I have been really excited to start this project for a few years now.  I got the bike out of storage last week and gave the Carb a good cleaning-  put a little fuel in and she fired right up on the 2nd kick!

A little history on this bike... I bought this from Rick C who had done an AWESOME job turning this MX into a regular looking / functioning street legal enduro.

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It is such a cool bike the way it sits... but knowing it is a full blown 71 DT1 MX with matching numbers... it just has to be tuned back into the original set up / bike.

I will be starting the full restoration on this bike as well as another 71 DT1 Enduro as I will be working both of them at the same time... I just find it easier that way as it makes building out a needed parts list easier and more timely to complete both bikes.

I will start another Thread for the Enduro and will dedicate this one to the MX.

So- here is my starting point- The bike runs amazing and is in really good shape overall... will just require a complete tear down- cleaning- painting- polishing and reassembly.  Going to be a fun process!

First step was to pull the bike out of storage- pull the Carb for a good cleaning - completed put some fresh fuel in and the bike fired right up on the 2nd kick!

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Obviously the Vision for this bike is to achieve this level of detail!   Will be posting my progress here along the way.  

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I'll be following with great interest!
Around the year 2000 my uncle gifted me his non-running, worn down 71 DT1. He purchased it lightly used when I was in high school. It was used on his western Catskill's dairy farm to check on the herd and as a runabout as well as for weekend jaunts around the Catskills and as far as the Adirondacks in NYS.
It became bruised and neglected when his grandsons became old enough to ride. It was finally parked in a lean-to shed for more than 20 years after it threw a stretched out chain that broke the mag cover.
I felt a sense of honor that he offered me this memory fillled heap of mud covered metal with two soft tires. After bringing it home, cleaning it up and making a list of all the parts it needed, I became overwhelmed with the scope of the project. I could have just gotten it running and stopped there. But that would not have been very satisfying. And with 3 children in high-school it was apparent that it was not tbe time to focus on such a project.
So now is the time! The untouched rolling chassis and several bins of parts have following me from NYS, to East Tennessee and now Central IIllinos.
Looking forward to your builds!

Good to see you are still kickin' Greg !
I trust you will do it up the way I wanted it to be in the first place.
Here is why I had to build it street legal.
I went to the Dept of motor vehicles to get a, " Off road Green sticker "
The lady ( who must have had a bad day ) snapped at me when I asked for a green sticker.
WHY !?! Did it have a Red sticker??
I said no, no sticker at all.
She throws a License plate down and promptly said, " $104 dollars"
Changed the course of my MX build.

If anyone can do it justice, It is you Brother !
I will be watching this and building my 76' TT 500 race bike and starting my 73' ATMX show bike . But I WILL be watching this fantastic build.

Wow, beautiful. Just love it as it is & sounds good too.

Hey Rick-  this bike will ALWAYS been known as the Rick C bike in my world! 

Cool to hear the history of the bike and why you set it up the way you did and to know that turning it back into the original MX setup was your vision.... I feel better and at peace now about taking all the street legal items off now- lol!

It been a pleasure owning this bike and have enjoyed taking it on a few rides when I was in Colorado around our Cabin.

The bike is in such good shape it will be mostly just a tear down- Cleaning- Polishing and re-assembly.


Anyway will post up pics and updates once I start on the tear down... 100 degrees here in Texas this time of year... so lots of Air Conditioned Shop time this time of year for sure.

Good Afternoon all-

Well today started on the 71 DT1 MX (Return to MX) Project!

As discussed below this bike is a Factory 250 MX that was set up as an Enduro by Rick C.... he did a Great job with all the special wiring and Ignition parts to make this all work and be fully functional as a Street Legal Enduro.

But as we both agree- this bike needs to be returned to it original set up... so now it Begins.

First step was to remove all the electrical wiring- Lights- Horn- Exhaust etc...  These parts will go into my stash to be used on future restoration projects I am sure.

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Once I completed this- want to start mocking things up to see what I have and identify things that are missing...  with a couple of very key parts- GYT Pipe- original Front Fender etc  I will be substituting what I do have to make the bike as close to original as possible to the original look and function.

In light of this... I have decided not to repaint the Fuel or Oil Tank as they are in almost perfect shape and have a very cool Patina-  needs to be preserved for originality and value.

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The oil tank has a slight dent but should easily be able to pull it out with no damage to paint.

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I have sourced the Original look Front Number plate 10 x 12 injection molded- 

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For the Exhaust Pipe-  removed the stock DT1 pipe and will use the Hooker Pipe that Rick provided to me with the bike- it was missing the Chrome Hooker heat shield but It will work and look great-  I have an Idea on how to add a close to original look heat guard similar to the GYT pipe using a simple piece of Gutter guard Mesh that can be found at Home Depot... The Piece on the bike now is just for idea on look... I am working on the permanent one that I will use adding all the proper width,  length and  bends- once achieved I will simply tac weld the edges to the pipe following the top and bottom seams on the pipe..

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Will be starting the bike up here shorly with the Hooker Pipe to see how she sounds... should have a nice braap to it!   Video coming here shorlty.
 

Nice!  She fired right up and the Hooker Pipe sounds Great!  

Time to get this project underway!

This morning was Tear Down time... 45 min later just a pile of parts.

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Everything is in Very Good shape... going to be a smooth project to make this bike look awesome

Engine looks great- Cylinder Walls and Piston fine shape-  will dive into it a bit deeper once the cleanup is completed... will be checking all the Seals to see if any are in need of replacement- Connecting Rod and Piston Rings will be measured for Spec Tolerances.

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Appears the Stator has my buddy "Deet"  stamp of certification so you know this is done right!

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Speaking of Deet- I will be sending the Oil Pump to him as it is leaking around the Plastic wheel

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Now time to Degrease everything to get ready for Paint & Polishing-  Frame is next up

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Could you tell us your degreasing process?
And I’ll assume you do your own painting?
I’m nosy and making this take longer, huh..
(:

Sneezles61

I use a method that has served me well-  it is just old school cleaning.  

I use a product called Purple "Super Clean"-  Spray it on the part and let it set for a minute or so... then take a Scrub Brush and scrub it- as the grease begins to break down and become liquefied... just rinse it off with water.  Then wipe everything down with a clean dry cloth.

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For the Engine and any other parts that I do not want near water.... will just use WD-40- spray it on and let it soak in then bush it and wipe off.  I keep a Ton of paper towels on hand for sure.

For the Frame and Gloss Black parts Painting- here is the process and product that works best for me.

Once everything is clean and dry- I use Scuff Pad to go over the entire surfaces to just remove the gloss of the existing paint and to make sure everything is nice and smooth-  at this point I will just wipe everything down with a good Wax and Grease remover to make sure it ready for the first coat of paint.

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For the Gloss Black- I like to use the Krylon Paint... good quality- goes on very smooth-  the key is to apply the first 3 coats very lightly.  once dried after each coat I again use the scuff pad to lightly smooth everything out.  for the 4th and final coat.. this coat will be a bit heavier putting a nice Gloss Finish.

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For the Silver parts- I use the Dupli-Color Silver and then Clear Coat those with the Gloss SprayMax 2K.

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That is my over all process and has held up very well even on all my daily riders-   Hope this helps.