YOUR CLASSICS

Some folk learned to bake bread... but Jake Alexander and his dad overcame pandemic-induced tedium by rebuilding a 34-year-old Yamaha

Restoration special featuring a Yamaha XT350 and a father and son determined to beat the boredom of lockdown

THIS 1986 YAMAHA XT350 project came about from the desire to ease the boredom of lockdown 2020. My father, Richard, and myself set about finding the perfect bike, with something ’80s and Japanese in mind. Having trawled various online auction sites and adverts, we stumbled across this gem via an Instagram ad. The bike was a barn find – it had been hidden away at the back of a shed in deepest Oxfordshire for 20-odd years. My dad had previously owned an XT during his youth and, although I’m an engineer more used to working on film sets, with time on my hands I was well up for a challenge. The bike was rough, but had a very low mileage and hadn’t been neglected. And, most importantly, it was complete. Once we’d brought it home, a long shopping list of parts was compiled, including wheel bearings, brake rebuild kits, engine gaskets, a carb kit and a full set of cables. Then the stripdown commenced.

As this was our first project together, trying to work to a structure was important. We bagged and tagged parts, bolts and washers and took far more photos than was strictly necessary, all to make the eventual reassembly easier. Engine tolerances and seals were checked and the forks rebuilt. Every component was completely stripped and carefully cleaned. Age and experience were definitely on my dad’s side – he also had the patience to polish the skid plate back from its worn and pitted exterior and modify it to sit nicely under the manifold.

One of the few missing parts was the plastic chain guard, but I meticulously fabricated one from metal (in a bid to avoid any further cleaning of the bike). Once we had the bike down to a bare frame, the worn and rusty tabs were removed and any untidy welds were carefully smoothed, with an eye to achieving a quality finish. The frame, wheels and various brackets were

‘IT WAS ROUGH, BUT HAD A VERY LOW MILEAGE AND HADN’T BEEN NEGLECTED’

then sent away for blasting and powder coating.

We had special plans for the tank and plastics. A good friend of ours, Phil at Studio45 in Ipswich, was the man for the job, even though he’s more accustomed to painting one-off Harleys than old scramblers. After a chat about design and how we wanted to make our mark on the bike, we were confident Phil was going to produce something exceptional – and we weren’t wrong! Supersleek speedblocks in a retro design with a custom twist really set this bike apart.

Reassembly was a smooth process, and passed with no real dramas. The only issue we encountered was with the under-tank vents, which were being imported from Australia but were stuck in customs.

The best decision my dad made was to change the colours from black and red back to the original white and red. The red frame against the crisp white really

‘THE UNDER-TANK VENTS COMING FROM AUSTRALIA GOT STUCK IN CUSTOMS’

With the plastics away, Richard gets to grips with the chassis

Frame was stripped of rusty tabs before being sent for blasting and powder coating

Initial stripdown of the 1980s XT led to the compilation of a lengthy shopping list

Magnesium-wrapped exhaust headers lend this XT a decidedly custom appearance

Skid plate was meticulously polished and expertly modified

4: New chain guard might be heavier than plastic, but looks the business

Modern take on Yamaha speedblock design was the work of Studio45 in Ipswich

3: Jake transfers dimensions to metal sheeting before cutting commences

2: Zero-cost prototype: thank heavens for cardboard boxes

1: Replacement of plastic chain guard called for accurate measurements