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How I restored a 1999 Yamaha RX135 to OEM+ conditions

29th February 2024, 16:15 by Rahul Nagaraj

For every Rs. 100 of petrol, I had to add Rs.10 worth of oil directly into the tank for the break-in period.

BHPian Petrolhead1209 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Winding back to the year 1999, a time when I wasn't born, my dad's friend placed a booking for the RX 135. The waiting period was around 6 months at that time. 5 months in the guy needs some cash. But the name cannot be changed before delivery of the vehicle. The vehicle rolls out and straight into my dad's hands where he becomes the second owner on paper That's where all this started

Moving forward by 2 years is when I was born. In the days of kindergarten, my place on that bike is perched on the fuel tank with my feet on the crash guard merrily. As the years passed I became the pillion. I grew up with this machine.

Once I finished my 10th Grade, Dad handed me the keys and said "Go ahead, ride it". The younger me was very excited. Dad gave me a total of 5 instructions on how to ride and I was on my own. 20 minutes go by and I'm thorough in riding bikes. My love for the bike grows immensely as I potter around the pocket roads mastering the craft of butter-smooth gear shifts. The bike is still in good condition with its fair share of minor scuffs and scratches. 1 year later one of our acquaintances wanted the bike for a day as his bike was being serviced. He brings back the bike with huge gouges on the top of the tank. Turns out he placed his welding equipment on the tank. Aargh. It was an eyesore.

The next year COVID hits. The bike then goes into a garage for storage as a scooter better fits the bill for getting groceries. I had my NEET exams and other academic stuff that year so it sat in storage for a while. This is around the time I've gotten ample access to the internet and the outside world to know that what I've got is an absolute gem of a vehicle. I started to realise how well-balanced and joyful it is to ride. I'm now craving to take it out but the circumstances are not in my favour. It sits another year in storage.

Finally taking the bike out and claiming authority

After a long 2 years, in June 2022, I finally decided enough was enough and I needed to take it out. I'm stubborn this time with my dad and after a couple of weeks, he takes me to the garage where it's sitting under covers gathering dust. Filled her up with a bit of petrol, and 5 kicks and she roared to life. The familiar brap brap sound fills my ears, an ode to the good old days. I take it home get it washed and straight to the mechanic to get a check done mechanically all good. The seat bottom was cracked and the speedo was disconnected. Got all that fixed and next was to get the papers in order. She was registered in KL but now since it is to be used in Bangalore decided to register it in KA. Got all the necessary documents and 3 weeks later a new registration number was issued. She's now road-legal.

Where restoring this beauty is coming to fruition

Entire 3rd year of college she served me well taking me to and from the metro station with absolutely zero hiccups in the entire year. Fill her up with petrol and that's pretty much it. Come June of 2023 and I have around 3 months before college starts again. I wanted to go all handyman and dive in head first but at this point in life, I cannot afford a single mistake on this. Around this time was my visit to Kerala and then my uncle RX135 was in all its glory completely done up and in amazing shape. I was sold. In July I sent the bike over to Kerala via train to completely get done up and completely entrusted in my uncle's hands (huge shout-out to him for handling everything for me and relaying feedback to and fro from the mechanic to me and back amidst all his work, this would be impossible without him)

Here the long wait started. My uncle used to give me an update every 10 days or so. Due to it being the Onam season combined with me not requiring the bike on an urgent basis, my project was kept on the back burner.

These mechanics were very very thorough with what they've done on the bike. The chassis was twisted ever so slightly to the left so they got that done. All the nuts and bolts were all swapped out. All the rubber parts were swapped. Immaculate work these guys have done. Everything was executed with meticulous attention to detail that I've rarely seen. Not a single stone was left unturned to make this the perfect bike.

A couple of pictures from the rebuild.

After all the mechanicals were fully sorted out and ready to go with the engine tuned perfectly, It was time for the cosmetics and oh boy was I excited. Wheels I went for the classic spoke wheel 18 inches. Opted out of the 16-inch rear wheels from the Yezdi as they simply don't look good. Got OE from Hero Honda as they are practically the same. The rear tyres still have a good amount of tread left. Front tyres were changed to Ceat.

Cosmetics

Boy oh boy was this the most anticipated part of the whole build. I contemplated a lot over the various colour combinations that I could choose for the bike. A colour change was on the cards for a while but no colours spoke to me as I'd liked them to. A deep shade of grey was also considered but it was just too boring. And didn't add as much as it took away. Emerald Green from the Rolls Royce colour palette with metallic flake was an option. But something about the maroon was just nostalgic and hit home.

So some inspiration later, a colour was chosen. A deep red heavily inspired by Rosso Fiorano from Ferrari. And this shade hits hard.

The plan initially was to restore it perfectly to factory condition. But as time passed I got the idea of an OEM+ build. A part of this was the custom paint shade which would not require a change in the RC. Part 2 was the engine cover and the clutch cover. The original paint is a sort of light silver with nothing special about it.

Went with a lighter gunmetal grey colour to somewhat compliment the deep red that I'd gone for. Now to decide where all this grey went on the bike. After a lot of thinking, the wheel drums, chain cover, engine components, and front forks were painted in this colour.

The sticker set was stock I decided. Considered the RX 100 sticker set for a while but the pinstripe was a bit too minimal for my liking. Told them to lay the sticker set and then spray a final clear coat over the stickers to seal them in. No worries about that peeling off now. All the chrome parts were rechromed fully like the exhaust, mudguards etc. Did try swapping out the instrument cluster but the new ones just didn't look authentic compared to the OG. The key set was changed entirely.

After all this came the assembly of all the parts together. This by far took the longest. The painting was finished by the end of August. Assembly took a lot of time. Around a month owing to lack of manpower and holidays combined. Slowly but steadily she was built up and towards the middle of October, my uncle took delivery of the bike. And she was beautiful. The paint fits the finish. All immaculate.

Instructions received from the mechanic were:

Speed limit is 40 km/h for the first 1500 kms after which I should get the tapestries and everything tightened if anything has come loose. Tighten up the brake levers and clutch cables etc.
For every Rs. 100 of petrol, I had to add Rs.10 worth of oil directly into the tank for the break-in period.
Another 1000 kms of cautious riding and she'd be ready for life.
I was assured that provided I followed this break-in period correctly, the bike would be good for another 100,000 kms. A bold statement from them but I'd not expect less from these amazing people.

My uncle pottered around town for a couple of days so that any errors could be corrected before sending it over.

1 week later, I received the bike at the Railway Station, filly packed with bubble wrap and foam and old sacks to protect all the gorgeous paintwork. Filled her up with a bit of petrol and she started in 1 kick. Idle was amazing. The exhaust now was a bit more metallic in sound than what it was before but not a drastic change.

The first pictures from when I picked the bike up

I've now ridden the bike for around 1000 kms in these 4 months that I've had her.

And she's smooth. Smooth. Very refined but still that old-timer feel. Everything runs perfectly. No unnecessary clacking noises like before. One kickstart every time. I've been getting good mileage too. Around 40 km/l owing to the conservative riding that I've done for the break-in period.

A before and after reel I made. Quality is much better but YouTube compression.

Am looking for some upgrades to do. Will list them out below, would love some help that I can get on this:

Wider tyres for the front and rear. Something about slightly wider tyres at the rear and front is so drool-worthy. I'd like to fill the arch a bit more at the rear. Am running 18-inch spoke wheels so kindly suggest which tyres I should get
Something to do with the headlight. I don't do much of night riding but still, there is a severe lack of lighting.
I was thinking of wiring the horn directly to the battery instead of the dynamo because I've got no horn at idle. Need some guidance on how to go about this.
PPF or ceramic coating. Since the paint is relatively fresh, how long do you guys recommend before I add a protective layer to the paint? Mainly the tank is what I'm looking for. Am just using the Turtle Wax Spray Ceramic to make it easier to clean.

This build was a restoration of sentiments - a repository of countless stories. To me this thing is not any ordinary 2 stroke legend, it's a blast from the past. A diary book of my life from childhood to adulthood.

Some of my favourite shots