wardlarson
I like to keep quiet.
Bought this single cylinder yamaha about a month ago for $700. I know, too much to spend on this bike but when the sun is shining and you have money in your pocket, irrational things happen
I got it basically how it looks now, engine was knocking around a bit and the turn signals dont work, didn't have mirrors, and the paint is what you see in the pictures. A little rough around the edges, but ran and drove and was definitely more my style than my first bike (83 yamaha xj750).
Got her home and over night things took started looking worse: Rear tire definitely was on it's last leg. Engine had issues idling. Front brake began to fade rapidly the next day. I had a good size puddle of oil under the bike and when I went to ride it, it stuttered big time after 1st gear, and would eventually die on me. The issue ended up being a fissure in the fuel hose which I replaced, and an oil seal that was worn out was the culprit of the oil leak.
Took it down to the local shop to get her checked out and they got me a new rear sprocket, new chain, valve adjustment, new rear tire, new oil seals, and a new front brake cable. $468 later, and I now possess a mechanically-perfect bike.
A side note about the oil seal- the kid i bought it from had jury-rigged the worn seal with a piece of copper wire to hold it in lieu of the two bolts which he had, presumably, misplaced. This was super dangerous and the guy at the shop said I was lucky to have my ankle intact, because if that thing had failed it would have been ugly!
So anyway, here she sits now, $1200 invested, oil-leak-free, strong running, and with straight handlebars. Plans for the next week include painting tank and side covers black, and using a yellow spray-stain on the headlight. Going for a brat/cafe style. Also need to figure out my blinker issues and buy some bar-end mirrors. Sorry for the novel here, I just wanted to lay down some history to begin with! Now onto the pics:
<img src="http://ward-larson.com/bike/IMG_0687.jpg">
<img src="http://ward-larson.com/bike/IMG_0688.jpg">
<img src="http://ward-larson.com/bike/IMG_0689.jpg">
<img src="http://ward-larson.com/bike/IMG_0691.jpg">
I got it basically how it looks now, engine was knocking around a bit and the turn signals dont work, didn't have mirrors, and the paint is what you see in the pictures. A little rough around the edges, but ran and drove and was definitely more my style than my first bike (83 yamaha xj750).
Got her home and over night things took started looking worse: Rear tire definitely was on it's last leg. Engine had issues idling. Front brake began to fade rapidly the next day. I had a good size puddle of oil under the bike and when I went to ride it, it stuttered big time after 1st gear, and would eventually die on me. The issue ended up being a fissure in the fuel hose which I replaced, and an oil seal that was worn out was the culprit of the oil leak.
Took it down to the local shop to get her checked out and they got me a new rear sprocket, new chain, valve adjustment, new rear tire, new oil seals, and a new front brake cable. $468 later, and I now possess a mechanically-perfect bike.
A side note about the oil seal- the kid i bought it from had jury-rigged the worn seal with a piece of copper wire to hold it in lieu of the two bolts which he had, presumably, misplaced. This was super dangerous and the guy at the shop said I was lucky to have my ankle intact, because if that thing had failed it would have been ugly!
So anyway, here she sits now, $1200 invested, oil-leak-free, strong running, and with straight handlebars. Plans for the next week include painting tank and side covers black, and using a yellow spray-stain on the headlight. Going for a brat/cafe style. Also need to figure out my blinker issues and buy some bar-end mirrors. Sorry for the novel here, I just wanted to lay down some history to begin with! Now onto the pics:
<img src="http://ward-larson.com/bike/IMG_0687.jpg">
<img src="http://ward-larson.com/bike/IMG_0688.jpg">
<img src="http://ward-larson.com/bike/IMG_0689.jpg">
<img src="http://ward-larson.com/bike/IMG_0691.jpg">