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LJ70 Build Thread!
- Thread starter Ben
- Start date
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- Oct 13, 2010
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I cant see any posts by Clive, Pat? 
Thanks mate, lots of good advice there!
I turned down a trip to LandCruiser mountain park on Sunday so I could go out on the new bike!
Was a good day but it wasnt the best of tracks for the bike as they were very rocky with huge boulders! Would have been awesome in LJ, but a bit too slow n bumpy on the bike.
Managed to come off it doing a steep rocky hill climb where I dropped a gear half way up, gave it too much throttle and ended up doing a big wheelie!
Miraculously there was no damage to me or the bike.
Then I was turning around in a creek bed and I dropped the bloody thing and broke the ball off the end of the clutch lever.
Think it will take me a bit to get used to it and get confident on it as I've never ridden bigger than a 250cc off road before and its considerably taller, heavier and more powerful than a 250!
Just put an order in with Ballards Off Road, I've ordered a bash plate to protect the engine, bark busters, clutch lever and a spare one and a few other bits n pieces.
Will get some pics up over the next few days hopefully, of all the bike gear and parts I've bought and the bits I've been busy making for it.
Thanks mate, lots of good advice there!
I turned down a trip to LandCruiser mountain park on Sunday so I could go out on the new bike!
Was a good day but it wasnt the best of tracks for the bike as they were very rocky with huge boulders! Would have been awesome in LJ, but a bit too slow n bumpy on the bike.
Managed to come off it doing a steep rocky hill climb where I dropped a gear half way up, gave it too much throttle and ended up doing a big wheelie!
Miraculously there was no damage to me or the bike.
Then I was turning around in a creek bed and I dropped the bloody thing and broke the ball off the end of the clutch lever.
Think it will take me a bit to get used to it and get confident on it as I've never ridden bigger than a 250cc off road before and its considerably taller, heavier and more powerful than a 250!
Just put an order in with Ballards Off Road, I've ordered a bash plate to protect the engine, bark busters, clutch lever and a spare one and a few other bits n pieces.
Will get some pics up over the next few days hopefully, of all the bike gear and parts I've bought and the bits I've been busy making for it.
Firewout
Well-Known Member
Hi Ben,
Somewhere in the 80's I had a yamaha ténéré XT600. Way too heavy for me to do serious offroading and I put it on its side a lot of times. Always a lot of fun, rolling down a slope followed by 170kgs of motorbike. 
A fellow biker gave me the advice not too tighten the levers too much on the handlebars, so instead of breaking, they just give way and with a bit of effort, you can turn them back into position. It really worked for me.
Somewhere in the 80's I had a yamaha ténéré XT600. Way too heavy for me to do serious offroading and I put it on its side a lot of times
. Always a lot of fun, rolling down a slope followed by 170kgs of motorbike. A fellow biker gave me the advice not too tighten the levers too much on the handlebars, so instead of breaking, they just give way and with a bit of effort, you can turn them back into position. It really worked for me.
Looks like a load of fun, but will you mount the winch, Ben?...
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- Joined
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- Country Flag
Thanks guys. More great advice! [emoji106]
Replacement lever and bark busters/hand guards should be here tomorrow or Friday. [emoji41]
[emoji23]
Hoping I won't need a winch! [emoji41]
Looking forward to taking it to a proper MotoX track where I can get up some speed and do some jumping! [emoji48]
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Replacement lever and bark busters/hand guards should be here tomorrow or Friday. [emoji41]
Looks like a load of fun, but will you mount the winch, Ben?...
[emoji23]
Hoping I won't need a winch! [emoji41]
Looking forward to taking it to a proper MotoX track where I can get up some speed and do some jumping! [emoji48]
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Hi Ben,
I've been a WR450 rider for a long time. They're great bikes. As far as bark busters go, I'm not a fan of the full wrap around style with the metal inside them. Although they're very strong, they're also nicknamed "wrist snappers"... If you go over the handle bars and your hands are caught between them and the bars, snap goes the wrists. I saw someone do both wrists at the same time once. His mum had to wipe his butt for 8 weeks! he was a 22 year old man too!
Bash plates, case protectors, swivel pegs, steering dampener, pipe, etc etc... All great modifications. Before any of that get a full set of dry riders and all the protective gear.
Now for my couple of words of wisdom... EVERYBODY ON THE ROAD IS TRYING TO KILL YOU, honestly most drivers just don't bother to look both ways before pulling out these days. They'll be texting, singing, looking at themselves in the mirror and basically doing everything except concentration on the road. SEXIST WARNING! the worst offenders are females aged 17-100...! I know this is a sexist remark, but from my experience they're honestly not concentrating on other road users as much as they are about themselves.
My rule was to presume every car didn't see you, and ride defensively as if they're going to pull out in front of you. Stay safe mate. Oh and kangaroo's are not fun to crash into. many people die from them each year. Watch a movie called "Red Dog", watch it with your better half. It has the same affect on females as "The Notebook" if you get what I mean! It has a section on bikes vs roo's. It's an Australian film. Worth watching.
The WR's are very tough bikes, but make sure you change the oil extremely often, every 500km at most. They only take about 1 litre and a filter/oil change takes 5 minutes. It makes a huge difference to longevity of engine life.
I entered a few motorcross races with the WR, I did better on that than my RM250. I've comfortably jumped 60 foot doubles with it and then ridden home afterwards! very versatile bikes.
Not that good for long bitumen rides though. Your arse will be numb for days!
Welcome to team Yamaha mate.
I've been a WR450 rider for a long time. They're great bikes. As far as bark busters go, I'm not a fan of the full wrap around style with the metal inside them. Although they're very strong, they're also nicknamed "wrist snappers"... If you go over the handle bars and your hands are caught between them and the bars, snap goes the wrists. I saw someone do both wrists at the same time once. His mum had to wipe his butt for 8 weeks! he was a 22 year old man too!
Bash plates, case protectors, swivel pegs, steering dampener, pipe, etc etc... All great modifications. Before any of that get a full set of dry riders and all the protective gear.
Now for my couple of words of wisdom... EVERYBODY ON THE ROAD IS TRYING TO KILL YOU, honestly most drivers just don't bother to look both ways before pulling out these days. They'll be texting, singing, looking at themselves in the mirror and basically doing everything except concentration on the road. SEXIST WARNING! the worst offenders are females aged 17-100...! I know this is a sexist remark, but from my experience they're honestly not concentrating on other road users as much as they are about themselves.
My rule was to presume every car didn't see you, and ride defensively as if they're going to pull out in front of you. Stay safe mate. Oh and kangaroo's are not fun to crash into. many people die from them each year. Watch a movie called "Red Dog", watch it with your better half. It has the same affect on females as "The Notebook" if you get what I mean! It has a section on bikes vs roo's. It's an Australian film. Worth watching.
The WR's are very tough bikes, but make sure you change the oil extremely often, every 500km at most. They only take about 1 litre and a filter/oil change takes 5 minutes. It makes a huge difference to longevity of engine life.
I entered a few motorcross races with the WR, I did better on that than my RM250. I've comfortably jumped 60 foot doubles with it and then ridden home afterwards! very versatile bikes.
Not that good for long bitumen rides though. Your arse will be numb for days!
Welcome to team Yamaha mate.
Ah ha! That's Bo, just to give him another plug. You know when he wants to do tricks because he moves the kitchen stool over to the high cupboard in the kitchen, because his biscuits are stored in a tin at the very top, and my bro needs the stool to reach them.
Comical it is, and we call them dumb animals.
Nice resume there Asheddie, it's a long time since I've ridden a motorized bicycle on the road, but after watching an hour of bike crashes (just a 5 minute example) on u-toob, it will be an even longer time... before I ever do...
Same here, you won't catch me on one…ever. Only ever been on the back of a mates bike in a field, didn't like it. Then my art teacher left the planet wrapped round a lamppost just before one Christmas. I was useless at art until we had Terry Harbard. He was a great teacher, the whole school was stunned, it was horrible. Suffice it to say I've never had the desire to have less than 4 wheels on my wagon.
- Joined
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Thanks guys. 
Just working on an update now.
Yes I think so mate.
I will dig them out and get them scanned for you.
Remember though that I'm not 100% happy with my conversion though as in order to get the handbrake working perfectly I've had to mount my calipers upside down. Which means bleeding them is tricky as it involves bleeding the calipers off the car with a piece of wood between the pads to stop them popping out.
Once bled though the conversion is awesome! Definitely one of the best mods I've done!
Just working on an update now.
Ben, did you save the templates for the rear disc conversion somewhere? I am about to start mine soon, and having your templates sure would be nice
Yes I think so mate.
I will dig them out and get them scanned for you.
Remember though that I'm not 100% happy with my conversion though as in order to get the handbrake working perfectly I've had to mount my calipers upside down. Which means bleeding them is tricky as it involves bleeding the calipers off the car with a piece of wood between the pads to stop them popping out.
Once bled though the conversion is awesome! Definitely one of the best mods I've done!
- Joined
- Oct 13, 2010
- Messages
- 6,058
- Country Flag
Work, Lexi & Bikes!
Work has been very up and down again this week but now Bec is working it has taken the pressure off me a bit and I'm actually starting to really enjoy this new work life balance!
I've never working just 2-3 days a week before and its great having so much time and freedom to do fun stuff!
I'm sure no one has ever lay on their death bed and said "shit I wish I had worked more!"
Anyway..................
I had some work to do at the casino which was very interesting and extremely lucrative as it had to be done at night so was all overtime rate and a lot of it double time!
It was the most money I've ever earnt and easily some of the easiest work I've ever done!
The company I was working for is refurbishing the main gaming floor, so the casino is letting us have an area at a time which gets curtained off while it gets new carpet and decorated. My job was to remove the blinds and some lift off panels for the painters and put them back afterwards.
We only have an area from Monday to Thursday as they are already loosing millions having that area closed for that amount of time and they would be crazy to loose the amount of money stupid people loose there on the weekend!
The new psychedelic looking carpet going down is designed so that when punters drop their chips on the floor its very difficult to see them. Of course the millions of cameras on the ceiling, watching peoples every move can see them and they can then direct staff to retrieve them!
Having security passes and access to most areas was really interesting! Parts of it were like something out of James Bond with secret tunnels and passage ways running everywhere! There is a myriad of tunnels and you can pop out of little doors anywhere in the building and underground its like a different world with an entire community of workers and facilities!
Lexi is doing great but she had taken to flipping her food and water bowl up, sending water all over the floor, as she would play with her bowl sliding it around the room.
This was a concern for me as it meant if she did it while we were out all day she would be without water.
So I came up with a solution!
Picked up some stainless steel dog bowls, found some ply in the garage and marked out 2 circles for the bowls to drop into.
A bit of sawing, drilling, gluing and screwing later.
Lexi seemed happy!
Another thing we've found is that shes become obsessed with taking everything outside to play with in the garden.
The other night she got stuck outside after trying to drag her bedding through the dog flap!
A few wood screws and penny washers have fixed that issue!
OK............
Back to the bike.
I went shopping and as I already have a Fox jersey and trousers from my downhill mountain bike racing days, I decided to stick with the brand.
I still need to get some boots and protective gear but that will have to wait till I can justify spending more money.
I picked up a lock so I can also chain it up in the garage.
I had heard a lot of good things about Steg Pegz.
http://www.stegzmoto.com.au/STEG-PEGZ.html
So decided to knock up something similar.
These are the genuine ones fitted to a WR450.
Back to my bike.
Cardboard template first.
Cut one out of 3mm alluminium.
Drilled and bolted it on.
Found some rubber shock bushes.
Found an M8 nut fitted snugly inside them.
Countersunk the back of the alluminium.
Bolt through next and a nut tightened firmly against the alluminium.
Followed by the rubber bush and second nut.
Nylon lock nut next to ensure it wouldnt rattle apart on the trails.
Fitted on the bike.
Other side next.
Marked where the rubber needed to be to match the other side.
I made a slight improvement on this side by adding a big washer to ensure the nut cant pull through the rubber.
I left the alluminium longer than it needed to be encase I found I needed to move the rubbers further forward, but this was a mistake as riding in shorts without proper boots meant I cut my leg.
So before yesterdays ride I made some alterations.
I went for a mid week wonder up the mountain again this week which was very relaxing on the twisty forest roads that zigzag up and down.
Then some of the goodies I ordered from Ballards arrived!
A nice solid alluminium bash plate.
Hand guards.
Clutch levers.
Indicators.
To replace the cheap nasty ones the previous owner had fitted, one of which was broken.
Bash plate fitting first.
Hand guards next.
I also replaced the broken clutch lever.
Interestingly the new one is a bit shorter so maybe less likely to get broken.
I'm going to weld the old one when I get some gas for my TIG.
So yesterday morning nice and early to try and avoid the summer heat, I got my toys out and put the WR on the trailer.
Despite having not driven LJ since before Christmas she roared into life within half a turn of the key.
I picked my mate up with his YZ450.
And we hit the trails.
We rode some great tracks.
Some of the rocky hill climbs like the one below were really tough!
Lean forward/stand up to keep the front wheel down while acelerating and the back wheel would loose traction and spin. Lean back/sit down to keep weight over the back wheel and the front wheel would lift!
A trials bike would have been better.
Got the toys home and away.
The only damage for the day was loosing the broken indicator!
Before next weeks ride I want to give it a service and change the oil and filter, clean and re-oil the airfilter and fit the indicators.
I need to get some proper boots, not only for safety reasons but to stop my legs ending up black every ride.
I spotted in my local paper a competition to win tickets to next months 4wd show. So I emailed through my name and address to be put in the draw.
Then this week I got an email.
And a few days later the tickets arrived!
Now if only I could have the same luck on the lottery!
Work has been very up and down again this week but now Bec is working it has taken the pressure off me a bit and I'm actually starting to really enjoy this new work life balance!
I've never working just 2-3 days a week before and its great having so much time and freedom to do fun stuff!
I'm sure no one has ever lay on their death bed and said "shit I wish I had worked more!"
Anyway..................
I had some work to do at the casino which was very interesting and extremely lucrative as it had to be done at night so was all overtime rate and a lot of it double time!
It was the most money I've ever earnt and easily some of the easiest work I've ever done!
The company I was working for is refurbishing the main gaming floor, so the casino is letting us have an area at a time which gets curtained off while it gets new carpet and decorated. My job was to remove the blinds and some lift off panels for the painters and put them back afterwards.
We only have an area from Monday to Thursday as they are already loosing millions having that area closed for that amount of time and they would be crazy to loose the amount of money stupid people loose there on the weekend!
The new psychedelic looking carpet going down is designed so that when punters drop their chips on the floor its very difficult to see them. Of course the millions of cameras on the ceiling, watching peoples every move can see them and they can then direct staff to retrieve them!
Having security passes and access to most areas was really interesting! Parts of it were like something out of James Bond with secret tunnels and passage ways running everywhere! There is a myriad of tunnels and you can pop out of little doors anywhere in the building and underground its like a different world with an entire community of workers and facilities!
Lexi is doing great but she had taken to flipping her food and water bowl up, sending water all over the floor, as she would play with her bowl sliding it around the room.
This was a concern for me as it meant if she did it while we were out all day she would be without water.
So I came up with a solution!
Picked up some stainless steel dog bowls, found some ply in the garage and marked out 2 circles for the bowls to drop into.
A bit of sawing, drilling, gluing and screwing later.
Lexi seemed happy!
Another thing we've found is that shes become obsessed with taking everything outside to play with in the garden.
The other night she got stuck outside after trying to drag her bedding through the dog flap!
A few wood screws and penny washers have fixed that issue!
OK............
Back to the bike.
I went shopping and as I already have a Fox jersey and trousers from my downhill mountain bike racing days, I decided to stick with the brand.
I still need to get some boots and protective gear but that will have to wait till I can justify spending more money.
I picked up a lock so I can also chain it up in the garage.
I had heard a lot of good things about Steg Pegz.
http://www.stegzmoto.com.au/STEG-PEGZ.html
So decided to knock up something similar.
These are the genuine ones fitted to a WR450.
Back to my bike.
Cardboard template first.
Cut one out of 3mm alluminium.
Drilled and bolted it on.
Found some rubber shock bushes.
Found an M8 nut fitted snugly inside them.
Countersunk the back of the alluminium.
Bolt through next and a nut tightened firmly against the alluminium.
Followed by the rubber bush and second nut.
Nylon lock nut next to ensure it wouldnt rattle apart on the trails.
Fitted on the bike.
Other side next.
Marked where the rubber needed to be to match the other side.
I made a slight improvement on this side by adding a big washer to ensure the nut cant pull through the rubber.
I left the alluminium longer than it needed to be encase I found I needed to move the rubbers further forward, but this was a mistake as riding in shorts without proper boots meant I cut my leg.
So before yesterdays ride I made some alterations.
I went for a mid week wonder up the mountain again this week which was very relaxing on the twisty forest roads that zigzag up and down.
Then some of the goodies I ordered from Ballards arrived!
A nice solid alluminium bash plate.
Hand guards.
Clutch levers.
Indicators.
To replace the cheap nasty ones the previous owner had fitted, one of which was broken.
Bash plate fitting first.
Hand guards next.
I also replaced the broken clutch lever.
Interestingly the new one is a bit shorter so maybe less likely to get broken.
I'm going to weld the old one when I get some gas for my TIG.
So yesterday morning nice and early to try and avoid the summer heat, I got my toys out and put the WR on the trailer.
Despite having not driven LJ since before Christmas she roared into life within half a turn of the key.
I picked my mate up with his YZ450.
And we hit the trails.
We rode some great tracks.
Some of the rocky hill climbs like the one below were really tough!
Lean forward/stand up to keep the front wheel down while acelerating and the back wheel would loose traction and spin. Lean back/sit down to keep weight over the back wheel and the front wheel would lift!
A trials bike would have been better.
Got the toys home and away.
The only damage for the day was loosing the broken indicator!
Before next weeks ride I want to give it a service and change the oil and filter, clean and re-oil the airfilter and fit the indicators.
I need to get some proper boots, not only for safety reasons but to stop my legs ending up black every ride.
I spotted in my local paper a competition to win tickets to next months 4wd show. So I emailed through my name and address to be put in the draw.
Then this week I got an email.
And a few days later the tickets arrived!
Now if only I could have the same luck on the lottery!
Last edited:
Pat
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jun 3, 2014
- Messages
- 932
- Country Flag
Ben,as regards work why not give a try to go out on your own doing handyman work by advertising in the local paper.
A number of boys from our local rugby club have built themselves very healthy businesses that way.Have a think about it.
regards Pat
A number of boys from our local rugby club have built themselves very healthy businesses that way.Have a think about it.
regards Pat
