MY TRIPLE LINE-UP OF YAMAHA SINGLES

Having read your recent Your Classics articles on ‘Lockdown Yamaha projects’, I thought I’d show you the three bikes I’ve cleaned up myself. Andy Astle, the renowned XT500 restorer that you’ve featured in CB in the past, has been a great help to me, with many bits of precious information.

I was inspired to take on the first of these projects, my DT175 MX, after a good friend of mine rode to my house on the DT he’d just bought. These were the bikes we had when we were 17, and I knew I had to have one – it brought back so may good memories.

I searched online and eventually found one that was in fair condition with matching engine and frame numbers. The excitement flooded back when the seller let me ride it around his garden and, of course, I bought it. After I got it home, I stripped it down and did a full clean up. I rebuilt the engine, including a rebore and a new piston, and replaced the clutch. The front and rear suspension were given a full refurbishment and I generally went through the whole bike, replacing nongenuine parts with Yamaha parts.

God knows how much I spent, but I can say that the bike is pretty much as it left the factory now. I wouldn’t say it was perfect, but it has given me a lot of pleasure doing all the work – Mark Turner, the owner of a fantastic shop here in Reading called Motorcycle Parts Centre, has been a great help in supplying genuine Yamaha parts. I also searched ebay for missing parts that were no longer available and paid for bits to be shipped from the USA.

I purchased my XT550 purely for the purpose of carrying out another project. I travelled with a friend to Wales to collect it – although the bike did eventually start, it needed a lot of mechanical work. Cosmetically, it wasn’t too bad, although it still needs some work on the tank; I plan to have this carried out by Andy from Yorkshire, who advertises in CB and was recommended by Andy Astle. Once again, I went through the entire bike and replaced many bits with genuine Yamaha parts including the clutch, gaskets, wheel bearings and brake linings. It’s also had a complete stripdown and refurb of the front and rear suspension. The bike now runs nicely, although it’s quite hard to start (apparently they always were...)

As for my XT500, it belonged to a chap who occupied a rental unit at the University of Reading, where I do a lot of work; I’d been asking him for ages if he’d sell it to me. It’s another matchingnumbers bike and was in fair condition when he finally agreed to sell it to me. These bikes are unbelievable – you can see why they hold such strong prices.

Going through the whole bike was a tough task, but got me through the worst of the pandemic. Again, Andy Astle was really helpful, including recommending his excellent tank repair man (see above). My bike is nowhere near the standard Andy achieves with his refurbs, but is now in very good condition and a joy to ride. I have fitted a new clutch, seals, bearings and frame mesh oil filters – once again, it’s now pretty much 100% genuine Yamaha. Out of the three, this is my favourite, but the DT still puts a smile on my face when I ride it – and that can’t be a bad thing!