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Home » Bike builds » Yamaha XT250 MX Scrambler

Home » Bike builds » Yamaha XT250 MX Scrambler

Yamaha XT250 MX Scrambler

by Tom / Sunday, 17 March 2019 / Published in Bike builds
custom Scrambler XT250 yamaha motorcycle parts

1990 XT250 Yamaha Scrambler build

 

When you mention a Yamaha Scrambler XT to any bike enthusiast a few things come to mind. Yamaha’s XT series set the bar in off road racing for a long time, and since then they’ve been synonymous with durability, performance and reliability. So of course, I have one rolled into the garage that looks anything but. Rolling Chassis, motor, box of parts and 3 words “make a scrambler”.

Vintage Motocross SCrambler Yamaha XT purpose built moto

The easy route would have been to mount a nice rounded fender and the run of the mill round tail light with roll stitched seat, probably lower it so it looked nicer, throw some 50/50 tyres on and be done with it. I don’t tend to take the easy way out, and the Yamaha XT250 MX scrambler won’t be any different. Why not build a Custom Motocross bike? I couldn’t think of a good enough reason, so that’s exactly what I did.

Tear down was simple, I think the only thing I removed was the old front fender, the rest was already missing. The light frame + monoshock of the Yamaha Scramblerlends itself to a simple design. The top seat rail was maintained with the bracing modified to better suit my ideas for the tail and exhaust. Next I dropped the forks through the triple clamps to sit nice and high on the front, and modified the rear suspension to suit.  Overall lifting the Yamaha enduro bike 35mm.

Yamaha XT250 scrambler Tracker

The wheels were stripped out, rims polished up and re-laced with stainless steel spokes. The freshly built wheels wrapped in a Dunlop D606 Off road tyre 17” rear 21” front. Once the bike was back on its own feet the exhaust was fabricated. The stainless steel header was put together piece by piece, and finished off with a modified FMF Powercore 4 muffler. The Muffler was cut + shut outside and in, and the link pipe was fabricated to snake inside the sub-frame. One of my favourite little details, it looks pretty trick.

Custom motorcycle mufflers exhaust shop

Taking further styling queue’s from the Motocross bikes I grew up on, I went about hand making an aluminium fender to finish off the rear of the bike. Built to house an LED brake light and minimal mud guard, The tail piece was shaped and welded to accentuate the bare knuckles off road feel of the project. An important detail for me here is the opposing angles of the muffler and rear fender from the side . Crossing over each other just slightly is something you’ll often see on 4 stroke Motorcoss and Enduro bikes, that I always liked the look of.

XT250 SCrambler australia custom motorcycle

Completely hidden under the seat, the electrics on this bike are fairly minimal. A 12V conversion was needed, with the addition of an Antigravity Battery. No starter motor, and the lighting circuits were further simplified with the use of the Purpose Built Moto Black Box control module. The black box with its lighting control, built in circuit protection and now a kill switch circuit takes care of everything electrical. Run through a set of push button switches on the handlebars, delivers a super clean finish.

Custom motorcycle switches LED lights Australia

The XT250 Scrambler bars are a Renthal low rise MX bar, standard levers, pro-grip grips, and some custom scrambler mirrors that you can learn how to make here. Staying on the front of the bike, a universal Super motard fender was fitted over the 21” front wheel and a custom aluminium front plate built to house 2 x LED bar lights + PBM hollow tip LED turn signals. The headlight mounting plate was finished with some stainless steel brush guards, which I now know, (thanks to Bruce at Iron & Resin Garage) look like a set of kitchen drawer handles!! Fuck! I guess these things happen when you spend your life in a garage isolated from the outside world. The digital gauge mounted off the top triple clamp is a Koso enduro style dash, with warning lights and built in Tacho.

custom scrambler motorcycle australia XT yamaha

With the Styling all but sorted the motor was dropped out, cleaned up and a new clutch put in to handle the mighty 13.5 HP this ball tearer was putting out. The carb and intake was also upgraded with a Mikuni Flatslide carburettor and DNA Air filter put on. When re-building the Carburetor I was shocked to see someone had painted INSIDE the intake!! Yep, some 100% A-grade matte black was used to make sure the carburetor was blacked out. For those playing along at home….Don’t paint the inside of your carburetor. Everytime someone paints the inside of their carburettor a motorcyclist buys a step-through scooter, nobody wants to see that. Once wired up and firing, the XT250 was Serviced + Tuned on the Dyno by an old mate of mine Jamie at Dynomite Moto Brisbane.

custom bike parts australia cafe racer scrambler DNA filter

The one thing that was retained on the Yamaha Scrambler XT  as factory was the tank. One of the last tin tanks on these bikes the White, yellow and grey combo was too good to change. A set of reproduction factory decals painted in and the new fenders/ hand made guards painted to suit. The Custom MX style bar seat was finished and upholstered by Jamason from Timeless Autotrim (we share a shop) with some grey and yellow accent pieces.

Motocross custom scrambler vintage

From where the Yamaha XT250 MX scrambler is now, you would never know it was a once neglected and mistreated farm bike. As with all scramblers, you know you’ve done a good job when they look good clean, but even better dirty. Test riding this bike on a farm property with a few gravel roads and mud puddles soon proved my assumption right. A Motocross inspired custom scrambler would be a shit load of fun. Box ticked, onto the next build.

Check out the full gallery of the Yamaha XT250 MX Scrambler completed

Check out the video of the Yamaha XT250 MX Scrambler build

Custom cafe racer parts scrambler parts

Custom motorcycle builder australia Scrambler cafe racer

About Tom

My purpose throughout this endeavor has been delivering the build experience to those who otherwise may not have ever had the chance. Taking an inclusive approach with your custom motorcycle project and focusing on making you a part of the experience. In parallel to this I also pour my energy into the manufacture of high quality, detail oriented and above all easy to install components for your motorcycle project.

19 Comments to “ Yamaha XT250 MX Scrambler”

  1. Al Rench says :Reply
    August 3, 2019 at 12:12 am

    Hello Tom,

    Your project is very well done. I would like some help regarding part numbers for the anti-gravity battery and purpose built moto black box control module. Is the battery more compact than the stock lead-acid battery? Was there anything else done to the electrical system in terms of converting to 12 volts? My project will be less customized than yours. I am building a better and more serious trail bike–leaning it toward TT250 specifications. I would like to have the option of using turn signals, but my current plan is to eliminate them. Among my goals is to trim the weight wherever possible.

    Thanks for any help you can offer.

    1. Tom says :Reply
      August 3, 2019 at 10:10 pm

      Hi Al,

      The Black Box module can be found here:
      https://purposebuiltmoto.com/product-category/control-relay/
      The Antigravity battery used is a 4 cell unit.
      The 12 Volt conversion is a little complicated to explain, best to do your own research there.
      Glad you liked our build! make sure you sign up to our email list and youtube for the build videos!

  2. Wayne says :Reply
    December 17, 2019 at 7:59 pm

    Hi what size is the Fcr carby u used and what size jets did you use

    1. Tom says :Reply
      January 2, 2020 at 12:00 pm

      The carb was previosly fitted, I believe it was a 32mm suited for an XT500 but we found it hard to jet small enough to run the 250.
      Time again id go a 30 or 28 carb
      Tom

  3. Anonymous says :Reply
    December 31, 2019 at 8:08 am

    WHATS THE SIZE OF THE REAR TIRE. IS IT A 130? OR IS IT STOCK SPEC

    1. Tom says :Reply
      January 2, 2020 at 12:01 pm

      From memory its a 130 rear yes.
      Tom

  4. Lewis says :Reply
    April 19, 2020 at 12:36 am

    Hey Tom, What year and model XT is this? Ive got the same bike with the same decals/finish but cant trace the exact number & decals to refinish the tank. Can you lend a hand here?

    1. Tom says :Reply
      April 20, 2020 at 10:06 am

      This is a 1990 XT250 Last of the tin tank models I believe.

  5. Anonymous says :Reply
    October 11, 2020 at 5:38 am

    Hey Tom, what brand throttle assembly and levers did you use? Bike looks sick!

    1. Tom says :Reply
      October 12, 2020 at 9:30 am

      Man, I cant even remember. we use so much different gear on our bikes!

  6. Anonymous says :Reply
    October 30, 2020 at 8:13 am

    Hey Tom, what did you do about the mono shock? I have one of these and mines toast, can’t seem to find any info on rebuilds or replacements. Thanks!

    1. Tom says :Reply
      October 30, 2020 at 11:03 am

      Hey Mate,

      Send an email to Joe @ Ride Dynamics in Yatala. He sourced a new shock for us on this project.

  7. James says :Reply
    November 23, 2020 at 11:57 am

    That’s a 1980-83 model aka Rambo first blood bike. Yamaha had surplus XT parts in the late 80s so they build some older model XTs and sold then along side the current year models. I’ve got a XT250 with 1978 on the plate, but its an 1980-83 model. So yours was build in 1990 with 1980-83 components. Nice build btw! Have you tried to register it? p.s. You wouldn’t have original front fender still laying around?

    1. Tom says :Reply
      November 23, 2020 at 2:00 pm

      Hey James, the bike has been rego’d for a few years now yeah, we dont have any of the original parts left over.
      Tom

  8. Mark says :Reply
    December 19, 2020 at 8:08 am

    What brand front fender? Most “Supermoto Front Fenders” are star wars looking. Yours is clean. Thanks

    1. Mark says :Reply
      December 19, 2020 at 8:10 am

      UFO Universal Design 1 Supermoto Front Fender?

      1. Tom says :Reply
        December 19, 2020 at 2:13 pm

        Yep thats the one mate.

  9. Alan says :Reply
    July 10, 2021 at 11:45 am

    Hi Tom,
    What model Mikuni flat slide carburetor did you use? When you tuned the carb, what jets, needle, and slide did you use? Were there any issues when fanning the throttle from the 1/8 open position–any flat spots or a bog? I would like to try your set up.
    Alan

    1. Tom says :Reply
      July 10, 2021 at 12:36 pm

      Check out my comment to Ryan, I’m not going to give you every minute detail on our carbs.
      Motorcycle tuning is a case by case basis and definitley not a one size fits all.

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