Manual man!

Hello there, I have just read the Workshop Q&A (page 46/ 1983 Yamaha SR250) of the May 2020 issue of CM M (No.391), and wanted to offer a tip for rescuing parts manuals that are on microfiche.

I had the same issue when trying to find a manual for my Suzuki GT 185 EC, and my brother's Yamaha RD 80 LC.

I had managed to find the parts manuals on microfiche, and found that the local history department of the 'main' library in my local town not only had a microfiche reader, but that it was hooked up to a computer, meaning I could scan the microfiche with more than enough resolution, and then save it on a USB stick to either view later on my computer or print out.

I imagine that most of the big libraries in towns and cities will have this service, as their archives of local newspapers, etcetera, will likely be on microfiche.

The reader/computer will need to be booked probably and they will ask if it's for commercial or private use (commercial use is not allowed), but you should be ok as a private user for restoring your own bike.

I hope this information is useful to you and could be passed on to John Mitten who asked the question, or even added to another issue of your great magazine to help save these useful and sometimes rare microfiches. Keep up the good work. Brian Walmsley

Bertie says: "Great idea, Brian!"