Post by maskman on Jun 9, 2008 18:34:09 GMT -5
Hello!
I am thrilled that there is now a forum dedicated to the SR500! I used to hang out quite a bit on the old thumperpage.com, until hackers essentially destroyed it.
I've had my 1980 SR since 1989. I'm the third owner, and the first two were not very kind to it. I bought it as a non-runner from owner #2, who told me it hadn't run ever since his "mechanic friend" adjusted the valves. (pretty easy to figure out where to start fixing!) Once I got it home I re-adjusted the valves and got it to run, but it was running rough and burning oil pretty badly. Although my riding buddies and I had worked on many four stroke single cylinder bikes before, and against my better judgement, I decided to let the local Yamaha dealer look into it. It turned out that it had been run while low on (or out of) oil, and the cam followers and other top end bits were totally ruined. The shop replaced almost all the moving parts in the head and bolted it back together. With great anticipation, I fired it up and was promptly enveloped by blue smoke. The shop had assigned one of their less talented mechanics to my bike, and he didn't bother to check the piston and rings. He also did a lousy job putting the bike back together (valve adjustment caps on upside down, rear brake light switch installed incorrectly, etc. On a positive note, the lead mechanic was mad and embarassed as hell, and offered to tear it back apart and fix it. I opted to take it home and do it myself, but from then on we were on a first name basis and he helped me for years afterward with parts and advice, and often gave me miscellaneous parts for free.
After I got the engine sorted out, I started taking care of other items. I ended up getting new tires, handlebars & grips, chain & sprockets, tapered steering head bearings, oil line relocated to the exhaust valve, blinkers, fork springs, 2nd front disk (and had both drilled), new master cylinder to cope with two disks, and centerstand. More recently I've replaced the diaphragms in the carb and petcock, removed the airbox and added a K&N to the intake and crankcase breather, and installed a battery eliminator so I don't have to mess with batteries anymore. Paint is still stock, but is looking kind of tired after 28 years.
I bought a flat track-style seat from Omar's, but haven't installed it because you have to modify the frame to do it, and I just can't bring myself to do it. Maybe I'll find a tired old XT500 and put it on that
Anyway, I'd like to thank whoever started this forum, and pledge to check back often!
I am thrilled that there is now a forum dedicated to the SR500! I used to hang out quite a bit on the old thumperpage.com, until hackers essentially destroyed it.
I've had my 1980 SR since 1989. I'm the third owner, and the first two were not very kind to it. I bought it as a non-runner from owner #2, who told me it hadn't run ever since his "mechanic friend" adjusted the valves. (pretty easy to figure out where to start fixing!) Once I got it home I re-adjusted the valves and got it to run, but it was running rough and burning oil pretty badly. Although my riding buddies and I had worked on many four stroke single cylinder bikes before, and against my better judgement, I decided to let the local Yamaha dealer look into it. It turned out that it had been run while low on (or out of) oil, and the cam followers and other top end bits were totally ruined. The shop replaced almost all the moving parts in the head and bolted it back together. With great anticipation, I fired it up and was promptly enveloped by blue smoke. The shop had assigned one of their less talented mechanics to my bike, and he didn't bother to check the piston and rings. He also did a lousy job putting the bike back together (valve adjustment caps on upside down, rear brake light switch installed incorrectly, etc. On a positive note, the lead mechanic was mad and embarassed as hell, and offered to tear it back apart and fix it. I opted to take it home and do it myself, but from then on we were on a first name basis and he helped me for years afterward with parts and advice, and often gave me miscellaneous parts for free.
After I got the engine sorted out, I started taking care of other items. I ended up getting new tires, handlebars & grips, chain & sprockets, tapered steering head bearings, oil line relocated to the exhaust valve, blinkers, fork springs, 2nd front disk (and had both drilled), new master cylinder to cope with two disks, and centerstand. More recently I've replaced the diaphragms in the carb and petcock, removed the airbox and added a K&N to the intake and crankcase breather, and installed a battery eliminator so I don't have to mess with batteries anymore. Paint is still stock, but is looking kind of tired after 28 years.
I bought a flat track-style seat from Omar's, but haven't installed it because you have to modify the frame to do it, and I just can't bring myself to do it. Maybe I'll find a tired old XT500 and put it on that
Anyway, I'd like to thank whoever started this forum, and pledge to check back often!
