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Hi there Rentaspoon, I thought I wrote it quite clearly but let me recap:- look at the key positions marked I, II and III *****READ THE ROWs ACROSS**** key position I; The red wire goes from the battery and is switched to the brown (This goes to the indicators, brake light and horn) The headlight is not lit up on this key position. Look at the GEN. the white wire (charging wire) goes to the reg/rec and then onto the battery to charge it via the red wire the other white wire comes to the switch. We know from the first page posts that the OUTPUT of the generator on the WHITE wire is anything from 11volts to 26 volts (depending on revs) This amount of voltage would fry the battery. So it is connected BACK to the reg/rec via the YELLOW/WHITE wire (on the right side of the pic) to 'clip' it and reduce the current going to the battery to charge it This will cause the reg/rec to heat up and the fins help dissipate this heat thereby cooling it down. Key position II: The red wire goes from the battery and is switched to the brown( doing the same as above) and is also switched to the red/blue wire (This ADDS the tail light and pilot light) The GEN white wire is still connected to the battery via the reg/rec BUT the white wire which goes to the switch NOW does nothing because in switch position II it is NOT connected. (The battery is still charging but the output on the white wire has been reduced because the lighting coil inside the generator is now being used) So now look at the YELLOW wire from the GEN ( on the left) This carries the output of the lighting coil to the headlight. It is switched to YELLOW/RED wire to run the headlight. BUT we also know from the first page post the the OUTPUT on this yellow wire is anything from 6v to 16v depending on the revs. Prior to the conversion the headlight only required 6 volt. ALL excess voltage was reduced by reg/rec on the YELLOW/WHITE (right side wire) The reg/rec clips the output to 6v otherwise the output would blow the bulb. Using a different 12v reg/rec, this clips the voltage to 12volt enabling the 12 volt bulb to be used in the headlamp instead of 6v The right side YELLOW/WHITE wire is still connected to the reg/rec and the unit still heats up as above. Unfortunately, the generator STILL produces 6 volt at low revs, because the generator has NOT been altered/replaced. therefore at low revs the 12volt bulb will glow dimly on 6v output. It only glows brightly once the generator produces 11volts plus. Does that help?

PS. For those in the UK: I did ask them if they have any European oulet for their exhausts, but sadly they don't. The cost of shipment was too high hence it was an ideal opportunity when my mate said he was going to NZ for a holiday and the premesis was only 20 minutes away!

Hi again Brett Exhausts seem to becoming a bit rare here in the UK too. However, I bought an exhaust repair front section from New Zealand!!!! Musket mufflers do a repair front section for 78 to 81 and 84 to 2003. They also sell a rear muffler 78 to 2006. All on page 2 of their catalogue (scroll down for the images). https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/2202/5551/files/YAMAHA-mufflers.pdf?13346045109935610301 A friend went to NZ for a holiday and brought it back in his hand luggage! I welded it onto a good exhaust which had become rusted through on the U bend.. Worth checking them out.?

Have you tried Wemoto? https://www.wemoto.com/bikes/yamaha/xj_900_f/87-90/picture/marving_master_4_1_complete_system_chrome https://www.wemoto.com/bikes/yamaha/xj_900_f/87-90

https://www.cmsnl.com/yamaha-xj900f-1989-3ng1-europe-293ng-300e1_model37800/partslist/0004.html https://www.bike-parts-yam.com/yamaha-motorcycle/900-MOTO/1987/XJ/XJ900F/CRANKSHAFT--PISTON/50_4960-4960/B3/0/10008 You're right!...... but i'm sure when I found them they came up as add to cart!! ....but clearly not now! However bike parts has the option of contacting them, might be worth doing that. On the plus side you now know where you can get other parts and part numbers! This page lists the other bikes it fits Heres another website which lists the 1987 part but offers check availability https://www.motorcyclespareparts.eu/en/yamaha-parts/1987-xj900f-motorcycles/crankshaft-piston

Hi there, Depends on year but looking on cmsnl.com website i found under XJ900F 1989 0.5 oversized pistons (not .05) and the 1991 0.5 piston has the same part number of 58L1163600. they are available to buy. A 1987 xj900F which has a different part number 59L116360000 the Pistons 0.5 are also available at bike-parts-yam.com But I couldnt find .05

Hi Chris welcome to the world of classic motorcycles! I've just had a look at the website you refer to and find it very similar to cmsnl.com which has all the same parts diagrams and perhaps different spares available. As regards to the details and year of the model, you will often find slight discrepencies of vehicles that were produced pre computer!!! Back in the 70's there was no data being stored on computer! it was all in parts catalogues and micro-fiches. A bike that say was manufactured in late 1974 might well appear in the part catalogues as 1975 model by the time a new parts catalogue had been printed! Today when companies add data to their websites i dare say they are not adding all the original data from these catalogues so there will be an element of 'rounding off'. Most of the times they will be spot on, but you have to allow a year either side with additional checking as part of your format when sourcing spare parts. especially when looking for something which is nearly fifty years old! Your website you use is in the USA so you may have to wait for a fellow member to say where they go for keys and replacement locks. In the meantime, why not pop over to the New members area and just post a brief introduction about yourself and where you are, you may meet some fellow bikers from your neck of the woods who may well help you out in the future. All the best.

If it's NOT rattling, then there's no need to reset it!! Yes It is done when cold, I would imagine with the plug missing and the new gasket someone previously has been doing something to it. If the engine runs smoothly and there is no cam chain rattle there's little to be gained by a re-adjustment. Personally, I'd leave well alone, especially as you're not that familiar with motorcycle engines....yet! Put in the new plug and enjoy riding it.

It leaks from the centre because it's just a push in plug and it's probably nearly 40 years old! Oil is pumped to the top of the camshafts and runs back down all the open galleys, over the cam chain and back into the sump. Oil also drips from the lowest point so the chances are the gasket the tensioner housing is also shot. The chain tensioner is automatic by the action of the spring. To adjust it, you loosen the side screw, the spring pushes against the tensioner moving it forward taking the slack out of the cam chain and the screw is then retightened. They're not perfect by any means but they do function. N.B Honda 400/4 engines are well known for their "cam chain rattle" even after they've been retightend!! PS. Just re looking at your photo.....it looks like the plug is actually missing! hence the leak! (The gasket is bright green suggesting it's been off recently too.)

Welcome Rok, good to have you on board. I've answered your same question you posted in the Project section.

Welcome to the motorcycle world Rok. The oil leak is coming from the cam chain tensioner at the front of the engine. Japanese over head cam engines are all very similar (my 400/4 is a smaller version of your big boy).I appreciate yours is twin cam and mines single but the principle is exactly the same. Cam chain tensioner XS1100 models You need to get a haynes manual or similar which will give you detailed knowledge if you intend to do your own work. Exploded diagrams also help to understand what's what and there are plenty of websites about which will help you. One of the best is cmsnl.com for diagrams and part numbers of all japanese bikes. Your XS1100 is included. Hope this helps.

Difficult to reproduce!?? Custom car painters have been doing this for years and can produce any colour with any effect!!..... but perhaps today they are a dying breed! Nonetheless surely you just need the paint code? and these paint shops can make it up? heres a website for yamaha paint codes and your model https://en.impex-jp.com/catalogs/moto/yamaha-2/xs250.html hope it helps...

you mean old imperial black steel pipe/conduit? sell this on ebay in 3/4" pipe. Any good to you? Ps or this?

Or.... if you want to buy the original. it's available here. Bit expensive. but available!l

Even if they can find the numbers its unlikely you'll get the original registration number back anyway, they'll issue an 'age related' plate. Which could have been on any vehicle around that time and has been scrapped for example. In my experience they rarely seem to take what we would call the sensible approach, i.e re-activating the existing plate. Their computer probably says "no" and the software was probably not designed to do that, so they follow 'procedure' and you end up with a different number and someone else ends up with your old number!

I don't know about production numbers, there wasn't millions of them. The DT range came out in the late 60's/ early 70's and the 'A' suffix was at the begining of the range of that particular model. ie. 'A' then 'B' and so on. Yours is a '73 so that would keep within expectations. Bear in mind also that each CC would have had its own range....DT50A DT175A, DT250A, etc etc. There might have even been a DT250 followed by the 'A' and then the 'B'. Each year or thereabouts an updated/modified version would come out and another letter added. Back in the 70's all manufactures, especially the japanese manufactures, were making leaps and bounds in a very short space of time, although many models sold in large numbers, some didn't, but it wasn't long before it was superseded by the next machine anyway!. The market was rich and plentiful with all us 'babyboomers' buying bikes!! You just have to take into consideration what was happening all around (the World) at that time.

Hi there, I think you might be over thinking it! Generally it doesn't stand for anything! Naming conventions are just part of the manufactures plans and future plans. We'll call the first one A then B and the next C and so on. Occasionally some bright spark comes up with a gimmick and says let's call something MX which could be for Moto Cross "M X" but this is not common by any means! The very first Ford car was the Model T, However, after its success Ford launched the Model A and then the B and so on but it never stood for anything. it's not like an Android OS naming convention!! On the otherhand the manufactures rarely call something a "Mark1" or "Mark 2" of their product. It normally starts off just as a name and then when the next version comes out it gets dubbed by the media/public "the Mark2" when it comes to differentiate it. Then, by default, the first model becomes the "Mark1". I can assure you Ford never launched the Ford Cortina in the early 60s as a Mark 1. It was just a Ford Cortina! In fact when the replacement got launched, that too was a Ford Cortina. it was not badged as a Mark 2 on it's bodyshell. Advertising and Marketing coined the Mark names thereafter to help identify it. (I guess some of you reading this might wonder what a Ford Cortina is!......) Hope this helps, PS if you're going to stick around, pop over to the new members section and post a little introduction about yourself and you'll meet a few other members.

Have you ruled out the throttle cable? Disconnect it at the carb and manually operate the throttle at the carb. Does it still have trouble returning to idle? At least that way it would rule out the cable completely. It doesn't rule out the throttle slide , just the cable.

It's not something simple like the throttle slide sticking and not returning to its idle position is it? or the cable binding at a 'hot spot'? just a thought!

Very frustrating for you indeed. Bear in mind the bottom line is it's likely to be either fuel/air or timing. That's all it can be. Afterall it's only a collection of moving parts which do nothing until they are moving! Effort is required to get them going and fuel/air and timing keep them going until you turn it off by stopping. Simplistic view yes but in essence that's all it is!! Having said that my ramblings here might help guide you ......or not! Fuel/air mixture: making it lean or rich effects speed and whilst the carb is set up to deliver that correct mixture leaks on the induction side can screw it up too. When things get hot they expand so what's air tight when cold can get exposed when hot!, and conversely the same happens when cold. Leaks occur when cold making it difficult to start until hot when the expansion swells and everything closes! Which is why it becomes difficult to trace any faults! You test when cold only to reveal the problem when hot OR you test when hot and miss it when it was cold.The same Tests need to be done both hot and cold. Checking for air leaks is tricky, you can't hear them like an air leak on a punctured tyre. Mix up some washing up liquid in warm water making it as bubbly as possible (cold water doesnt make bubbles so well) then with a 1/2 inch paint brush paint it quickly around any joints of the induction side, paying attention to any rubber connector, they can leak at the interface or anywhere along its rubber length. Paint it on around the head gasket and on two strokes, especially around the base gaskets of the engine. Work quickly because the heat of the engine will rapidly evaporate it all even more so when hot. Listen out for changes in the engine speed not so much for the sound of air leaks although you get a nice reaction in the bubbles when you stumble across the leak. And before anyone says don't spread soapy water around it could get in the engine, it's likely to be a pin hole not a bloody great crack! Timing: A collection of bits which controls the high voltage to ignite the aforementioned fuel air mixture! Opening contacts too big or too small effects the timing and a few thousands of an inch can change it dramatically as many of you old dinosaurs like me will know. Equally wear and tear can also play it's part and have the same effect. Points should be checked when cold because when hot everything expands and the reading might not be so accurate. Equally when hot, things can stick! and also stop things working efficiently, don't spread it all in grease thinking you're making things better; it could have the opposite effect. Minimal oil works best here. One area often neglected is any spring loaded advance and retard mechanism found behind the contact sets. The goveners (weights on springs) move with the engine speed and advance the ignition automatically and can stick when hot, especially when covered in grease and crap over time. Pay particular attention to keeping these clean and maintained especially the pivot points. If it all sticks here it may take a little time for the springs to pull everything back and return the timing to normal. Replace the springs for example if they are suspected to be worn (springs do wear out!) Some vehicles have a vacuum mechanism attached to the goveners( I'm talking old classic cars here)but these are connected to the carb which influences the fuel/air mixture. Leaks and blockages here will also effect the performance. You might already know a lot of this but there again it might help others who stumble on this thread in the distant future! Hopefully of some help.

I've seen this once before when a mate put on a different wheel from another bike, whilst it fitted, the gearing for the speedo drive was on the opposite side and ran in a different direction.

Just a thought but where abouts are you? (i dont mean publish your address) just the general area. Sometimes members are willing to come over and help.

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..

Hi welcome to the club, We're not allowed to post links to copyrighted material or service manuals, its part of the rules of being in the club. In fact theres a pinned post above yours stating that, worth a read, even if I've said the same here! Having said that, I went to google and typed in TT250 service manual and found several links. ranging from a post on ebay for a laminated copy to a pdf for a TTR250 on a website. I also found the complete parts list on the cmsnl website. Various other posts on other forums looking for the same manual give links to tt350 and another for 1986 tt250. There doesn't appear to be a clymer book or haynes manual covering the actual bike according to those posts. Unless someone else knows any different.....

I found this on our website....post no 8 states... ,when it is warm it still tends to be slow returning to idle. https://yamahaclub.com/forums/topic/26876-xs-250-running-issues/ may be of some help.