TTR renovation - Part 5 - back in working order

Old and new inlet rubbers

The ratchet guide arrived with the new inlet rubbers and I was able to get the old ones off. Turns out they were four piece when they should have been two piece... The rubber inlets  had completely unbonded from the internal aluminium flanges that bolt to the head. I should have realised this back at the start when I removed the carb and they seemed loose, another lesson learnt.

I fitted the new bits and buttoned it all back up to see how it ran. Started first kick from cold after a couple of priming kicks, so much better there. There was a rattle coming from the kick start though, plus the kick lever was getting stuck as it wasn't auto decompressing properly, so I didn't run it for long. I got back then went briefly to start it to check an unrelated  indicator problem, but got a kick back, firing my knee into the handlebar (that was another two days limping), so back into the garage and back apart. Turns out I'd stupidly not aligned the ratchet guide properly with the decomp lobe the other side of the kick start gear - hence no auto decomp. I also found that this time, it had smashed up the bolts and tabs making up the kick start stop. My first major mistake on this one, but thankfully not too expensive - back to motorcyclespareparts.eu...

smashed up kick start stop

Meanwhile I got some help from the horizonsunlimited forum, where jjrider kindly took a photo of an old mechanism he had lying around and sent to me. The problem with the kick start issues on this bike is that I only have a TTRE electric start workshop manual  - it's all I've found anywhere online. So its fine for most of the bike, but I'm blind on the kick start stuff, hence I made the mistake in alignment. In case it helps anyone reading this, the straight vertical side of the kick start ratchet wheel lobe, should align with a dot that reveals itself at the end of the ratchet spline on the kick start shaft, once you take the circlip, washer and spring off. Anyway, that's all now back together and I've been out today - the bikes running really well with the new inlet rubbers, it's easy to start with no kick backs and all the back firing has gone.

There are lots of bits that still need doing to sort it out, stripping and rebuilding calipers, new chain and sprockets etc - but I now know it's a sweet running bike, worth spending the time and effort on.

So there's my tale from a mechanically conversant but lacking in experience perspective. The various photos I took dismantling it were a great help and nothing is ever as daunting as it might seem if you've not done it before - so if in doubt go for it. Work sensibly and methodically and you won't go far wrong, as ever Google is your friend. I certainly won't be taking bikes to workshops much any more!

TT600R renovation - Part 4 - running lean.

I was busy doing other things for a while and my garage was full, so it stayed at the Mike Wheeler's in Witney for a while (great service by the way!). Eventually they found a source for the parts and duly fitted them, turns out it had destroyed various bits of the kick start mechanism internally (ratchet wheel, kick start gear, idle gear and ratchet stop), plus they put an MOT on. While at the workshop we still felt the replacement CDI might be at fault, so they swapped it for the old one and got it to run on both, but very roughly on the original. It seems CDIs can partly fail. When we went to pick it up it was a pig to start again, but started to come back to life via a few kick backs. The clutch was also gummed up again, so I pointed it in the direction of home and the moment it fired knocked it in gear and rode off. It got me home but still wasn't right.

Half way home

Second kick start destroyed..

After a ride around I realised it was backfiring much more than it had before, plus still needed choke to start when warm, and wouldn't tick over properly. It had a hanging idle as well so I suspected something was making it lean.  Eventually, after messing about with checking the new air filter was oiled etc, I got it running and finally suspecting the inlet rubbers, sprayed easy start on them while it was running - sure enough the revs rose so I'd found the culprit, lean running due to knackered inlet rubbers. The studs for the inlet rubbers were very tight so one evening I went to warm it up to make removing them easier. One bloody big kick back and it destroyed ANOTHER kick start. Not wanting to take it to the workshop again this time round, I just decided to get on with it and take the clutch cover off myself. Sure enough, it was all pretty simple and I shouldn't have been nervous about doing it before - but it's all a learning curve.

Once the cover was off I took it apart and found it had destroyed another ratchet wheel. I called Mike Wheeler's and they said they'd been able to source TTR parts at motorcyclespareparts.eu - so this time I ordered direct and fitted myself. Great service there and an excellent source for hard to find TTR parts.

TT600R renovation - Part 3 - it lives!

Once we'd moved house I had better facilities to work on it regularly, so could focus my attention on making it go. With the new CDI fitted I decided it was time to give it a good kicking. I could smell and see fuel was getting through now and finally, dripping with sweat from kicking it over, I got a backfire. I decided to be fairly bold and sprayed some easy start in through the vacuum take off on the inlet rubber in front of the carb, to take the carb out the equation. It wouldn't start but I could determine a slight burnt fuel smell indicating some combustion, so I knew it was getting a spark. I thought it was probably getting a spark anyway, but I couldn't do this basic test as was unable to kick it and properly ground the plug at the same time. Failing to do so would likely fry the new CDI - so I didn't try. Next, I sprayed some Easy Start in the air box and started to get the odd cough and squeak, definite signs of life. Then finally after 60 - 70 kicks and with me f**king knackered it fired! There was a fair bit of smoke as it kicked out 7 yrs of accumulated crap and it stopped after a few seconds, but nonetheless it lived! I was learning how to kick the thing as well, from feel and what I'd read on forums, so I was pretty pleased. It wouldn't run without the choke out (another tell tale sign I should have noticed), but nonetheless it worked.

Over the next few weeks I got it running a few times, but noted that it gave some fairly vicious kick backs. It did it once when I wasn't wearing a steel shanked MX boot - I never did that again afterwards. I got it out and took it for a brief ride to check the clutch and gearbox worked as expected. Everything seemed OK, but the engine wasn't happy, feeling lumpy, not wanting to tick over and not very lively. Then one day, it kicked back so violently when I went to start it, it destroyed the kick start mechanism and punctured a hole in the clutch cover where the kick start smashed its stop and continued into the casing. At this point in time I wasn't too confident about taking the clutch cover off. Seems stupid now, but not really knowing what was inside and thinking it would also mean changing the auto decomp I wasn't keen. So off to the local workshop it was.

TTR Renovation - Part 2 - initial troubleshooting

Back at base I decided to go through the whole electrical system testing resistance according to spec, as I had no idea what else might have perished in the time it had been stood. I was pleased to find everything seems to be performing OK and the various kill switches were doing what they should be. The coil resistance did seem a little off, so as it was only £30 or so I put a new one. The sump plug was loose and most of the oil had left the of engine, so I did an oil and filter change for good measure, plus put a new iridium plug in. There were a couple of casing studs missing so I replaced them, plus (backing myself that I'd actually get it running), decided to replace the rear cowling which was flaking away. I also took the headlight apart, drained the water out of it, then cleaned it up inside.

Leaky headlight...

 Satisfied the engine was turning OK and that it had oil and fresh petrol in it, I decided to see if it would start, there appeared to be plenty of compression. Needless to say it wouldn't. Fuel wasn't moving through the new clear pipe I'd fitted by the tap, plus there was none at the carb drain screw, so was safe to say it wasn't getting fuel, I couldn't smell any either.

So I took the carbs off and found the float valve stuck, I gave everything a good clean and put it all back together again. At this stage I should have noted the inlet rubbers were overly flexible, but still.

Given I knew everything else was OK, I decided it was time to try and find a new CDI. They're silly money from Yamaha, but I eventually imagined to source an aftermarket one from Wieltronic in Belgium, via eBay. I fitted it and it still wouldn't start, but at this point we moved house so there was a pause in progress.

Yamaha TT600R renovation - Part 1

As I bought it, AFTER we'd cleaned it up....

I thought I'd write up my experience getting a basket case bike into running order - from the perspective of someone who mostly knows how bikes work, but doesn't have a great deal of experience fixing them up beyond general maintenance and rebuilding calipers etc. Hopefully my lessons and experiences will be useful for someone in a similar position - I've learnt a lot in the last few months. So last summer I finally managed to persuade my mate who runs the local dealership to part with an 03 Yamaha TT600R that had been sat in the corner of his yard, outside, for about six years. Previously he'd told me I didn't want it because it was knackered, but he eventually relented. It had originally come in with a presumed electrical fault but then had been abandoned. It had a decent supermoto conversion; talon hubs, excel rims, Maxxis supermoto tyres and a full titanium Remus system. But it had been out uncovered with the instrument binnacle hanging off and a rag in place of the spark plug. We dragged it out, pumped the tyres up, confirmed the engine wasn't (too), seized and sprayed some WD40 in the cylinder for good measure.

He suggested a new CDI or kill switch which didn't seem to bad, as far as they could remember they'd already fitted a new loom, ignition switch and coil. So I loaded it up and took it away...

Opening the season at Clatworthy

Father and I headed down to Clatworthy at the weekend against our better judgement, it was a cold day with a cold wind. Nonetheless we wanted to kick the season off so over we went, the wife elected not to fish...

Fishing from the far bank I started with a floating line, twitching back a small gold head GRHE on the point, a red buzzer next up and a PTN on the dropper. To my surprise I was into a fish within about 15 minutes, the fish took the buzzer,
probably about 7 - 8 feet down (right).

After that it was a fairly slow business until I missed a good thump fairly deep on the point fly, then got a savage take close in on the GRHE twenty minutes later to yield a second fish. Meanwhile Father had headed up the bank and caught two in quick succession fishing a Black and Peacock on a floating line. A couple of hours passed with not much doing and the after a brief spell of sunshine the weather refused to lighten up, so I changed to an intermediate, pulling a mini white booby on the point (felt a bit dirty), and a Zulu variant on the dropper. Was into a fish first cast on the point. so that seemed to work. Then on the third cast bang again and was into a another fish, which once I'd played it in a bit, turned out to be two fish, one on each fly! I must have just hit a pod of them and being early season, they were probably less wairy of lures, which everybody seems to drag in all day round there. So that was me, Father picked up one more fish but really by 3.30pm, it was colder, the fish were done for the day, so we were off home to the fire. A good day given the conditions, it seemed less a case of using a specific fly and more a case of being at the right depth and finding a pod of fish. The fish were all between two and three pounds, so seemed smaller than previous seasons at Clatworthy, but it was only one day so if I'm there again this season, we'll see how it goes. Meanwhile, I hear Roadford and Colliford have made a strong start, so look forward to getting down there as soon as I can.