kevin j

this was intesting just for the photo. amazing how far the technology has come even within the water cooled era. k http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...sspagename=WDVW

I assume you monitor ebay. there was a green monster on there a few weeks back. kcj

as a routine habit, whenever picking up the bike I grab the muffler and pull it outward to make sure its clear. TY, and GasGas. and yes, I do that a lot. k

great reply charlie. I think rypusa has some pictures to go along with the process.

PS. I use the air gun to remove, and to very loosely assemble, but like charlie I use a wrench for final tightening. Even my 3/8 gun has the potential to take the threads out of the nut, or possibly off the crankshaft. I just don't want the risk.

another home made version. Fits flywheels, sprockets, and clutch hubs outside and inside. Looks tacky but its old and was quick at the time.

I have this often on the older stuff, especially after sitting a while. Assuming you still have the cable clutch, tighten the handlebar adjuster as far as possible, this disengages tit a bit further. put bike in 6th gear, release clutch lever, and rock and back and forth until it breaks loose. loosen up the adjuster and go. If it happens repeatedly, look at the clutch plates, if the grooves are too shallow and worn they don't release well. also if fluid is too thick. k

chris-harley friends of mine repeatedly point out those are not oil leaks, the bikes just ooze charisma everywhere. kcj

I have several 1975+- TY175. One is a fun original vintage bike. One is a beatup (but top shape mechanically with 250 tubes, wide pegs etc) buddy bike to teach kids to ride on. This one suddenly died and lost spark. This has been a recurring problem with all of mine. Stators seems susceptible to heat problems. Is this common? SO, before I start chasing the gremlins again, I'd like to consider changing to solid state ignition. I know B&J has a kit but its pretty expensive for the value of these bikes. Are there any later Yamaha solid state ignitions that will bolt in with minor modifications only? (i.e dremel tool, not NC machining) I am interested in low end, smooth power, and long term reliability. Don't need quick or high end power at all for the riders this bike is used with. Also looking for some better shocks, but can't rationalize the Falcons costs. BTW: I did find carb parts are almost unavailable, but the DT100 carb is the same body size with controls on the correct side. Floats and needle/seat interchange, but jetting & slide must be moved back & forth. I have purchased several on ebay cheap enough for spares, but do need more jets and slides. Anyone know of good sources? tks, kcj

ok BW what exactly does this entail for a job title! see you at duluth. kcj

10% faster on the loop also means 10% faster in first and second gears. Be sure you want that before changing the sprocket ratios.

Didn't find the tool, but found a picture of it. Will paste below. If you have stock TY175 forks, there is a flat sided aluminum nut/tang on top of the internals. Tool I made from a 3/8 drive 5/16 square socket with the sides ground out. After the picture was taken I welded it onto a length of stainless tubing so it could not come off the socket extension while buried down inside the fork. The tool at bottom of picture is for TY monoshock front forks. The top of the internal parts is shown bottom left. I beleive the hex nut was 7/8 (22mm?) just welded to a length of stainless 1/2 OD tubing with a 3/8 socket welded to top to accept a ratchet. From my notes files: FORK SEALS FOR TY250 a/c/d 74, 76-77 ARE34 MM X 46 MM X 10.5 MM. Garter spring on seal side, plus std lip wiper outside. Aftermarket K & S, Taiwan bought on ebay. Listed as many Suz TS & TM 250. Yam YZ 100 & 125, MX125, DT250 of 70

I made a tool from a socket I believe. If I can find it I post a pic tonight. 175 is differnt from 250 Impact gets it loose usually, but I am cautious about tightening back up with the impact unless you are familiar with the gun and how tight is will be. k

I did engine research many years back and became very skeptical of most of the claims. The multi prong plug design has been around in hundreds of US patents dating back to turn of century. re: dyno testing, I would have to see a brand new plug run first, not comparing old plug with new super plug. That said, I am totally convinced the fine wire plugs are a huge benefit. Finer wire lights off better under semi fouling conditions, low speeds, cold temps, etc. etc. Read: trials and two cycles. The benefit is the fine wire, not the super material. Standard iron tip would get too hot and burn up if made into the fine sharp point. The fancy/expensive materials allow the fine wire, which gives the advantages, not a direct result of the material itself. There are some heat transfer benefits of the other materials, but thats another topic So, once I put some car coils and fine wire plugs on my RD350 twin, it totally transformed the personality of the beast. Plugs lasted forever, didn't foul, and it started so easily it was incredible. Since then I have used the fine wires in every application I could get them for: trials, lawnmore, chainsaw, etc. Well worth the money IMO. kcj

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...mMakeTrack=true kcj

Great idea Al.

good point on widening the braid. also, I should have clearly noted two cautions that I forgot: 1. Use some light heat from teh flame to dry the liquid flux out of the joint before putting into hot solder. any remaining moisture flashes to steam and can blow melted solder out at you. 2. When all is done, clean the flux acid reisude throughly and lube with penetrating oil to prevent any inner corrosionin the wires. Even ss can be affected by residual acids.

I prefer to buy, but make usually due to time or because its an odd part no one has. I try and use the factory soldered end on the carb end and my solder joint on the throttle end. Figure that way if my joint is bad, parts don't suck into the engine. Has never happend, but I always worry. put the nipple on before cutting to length, else you have to thread frayed wires through tiny hole. I use liquid dip acid flux. Then use a solder pot made from 3/4 inch copper pipe cap with a srew or wire for a handle. Heat the solder pot til all molten, dip in the cable end until it heats and solders on. Doesn't overheat the joint, doesn't expose the wires to torch flame or they oxidizxe and weaken., k

I have bikes using modern tubeless and vintage tube type. To me, no question: stuffing in a plug or two to finish the day vs. wheel, with bead locks, to remove and disassemble and patch tube makes the choice. I would not put a tube in an original tubeless tire. I have used silicone, and slime, and rim band dry, and rim band with silicone. I will try finding the US version of this sikaflex. sounds interesting. k

It actually does work. As the coil voltage builds up, the voltage across the normal plug gap increases until it ionizes the air in the gap, which then turns conductive and the spark happens. With a fouled plug, some of the voltage/current leaks off across the insulator and the voltage can't build up as fast and sharply. If sluggish enough, it misfires. With the extra gap from wire to plug, the voltage has to buld up high enough to jump the first gap. Once the arc starts, the voltage loss across that gap drops way off, and the spark hits the actual plug gap sharper and faster. Touchy tradeoff between too much extra gap reducing the spark, vs. the extra gap helping the rise time. Two strokes need fast rise time of the spark as much as they need sheer energy in the spark. One reason for the CDI and other electronic ignitions is this faster rise time. As far as sheer energy, the old points style inductive magneto is about the hottest, but that's only one factor. kcj

I am totally biased to use fine wire plugs (platinum etc) in all two strokes. They start better, last longer, and resist fouling. Can run an entire season on one plug with no problems even on old air cooled stuff at 60:1. Even use them in my saws. The $6 cost is more than offset by the reliability for me. kcj

mostly personal preference. I tie off the the bike above the suspension, for opposite reasons than oceanvibe. I want some suspension spring action holding the straps tight. Tying cars down on trailers for example, want the suspension holding the binders tight. I also use spring clip chain links (carabiners) on the trailer end of the strap so it cannot come off in any way. Slipped through the web loop, snapped on to the trailer loop, and ignore the actual hook. kcj

Almost everything I tighten gets Never Seez grey antiseize paste. Better, more uniform torques, not rust or gall in place. Have some amazing bolts in highly corrosive,hot grinding environments where, outside of the never seez coated area, 3/4 of the bolt body is corroded away, yet still able to remove the nuts with a hand wrench. Oil or water in the hole, especially verticle head bolt holes in engine block, does what charlie describes above. Don't ask. OTherwise for me its the left hand drill bits usually, and the spline type shouldered extractors. I don't have TIG, but have done the weld trick occasionally welding a flat washer onto the stub end, then a nut to that. HRS post about applying some heat is definitely a a help. kcj

for pressure/vacuum testing, I have a 'MityVac hand pump with built in gauge. goes 30 InHg to +5 psi I think. About $40 in a kit. Neat little device. I would NOT depend on the pressure regulator-most likely quite fine, but the cost of failure is severe. Using the propane torch method (unlit) you could check for air leaks when idling. Two things stand out to me: 1. You said putting hand over the carb inlet shuts it right down. That would indicate any air leaks are not major and serious, or at least not enough for WOT running. 2. You also said (I think) the slide acts normally as it moves up 5 mm then takes off and pulls fully up to WOT condition. 5mm is quite a bit for an engine under no load, is it running quite higher rpm by then? It should not refuse to return on the spring, even in a runaway condition, unless the slide is being sucked against the wall, or if vacuum gets to the top of the slide area. Are the vent tubes in place properly? Is the slide and carb bore smooth and ungalled? cable etc have been addressed already. Here is a long shot: If sufficient fuel loads up in the crankcase bottom, then it goes to high idle, the high air velocity can indeed start picking up large amounts of fuel off the crankcase bottom. Closing the throttle should shut it down though, which you indiciated it does. the old Detroit Deisel 2 cycle diesel engines (with oil in the crankcase, but an air box around the cylinders) had one really nasty habit: if they idled a long time at cold temps, unburned fuel built up in the airboxes. The first time the engine was brought up to rpm, increasing air flow started picking up this puddled fuel and the engine went wild. Since diesels control by fuel injection, no throttling of the air at all, there was no control of the engine runaway speed. If the overspeed system was still working, it would pull the emergency air flap closed and maybe save the engine, but do other damage in the process. Your engine has a throttle on the air (or should). Either the slide, or putting your hand on it stops the air. Ideally of course, change the carb entirely to compare, but at least I would check the carb vent lines to the top, and change slide springs with another bike known to run fine. I think the vacuum is pulling the slide up, or that the spring is too light to bring it back down against whatever forces are pulling or holding it open. keep us informed a very interesting (to us as observors on the sidelines!) problem. kcj 5 mm is quite a large opening for an engine under no load. If the speed picks up to fairly high