Hello, and thanks in advance for any input. I recently ( stupidly) purchased a 74tx500A. Of course I researched post-purchase only to find out that these were very troublesome bikes to say the least. I am wondering if anyone here has or has had one of these that ran well, and if so what was done to it to make it run well? I called a local mechanic who specializes in older yamahas and he laughed when I told him what I bought. He told me that I should not put any money into the engine, ( just a waste of money) rather I should just ride the thing into the ground. He was a yamaha mechanic when these were sold new, and said that almost all sold came back with issues. I should say that my bike runs, albeit not well, idles high, of course,, not much top end power, wants to stall when stopped quickly, and makes a rather quirky birdchirpping sound when first started from cold. Too bad, it's a damn cool looking bike.Any input is appeciated.

Cheers

Id prob agree with the mechanic, however if the heads fine you may just have some bugs,pay attention to torque settings on head,& remember they get hot they crack, or they just crack. good luck.