Lee Celtic Posted September 14, 2018 Share Posted September 14, 2018 (edited) Hi All.. Yes it's a barn find sort of.. I put the bike in there 18 years ago and just found it again. lol Anyway here goes.. Due to being a Suzuki guy and not knowing a great deal about Yams I thought I'd ask you guys for help.. When my son was 9 years old I sold the little quad he's been riding since he was 4 and got him a 1976 YZ80 for him to try 2 wheels.. Well the bike was not running and it turned out to be lack of spark.. Just to get him rolling I changed the old 6volt system to a 12volt total lost system using a gel battery so the bike would run until the battery was dead ( handy for Dads standing around waiting for the kid to get bored and stop riding...) anyway he out grew the bike quickly so it went into storage.. We dragged it out this week after 18 years.. The Engine turns over ok and it rolls (gel battery is dead forever so can't start it yet) and I have all the bits you can't see in the photo. (levers, covers) I'm an upholsterer by trade so I put the blue seat on it to replace the gaffer tape. it's still all there apart from the air box and still original yellow but with vinyl decals made later.. My questions are as follows:- Is it worth restoring? Any idea if parts can be found to get it back to original? and address for the place please (needs a kick start return spring and a few other small bits) value as a dust covered barn find and restored..? My son is now a Tattoo apprentice and is in need of cash but would like to restore it , but if cost out runs gain he'll just flog it.. Many thanks for any information .. Lee ps He added the headlight because he thought it looked cool.. remember he was 9 at the time..it's held on with rubber straps and comes off easy Edited September 14, 2018 by Lee Celtic added photo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slice Posted September 16, 2018 Share Posted September 16, 2018 Hi Lee, well to be honest it rather depends on what you want to do with it really, are you going to ride it or just do it up and sell it. If it was me and I just want the cash then flog it to someone who will enjoy it after they get it going, the time taken to get the parts and the time to actually get it running is probably more than it's worth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackhat250 Posted September 16, 2018 Share Posted September 16, 2018 Hi lee, Am surprized a YZ has a battery, they usually start on a magnito system, The value will be on demand, and ebay is the shopwindow nowadays, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Celtic Posted September 17, 2018 Author Share Posted September 17, 2018 Thanks for the replies guys.. Blackhat250.. the battery was added because the Magnito system wasn't working and I needed a quick fix the night before his 9th birthday.. added a 12v coil and gel battery to fire through the points all works well but only lasts until the battery is dead.. then recharge and go again.. got it running yesterday, lots of oil smoke as I over oiled the mix before putting it away 18 years ago.. lol (it's like James Bonds smoke screen..) should burn off with the next tank of fuel.. (premix) Any idea on the availability of parts for this bike..? or indeed where I could get parts for it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NE0 Posted October 5, 2018 Share Posted October 5, 2018 (edited) Hi Lee, Wemoto is a good place to start, i just typed in YZ80 and a load of parts came up:- seals,bearings,sprokets,tyres,tubes etc. ie parts to keep the bike up and running. If you're looking for replacement yamaha parts/OEM like engine/gearbox parts frame wheels instruments etc then it becomes more challenging. After all its 42 years old if its made in 1976. I have a Honda 400/4 from the same year, and there is quite a following for them. Dave Silver spares over the years bought up closing down Honda spares and has also remanufactured a lot of obsolete parts. Whereas I'm not so sure the same can be said for the YZ80. A quick search on google doesn't yeald the same results. You can get parts cleaned up, restored and polished, rechroming etc etc You can strip it all down , powedercoat the frame , repaint the tank, ....but it all costs money and you can literally throw a few thousand at it to get it into a very nice example or even showroom condition. Don't get me wrong it may be worth it.....to YOU, it was for me and my 400/4, but you'll not get you're money back, it can quickly become a bottomless pit.! But if it's a hobby it may well be worth it afterall its now a classic.! It really depends on where you want to go with it. if its a keeper then you've got to decide If it's a full restoration/hobby be prepared for a lot of hard graft and fruitless searches seeking the parts you need. If it's just get it working with the minimum expense then wemoto and the like should suffice. If its time to sell it, then only you know how much you want to spend to move it on...... On the plus side....it's now TAX and MOT exempt! ....................However, that doesn't mean you can just take it on the road! MOT exempt means you're taking FULL responsibility for it being roadworthy!!!! Hope some of this may help you.. Edited October 5, 2018 by NE0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts