Issue link: http://trailridermagazine.uberflip.com/i/1162341
September 2019 35 The real me consisted of cleaning and sanding all parts for paint. Yeah, it's a ra le-can job but decent results can be obtained in your back yard with good prep and quality paints. John Deere offers a fantas c selec on for us dirt bikers. Their medium and high-gloss black paints flow nicely, and their black muffler paint is also an excellent product. If goes on thick and covers a rusty old pipe very well. As for the custom Levi seat, it had to go. A quick search on eBay found one for 55 bucks. Incredibly, the original foam was in great shape. The steel seat pan was wire wheeled, sanded and also got several coats of John Deere black. Recovering an old Yamaha seat's really a piece of cake. There's no gluing or rive ng like Euro bikes; the cover is fastened with a number of metal clips. Easy-peasy. Reassembly day is the most rewarding of a vintage proj- ect, best handled on a day off with no one around but the dog and Led Zeppelin collec on. This is when it all comes together. As one who likes bling, I'd replaced as much of the rusty hardware as possible. These old DT Yamahas are pre y bikes when done right, as they have a lot of chrome nuts and bolts. I've been buying hardware kits from Mo- todad24 off eBay for quite some me now. The quality of Motodad's parts is awesome as well as rela vely inexpen- sive. His kits make projects like this really pop. As for the controls, even though the stock bars weren't bent, I'd been hoarding a pair of NOS chrome Yamaha DT bars that got the nod for this project. And for grips, our buddy Paul Stannard hooked us up with a new pair of Preston Pe y Products Works GP grips. Period-cor- rect while being so much easier on the hands than those horrid stock waffle grips. With the triple trees painted sa n black, all the new chrome hardware glistens in the sunlight. As for the electrical system, all connec ons were inspect- ed and cleaned. The wiring harness had seen some minor hacks but basically was in good shape. As one who's never been a fan of huge stock tail light Yamaha Enduros were fi ed with, a low-profile Lucas style light was found online for under 30 bucks. With this project close to comple on, I'd like to thank my buddy Caleb Humphrey for laying this one in my lap. It's been a lot of fun to do, and given the fact that it was gi - ed, the total investment is well under 500 bucks. Oh yes, brand-new bikes are awesome, but when you really think about it, both old and new are quite capable of accom- plishing the same job. The job of trail riding!