daahar Posted March 27, 2014 Posted March 27, 2014 Hi there, Been out of the motorcycle world for a few years now, then ended up needing a commuter so bought a cheap ped whilst I looked for something for permanent (although I've now lost my 100% yamaha claim as it was a piaggio, but I am sure I can change my claim to only ever owned yamaha motorbikes ). So I just bought a 1988 Yamaha YB100 deluxe, that I will be picking up on Saturday if it goes through it's MOT as easy as they reckon it will. My commute is only 3 miles, with 1 mile in the national speed limit, the rest is 40, so I've gone for the smaller and hopefully cheaper engined route I need to make sure it is going to make the 90miles home before I can give it some proper TLC I've never had a 2-Stroke before, what are the major pitfalls here, I see oil coming up a lot, this is something to check often as it uses it along with petrol? So worth taking some with me to top it up with before setting off? (I am driving up and the Fiancée is driving the car back, and I don't think she'll want to stay at 100cc speeds :-) so anything like that is doable before setting off, but once I go I am likely on my own) Any tools worthwhile keeping a hold of? Also any important things to check on the bike before I hand the cash over?? Any insights would be appreciated looking forward to getting on a Yamaha again! YBR125 -> Virago 400 -> FZ400 -> Piaggio NRG 50 (shush) -> YB 100
jimmy Posted March 27, 2014 Posted March 27, 2014 I don't know if an 88 model would have a separate oil tank or if it's premix in the tank. I would think the latter and if so you'll need to add 2t oil when filling with petrol. Not sure of the ratio, some of the 2t gurus will be along soon and give better advice
Moderator drewpy Posted March 27, 2014 Moderator Posted March 27, 2014 I use 40:1 which is 125ml to 5 litres of fuel. as for checking, I would start with the owner, ask him her how long they've had it, any issues, what needs doing to it then check condition and mot's, servicing (who does it) then onto the bike; wheels, ensure spokes all ping etc, then brakes, feel and pad thickness. Frame is it straight , undented ( pressed steel I think, so check for rot near the battery compartment) then start engine, listen for knocking, leaks etc. then a test ride and see how it performs. I'd get breakdown cover along with your insurance (usually in with it for bikes) then if above done, your sorted
dt502001 Posted March 27, 2014 Posted March 27, 2014 If the owner selling the bike is doing the mto and just being done then the bike should be ready to go. One thing I would add to drewps list would be to do a compression test
daahar Posted March 27, 2014 Author Posted March 27, 2014 OK, just found a haynes manual for it, and it looks to have an external oil tank atleast, so as long as the pump works I'll be ok, the idea of putting it into the tank was a little daunting Is there a general consensus on what is a good oil for them? I realise you likely get what you pay for, but is there a point where you are paying extra for no greater return? The only history I know of the bike so far is it has been stood (garaged) for the last year as the girl who bought it end of 2012 used it twice and decided she isn't a biker, 2 new tyres and 12k miles on the clock Thanks for all the advice so far, it was the insider bits of knowledge I was after : -) and also the pinging of the spokes I had not thought of! also bit of eye candy, until I can get some pictures of my own up I paid £530 for her including it be MOT'd before pickup, probably a little over the odds, but I am happy with the general condition of it so far, guess time will tell...
dt502001 Posted March 27, 2014 Posted March 27, 2014 When it comes to 2t oils always buy the best,try not to change between brands,bellray MOTUL,castrol all make good oils and other's as well. Where spening extra on oil come's into savings is less fouled plugs,less build up on piston and rings, longer overall life of the eng. Full synethitcs can be mixed out at 80-100:1 but you would have to mod your pump to get it that low,but if you only intened to drive it 8 miles a day you won't have to fill the tank more than 2x a year and at 40 it will not get "cleaned out " and want to foul plugs.I would suggest a iridium plug. BTW that bike has been in storage as much as it has been ridden in its whole life,unless someone restored it at some time. Far to clean and orginal to have been driven in the winters
dt502001 Posted March 27, 2014 Posted March 27, 2014 Just so you know "cleaned out" is as jimmy would say a "itialan tune up" 2t's like a good thrashing once a week to clean out the bottom end and spark plug.
dt502001 Posted March 27, 2014 Posted March 27, 2014 £350? a good price Honestly what is a good price drewps?,we never got them here but I would think about 800 canadian would be fair,and this one looks pretty good. So him paying 530Uk I would think he got a good deal,bike looks clean and solid to me,but it's a picture so hard to say exactly how good it is.
blackhat250 Posted March 27, 2014 Posted March 27, 2014 £350? a good price You been drinking again, £530, he says . looks good , top up the 2stroke, tank . and she"l do the 90mls no probs,,
Moderator drewpy Posted March 27, 2014 Moderator Posted March 27, 2014 You been drinking again, £530, he says . looks good , top up the 2stroke, tank . and she"l do the 90mls no probs,, I didn't have me glasses on, bloody eyes
Tommy xs Posted March 27, 2014 Posted March 27, 2014 that's a bargain when you look at some of the junk on ebay
daahar Posted March 31, 2014 Author Posted March 31, 2014 Well it was a successful journey! Initial inspection encouraged me to buy the bike, the seat is a little more worse for wear then the pictures showed, but as I'm planning on replacing that anyway the number of rips doesn't really matter, and besides it had the good ol' gaffa tape on it, so good as new After picking it up I rode it 10miles to a few villages across for catch up with some friends we have up that way, during which the gearlever forgot it's ultimate purpose in life so I was subjected to what I believe was 3rd gear only for the entirety of the journey, hill starts were fun... But a little bit of 'gentle persuasion' finally solved that issue. After a nice big pub lunch I loaded the panniers onto the bike and off I went. (The panniers were carrying everything but the kitchen sink, spanners, fuel can etc, all of which was unnecessary, I didn't even need the emergency crisps!) Set off time was 45 minutes later than the 3 oclock deadline we had set ourselves, but the sticky toffee pudding was just too good to pass up on. A stop half way to try and take some pictures, but the day was very hazy so didn't work out so well, the DSLR was the only thing I ended up using in the panniers. Thankfully I only went around the mountains, was getting worried the closer they were getting! An experiment of how low my head can go had convinced the bike to arrive at 57mph according to the GPS, think I might be a little low on power?? Final stop before home, bike was feeling much happier now I had put some petrol in, the seller had filled the tank for me, but had also left the tap on, and I arrived to a puddle of petrol on the floor, so not sure how much I started with, but it caught the hiccups on a hill, and whilst I stayed on the left whilst I flipped to the reserve tank, a classic VW camper managed to get past, which I then get help up behind on some very narrow lanes at 30mph for a good 20 minutes... The overall journey: surprisingly I didn't get lost, although it wasn't the route I had set out to take, at least I avoided all the dangerous mountain passes! Total time was 2 hours 20 minutes. I am definitely smitten with this bike!! Actually very impressed with the handling, which I am guessing I have the weight (or lack of) to thank for that, the long straights were leaving something to the imagination, but the twisty lanes it really came into it's own. So now there are just a few things to ponder, I had already ordered a chain guard before buying it so hopefully that will arrive soon! The exhaust can be moved, so I think it needs tightening up, the bike did get significantly louder in the first few minutes the same time I lost the gears, which might also be the cause of the power loss, (unless I am just asking too much from a 100cc) Does anyone know a centre stand that will fit but is wider?! It is so narrow I am currently worrying for it being in a sheltered car park in case it falls over! Also before I buy the seat cover, is there an equivalent seat that would fit? I haven't found any complete YB or FS1E seats, as the base of mine is a little corroded and could do with replacing at some point, there's an RD350 seat on ebay at the same price as a cover alone would cost, or would this just be too much hassle?
jimmy Posted March 31, 2014 Posted March 31, 2014 Cant help you with your spares questions, but well done in getting home. I imagine looking at your route you had as good a time as I do riding to work mate, well done
Moderator drewpy Posted March 31, 2014 Moderator Posted March 31, 2014 that's some journey, might see you at squires this year? free camping too check out the thread. not sure on the seat Q I'd give RK leighton a phone as they did my xs resto seat and did a brill job.
blackhat250 Posted March 31, 2014 Posted March 31, 2014 Great journey " cute wee bike, now there were new seats still for sale on ebay thailand . lots of Yb"s sold overseas .
daahar Posted March 31, 2014 Author Posted March 31, 2014 Ah thanks for the tip! I will have a look there for a seat Well found the issue behind me suspecting loss of power... the exhaust has been sealed with putty, a few miles into my first trip there was a commotion below deck and things suddenly got a lot louder, I just thought it had blown away the cobwebs... looks like it blew away a little more New pattern exhaust has been ordered so hopefully will be here soon to get back onto the road, @Jimmy, yes it was a lovely route, I do enjoy Cumbria, haven't ventured up to Scotland yet on a bike, but it is certainly on my list! and squires certainly sounds fun if I can keep her on the road long enough, suppose the exhaust would have been due a good clean out anyway... (grumble grumble )
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