Shedtastic 2
I have just been reading about the project bikes in the March issue. I bought a Yamaha TY125 with the intention of teaching my (then) young children to ride motorcycles – they are now 28 and 30 but it still isn’t finished. I guess that I’ve had it well over 20 years. Is this a record?
It was the archetypal basket case when I bought it, just a rusty pile of bike bits and bobs that smelled of turpentine and showed evidence of having been on fire.
The resto got off to a reasonable start – I repaired the rusty frame and had it powder coated, rebuilt the engine, sealed the leaking fuel tank and sourced some less rusty fork stanchions. The exhaust was in surprisingly good condition so I painted that and pretty soon it began to look like a proper and rideable bike. And that is how it stayed for a few years while I sourced a replacement carburettor and seat base. Not a mountain to climb.
I eventually got it running in 2019 but it still isn’t finished. I only need to fill the gearbox with oil and fit the bash guard so I don’t know why it isn’t done. The photo is from August 2015, the first time I had the bike on its wheels and out of the garage.
Mike Brown, email