Cynic

TDM is a bit SHORT!. Im 6"1 and I thought it was spot on. I nearly bought a 850 back in the stone age. Green one as I recall but no matter. How is the 1300 better if the tdm is small, or are we just talking numbers? You need to get him on some bikes so he realises just how fast bikes are so he realises just how slow his 535 was in the motorcycle universe. In his mind 1300 is big numbers so fast, 900 is smaller and slower. The real world difference, with the bodywork you can ride the tdm considerably faster and for longer than the 1300. My vmax has a ton of horsepower, needs a subtle experienced hand to ride it quick though. Its knackering to ride hard too. Any year the YOC tour has proved that any bike, from an sr125 right up to an FJR1300 and anything in-between ridden with a group of genuine friends is a great.

TDR is money in the bank, probably better atm. Still insured and ready to rock it just feels so slow and peaky next to the max. Nearly binned it riding it after the max. One needs practically kicking round a corner the other goes there almost by telepathy. Putting the effort of a max into the bars of a tdr is quite a, life defining moment. Have to say its been 30 years coming as the tdr and the max did live on the wall of my bedroom as a snotty sixteen year old. The TDR was first as I could not afford a max when I could afford a tdr, 12 (fuck me where did it go) years ago they were practically giving them away. Now I had the opportunity for the max and I grabbed it. For now i'm keeping the TDR. Killer garage though, DT175, TDR250 and a modified Vmax. What more could you want?

Welcome, don't want a minter for greenlining. With an ugly duckling you will enjoy the lanes far more. Mechanicals need to be 100%. The last thing when your covered in mud, wet and cold, 20 miles from the van in a field is a dead bike.

The mist is clearing from the crystal ball...…. Nope.. Make sure its warm before you start it from cold. Post a decent amount of information so folk can help, that sentence says nada.

Don't know, hear the question often enough, people try, sure some people may have succeeded, anything is possible. Hope it was cheap and you haven't too much money into it yet.

Yep good (for me and mine). On furlough, luckily paid and the kids are old enough not to be a pain in the arse so more of a bad holiday really, not to mention seriously curtailing riding my new to me (last October) gen1 Vmax. Could be a lot lot worse. Ok your end?

Well hello stranger, long time no see.

Standard practice, the headlight is ac. There is sometimes a resistor mounted on the frame (somewhere it will get some cooling) that acts as a load sink to keep the power down. In some cases the load on the system was carefully matched to the charging/lighting load so the was no need for the resistor but leaves you with a system with no spare capacity. No problem in theory until your components age, you can see losing 10% efficiency due to age/ corrosion, will give issues. Normally with the indicators. An arch villan of the 6v universe. Later (late 70's) tec moved on and they were using Zener diodes (cleaver variable resistance that keeps a constant voltage) a forerunner to proper voltage rectification. These are retro fitted to older bikes to stabilise the electrics as they are more efficient. Helping the headlight and battery last due to more consistent power. You could have any one of the above. Flushing the oil tank is probably a good move as you don't know whats been before. Some old oils like castrol R don't mix very well with modern oils. Can clog the pipes. Most 2 stroke owners (me included) , even the proper anoraks replace the oil feed pipes with clear ones for peace of mind.

Things are slow on forums these days, there are the regulars that comment. You were a bit global with the question which does dull the responses. Specifics would be better, maybe clothing, riding tips etc. It is also a bloody rare bike outside of India (where they are made and sold), must be an import. It looks to be a SR125 in essence with some more 'location focused' styling. If it is SR based then 'Bomb proof' will be something you hear often and the words still don't do the bike justice, corrosion will kill the chassis parts stone dead tho.

The gearbox will use standard motorcycle gearbox oil, doesent need to be anything special. yam gearboxes in these things are as strong as it gets. Draining the 2stroke tank and refilling with oil you know about is no bad thing. Any normal modern 2t oil will do in these old girls even chain saw oil as long as it doesent say premix only on the bottle. Have you worked with 2 strokes at all?

+1 Pre mix is exactly the reason you have an oily plug.. What ratio do you use..?

Hard luggage every time, yes filtering can be tricky but being able to stop mid tour and sightsee knowing your kit is relatively safe locked on the bike is worth its weight in gold. You will never have enough storage, personally I have 2 givi side cases (and want a third) with a top case mount on the rear rack. 2 cases to wherever I go, then leave one at the digs and use the other to keep 'stuff', gives you somewhere to dump your gloves and jacket too. And means you can filter like a demon again. edit, for photos the club does have a facebook page, Yamaha Owners Club UK, post them there then post the link on here, easy.

(edit) 1st question, how old is the fuel, if its not stored in an airtight container it goes to shit pretty quickly. Only useful as parts cleaner past around 3 months old. Idle jet or an air leak, outside chance of fuel flow from the tank or float height. The engine will need a richer mixture to start, either your choke circuit is blocked. I don't know the carb on the bike but it will either block an airway or add fuel. Normally adding fuel. As the engine warms this need goes away. If it starts without choke the mixture will be so lean as to cause the engine to race away. Idle jet could be more likely as: Its part of the choke circuit as its the jet the engine starts on. The initial pick up from closed throttle needs the idle jet to be good allowing the jet needle to take over the midrange. There is a chunk of overlap but you get the idea. If the idle jet is blocked probably partially, the transition from idle to revving will leave the engine momentarily starved of fuel. An air leak from a split in the manifold seal or any of the inlet gaskets could do it, expansion could close the gaps depending on where and what the gap/crack was in. So fixing things when warm. Zapping all potential leak spots with wd40 would help there. I'm going with a weak/partially operating choke and some obstruction of the idle jet. Hope it helps..

Don't get your hopes up he visited the forum twice, 3 years ago. Go to the normal forum areas and ask there yourself, the facebook page may help, the more members linked in the better for all..

yep, don't try and keep what actual gear you are in in your head. Just go with need to gear up, or down. Then when you stop just rattle them all back to the bottom. Which should be first, after a while it will be automatic. You will stall out or bog badly, you will miss a couple, you will see the revs hit the limiter. Goes with the territory. Don't get disheartened, it wont hurt a healthy mt03, learning from your mistakes is the way with motorcycles.

Hmm, would certainly lead to a 'weakend' one way or the other....

Yes I was saying, obviously badly, that a previous owner may have messed with it already thinking it would do a zillion miles an hour with different gearing and as the 250 has little spare (for 70mph road work) horsepower it hurts. From my off road riding you can benefit from fitting a big front sprocket and a big rear, you keep a broadly similar final drive ratio but the relationship between the sprocket and the wheel means its easier for the gear to turn the wheel. Its not a massive benefit but it all helps. We have just the same lumpy ground in the uk, I used to find that letting the wheel spin up was normally the best option, not so much for people close behind. but hey.

Wishing you all the luck in the world. Looks like your missus may have balls just the same as you do but brass. My lot threw in the towel and have started putting us off pro rata with work available, we have to be ready to be called back but could be off for weeks. At least the official pay out is better than expected. I understood it to be 80% of basic, its not its 80% of your normal pay so im a lot better off than I thought I was. Have to say after living through a near fatal pneumonia years back im glad to be at home. It is something I will never forget. The feeling of breathing but getting very little, the internal panic that builds up in your head as you realise you cannot breathe will never leave me. Covid victims have my deepest sympathies. The useless selfish scuts that are leaving masks and gloves in shopping trollies and car parks need fking though. As do all the people that have self isolated due to 'symptoms' that are a fabrication to stay home. Cowardice in my book. Plane old ww1 LOMF.

There is a Yamaha owners club facebook page, search Yamaha Owners Club uk. Photos easiest there. Tricky one, the 125/175 models are for the same model year almost identical bar cc, number of cyl head nuts and an extra clutch plate in I think the same clutch basket. So if its the right age from a 6v bike it should fit fine.

1F9 is the prefix for a dt125 twin shock, basically an AT2 bar some detail differences. The frame number is stamped pretty deep it should show still even if its just shadows in the bare metal.

Im supposed to be a key worker...….. Officially from HM government direct. But no different to a normal day except, most places are shut so im spending half my day driving to places empty then driving back because they are closed. Our useless office staff (most 'working' from home) are not ringing ahead. No unit allocation so every day im in a different truck. As best I can figure (driving to nowhere worthwhile and back) the 10 day maturing period of the virus would see all of the current drivers infected from one without seeing symptom's so that's the families too. Most of us are around 50 or over so that's at least a few in a pine box. Everybody keeps rattling on we are key workers so keep going, if you saw the crap I have carried and the reactions of people when I arrive (at the few that are open) its not essential. 2000 coffee machines that were put straight onto a stand trailer as 'We aint touching them any time soon.' For example? The final insult, the boss boss is 'working from home during the crisis'. He is also managing through his busy schedule to post a 60 mile a day average on Strava apparently. Safe to say I feel very expendable and exploited right now not the slightest fucking bit essential.

Don't forget the oil light comes on with the neutral light as a way of showing the bulb works properly.

Oh sir you flatter me so...

Took you a month to hate it, only ever rode a 250 twin round the block that was enough. I had been drawn to the dark side though, had the use of a full power RDZ 125, even now it should be a bucket list item if you have never tried one. 25 odd horsepower in a sporty(ish) chassis with stonking brakes weighing about the same as a bag of chips. How I survived being 17 I will never know. (don't tell my mum that).

Yep, Cynic, realist, pragmatic. Some of my finer points.