Restoration of a Yamaha R15 v1 (2008)!

Well, to start off, I’d have to rewind to about six years back; 2008. That’s when my father had decided that I was ‘mature’ enough for a powerful motorbike; and left it to my choice- anything upto a lakh. Before I let you all jump into the whole rich kid scenario, I come from an upper middle class family. My father had always limited the luxuries that he provided me and my brother with; making sure we don’t grow up spoilt. Honestly, it probably did work- we grew up appreciating the small things in life, well most of the time. Now, my (elder) brother at that time kept praising the Pulsars- and my father bought him an Activa in his 3^rd year of work. So he was, I should say, rather surprised when my father agreed to buy me the R15. Jealous much? Not really- we both could afford whatever motorbike we really wanted with our salaries; but a gift from father- sure, why not.

Fast forwarding six years- broken relationships, new relationships, moved abroad, left bike with family, came back for a break, and now. When I got back home, the R15 was not what I remembered it to be. Had scuffs and scratches all over, paint chipping off everywhere, broken bits here and there, and stammered at high RPMs.
At that point I realized that all the small things that my father had gifted me- watches, books, toys- had been ruined with time, or gone missing. I knew I had to restore the R15, so that it’d be something I cherish, and probably something to set an example to the next generation- as a gift well maintained.



The first things this badly needed were tyres. The existing ones were near bald, and had to replace them before disaster struck. But like all of you know, the tyres were impossible to find. Waited a week, two, a month, but nothing. Finally replaced them with the front tyre of the R15v2 and a Pirelli MT75 110/80 at the rear. Next was a paintjob. I gave the bike to a famous custom design workshop here at my hometown- they did a semi-good job, but also ruined it. By the time I got the bike back, it had scratches at all new places, and also at the newly painted tank! I had also asked the same group to get me a pair of projectors fixed. Fast forward- projectors rattled- improperly sealed- opened up- not repairable, burnt it. That’s when I realized I had to get stuff done myself; rather than trust big names and wannabe designers.



Whilst all that was happening, I’d placed a huge order at Yamaha for several body parts. Took about three months to reach me because apparently that colour was nowhere to be found. The rest of the work done is listed as quick points:

• Powder coated alloys; new wheel bearings, spacers, oil seals. Lubricated all moving parts with lithium based greasebefore assembling it. New rear wheel damper.

• Replaced front brake calliper (broke a bleed screw which was impossible to remove); cleaned rear calliper, sanded the rear pads and cleaned piston. Replaced new DOT4 fluid in both.
• Sanded the front disk (only the painted black part) to get rid of the chipping paint. The rest of the disk(s) were polished with Brasso metal polish.

• Lubricated and thoroughly cleaned the swingarm. Cleaned the front sprocket and tons of grime surrounding it. Cleaned rear sprocket. Replaced chain with the earlier released model (2.5k).

• New air filter. Replaced engine oil with Mobil1 racing 10w40; new oil filter and O seal. Replaced coolant fluid. Replaced with stock NGK sparkplug. Replaced throttle cable and adjusted free play.
• Replaced several body parts including right/ left handle switch panels. Painted fuel tank and engine covers, Replaced dampers on top of speedo and surrounding the headlight assembly. Touch painted several parts.

And the final product with pictures taken earlier this afternoon:




To do:
Replace fork oil. Valve clearance adjustment. Do something about the discolouration of exhaust kit. If time permits, re-sand and powder coat the alloys again as I didn't quite like the finish of the alloys that I'd received.

Feel free to input any thoughts, and whether I missed out on anything important.

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