While there were 3 bikes I bought and sold for profit leading up to my purchase of this 2001 Yamaha YZ250, this is really the bike that lead to the builds I do today. This YZ250 was listed on Craigslist for $500 and I bought it on September 30th, 2019. The motor had already been pulled from the frame, and the seller explained to me that the bike ran before he tore it apart but made an awful noise in the engine.

Up to this point, I had never touched the bottom end of an engine, but was becoming comfortable enough as a mechanic that I saw this as the perfect opportunity to learn. In fact, there were many firsts for me on this project. I laced wheels, installed a seat cover, replaced bearings, and rebuilt the suspension. The budget was certainly a factor, and my end goal was still to turn a profit while making not only run well, but look good too.

At the very beginning of this project I decided to set up my GoPro and time lapse the process. I wanted to do this entirely as something to reflect on because I thought it was cool. I ended up uploading the video to my YouTube channel where I quickly forgot about it. Months later, I checked my channel only to find the video had exploded and reach hundreds of thousands of views! At this point, I realized I was onto something and decided to continue making videos of future builds.

Watching this build back, there are many things I’d have done differently. That said, that is part of the beauty in it. It is satisfying to watch this video back and see how far I’ve come and how much I’ve learned. The YouTube video was my first video to surpass 500,000 views. I ended up with $1,885 invested in the bike total and sold it for $2,800.

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