sglenister Posted April 14, 2009 Share Posted April 14, 2009 Hi all, As you can see from my bike, I'm new(ish) to bikes having bought myself a TDR125 to get through my test. Actually, I grew up around bikes and always wanted one, but had to wait until my old man passed away to get my first bike. Although he had bikes from the age of 12 until he was in his 50's, I wasn't allowed near them! Anyway...my TDR is a German import. It's a great little bike, but it will need some tlc over the year. I am really shocked at how little information there is about bikes on the net. I emailed Yamaha and got a polite reply saying they knew there was "more to be done." I don't even know what model my bike is. So far, any replacement parts I've bought have required a bit of "retro" fitting by my grinning mechanic - thankfully he's pretty cheap. Is it just me or is there a lot to be desired in the world of online biking? Yamaha looks to be crying out for someone with an online vision. They've got all this data about bikes dating back years but its only available via anecdotal means. It's not difficult to get a database up and running that would allow you to list every part/part-number of every bike in the last 20 years. I can't believe Yamaha haven't done this. How easy would life be for anyone owning an import. I'm seriously considering learning German so I can get the most of the workshop manual I managed to track down! Am I missing something? Is there a secret Yamaha site? Or do I just need to grit my teeth and start grilling the forum? interested in your experiences... Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gas up - Let's Go! Posted April 15, 2009 Share Posted April 15, 2009 do I just need to grit my teeth and start grilling the forum? Thats about the measure of it, maybe a smile behind them teeth though !! There are alot of model specific sites out there in webland, usually if you ask about on here someone will know about it. There are a few with lots of information on this site, and some with none at all - but who can point you in the right direction. It's all advice, you just need to choose what to follow and what not to. The trouble is, manufactures don't want to take away the dealers work by putting information on modern bikes, then when bikes get older it kinda falls by the wayside. There are lots of people with years of knowledge, but these guys would rather be in the workshop or out on the road than creating a database which, as they grow demand a huge admistrative input - not the kind of thing a man in overalls is best at. You got a good point but I fear it will never be resolved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyDtr08 Posted April 15, 2009 Share Posted April 15, 2009 Hi all, As you can see from my bike, I'm new(ish) to bikes having bought myself a TDR125 to get through my test. Actually, I grew up around bikes and always wanted one, but had to wait until my old man passed away to get my first bike. Although he had bikes from the age of 12 until he was in his 50's, I wasn't allowed near them! Anyway...my TDR is a German import. It's a great little bike, but it will need some tlc over the year. I am really shocked at how little information there is about bikes on the net. I emailed Yamaha and got a polite reply saying they knew there was "more to be done." I don't even know what model my bike is. So far, any replacement parts I've bought have required a bit of "retro" fitting by my grinning mechanic - thankfully he's pretty cheap. Is it just me or is there a lot to be desired in the world of online biking? Yamaha looks to be crying out for someone with an online vision. They've got all this data about bikes dating back years but its only available via anecdotal means. It's not difficult to get a database up and running that would allow you to list every part/part-number of every bike in the last 20 years. I can't believe Yamaha haven't done this. How easy would life be for anyone owning an import. I'm seriously considering learning German so I can get the most of the workshop manual I managed to track down! Am I missing something? Is there a secret Yamaha site? Or do I just need to grit my teeth and start grilling the forum? interested in your experiences... Steve I only found this link, by searching for somthing completely unrelated on the forum but i agree completly. I was ordering some parts for a yamaha dt125lc mk3 1986 at the yamaha garage only yesterday. The guy was pretty new to the job and so wasnt particularly fast at working the computer and i was there for and hour in the end. The site they used was the yamaha dealers website, which has diagrams identical to the ones in the haynes manual and then a list of part numbers that can be then typed into a seperate computer behind the desk for ordering. I ended up turning his laptop around and writing down all of the part numbers myself, then giving him the paper to type it into the ordering computer. This made me think, if i was able to access those diagrams with the relevant numbering system from home, i could just ring them up or go down there, give them the part numbers and it would be job done. Would also make it easier to find aftermarket parts for the bikes cheaper and without the hastle of going through the dealer. Might have a look around and see what i can do about getting hold of this program with all the numbers on, maybe go down to yamaha and sneak a look at their browser to see what website they use, im sure they'll have to log in to it but someone might be able to "get around" that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ttaskmaster Posted April 15, 2009 Share Posted April 15, 2009 There are online parts lists available (try teh Search on here to see if it's mentioned in any of the lists). However, a lot of stuff manufacturers prefer to keep to themselves. This means dealers and mechanics keep their jobs and people are not too tempted to fuck up their bikes by trying a bit of DIY. I'm just stupidly fearless and love ripping machines apart to fix them!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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