kevin j

If you need to change the front wheel anyway, look for a later gasgas or possibly other brand, and put the money towards converting it to disc brake at the same time. I posted info and pics in a past thread. Huge inprovement, and the mono isn't eleigble for vintage anyway (at least in the us.) kcj

Assuming you have checked with a known plug, removed kill switch, checked plug end, etc. Ohm the coil, I think it was 1.6 or 1.8 ohms. See if it is open or shorted. check wire. Check point gap and crank bearing on left side. As the bearing gets bad, the slop affects point gap. ?tightening up the gap (I think 012 to 016 is stock?) some might help. That will ONLY confirm a problem, the fix is new main bearings, but that is not too bad, and available from a bearing supply house quite cheap. kcj

Pics attached. One shows the tools apart, one with them nested for storage.Two tire pumps I got at Rec Equipment (REI) camping store. One is folding handle, other has two settings: high volume/low pressure, and high pressure/low volume. Both very slow, but they do work. I have another one that takes a C02 cartridge, plus works as a manual pump. Works better and faster. and No, I don't know where I got these tools either. I think NAPA, they do say Made in USA, but no brand name. k

I have a pair of those, they look like screwdrivers. One is the rasp, the other is the plug tool. I glued a piece of nylon tubing to side of each one, then the points slide into thte tubing of the other one, so they sort of nest together. I think I got them at NAPA store, maybe 5 years ago. I will dig them out of the trailer and get some pics and see if there is a brand name on them. The normal T shape is hard in a fanny pack, with or without plugson the sharp ends. Barring that, you might break off the plastic T handles then tack weld the tool part to a piece of rod or an old cheap (soft metal) screwdriver. kcj

ouch, even more expensive over there. For 3/16 to 1/4 id, about 6 mm, cost me about 2 to 3 $USD per foot. appears double that price or more there. might be cause to rethink my statement, but here, I spend the money once, lasts for at least 10 years, even in snowmobile and chainsaw applications. I guess bottom line is watch the lines and change often, especially easy to do at the prices you paid for the neoprene. kcj

In US we have a yellow green material called Tygon, I think St Gerbain plastics? Awesome fuel line, can see air bubbles, highly cehmical and heat resistant. Expensive, well worth themoney if you can find it. kcj

Maybe get a smaller bike for a while? Honda XR50 or Yam PW50 or something. My duaghter could not deal with the clutch starting to learn on TY80 long back. Went to a tired PW50 the rest of summer, then over the winter she decided she wanted a 'real motorcycle with a clutch'. Once she decided on her own, it worked great. I probably lost $200 or 300 in the shuffle, money well spent to keep her positive mental attitude about riding. kcj

not mc, but oil related: coworkers brother drained oil on their 150 hp john deer main farm tractor, replaced filter and drain plug. In for dinner, will finish up after that. you can see it coming. his brother came out from dinner, started tractor and headed for town with loads of corn. gee, it seems to be losing power. thousands of $$$.

could you post a pic? possibly the far end is threaded also, the bolt is screwed into the linkage, and the nut you removed may only be a locknut. Try to unscrew the bolt. I have several TY but all 85-86. Barring that, try this slide hammer arrangement with what you call a 'mole grips', we call vise grips, on the end.

I had a DS7, gold and black 72, bought new for the wife in 1973. Eventually, I converted to RD350 cylinders and 6 speed gearset. quite the screamer (for those days at least) difficult to ride well, and very rewarding when everything was right. It currently sits in the ex wifes pole barn unused for 18 years. I'd like to get it and continue the project, disc front end would be next. Easily available on ebay. Fun bike, many long miles on it. kcj

Now you're got me thinking . . Given the clutch, clutch springs and the slave cylinder remain the same On the pro,not typical springs, the thickness of plates and adjustment changes the spring force dramatically, so correct setup is important.

there is probably a way to do that by filling the pump and hooking lines around in a circle to keep some lube in there. Barring that, by the way the pump is built, I think it would eventually seize up and cause damage. The pump is a reciprocating piston, stroke varied by throttle cable position, but driven by engine speed. So the amount of oil injected varies by engine speed + throttle load. Great concept, great for street bikes. just a pain when mixed in with a bunch of premix motorcycles. Anyway, I would expect the piston to eventually seize, then the increased force to move piston would cause the plasttic gear to fail. That is inside where bits can cause other damage. Maybe disconnecting the cables, plug off the ports at carb/intake to cylinder, keeping some oil in the tank, but taking pump output line and connecting it back to the suction line (a brass tee fitting) would be an easy way to accomplish this. I never thought of that before this writing, but I think it could work. That said, I have seen several there the cable and lines are disonnected, but pump still running. Have no idea how long they ran before I saw them, but I would not go that route. kcj

I took them off, to be sure of lubrication and also made a lighter throttle spring. If you decide to go premix, the pump must be removed, not just disconnected. If remove the cable it will still pump some minimum oil amount as though the pump is at idle. Then, at actual engine idle, it gets 2x the normal oil: oil through pump, + oil in premix. That can really mess up the exhaust over time. To pull the pump, need to split the case as I recall. Can't just remove it from the outside. Then make an aluminum plate to blank off the hole. Plug oil lines on carb/engine and make a new one piece throttle cable without the splitter box. I used universal outer housing, but smaller than normal bicycle brake cable for the inner core. Made the throttle a lot softer for small hands. as I recall, I ran autolube until the first engine service, then removed the pumps when the engine was apart anyway. th\ese were old TY, that my kids rode in 1995 to 2000 or so. kcj

You may think Britain sucks, but mainly just because living up close there. I'd say the same thing about here (USA). Ultimately, I think it's because PEOPLE choose to do bad stuff, but never my responsibility of course. Look at the garden of Eden: adam blamed the woman, woman blamed the serpent, not my fault. Everybody has religion, we all worship something: god, nature, self, pleasure, power, etc. etc. and utlimately when MY needs and wants get thwarted, I get mad, etc. back to personal responsibility for choices and actions. So, my recipe, put equal loads of GG, Mont, Beta, Sherco, and some mixed in Scorpas, on a transport to middle east. Instead of killing each other over nataional or ehtnic 0r religious divisions, maybe they can argue with Raplh on oh, yeah, well my bike is better. Knowing human beings, probably kill each other on whether it was really a dab or not! k

an air impact tool may help you remove the bottom screw, but I have had ones that doesn't even work. Sometimes they loosen partially, then just spin in the bore. Attached is a pic of two tools: small modified socket for the TY175, and fabricated tool for the TY350, question on another post. also inserted some notes from my .doc files on seals and replacement. TY175 FORK SEALS Fork inner damper removal: To hold the inner rod, need a 5/16 square socket, grind the sides out, weld to end of tubing about 18 inches long. Basically there is a cast alum spud with 5/16 across flats, 2 flats milled on it. I was able to get bottom bolt loose, but could not thoroughly tighten it later without making this tool. FORK SEALS FOR TY175 are 30 x 40.5 x 10. TCM does not have 40.5 One supplier lists 30 x 40.5 x 10.5 B&J has 40.5. SEAL REPLACEMENT Seal removal is tough, the wire retaining ring was rusted into place and tapered ends were broken off. Had to hack saw a small slot on outside of slider, in line with the groove, then use fine screwdriver tip to punch wire retaining ring inward. Occasionally, the hacksaw blade catches the ring when finishing the cut and spits out the wire ring like a bullet. Used small rolling pry bar, the 90 degree end, under the seal. Hooked my slide hammer vise grip tool onto the pry bar and pull seal slightly outward. Pull with one hit, then move tool 90 degree increments around the inside of seal and pull again. Work around and around and the seal comes out. If hit too hard, seal cocks and wedges in tighter, may damage ID of slider. Installing: B&J seal has garter spring on both sides with lip on both sides. One direction has a slight molded backup lip/groove, so I put that towards the oil side. I use the fork socks over the seals and dust boots. Dust boots NLA from Yamaha. TY350 in response to the post on other thread, the second item in pic is for TY mono forks. 7/8 inch, 22? mm, hex nut welded to end of stainless steel tubing, fits right into the hex on top of damper innards. I welded a 3/8 drive socket to the top end of tube so a ratchet fits it to turn. FRONT FORK SEALS 36 x 48 x 10.5 mm rubber case two lip. KYB 43 13361 01509 73S 36-48 was on originals. Assuming made for KYB forks. Can't get from TCM, has single lip only. TCM TC4 rubber case, 'linear' seals for mc forks. 2 lips + dirt wiper. May be high friction? B& J had 36 x 47, too small, is sending 48. 48 appears correct. ps: the spots on the stainless tubing are not part of functional feature, are only weld flash on the tube. Before the days I had an auto darkening welding hood. Also, the hex nut appears much larger in the pic than the top of the damper rod, only due to distance from camera. It's an old picture. Hex nut fits into the recess in top of damper rod. kcj

I will post a pic of a tool on the thread about TY175 forks kcj

Exhaust may be plugged, especially if it has run rich or rich on oil a long time. Is the oil pump totally removed, or just disconnected? If still there, it would have continued to pump oil at small amounts, so when engine idles it gets essentially twice the normal oil amount. At least until the first tank full of oil runs out. Then the muffler is restricted. Have seeen that several times. Common TY80 carb issues: -pilot jets plug easily, just remove the screw and blow cleaner in through the hole for temporary fix. until proper cleaning. -Slides wear. then tough to get idle properly -small brass pin on side gets loose in carb body, vibrate partly out, slide can then rotate or bind up and won't return to idle. Make sure brass pin is in and put some epoxy on outside. -air filter clean? good luck. great little kids learning bikes. kcj

you can get big money into old bikes fast, as least over here. Personally, I'd ride it as is until your ability passes it by. In the mean time, watching ebay or salvage yards for used barrel and piston and also a larger bike. If something reasonable turns up, update it. If not, either sell it or keep as a spare buddy bike, and get a larger bike for you. I ride my daughters 200 160 actually) and I think it forces me to learn technique rather than just throttle power. Actually hasn't taught me technique, but I am trying. Like 'free puppies', the project starts out simple and the costs quickly rise. (Trust me, I am doing a house remodel right now, currently at at least double the planned costs.......) kcj

I've never had a 250, but on the 350 retarding the timing softens it up a lot. I think stock is 2.0 BTDC, running about 1.5 to 1.7 makes it more sluggish and softer. kcj

I was thinking of this, as the point system gives great first kick spark, but wears when not maintained. Since my Ty175 only gets aoccasional use, the points get dry and wear. I thought of the early DT ignitions. The input I got from vintage TY experts in thos country was that the early tries at electronic igntions (even major OEM japanise brands) were not a lot more reliable than the points. makes sense, given electronics in the 70's. I was recommedned the kit that Bob Ginder and Keith Dunlop developed, B&J racing, but too spendy for the use I give the bike. So, I jsut maintain the points every couple years. kcj

looks like they are moving up to modern bikes. I got offered 2500 + shipping for a TY350. this site is dedicated to code 419 scams in general http://forum.419eater.com/forum/ Somewhere in here are the 1+ year annals of 'the confessions of Cole', scamming the scammers, sending boxes of old computer parts, etc. the guy who keeps threatening to 'dead you by the mob and the governor...' It is long but a great read. http://thescambaiter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=109 kcj

I have seen this done two different ways. -Cut and weld approx a 3/4 inch piece into the flat arm of the clutch actuator. -A bolt on tab, die cast aluminum part that bolted onto the end of clutch arm. It extended the arm, and curved to move the pivot point very slightly (I think outboard). I don't know where to get one, the normal trials outlets in the US haven't seen them in many years. Should be easy to make if access to machine shop, or even a hacksaw and Dremel tool and carve it out by hand. I can measure one up if you need more info. Might take a few days. In both cases, the critical part is the tiny clevis on the end of the bracket that accepts the ball of the cable. Clevis does not come with cable, it is riveted to the arm. When the extender is added, the rivet is ground off the original arm, and the clevis fitted to new bracket with a bolt. If the extender is robbed off (say from a salvage engine), then the original arm has no clevis to accept the cable. Bottom line, the clevis is not a separeate part from Yamaha, and hard to find. If anyone knows of source or acceptable interchangeable part, I'd like to know. Also, thread the OD of the ferrule on the bottom of the clutch cable, and add a lock nut where it goes through the bracket at bottom of cylinder base bolt. Having the cable solidly bolted to bottom reduces the flex/slack motion and helps a lot. With these two mods, you will have a smooth one or two finger clutch. kcj

Might be the needle and seat not sealingoff when float rises. that is common. shut off the petcock, run it until the bowl is dry and the engine dies. turn on the petcock. 'Sometimes' this rush of fuel into refilling the bowl dislodges dirt and temporarily solves it. Then the dirt migrates to the pilot circuit and bike won't idle unless on choke. Take the fuel screw out, squirt in cleaner, blow air with a small piece of rubber tubing, through the pilot hole. Reinstall spring and adjusting screw. That blows the dirt away from pilot circuit. If either of these tricks solves the problem, you at least know where the dirt is. Cleaning the tank, adding inline filter, and cleaning the carb thoroughly are the necessary fixes. I have jetting info at home if I can find it in the next few days.... kcj

caution: Friend's daughter bought a China scooter via internet. Said Yamaha engine, Yamaha parts interchangeablity. Ended up being a Yam engine quite old that they had basically taken design and made identical pirated parts. yes, yamaha based, but no way to tell which parts came from which Yam model sold here in the us. and no parts support on the internet seller.... My experience may be totally irelevant, or maybe the 'yam interchangeability' refers to hand levers or tires? k

I have no knowledge of Villiers engine, but from similar bad experiences with 60's two strokes, I would look at these items: -plugged exhaust (had one that ran all day happy at 32 mph on the road, but would seize within half a minute at 35 mph. Found a restricted exhaust. At heavier loads, more air flow through exhaust, more back pressure, more residual cylinder gas, it overheated the piston and would seize. It would immediately restart and run again all day at 32 mph.) -piston tolerance, or ring end gap, expand under heat and load. Probably not the real cause as you say it ran well before, but could be aggravated by anything causing overheating. -air leaks, crank seals, carb boots, causing it to run lean and increase heat, which might cause the seizure. -timing changed? either retarded or advanced can cause higher exhaust temps -anything in carb restricting fuel flow, run lean, heat up. -fuel petcock or hose restriction, lean out at higher fuel demands. had a bmw that ran great all the time, but at higher speeds was lean due to petcock restriction, burned valves. kcj