samb

the ty 175 has a long gear selector shaft , that comes from the bottom of the engine , and feeds behind the clutch basket , to the selector barrel at the top of the engine . this can be strained and twisted causing problems whilst trying to select gears . on inspection it may look OK , but when comparing it against a new one yhe damage can be seen . Sam B

The engine was a 360cc 6 speed only the same weight as a ty175 motor . It was called an ow32 by the factory who only made 3 complete engines . John shirt still has a complete bike this is sometimes ridden by pete salt. Samb

i have used vauxall sebring silver starmist very near to yhe original colour.

the back plates were slotted on all the later majesty,s 320,s , to stop the engine from running in reverse . when pulling 3rd or 4th at low revs . this could be very frightening whilst riding a section .the critical bit is setting the ignition timing using a dial gauge in the spark plug hole and a meter from the wire that comes out of the engine ( black one ) with the positive from the meter and the earth clipped to the enging casing . the magneto wants turning in reverse there is a directional arrow on the face of it . until the dial gauge reads top dead center . then push the dail gauge down until 4 full revolutions have shown on the face , the screw on the addaptor needs nipping up . Turn the magnetot 2.3mm b.t.d.c the points should now be closed , if not using a flat screwdriver about 10mm wide adjust the points . by inserting the screwdriver through the hole at the top of the magneto there is a slot wher the points are attached to back plate . it only requires a small adjustment , then go through the same process until you get the timing set at 2.3 mm b.t.d.c . i have never set the points gap on any majesty i have built or worked on .did u clean the points faces before fitting them as they come with a hard plastic coating on them it may be worth while getting a genuine yamaha woodruff key , before fitting it if the matching tapers on the crank stub and inside the mag can be cleaned up using , grinding paste . you said that the magnets were catching when you rotated the flywheel . is there any up and down play in the main bearings . the 4stroking could be caused by the condensor breaking down . the float height valve sometimes sticks when a machine has not been ridden for a period of time , so strip the carb down and remove his and check it,s action . whilst the float bowl is removed check the pilot jet is clean by removing it and blowing through it either way , the hole is smaller than a pin . never wipe the carb out with rags as the fluff only blocks the jets and holes . good luck sam b

SOUNDS LIKE THE CONDENSOR IS BREAKING DOWN , PLEASE CHECK THE FACES OF THE POINTS ARE CLEAN WITH NO PIT MARKS . THESE CAN BE CLEANED WITH GLASS PAPER , THEN PASS A CLEAN PIECE OF CARD THROUGH TO REMOVE ANY DIRT . THE IGNITION TIMING SHOULD BE SET AT 1.8 MM BEFORE TOP DEAD CENTER . USING A DIAL GAUGE IN THE PLUG HOLE AND A POINTS METER TO CHECK WHEN THE POINTS ARE CLOSING . ALSO CHECK THAT THE PILOT JET IS CLEAN REMOVE USING AN SMALL FLAT SCREWDRIVER NAD BLOW THROUGH IT BOTH WAYS THIS STOPS THE MACHINE FROM TICKING OVER . SAM B

this is correct , the fifth gear is for road use only . you should be using 10 - front 42 rear on a 520 pitch . some of the factory rides had an even bigger jump from 4th to 5th to help when in the 6 days .. Sam B

If you search in either the Yamaha or Twinshock forums for Majesty Frame, or something similar, you should find previous topics on this. Briefly, the rear shocks were angled by mounting top mount further down frame tube and moving bottom mount rearwards slightly. Swingarm length unaltered. Frame had the entire engine cradle lifted by 2" by (something like this) cutting 2" out of the top of the vertical tubes forming the V from the footrests up to the top frame tubes and by removing 2" from the bottom of the front down tubes. As the engine now sits 2" higher in the frame, it is necessary to cut away part of the frame bracing behind the toolbox compartment as the the sparkplug will now foul it due to the raised engine. The exhaust height needs to be shortened by 2" by cutting a piece out of the vertical part and welding back together. Steering headstock angle wasn't altered (on normal production/customer bikes) when angling the top mounts down using mount that go through the frame welded back and front, you also need to put a gusset in where the seat bolts on as it will bend the down tube . the bottom mount was never altered on the standard yamaha swinging arms . the shocks used were girling 2927 model 13.4" between centers . When lifting the frame if you do not slightly bend the down tubes back , and move the back subframe back the wheel base will be too short .aim for 51.5 " brill for corners but making the front wheel very light when hill climbing . the bottom of the air box also need s a section cutting off , to alow for clearence of the swinging arm the air box pipe also needs cutting shorter . These all need doing to plus other small mods . sam b majesty builder at john shirts from 1978 to 1984

the cyclinger head bolts should be set the same as the ty250 , as they were not changed when the barrel was bored out . you could always anneal the copper head gasket ( softening it to make a better seal ) by warming it with a blow lamp then quenching it in cold water . this softens the copper . the standard shocks fitted to the 250 and 320 majestys were girling gas shocks with 13.5" centres . and double springs . Sam

It sounds like the condensor is breaking down , fit a new condensor and check the faces of the points these may be pitted , if so replace them . the new points will need the protective coating cleaning off the faces with glass paper . the the ignition timing will need setting using a points meter to check that the point are closing correctly , and a dial gauge in the spark plug hole . the correct timing should be 1.8 mm.before top dead center . Sam

if the fork cap isain left on sometimes the allen bolt can be loosened off . otherwise remove the cap pull out the spring . drain the oil ,down inside on top of the internal damper rod there are 2 flat sides not sure what width this has to be held using a T bar then the allen bolt can be undone . the stanction can be then pulled apart . when reassembling before tightening the bottom bolt . work the fork leg to centralise it on the oil cut off slider otherwise it will stick down when fully compressed . Sam

scotty the early majestys had standard carb settings . with just the ignition timing retarded to 2.6 mm.b,t,d,c ( from 3.1 mm b.t.d.c ). But they had the heavier magneto flywheel weight fitted . we also used the left hand carburetor off the early rd250 air cooled road bike . with the balance pipe blanked off . it has to be the left carb as this one has the choke pull knob . a boost bottle can also be used which is mounted under the petrol tank , the rubber manifold off the early rd250 lc has the adapter pipe , and the same mounting holes .this was fitted to a number of competition bikes on the yamaha range YZ , IT and DT . this gives more capacity of the air fuel ratio , which is then pulled in to the cylinder . THE 320 MAJESTYS had a slit cut in to the top exhaust side of the air box to allow more air flow . there wasalso a full blown 350 cc majesty . but only for the factory riders . these had a lower 4th gear for better choice in sections . another good easy modification is to extend the clutch arm under the engine by 20mm . this can be done by removing the bash plate . lying the bike down onthe clutch casing side of the engine .this saves draining the engine oil removing the clutch adjusting nut and screw , mounted behind the magneto . the clutch arm can now be removed , and extended . refiting is reverse procedure . making sure the pip on the adjusting screw fits in to the recess on the pivot shaft of the clutch arm before tightening the lock nut up . Sam

I think your problem lies with the condensor . the bike will not run right unles the ignition timing is set correctly . Using a Dial gauge and a points meter . the point gap does not need setting . just a what time the points are closing in rleationship to the piston position . the dial gauge should be screwed in to the spark plug hole using an adaptor , and the fly wheel turned until the piston is at top dead center the dial gauge needs turning so 3 mm is reading on the scale. the points meter( genuine yamaha meter )needs attaching ( red ) to the live wire coming out of the ignition casing . and the (black) to a suitable earth normally the engine casing . the scale needle wants setting midway on the open scale . then rotate the magneto clockwire until the needle goes in to the red ( point fully closed ) if the needle willl not go in to the red the point need cleading. Using fine glass paper and cleanig using meths or an evaporating electrical cleaner . The correct ignition timing for a 250 majesty is 2.6mm b.t.d.c . there is also a 250 (s ) majesty which uses the standard pistion , but has had a new cylinder liner fitted to alter the porting .ignition timing 2.5 mm b.t.d.c . the 320 majesty timing is set at 2.1 mm b.t.d.c . some of the later models had the back plate slottod and rotated .This stopped the engine from getting to top dead center and going backwards when ticking over in either 3rd 0r 4 th gear . this is the procedure i followed whilst building all the majestys at john shirts from 1978 until 1984 .

a front pipe silencer on a pinky only comes apart when all the seam round the rim has been grond down by about 2mm , and some spot welds on the back side have been ground down . the original back box is also the same .Some of the after market tailpipes can be re-packed . samb

normally if a ty wont start it is when the pilot jet is blocked this requires removing with a small flat screwdriver and blowing from either end as the jet is tapered, it would also be worth while removing all the jets . if you do not have access to a compressor a brake cleaning spray will help blow any dirt away . allow time to dry before re- assembling .do not wipe round with a cloth as cotton and fluff always find there way back in to the jets. samb