russeleoin

Hi Fosdyke, nice bike. Looks like you love yours just like I love mine. What is the difference between the Classic and the Delux? This is the first problem I have had with it and to be fair it is a pretty minor problem, just a problematic diagnosis. I put the new battery in anyway. All the info I have read on the site points to batteries being consumables for these bikes, and they are not the most expensive so I guess it is worth it. Is that the original carrier you have. Mine came with the bike when I bought it, but is not genuine as it has been cut in a number of places. Regards Russ

Thought I would add a picture of the old girl.

The end of the saga. Well, all my bits arrived, battery, coil, points and condencer. All of which were replaced and guess what, the problem remained!. I couldnt believe it, I nearly cried. I measured circits and all sorts and still had a problem. The bike would start but would not run smoothly unless it was revving high. I checked everything I could, and the by accident, I pushed on the key while adjusting the idling and the bike cut out. A bit more fiddling the problem was proved, the key switch is faulty, it seems to be arching across to earth. The reason it happens at idle is, that is when there is a bit more vibration, if I held the key still it ran fine. Anyway, I needed the bike for work so rather than replace the switch as I would have had to wait for it to be delivered, I have wired in a small kill switch. So now I use the key switch for lights and the kill switch for engine!. Still I am happy as I was able to ride this morning problem free. Thanks for all the suggestions. Regards Russ

Sorry, yes Oldgit is right, it should be rectifier.

Hi Rocky, I have a YB100 as well, and the damned thing started giving me electrical problems. I have a thread in the workshop forum. A new battery was recomended to me as well, and your problem sounds very similar to mine. I did however have a problem with the regulator ,as it was dead the battery was not charging at all. Take your regulator out and test it, no current in either direction means it is finished. Regards Russ

I am in Surrey(Charlwood- Gatwick). I have the rotor off and plug out at the moment so will have a quick check when I get home. I am hoping all my bits will arrive tomorrow and I can fit them on Friday as I am working from home then. I gave the windings a visual check last night and they look good, I will put a meter on them tonight and hope for the best.

Is there an easy way to do a compression test, some way that does not require a special tool? I was scammed out of £1200 on ebay 2 weeks ago so spending any money at the moment is an issue. Thanks Russ

Okay, so I bought a couple of new rectifiers. Stuck one in and started the bike, ha, it started and I thought all was well. Seconds later the farting and spluttering started. Current symptoms are: 1.On kick-start unless the throttle is open wide it will not start but as soon as it does it revs well. 2. If I slowly return the throttle the bike will settle into an even idle for about a minute, then it will splutter and die. 3. The plug is wet and black which indicates a worn engine or ignition problem. I checked the gap it is fine, and the plug is only a few months old so I havent ordered a new one. 4. The points gap is fine, but the points are a bit worn(I have already ordered new ones+condenser+coil) 5. The battery is still dead but after a few minutes riding up and down the driveway it held it's charge better. Now the neutral and oil lights dim after about 30seconds( previously they would come on and dim almost immediately).(New Battery ordered) Can you think of anything I havent covered. I cant believe it is a worn engine as it was working perfectly one day then stuffing around the next. It still does 55 easily and I can get to 60 on a straight and a fair wind but I dont tend to ride hard as it is really to take me the 8 mile round trip to the station and back. I am not too fat! 82kg and I do look after the bike, it is garaged and cleaned after being in the rain. I am however getting pissed off as it has been off the road now for nearly a week, and she how must be obeyed niggles about driving me to the station in time for me to get to work!. Regards Russ

Hi there, I just bought a bike with a km speedo, however on the underside was a little blue anodised converter. I have done some checking and these little things work well. Look on ebay and you can pick one up quite cheap. There are two kinds, those that screw into the back of the speedo and those that screw onto the wheel side of the speedo cable. Regards Russ

I have found the rectifier to be dead so I think that is the root cause. I am only hoping that replacing it will cure the battery charging problem and I dont have to replace the battery as well. Yambits have them so I will buy a couple as they are cheap and I dont intend to get rid of my YB. Thanks for your idea's. I will update on whether the rectifier cures my problem. Regards Russ

When I first noticed the problem, the battery was low. I had some acid from when the battery was new, so I topped up with that. Is is possible that the battery is dead?

Hi All, I am hoping someone can help with some idea's on a problem I am having. My YB100 (6volt) has been running perfectly for a year now. Last week I noticed when I turned the key on, the neutral and oil lights dimmed quite quickly. When the bike was running all appeared well, but I dont ride too far so it was hard to tell. Thinking I had a poor earth, I have cleaned and proved all of them. The battery is now dead( well damned close, 2.4v) it was new 7 months ago and not a cheapie either. I connected my multimeter and see that upon revving the engine the voltage rises with the revs to around 7.5v so I believe the charging circutary is working. But the problem is getting worse, unless I speed up the idle, it will cut out and upon riding, it is back firing and only appears to be firing on every second stroke. It has no power. I left the battery disconnected and as it should, the charge rose slowly. I think the battery is good, but am running out of things to try. I checked all the wiring now, it is in very good nic, and the few joins in the wires, I have soldered and covered with heatshrink. I am left thinking that it could be the rectifier, resistor or worst case, the alternator. Any ideas would be fantastic as I have run out, but will need to get to work on Monday! Thanks and regards Russ

Thanks Oldgit, I have emailed him and hope for the best. Thanks for the advise. Regards Russ

Hi All, well having now used my YB100 for the past 8months and after some carb problems, the little beast runs so well I am sticking with it. HOWEVER, winter is almost on us and I really could use some better lighting. Has anyone converted their YB100 to 12v. If so was it and easy job. I have just rewired the back end as the earthing was poor and lights were extra dim. I am assuming that a 12v battery, a different rectifier and bulbs are all I need, but would be really interested in finding someone who has done this. Thanks and regards Russ

Hi All, problem solved. Firstly I bought the Manual as Richard suggested, I checked the bike over and compared it to the standard spec as per the manual. All okay there. Then I had that wretched carb off again. I took it into the kitchen, cleaned and polished the jets, cleaned and polished the needle and low and behold, fiddled with the float again. Using a very techy method, I poured water via a pipe into the feed and holding the bowl in place, I noted where the water level was. I then adjusted the float level until I got to the correct fluid level in the bowl. Hey presto, it worked. I used the bike this morning, and managed to get 55mph without even trying. I only need 50mph as that is the speed limit on the fastest stretch of my journey to the station. I am happy with it now, and started to look around for something a bit bigger for once I have my licence. Regards

Hi there, electrics are my area. Drewpy sounds right, 90% of problems will be caused by earthing. The bike frame and engine will always be earth( negative), and alternator and battery will be positive. If your frame has been resprayed, or the earth points are rusty, you can get all manner of problems. Clean them up with a small wire brush and then, I usually dab a bit of copper grease on the surfces that will make contact. Your indicators should have a single wire( positive) and the mounting/casing is the earth. Regards

Hi Yoda, thanks, I am working from home tomorrow, so the carb will be off and cleaned. I did put the needle at the 5th notch and it was better this morning, but what you say makes sense so that will be done tomorrow. I had initially cleaned the carb, but that was before I put the filter in place to quite possible that I have picked up more dirt. Regards

Adjusted the needle setting to the one quoted in the Haynes manual, still dont seem to have any top end power. Setting is now, Middle notch, I can get 40mph in 3rd gear and power is fine on full open throttle. 4th gear and power dies, cannot maintain 40mph on a flat road. I looked at all the settings and info on the web, and to my mind, full thottle in 3rd should give the same sound/power as full in 4th. Main jet being used, but there is definitly a loss of power. I get the very throaty sound, easing off in 4th doesnt help, but change down, and accelerate and all is good. I am now getting irritated with this. I cant really afford to take it into a shop for repair but if I cant get it fixed I think it might be back on ebay soon.

Over the weekend I had the carb off again, and low and behold, I found that the float had some tiny holes in it. I have run a very thin skin of araldite over it and it was fine this morning, well, no leaking. But it now seems flat again and I have no top end power, but I assume that this is due to changing the needle settings to compensate for the flooding and excess fuel. I will change the jetting tonight and hope for the best. Anyone with tips or ideas onn how to tune with the minimum of fuss, please let me know. Thanks

Latest update. On the way home from the station yesterday there was no leak at all. Bone dry even when breaking hard to a stop. Parked as usual in the covered garage, no problems at all. This morning, within a minute it was leaking again, and I rode switching the tap off each time I come to a stop, luckily I can do quite a few minutes on what is in the carb alone. I will clean the tap/vet this weekend and will also adjust the float height again and see if that helps, it may only be out a fraction of a mm.

Hi Yoda, where would I find the tank vent? I assumed that pressure buld up would just escape from the filler cap, but that may not be the case? As the bike had been standing for quite a few years, anything could be blocked. I fitted the filter to help with the fuel, but I have noticed that the fuel tap is very stiff to turn? Thanks.

Hi all, I am new on here as earlier this year I bought a little YB100 to get my bike licence on(mid 30's and very used to riding in Africa, just dont have a licence here). It is a good little bike, came with a year's mot and a brand new rear tyre however I have had a number of problems with the carb and i am hoping for some ideas from those in the know. My first problem was that is ran lean and couldnt get it past 35mph. It has been in a garage for a number of years so I took the carb out and cleaned it very thoroughly and put a fuel filter inline, that improved things slightly. I took it to the local bike shop on my way home and they were fantastic, moved the needle up a couple of notches and it is so much better. However, when it has been standing overnight it now seems to flood. At idle, within a minute it will start to leak fuel from the overflow pipe under the carb. I have taken the float out and measured the gap with a vernier, I then raised it a fraction, but that has made no difference. On the hot days we have just had it is fine, no leak, but this morning, slightly cooler than the rest of the week, it was leaking again. There are no holes in the floats and the needle and seat fit snugly. Any ideas on what I could do next would be appreciated, as I dont have a lot of money to spend taking it back to the shop, but I really like it when it runs well. Thanks