YZ125 with metal shavings in oil

[steveooo]

I am thinking about buying a used Yamaha yz125.

The guy selling it said that there are some metal shavings (dust) in the oil from the clutch wire. He said that it is normal and that it is nothing to worry about.
What do you guys think? is it normal? should I buy it?

Any help would be very appreciated!!

FYI - its my first bike...

[steveooo]

By the way its a 2001 yz125 -
The guy also told me that the top end was recently rebuilt and the bike has lots of after market parts.

[cor3720]

Don't walk, run away from this deal!!!!!!

[steveooo]

Really? I guess thats not normal :-)

What would you look for when buying a used yz125?

There is a few of them for sale in my area, all 2001, all around the same price.

[dhighlan]

The OEM baskets and hubs do spider and chip. If it is just aluminum it is more normal than you would think. Take a magnet and see. Sounds like you might find a great deal there if the Guy is being that honest. I have found a couple great deals where the person was so honest they scared people away. If it is steel I would be concerned but a little Aluminum wouldn't worry me if it still shifts clean and there isn't a ton of drag in the clutch.

[pragmatic393]

Yep, a little Aluminum powder is normal ~ Don't sweat it. Now chunks of steel are another thing. Ditto what DH said

[steveooo]

ok great, ill look into it some more!

its a kid and his dad and the do seem honest. They said they did allot of research on the issue and they found that it was not a problem.

This is what they said:
"there's some metallic powder in the oil from the clutchplates. Since they're aluminum when you shift they rub against eachother and produce a fine metallic powder."

[Threeyz125s]

Well, I should've checked the color of the oil before we bought our 2001 yz125 because during the 2 ride out, 2nd gear was having a little trouble staying in gear and the oil hadn't been changed since we bought it, but the guy we bought it from said that he just changed it. Anyway, it poured out with a hint of silver in it. We added the new oil, rode a couple miles and it wouldn't stay in 2nd at all, so we said that we better get back to the truck and went home. So, we dug into the bottom and it was fried. The bearing was completely gone and took some other stuff with it little by little. Just my 2 cents worth.

[dhighlan]

Cool ...let me ask you this 3yz's....do you really think the oil you drained out has something to do with your bearings? If so you might need to check on getting new bearing but not necessarily the ones for your bike.

[pjg351]

Originally Posted by dhighlan

Cool ...let me ask you this 3yz's....do you really think the oil you drained out has something to do with your bearings? If so you might need to check on getting new bearing but not necessarily the ones for your bike.

Hey Dhing! nice to see you back

[Threeyz125s]

Well, I just got back from the shop to get a first hand look at the bottom end of the 2001 yz125 where Bill Bune Enterprises in Anoka, MN had everything taken apart and layed out nice for examination. He showed me that the silvery color/tone to the oil came from one of the shafts reaming out the left side case cover which is located in pretty much the center of the casing, in between the bearings. We did further research together online and found a couple left half casings to replace mine and found that a couple other guys must have had the same problem as me and were trying to "dump" these cases on ebay by playing "dumb" with a disclaimer about that very issue I had. Once that bearing at the end of the shaft gave way, the gears must have started to wobble around in there and a couple gears got rounded off corners and will need to be replaced as well and one of the shafts was really roughed up on one end from something grinding into it for a bit too. Bill thought that the bearing was probably going for a while and since the bike was new to us, we were not as familiar with the sounds from it. So... here I am online with you'all.

[dhighlan]

Hey Pete, been absolutely crazy here...Boy racing, new job (70 hrs a week right now), daughter get older, you know how that goes.


3yz's did you happen to stick a magnet to to the oil? What bearing are you referring to?

[Threeyz125s]

No magnet, at the shop we found small chunks of metal, probably from the gear corners. Before, when we were out riding and changed the oil, it came out silver, like someone had mixed in a bunch of graphite powder or silver, enamel paint. It wasn't brownish, red clutch oil color.

[Threeyz125s]

Actually, here is a pic. on ebay of a left case cover. There are 2 bearings shown and in between is a cap looking thing that looks like a flattened out thimball set right into the case. One of the shafts sets into that and was reamed out, melted, ground down, etc.

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[dhighlan]

The powder is aluminum not steel. You have AL clutch plates and probably the basket and hub. The steel has much much higher shear strength and will not powder causing the color change. The oil color and Trans problems are not related.

Pete by the way how did your Boy recover from his ankle injury?