[iamSkinny]

The beginning
Let me begin at where it all started, 2014. I climb down from my house in my school uniform and I see a bike. I didn't know who's it was so asked my dad. He said it was our family friend's bike and he has dropped it here for some paperwork to be done. The owner was a family friend who had relocated it to the states, the bike was his first bike and he refused to sell it to anyone so his dad kept it around. I asked my dad "Is this a RX?" to which he replied yes. I didn't know it at the time but this was about to change my life. I often saw dad use the bike and said the owner asked us to keep the bike for now. When I turned 18 for the first time my dad gave me the keys and asked me to ride it. I learnt to ride pretty fast, almost like I already knew how to ride.

The fast life

Soon I was riding everywhere possible, falling in love with this 2 stroke beauty. She's a 1999 RX135 4speed.

This picture was taken in 2018. From then I've used the bike till 2019, during the period I managed to ride the rx on a track once

I was indeed a little stupid to squeeze the bike on a track however it was something I'll never forget. Just sending it till a corner, trying to hit the apex and pull out of the corner feeling the 2 stroke engine screaming with power. A while later I met with an accident after which the bike was damaged. The tank had a dent, the crank casing had a hole and the fork was bent. This was the goodbye for a while.

Rekindling my old love
My family didn't let me fix the bike after that and I used scooter for most of the time and had a Husqvarna Vitpilen 250 for a short time. Fast forward to December, 2023, my mother finally allows me to fix the RX. It took 5 years of convincing for me so I was on cloud 9. I called up my friend who had a friend who owns an RX and his dad runs a garage that has restored countless RXs. We set a date and took the bike to the garage in New Bel Road, Bangalore. The name of the garage is Sai Bike.

The list of things I needed replacement/repair we decided on was:
- Engine restoration
-Tail lamp assembly
-New bigger headlights
-Side stand
-Kicker
-New battery
-Monogram
-Clutch lever and Brake lever
-Handlebar
-New pair of mirrors
-Complete wiring harness
-Switches
-New indicators
-New spokes for wheels
-New front tire
-Fork overhaul
-New fork lock
-Headlight holder
-New horn
-Meter reset+repair
-Seat
-Tank dent repair

I did not do painting as it was out of my budget.
They also told me this was the last time the engine could be rebored and the next time I will have to get a block.
This was on 28 December, 2023. I was told the entire work might take about 2 weeks. 2 days later I got a call saying the work has been started. I also got images from the garage of the bike dismantled.




I visited the garage 2 days after that, on 2nd January.

This was the progress on the bike. The casing and external parts on engine were being fixed when I visited.
I was told the bike will be ready in 2 days and I was thrilled to hear it. On the night of 3rd I could barely sleep. I waited for the call next day and I got it! I headed to the garage with my mother and father in the car sometime after 4 in the evening. When I pulled up next to the garage and saw my bike there my eyes filled up with tears. I had alot of memories with the bike and I believe those times were the peak of happiness in my life. I took a moment for myself and got out of the car and walked towards the bike as fast as I could without making it look like I was running. The bike looked brand new. I got the keys to the bike and I jumped on to the bike and quickly wore my helmet to take the test ride. I turned on the fuel, turned the key. The key didn't turn. Well there was a little bit of struggle and after finding the sweet spot for the key to turn on ignition I prayed for a second. Then I gently pulled the kicker out and kicked it. The engine came to life and I had the biggest smile on my face I've had in a while as I listened to the engine.
I rode the bike around while keeping a low rpm since I'll have to break in the engine. I had no complaints about the bike, she sounded crisp, she moved fine and she made me smile.
I didn't take any photos at the garage as I was too excited to ride the bike. We paid the bill which came upto roughly 43,000/- which I think is definitely worth it considering the condition the bike was in now. Just like brand new.

The oil pump was not fixed and I use 4% mix of 2T oil. I was told to reduce the the percentage of oil mix after 1000 and 2000km mark to 3.5% and 3%. The bike has done 300+ km as of 13 January.
I'll post more updates here as I ride more!
Cheers!!

[Mr.Boss]

Congrats & wishing happy miles ahead.

Originally Posted by iamSkinny

We paid the bill which came upto roughly 43,000/- which I think is definitely worth it considering the condition the bike was in now. Just like brand new.

Can you share the breakup? to keep me updated on the latest market price. Roughly I could calculate except for the engine restoration other parts should not cost over 20k.

[Viju]

Congratulations! Bike looks lovely, but please post many more pictures for our viewing pleasure!

[ostrish]

Couldn't stop smiling as I read through. Congratulations and wish you many happy times together.

[anjan_c2007]

Congratulations, you've got an almost new bike there. Trust the bike's alignment is ok after the damage. It will now go on and on for decades if used carefully and if all precautions are observed. Recently, we had a thread here on teambhp about two wheelers kept unused for a long time, but springing back to life with the first few kicks/ selfs. The RX 100/ RX 135/ RXG emerged in second place after the Hero 100 cc bikes. Creditable since production stopped 20 plus years ago, whereas Hero still sells. And the number of Hero 100 cc bikes in use now is countless times greater than those iconic Yamahas.

The URL:-

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motor...ew-months.html (Ideal two-wheelers that are least affected if kept idle for a few months)

Owning my RX 100 since 33 plus years, I must admit that nothing beats it in reliability and consistency. Your bike looks brand new now despite your opting out from the painting job. Since no piston of a larger dimension is available in case of the bike's engine seizing in future, I would suggest you to procure a new standard sized engine block with a new standard sized piston, piston ring, connecting rod and the gudgeon pins. Please store these securely with silica gel ( the steel parts) to resist rusting. Also the commonly required spares like indicators ( these break the most) and rear view mirror are very desired spares to be kept handy. As regards the oil pump do please fit a new one whenever you can. Even post oil pump fitment its however wiser to keep on adding 2 ml per litre of 2T oil in petrol to ward off a sudden engine seizure owing to pump failure or due to an empty 2T oil chamber. The spares though available are not aplenty as it was even five years back. And these are getting costlier.

The care required is oiling and greasing on a regular basis for the desired components. This is easy and a DIY job. The air filter needs to be washed with petrol or kerosene and moistened with 20W - 40W oil at recommended intervals. Other than this the gear oil changes at regular intervals keep it fit.

Please fill Indianoil XP95 petrol with a 95 octane rating. Its a great feed for the older bikes. Happy and safe riding and all the best.

[Vaastav]

First of all may I congratulate you, and wish you many miles of happy riding.
I have a RX 100 (incidentally with the same colour scheme as your bike) and I know how much fun these vehicles can be. They are a hoot to ride and extremely nimble, all of which makes for great city riding.
Which side stand did you go for? The original one is quite useless as a stand, as it's weak and gets bent out of shape after a little use. I have the side stand from the Avenger on my bike, which is a solid piece and looks great too.

Happy riding.

[Vinturbo]

A latest and interesting story of RX restoration... Usually RX restoration threads are older and difficult to relate the costs, parts availability, etc. to the current times.
Sometimes, the garage would also have closed down (post Covid scenario). It would be difficult to get any leads.
Thank you for sharing your experience afresh. Your bike looks rejuvenated. Please share some closeup photos.
Also, if you could share some more details, a breakup (brief idea) of costs and parts. Also, the address of the works / expert contact where this restoration took place. Thanks for sharing. Happy rides with your NEW RX!

[Rajashekar V]

Congratulations, bike looks beautiful.
Sai Bikes is a 35+ year old Garage and I myself have been getting my bikes serviced here for 31 years. The quality of service is top notch and I am saying this after having tried multiple garages. I recommended Sai Bikes to a lot of my friends and those who still own/use two wheelers get it serviced at Sai Bikes. If you want good quality work go to Sai Bikes.
Landline: 080 23411303

[sanshi29]

Hi Rajashekar,

I am also searching for a good person to get my 1999 RX135 restored. I tried calling Sai Bikes on the landline you provided but it seems that this number is no longer valid. Can you pls share the google maps location for the garage or some other mobile number so that I can contact them?

thanks,
Sandeep

[Rajashekar V]

Dear Sandeep,
Please call Rajkumar on 9448041167

Regards

[Cooleo]

Hi,

My apologies for sabotaging this thread. I own a 2003-04 Yamaha Rx 135 4-speed & I wish to upgrade it to the Malaysia/Indonesia spec Rx-King. I have tried searching online but haven't been able to make any headway. I would really appreciate if someone could help me source the parts from Malaysia or Indonesia from any of the reliable websites that ship internationally. I guess this would be my last shot before moving on to EVs.

Regards,