Resurrecting A Vintage Yamaha Dirt Bike Part 1 

Huge Thank You to Ridge Wallet for sponsoring this video. Here is the link to check them out! ridge.com/tbm

Nice to see a FULL restoration rather than a get it going video Craig! I like the get it going videos but I sometimes feel I'd like to see the full story on a lot of these bikes! Great video as usual !!!

This is near and dear to this old man`s heart.... in the 80s I completely wore out 2 brand new IT 175s an 82 and I still have the 83.but it is shot....Maybe I need to dig it out and restore it....Used to love the smell of Yamalube on Sunday morning.

Love your channel Craig. Thanks for making it a serious bike channel

WOW a full restoration of a classic! So cool to see you do all the steps. I like the "Get it running" style videos too and I hope you keep doing them but this is really neat! I'm not sure I can say enough times how glad I am that you and Dan are still a duo and that we get a bit of both of your personalities in the videos. Looking forward to episode 2

I learned two things while watching this video. 1.The Chinese place by me puts enough onion in the pork fried rice to choke a horse! 2.Craig says Yamaha weird.

This channel is truly a blessing between the entertainment from bikes and beard and the expertise from Craig, actually exactly what I was looking for :) Glad you got your own channel growing. This type of dirtbike from this era truly deserves some love !

Craig, i have a great idea 4 you, For the plunger in the fork, buy one or two nuts, preferably 4, that fit in multi hex of the plunger (at best measure it), plus a threaded rod that the nuts fit on. now you can either lock the nuts on the threaded rod (2 at the bottom end, 2 at the top end) and hold the whole thing tight, or you can weld one nut on the bottom and one on the top and have a tool to hold it!

Thank you so much for this Craig ! As a Yamaha fanboy myself i really appreciate this. Because nobody does this better than you Craig ! Please keep doing this and keep those old Yamaha's commin to you channel. God bless the US of A and this bearded mechanic. Greetings from Holland. 🙏🏻❤🇺🇲😊

I appreciate that you show the real side of working on old junk. Heat\beat epeat and improvise with the tools at hand.

Suggestion for the bottom fork bolts. While the clamps are tight insert the front axle. Use a ratchet strap to compress the forks and break those bottom bolts loose. Always worked for me back in the day on conventional forks.

Heck yeah Craig. Keep the classics alive. Your the VGG for motorcycles. Love the revival vids and these shop work vids are pretty freekn cool too man 🫡👍👍👍

I had a four stroke Yamaha TT 225 as my first bike. Loved it. So much torque. Drove through the woods up and down the mountains around Reading Pa. Didn’t need no trails 😊

Morning after Thanksgiving, I've been up since 3am. And now I get to enjoy Graig doo bike schtuffs... excellent.

Couldn't help myself when that swing arm bolt came out, I raised my hands in victory like it was I that was working on that bike. I’ve got an 86’ TT 225 and had the same issue last spring the day before opening day at the capitol forest!

Love your channel. My son is interested in restoring a dirt bike. He's going to watch your I.T. build. Enjoy the humor you bring to the show.

When cleaning the metal surface you can use your nail or you can use scotch brite. I also use them for cleaning gasket surfaces. You can use the scotch brite for the tubes. I love watching your channel. You give people hope for their project bikes.

I really appreciate how you showed that part with the epoxy that didn't hold up and later when you threaded a screw through it. You easily could have left that off camera but you didn't showing everyone that even the best will still make mistakes and some mistakes are minor enough that it doesn't matter. Good stuff bro

Very cool! Quick tip: For the bottom bolts out of the front forks, if an impact doesn’t do it, a length of all-thread and a couple of nuts locked together at the end that are the size of the giant hex head inside the tube works perfectly. I’ve done a couple 70s Yamahas this way. My lower fork bolts were the same size (but inverse) as the 17mm ones on top.

Just home after a day of carpentry and home repairs, similar surprises & frustrations in my field. Just discovered this channel a few weeks ago, I’ve watched almost all of them. Somehow it helps me spin down. Great stuff guys! Thanks.

Go Craig and your trusty side kick! Loving these videos, the production, and the back and forth banter! Great stuff and thank you! Go Craig and Dan, keep moving forward! Can't wait to see what's next!

My buddies dad had one of these when I was young and I loved it. He sold it and didn’t offer it to me and it broke my 12 year old heart. Ended up getting a new RT180 that year which was a very similar bike.

Fixing bolt holes with epoxy tip: shoe polish the bolt/screw really well (very important!!) fill broken bolt hole with epoxy and insert the bolt/screw, let it cure and back the bolt/screw out carefully (carefully at first to be sure its cured properly). Let it set another day or two and you have a threaded epoxy repair that should hold a few foot pounds of torque (completely dependent on the type of repair. Grind/sand edges to blend and you’re done. If you dont wax/shoe polish the bolt it will be permanently installed and will never come out, you must wax/polish the threads and not have the threads filled with wax/polish. Gently work the epoxy into the threads so they mold properly.

Just restored an 1978 IT175 last year. I’d say the rebuilding the rear shock was probably the most challenging part of it.

I love the interaction between Craig and Dan, and Dan's camera work and editing are first class!! I love the little things he throws in during the edit like the sound effects etc.

One quick trick I've used a lot at work to remove a stuck bolt is to put a self-drilling screw through the center. For some reason it works like a charm. Rounded bolt head could be tricky, but I bet it would work if a guy were patient

Old bikes are still good bikes. Thanks for all you do. We appreciate it. Ride safe and keep the rubber side down.

I love my 1980 IT175! I've done a restification on it, including a new top end, DC Plastics fuel tank, cosmetics, and the clutch. One year only white fenders with everything else blue. It's never let me down!

a lil more heat, a lil more beat, a lil more spray, a lil more pray. all this and more has to be done for Craig to ride today. thank you thank you.... i'll be here all week

Love this series already, I rebuilt a basket case 82 IT175 when I was 14, my step dad said if I could get it going with no help, I could have it. And that's the story of how I got my first motorbike.

My mates and I had the full range 175, 250 and 400 that we used to ride the wheels off in the late 70’s. They were such great bikes. So reliable and at the time they were the best. Such wonderful memories. I ride a KTM 890 Adventure R now which is big heavy and very fast which I love to death.

A good tip for doing those fork damper rods if ur in a tight spot is to grab a threaded rod and put 2 bolts on one end that fit into the damper rod

Craig, for me, with an interest in the ISDT (but not the ISDE) that sort of machine is the ultimate so watching you pull it apart and repair it makes this the best episode on your channel so far. Looking forward to seeing it up, running and looking spiffin’. My ride is a 1992 Serow (XT225 to you!). Greetings from the UK 🇬🇧 Les

Use the end of a wood broom handle jammed against the damper rod to get the bottom screw loose out of the forks. That was our special tool in our yamaha shop.

Back In 1987, I bought a used IT 175. IT was my favorite growing up! This brings back so many great memories! Thanks MAn!

I had a DT 175 which was the full street legal dual purpose version, loved that bike!! They were very popular in the Caribbean.

Cross hatching for the forks. Thank you Craig. You learn something new every Craig Video.

I had a 78 Yamaha IT 400, loved that bike . but it kicked my butt every time I got on it . When the power band came in , I came off . I also had a Yamaha TT500 converted to a street and trail bike . Not really converted , mainly added some lights . My favorite bike to ride in the dirt was my 1980 Yamaha TT 250 . It had the best running engine of them all . Maybe not the best running ,,, but it was smooth , easy to handle . Probably because it was a 4 stroke. Another thing I really liked about the TT 250 , was that it had a tall suspension . With me being 6.6 the suspension was greatly appreciated ! I would ride the train tracks .Not on the sides , but between the rails . With it's suspension and a sweet spot with the speed , the tracks became very smooth !! The one dirt bike I wish I still had would be my 1976 Honda Elsinore 250 I got in 1983 , it may have been 7 years old , but with a little work , that thing would fly .

Holding the rod in the fork of my FJ1200 (maybe other Yam's)it's a 27mm bolt needed. I made my own tool to insert to hold while the bottom bolt was withdrawn, then i found that the rear wheel nut on the axle does a great job. Reverse the nut so the flat side fits inside the fork, but put a split pin through the axle to hold things and bobs your uncle.

Remember the 360 Enduro in '75 or '76 I think. Then my brother got a Can Am later. I was in California and he was in Florida. He was a Tinker. Couldn't leave anything stock. He dislocated his shoulders with the Can. Can Am bought the bike from him to find out what he did to it. Took him 20yrs. to get his wife to let him buy another bike. That one killed him. Those little 175s were screamers. I liked the Honda CL350s though. They rocked. Quickest was the Kawasaki 500 street though. Those things walked and talked.

I have a 1981 yamaha dt 125mx Swiss import that I imported into the uk nearly 5 years ago it’s a close cousin of the IT but with box swing arm and a alot of other differences apart from all of the road legal stuff and I use it every day and every now and then off road it which is where it really comes into its own. Brilliant little 2 strokes which always turns heads 😁

'Took stock square bar, heated then forged it halfway towards pointed and welded a T handle on the end. 'Worked a treat. 😎

I owned one of these bikes about 30yrs ago... Great fun off-road and an absolute hooligan machine on the tarmac roads!!! Main trouble I had with it was that due to worn ring the crankcase would fill with petrol every couple of weeks so I had to take the engine out and pour it out.

This is the kind of content I like to see! Great work guys, can't wait for next episode of this project!

I bought my 79 brand new for $850. The IT175 was my dream bike. In 1980 the swing arm was painted silver.

Back in the day we would loosen that damper bolt while the forks were still in the clamps. Slide the axle back into the forks and suck the forks up with a ratchet strap. The internal tension on the spring keeps the internal from rotating. Once they are broken loose you're good to go.

Love the bike rescues!👍🏻

I had a '77 IT175D back in the late 80's.. Absolutely LOVED it.

Suggestion (cheap): A long piece of threaded bar plus two nuts (locked) at the end. The lead nut sits in the 12 point end of the damper rod at the bottom of the fork stanchion. Two more nuts on the other end. Holds the damper rod stationary as you turn the allen bolt in the bottom of the fork leg

Damper rod forks not cartridge. Cool to see the bike get respect. They made a decent desert racer when they were first released. Yamaha also sponsored a number of Six Days riders including John Fero and my friend and Motion Pro tools owner Chris Carter on IT400's.

Burleson dominated on the Huskys but the IT was the average guys Husky. From 79’ to the last year 86’ I had IT’s and they rarely let me down. Thanks BM for this one.

I owned an IT 175 in the early 80’s. It and my Montessa 250h were two of the best single track enduro bikes of the era. It was a stunningly capable bike, imo. Liked it more than my husky WR250 for single track.

I had a ‘82 175 J (ported) and a ‘84 250 L, both were reliable excellent bikes but the 250 L was on another level chassis and motor wise, I still miss that bike..

Craig, For disassembling the forks I get a bolt that fits the damper tube, weld a smaller nut on and use a socket. They are usually less than 2" long and get chucked in a box in the bottom of the toolbox. They don't take up much space and I haven't had to make one for a while.

I have a fully restored IT465, I really want a 175 too. That thing is going to be awesome looking fwd to the next video

Its not ugly at all!!! I wish I had 1 in the garage to putt around on. BEAUTIFUL 😍

I'm slowly putting together a 1982 YZ80. The first liquid cooled year with the rad in front of the bars. The guy I got the bike from years ago destroyed the swingarm, and messed up the frame trying to take the swingarm bolt out to rebuild the engine.

Break the top cap loose, remove and pour out oil, then inverted put the impact wrench between your sholder and drain bolt and use upper body weight to unscrew the drain bolt.

Best one yet!!! Can't wait for pt 2 this was my first ever bike a d I absolutely loved this vid

Craig is a good guy and I can actually watch his videos without wanting to correct absolutely everything he says unlike his know nothing hyperactive ADHD friend. I was a Yamaha Mechanic in Southern California when these bikes were still being sold. They were not a great thing out west as they were a heavier de tuned YZ with a steel swing arm and softer suspension. For racing, and especially riding in the desert the YZ was superior as it was lighter and probably 15-20% more power, and everyone knew it.

Heat paint the exhaust or polish it repaint the frame blue or something so it looks badass

to open the catridge thing, get the impact wrench on the bolt and hold de Soket, so it hammers within your hand, and with the momentum generated, the srew wil get losen

That's going to be nice to have a new old favorite bike . Thanks from NOR-CAL.

This is crazy, I have the same bike and am just about to start restoring it. Stoked to have found you and your channel!

Nice 👍 I've doubled nutted threaded rod 3/4" nuts I believe maybe 7/8" can't remember. To hold the damper. Those it175 have aluminum crank bearing inserts that like to come loose. You'll think it's the crank bearing but actually the insert loose. Also if you bake parts in oven at 200° for a hour paint will be much much much harder

Growing up as a teenager in the 90s, I had a DT175, it was a great bike to ride and learn on. Wish I still had to but my brother inherited as I out grew it and lost interest.

Just wanna say this was a good one, thanks Craig!

I used a wooden sweeping brush shaft to loosen the bottom bolt on my forks, just tapperd the end of the shaft pushed down into the fork wedging it in to hole to prevent it turning.

My dad has over 10 IT/DT/MX 175s and DT/IT/MX250s.He loves them bikes. He buys them, rips them down to bare frames and rebuilds them. Hes spent thousands $$$ just on aftermarket expansion chambers for just those bikes. In total he has over 20 bikes, including his streetbikes and other dirtbikes.

This is some cool inspiration for me. I have a 1981 IT465 tucked away that I haven't ridden in 20ish years. Hopefully I can make time to do this over the next 20 years!!

That's a lot of love the old girl needed! Such dedication.

I had a Yamaha Mx 80 in 1980, this brings back memories .❤

My graduation present in 1989. A 1980 IT 175 .over the Cascades too many times to remember .1980 was first Year with swingarm rear suspension. Cheers to Yamaha for getting trail riding perfected 😂

For a bike that age both the clutch basket and the piston both looked good. No wear marks on the piston and no notching on the basket.

Had the same trouble getting the damper rods out of the fork legs from my XJ900s. Ended up welding and grinding a bolt head to size on a length of rebar steel. 10 minutes to rebuild the fork, 2 hours to make the tool that I'll probably never use again!

Use a broom handle with a blunt point to hold the rod. Orientate the fork upside down and apply some weight, then undo the bolt. Easy peasy.

I really miss the IT, PE and the KDX days. It was so great to read Dirt Bike Magazine in the 80s and see how perfect the 200 two strokes were. Thanks so much for the memories!

Ok, I love the DT and IT Yamaha bikes. Let’s face it 2strokes rule. I was not happy when the world stopped making them. I was excited when hard enduro got them back in the marketplace. This rebuild is a great way to inspire people to keep their old 2strokes running. Good work.

Love the chat between the two of you, it is like being there with two mates just joking around. I had a 1980 IT 425 it was a beast and tried to kill me several times, great bikes.

3:11 you undo the upper triple clamp bolts first and then loosen the end caps, otherwise it's harder than necessary.

Hi! I'm from Brazil and I just restored a 1989 Yamaha DT180Z, which use this same engine. Dude, you don't know how happy I am riding a two stroke for commuting!

Man I could watch you rebuild old bikes all day. Great job. Can't wait to see it back out on the race track. Keep up the great work and stay safe.

I totally enjoy all your videos. I especially love your restore videos. It takes me back to when I was younger and doing the same thing. Craig, you are awesome!

I had a road legal 175 when I was a young fella. It was crazy quick, noisy as hell. Loved it.

I love when Dan gets in on the action. Craig's a great teacher!

A trick to try with dismantling the forks is to compress them in the yolk/triple tree with a bar though the axle holes then compress with a rachet strap then undoing the bottom bolts.its worked for me.

loved watching you shove a broom handle in the fork for a sec as a " possibility". I remember getting the cartridge of some yamaha forks , tried a piece of wood also to no prevail, what ended up working was a BFEO. thats what I called it anyway. not sure what its for but my dad had this thing that was basically a Big Freaking Easy Out. not sure if it was one of his machine tools or something used for plumbing, worked on both forks like a boss though ! and pry a universal tool for cartridges thanks for the vid !!

When i was 17 i traded my 82 IT175J, for a 83 IT490K, the IT's (along with TTs XRs PEs etc) were road legal here in NZ back then, the dealers used to fit indicators and brake light switches, so i used to commute on my 490 to work. Full knobblies plus a big 2 stroke single did not make for a calm ride when it was raining, plus the bike hated being a commuter, it used to fart and pop on part throttle at slow speeds in traffic, and after numerous undie staining moments I bought a road bike to commute on.

I remember these blue Yamaha’s when I was a kid. Living in the country dirt bikes were a form of transportation for a lot of guys. Everyone would head to Fort Polk army base on the weekends and they would let you go ride through the training grounds for the Tanks with a $5 day permit.

It's very similar to the YZs of that era. I had a 1980 YZ80 full on racing bike, all the DG racing equipment, DG goldhead, rims etc., a fox mono shock and oversized reed cage/carb. Later I picked up a DT175 Enduro for the road, though it had its differences from the YZ, it also had lots of similarities.

@4:45 You can make a good DYI damper tool with a long piece of "all thread" by locking two nuts together on each end. Use one end to hold the damper and hold the other end with a wrench or clamp it in a vise. This is similar to using the upside-down bolt except you don't need to weld anything.

Your videos have inspired me to take on new challenges with fixing bikes. I’ve borrowed my brothers 03’ Suzuki Intruder that’s been sitting for several years and I’m gonna slowly get it back to road worthiness. He bridged the contacts on the battery with the battery cover and fried some stuff, so I have to start there. Hopefully repairs go as swimmingly as they do on your videos😂😂.

ITs we’re bulletproof bikes. Great to see one get restored. For somebody our age, that is an exciting bike.

had one of these ,power band on them is crazy

I loved my 78' It 175 , the bike flew , 6 speed , 2sroke , big tank , I rode it for years 😊

Raced a 1983 i t 175 in enduros and harescrambles back in the day. It had the rounded back fender on the 83

beware of the jb welded aluminum crank bearing holders. used to have a garage full of 175/125 engines. the death rattle and constant blown pistons were due to the "loose" flywheel side crank bearing. if you look under the stator plate you will see 3 dots of JB weld coming out of the case. check to see if the crank feels like a bad bearing. if so replace with the 1980 side case or machine the bearing holder out and press in a new one! love that bike @25;29 i see you have a late 79 or 1980 LH case on your rig...GOOD to go!!

For the fork damper rods a Good trick is to use a wooden broom stick and tap it in , Works for me !

Looking forward to the next episode!!!!!!

Brilliant as usual, I love the chemistry between Craig and Dan.