 2003 Karma :

Firstly it is a genuine DT80MX?
If so it's a rare little beast now! There's not many 80cc anythings about now, and the interest has recently really picked up on them too! Look at the price things like AE/AR80's and MBX80's are fetching! Shocked

I can completely see Robby's way of thinking with this rebuild, but for that to work you need to start off with a pretty original and complete bike. If it's got loads on non DT80 bits fitted now, and isn't orginal then if funds are not unlimited i cannot see the point in persuing a full 100% back to as new original resto.

You will probably be able to use and clean up alot of the bit's you already have, and if there are things like aftermarket plastics and indicators, as long as they fit properly and are not damaged, then using them and pattern parts is very acceptable for a special, or just for a bike that you want to ride and not take to shows etc.

Leave all that to the originality buffs, who would sit up all night on Ebay and pay £200 for a new side panel or something lol!

Don't get me wrong, i love to see restored to like new old bikes, where the builder has gone to the very last detail to make the bike look like it did when new. In many ways i'd like to do an as new 100% original resto on my KMX200, but i just don't have the skills, time or money to achieve that, so i'll be realistic and admitt it too!

Lastly have a look at Corf's AR80 re-build thread for inspiration for the project. His bike has to be the best looking 80cc that show and tell has ever produced!

daverwheeler · Renault 5 Driver Joined: 27 Oct 2009 Karma :

yup, it's real!
Dad-in-law has had it for years, and he bought it off of a family member who bought it new.
He used it for green laning a bit, so its got a few scars, but it's all there and all original.
My outlook when doing a bike like this is that its not going to be worth thousands, even made mint and original, so I will rebuild it as I want it to be, mainly original, but with a few nice bits if I like them, I do this for my own enjoyment, so that's all that matters to me!

symonh2000 · Crazy Courier Joined: 20 Feb 2005 Karma :

I remember on My DT50, the absolute biggest you could bore the engine out to was around 65cc.

I take it that the barell is different or it has a longer stroke than the 50cc version?

The engine does look identical from the outside though.
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Four strokes is two strokes too many.

dangerousdave · Traffic Copper Joined: 22 Apr 2011 Karma :

i had a dt50, my mate had a dt80

absolutely cracking little bikes

dt80 had a lot more torque than the dt50 with the 65kit fitted

the dt50 was good fun off road as it was extremely light

did find the fresco exhaust was a huge improvement on the standard one - on the dt80 it made it much more responsive
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Previous: Yamaha YZF1000, ZZR600, KMX200, DT50, KX80, CG125, PF50

dangerousdave · Traffic Copper Joined: 22 Apr 2011 Karma :

mintex · Nova Slayer Joined: 10 Jul 2012 Karma :

wow, blast from the past, my mate had one of these, i had the mbx80, happy memories Smile

daverwheeler · Renault 5 Driver Joined: 27 Oct 2009 Karma :

stevo as b4 · World Chat Champion Joined: 17 Jul 2003 Karma :

I'm wishing i had your DT80 now instead of my KMX200. It looks like a lovely simple project to take on!
And your bash plate is steel, mines a shitty plastic thing that will need to go in the bin.

Can i ask how did you de-grease the wiring loom, and did you use ordinary insulation tape to re-wrap it again? Mine's in such a mess i don't know where to start, and if i need to cut off all the connectors and start again?

daverwheeler · Renault 5 Driver Joined: 27 Oct 2009 Karma :

I find the easiest way is to use wd 40 and a cloth, seems to bring it up nice enough.
You should really use a non- adhesive tape to re-wrap a loom, but I get good enough results with normal electrical tape.
I would only replace the connectors if they are in poor shape, and then use soldered replacements finished with shrink wrap.

Frost · World Chat Champion Joined: 26 May 2004 Karma :

Camera angle or bent handlebars?

daverwheeler · Renault 5 Driver Joined: 27 Oct 2009 Karma :

LOL, all straight, including the subframe

Frost · World Chat Champion Joined: 26 May 2004 Karma :

This is what i was questioning.

daverwheeler · Renault 5 Driver Joined: 27 Oct 2009 Karma :

Must be the camera angle

symonh2000 · Crazy Courier Joined: 20 Feb 2005 Karma :

The red line drawn on there slopes downwards towards the right hand side, which makes the bars look bent when they are not. Wink

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Four strokes is two strokes too many.

daverwheeler · Renault 5 Driver Joined: 27 Oct 2009 Karma :

daverwheeler · Renault 5 Driver Joined: 27 Oct 2009 Karma :

I have been reading about this process for a while, so I thought I'd give it a try.

Started off with the side stand

https://i1247.photobucket.com/albums/gg640/daverwheeler/P7155246.jpg

Hubble bubble!!!

https://i1247.photobucket.com/albums/gg640/daverwheeler/P7155247.jpg

Not too bad after an hour

https://i1247.photobucket.com/albums/gg640/daverwheeler/P7155250.jpg

Surprised how much crap gathers on the sacrificial bolt I used.

https://i1247.photobucket.com/albums/gg640/daverwheeler/P7155251.jpg

Then tried the the metal bracket from under the rear mudguard, very impressed

https://i1247.photobucket.com/albums/gg640/daverwheeler/P7155248.jpg

https://i1247.photobucket.com/albums/gg640/daverwheeler/P7155262.jpg

Left it cooking overnight, we'll see how it looks tomorrow