New Motorcycle Shaped Object..

[Tinkicker]

Indicators arrived as did headlamp sealed beam.  Fitted front indicators and chopped down the incredibly long studs they came fitted with, but discovered I only have one M8 dome nut left in my stock of nuts n bolts.  Hate leaving the long standard studs stuck up with normal full nuts on them.

New stainless dome nuts on order.

Indicators also supplied with 6v/21w bulbs and they should be 6v/18w.  The flasher can will probably flash way too fast with 21w fitted, so a box of 18w bulbs on order.
They do light up though, as does the repeater on the speedo; but do not flash as I have not yet fitted the rear indicators.

I need to fabricate a steel bracket for them with the original brackets long absent.
There is a long steel plate in my now redundant hand brace that seem to be just the right width and thickness to cut in half, bend and shape, so indicator mounts courtesy of the NHS.

I fitted the sealed beam in headlamp rim, fitted two W clips to hold in place and connected it up to the bike.

Kick over - started on first kick again, so that particular gremlin has been given the boot, start up, headlight switch on and we have dip and high beam with a working blue high beam indicator on the speedo.

Headlamp working, but not buttoned up yet.  I need to investigate horn malfunction yet.  I suspect it is the horn itself, rather than the wiring or switch, but knowing my luck, I would button up the headlamp only to have to remove it again, and in doing so disturb something else.  Also going to run a separate headlamp ground to the headlamp shell bolt.  I do not like the idea of one ground wire fitted with a four way connection for three other grounds to connect to in the shell.  In my view, high wattage items like headlamps should have a dedicated ground.  Just my opinion.

Front indicators fitted.  Left ( on pic ) fitted with dome nut.  Right has its silly long stud chopped down but still has supplied full nut fitted.  Lenses removed waiting for bulbs arriving.
 

Silly long stud they come supplied with.  They could have your eye out.

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

Good to see a job being done properly.  

[Simon Davey]

Loving this thread. 

Going to be a cracker. 

[SICKS6SIX]

be a shame to paint that exhaust system, how about a high-temperature clear coat after it has been on the polishing wheel, all them rattle can high-temperature paints burn off the headers, especially on hot 2T engines,

[Tinkicker]

Double and triple checked voltage at horn terminals.  Solid 6v everytime, so button is not intermittently faulty.

 

Now I know the horn is being a little recalcitrant, I ordered another with dual bolt fixing on the bracket and 28mm spacing between centres.  Putting a ruler across the forks legs in front of the bracket, closing one eye and effecting a squint, I make that about right.

Shame about the horn, I would have liked to keep it, but chancy with it being intermittent.  If you get pulled over on an old, MOT exempt bike (over 40 years old, they are classed as historic vehicles and road tax and MOT exempt), one of the first things a cop is going to ask is for you to try the horn.  It may be free of the annual MOT inspection, but it must be kept fully roadworthy at all times.  An inoperative horn will attract a ticket.

Made a new dedicated ground just for the headlight.  I do not like the idea of running multiple grounds from a thin, almost 50 year old wire, when one of those systems connected to it is the headlamp.
Headlamp now secured in the housing.

New 18w BA15S bulbs arrived and fitted in the indicators.  Charged battery fully and tested with rear wired in.  Unfortunately, although everything lights and works fine, they do not flash.  I get the initial "boing" noise then they just stay lit.
Again disappointing, I would have liked to have kept the original can, but I can remember from my youth, that that particular style of can was quite unreliable.  I can remember changing one on my mates TY50 and again on my own FS1E.  Both for the lights staying lit.  New modern type of three pin specifically for vintage yams ordered. Prabably just has the P terminal disconnected internally.

Indicators and telltale lit, but no action.

 

 

Edited December 20, 2023 by Tinkicker

[Tinkicker]

Horn arrived.  The bracket turned out to be identical to the original.  Bolted it up, plugged it in and we now have a reliable toot.  Pity the horn body has a cover over it though.  Identical apart from that.

New horn.

Old horn.

Another goodie arrived today from gr8tuncleal.  The switch toggle and screw.

Thanks Al.  You are a top bloke.

[Tinkicker]

Finished for chrimbo yesterday.  Nursing an epic hangover, I took myself into the conservatory this lunchtime and pottered around a bit.

Fitted the rear indicator brackets I made from the internal structure of my handbrace.  I have no idea of the material, very odd.  It is very light, I bet both brackets only weigh 4 grammes together, but appears to be stronger and more bend resistant than mild steel of the same dimensions.  I thought it might have been titanium, but it did not cut or drill like titanium.  Magnesium?  Either way they are gratifyingly sturdy.  Far better than expected.  Needed quite a bit of force to press the double register bend into them.

I did not bother to paint them because the indicators ground through them.  I will see what they look like when the rear fender is finished and fitted.  I will probably paint them then.

I fitted Gr8uncleals switch toggle - fitted like it should.  Thanks again Al.  I have a selection of paint pens at work of different colours.  When dealing with multiple shafts, spacers, clips, clutches and bearings you need to have a means of colour coding them to aid rebuilding after they have been sat waiting for the customer go ahead for six months. 
I thought to bring the red one home to colour in the toggle as it should be,  but I forgot....

Flasher can arrived.  Plugged it in and as the experts on here advised, it was obvious that the ground connection was shorting the power.  Cut off the ground ( cut blade terminal off the can, not the wire ) and we now have working flashers.

Brackets fabricated and rear indicators fitted.

UnckleAls toggle fitted perfectly.  Other indicator now has its dome nut.

Starting to look like a motorcycle again..  Need to reroute the throttle cable according ti the good book.  It should go behind the indicator.  The metal elbow will need straightening a little to achieve that without introducing a sharpish bend in the cable.

[Simon Davey]

I know it's the whole point of such a meticulous restore, but I love how it looks brand new. 

[Tinkicker]

Thanks.  But this is not a particularly in depth restoration in comparison to my VFR750 and DT175mx.  Those were done money no object, wheras the DT100 not being a particularly sought after bike was done on a fairly restrictive budget.

 

I have strong emotional ties with the VFR and the 175.  I had a 175 brand new when I was 17 and a VFR brand new in 1997.  I always knew I had made a grave mistake when I sold them to buy something else.  A 250N Superdream in the case of the 175 and a Blackbird in the case of the VFR.  Always regretted selling them.

 

The DT100.  I have no particular ties with them, but it deserves preserving.

 

What a no expense spared restoration looks like..  Not blowing my own trumpet but the classic bike appraiser who came to value it reckons it is the best in the country that he knows of.  I am certainly proud of it.  Until I jetted it too lean and blew a hole in the piston last august bank holiday.  Engine is coming out for repair sometime this week.

 

 

VFR.  Restored to ride as a brand new bike.  Does not get used much at the moment, very little time, but I retire in six years and that is what it was built for.

Edited December 23, 2023 by Tinkicker

[Simon Davey]

Wow, they're absolutely stunning! 

My biggest motorcycle regret is letting my Z1300 go for a few hundred quid, so I could buy a Ford Sierra

[Tinkicker]

 

Rubbed down the first layer of body clag on the rear fender and applied the second layer. I hope that will do it.

While waiting for that to harden, I proceeded to fit the rear brake pedal assembly.  Bit of a fiddly job with the brake switch hook, it goes through a very tiny space between the swingarm and the engine.  Barely enough room to pass it through.

Will need to touch up the chassis paint in various places as it got scratched in the process,but no biggie. 

Fitted a temp ground between rear lamp and one of the inducator brackets ( appears to be aftermarket and grounds through the fender, just two wires) Don't like that idea, I will solder a dedicated ground onto the bulb holder.

Time to try the lights...
 

Yup.  Light switch on. Tail lamp lit.

Tried front brake.  Yup brake light lit.  Tried rear brake.  Yup brake light lit.

Its just that soddin body clag and paint now.

I have made the first attempt after several strong arabica bean based beverages...  Mixng such small amounts I got too much hardener in the mix. It was getting unworkable after about 30 seconds.  That is why it looks pink.

Brake lever assembly fitted and connected.  Brake switch hook was a bitch.  Needs some touch up work now.

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Quality Control Inspector keeping a close eye on the job to ensure no shortcuts.  I have three on my case...

Tail light lit.

Both tail light and brake light lit together.  Aftermarket lamp unit is not exactly sparkling quality.  I think I will rewire it with the correct wire colours and make it a bit more fit for purpose.

 

Edited December 26, 2023 by Tinkicker

[Tinkicker]

Rubbed second layer and applied superglue to fill the tiny imperfections.  Rubbed that down and it feels ok.  There are still some small imperfections but a few layers of primer and flatting down should see to those.  If not, they are hidden by the seat anyway.

Took it to spray some white primer on and had one of those sinking feeling moments.  Picked up the 3/4 can of primer, shook it up, pressed the button and a lacklustre squirt came out.  Cleaned nozzle, tried again with same result.  Tried a nozzle I knew was fine.  Same result.  For some reason the can has lost most of its pressure. 

Another can will appear on wednesday.

Turned my attention to the aftermarket rear lamp unit.  It had red and blue wires, the blue being the brakelight and the red being the tailight. Ground is through the fender itself.
Odd choice.  The tailight feed on the bike is blue / white and the brakelight is green/ yellow.  I looked at my stock of wire. 
I had green/white which is close enough to green/ yellow for someone else not to get mixed up in the future.  Besides, the white will yellow with age.
No blue/ white but had the blue already on the tail lamp.  A quick snip, swap over and solder and we now have colours that are not confusing.  When I tested the lights previously I had them reversed.  I put blue to blue. The tail lamp was operated by the brake switches and the brakelamp by the light switch.  
I also soldered a dedicated ground wire to the bulbholder.  Relying on a ground through painted parts is a very poor, penny pinching way of saving 50 pence by the manufacturer in my book.
There is a ground provided from the loom for just that dedicated ground.

Rear fender rubbed down.  Gawd how I hate it...

Tailight fitted to as close to orginal wiring colours as I can get with what I had to hand.  Easy enough to be able to plug them in confidently, knowing it is correct.  Dedicated ground fitted, plugged in and working.

[Yorky]

41 minutes ago, Tinkicker said:

Took it to spray some white primer on and had one of those sinking feeling moments.  Picked up the 3/4 can of primer, shook it up, pressed the button and a lacklustre squirt came out.  Cleaned nozzle, tried again with same result.  Tried a nozzle I knew was fine.  Same result.  For some reason the can has lost most of its pressure.

 

[Tinkicker]

Well it is back together.  Of course it will never be done, there are always teething troubles and niggles that you feel could be done better.
Case in point; headlamp main beam and blue repeater light are suddenly not working.  Simple fix, the yellow wire from the hi lo switch must have got tugged and disconnected from their common junction when I put the reflector back in.  It is the only possible cause, unless the switch itself suddenly went faulty, which is doubtful.

It is what I said it would be from the outset, a 46 year old bike that has been preserved to last another 46 years.  It will not be my problem then.  Number of running roadworthy examples in the UK just went up to 26.
It will never be and was never intended to be a show bike.  It is a long way from perfect, the paint is laughable; just not worth putting the money into it.  It would cost three times what the bike is worth to make it a show standard bike that unfortunately was never desireable enough to actually have a chance of winning.

I hope everyone found it a most entertaining warts and all thread and more importantly, to maybe encourage some out there to have a go themselves. 
It is not an easy task restoring an almost 50 year old bike with long obsolete parts.  It does not matter who you are, you could be a senior yamaha development engineer, and you will still have problems and have to find solutions, but one step at a time....  I hope this thread prepared you for them.

Arrival at start of august 2023

Xmas 2023.
 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 29, 2023 by Tinkicker

[Simon Davey]

A very, very interesting read, and now a great looking bike .

[Old-codger]

That is a credit to you sir another cracking resto and very entertaining read. Roll on the new year and the next bike.

[Tinkicker]

Had a look at the main beam issue and it was as thought.  Yellow wire with single male bullet from switch disconnected from the headlamp main filament/blue indicator lamp double female connector when I fitted the lamp back into the shell.
Two minute fix involving one screw.

That bullet was the only possible explanation for losing both the blue light and main beam together.

Tested and working fine.  After two weeks laid up, bike started on second kick and quickly settled down into a reliable idle.

Things are afoot in the lounge display case....
 

[Tinkicker]

Well I just received my Historic vehicle V5 for this little un.  It's an "R" reg.

 

Just need to order a black number plate now.

[Tinkicker]

Since I had my riding gear on for testing the 175 and the gates to fort knox unlocked, I thought it time to take little yeller out for a spin.
Started her and let her warm up for five minutes just idling before setting out.  She did not want to take throttle and was bogging down.  Four stroking really badly and not wanting more than half throttle.
I thought the carburation was way off.  However it seemed to clear  a little in second.

100 yards further it had cleared completely.  I think it was just fuel that had condensed and pooled in the cold crancases while I was warming it up.

So what do I think of little yeller?

What a peach of a bike.  Lovely motor that pulls strongly, is dead smooth and is an absolute hoot to ride.

After a mile and warmed through I took her up to 45mph and she did it easily, revving out cleanly.
I have no doubt she would easily do 50 - 55mph, but being realistic, 40 to 45 is really the max you would want to be doing.  She sounds very busy at 40mph.  55mph would be at 9 or 10000 rpm.  I have too much mechanical sympathy for that.
The brakes need bedding in, the front in particular is a bit weak,  but apart from that, no problems.  I absolutely love it.

It must be comical viewing though.  I am not exactly a small bloke, ex bodybuilder and that bike is absolutely tiny.  Little more than a kids bike with road gear on it.  A drum sat on a pea springs to mind...

Another one back where it belongs.

The difference in size between the 175 and the 100 is easily seen here.  Both bikes were parked up and photographed in exactly the same place.
 

[Tinkicker]

Took little yeller out for another spin this morning for about five miles. Still a hoot, still a sweet motor and still nothing untoward.  Everything appears to be working as it should.

Guess this is the very end of this thread.  Hope you enjoyed it.

I have a commission to repair a vintage watch for a workmate, so change of use of space.  He is the guy who took me 100 miles to pick up little yeller when I bought it, and refused payment; so I owe him one.
It was his grandmothers watch and is been given to his daughter to wear on her wedding day in a couple of months.
Hope I don't screw it up.

Workbench latterly filled up with oily motorcycle parts is now suitable for rather more delicate parts.

A quick regulation of my weekend daily wearer to get my hand back in (Seiko NH35A movement).. Surprising how hard it is to reaquire muscle memory.  I was very clumsy.  All deftness gone.  Got there in the end though.

Even less space than before now I am sharing with two onlookers..

[Simon Davey]

Yes indeed, that was a great thread, thank you very much for sharing.

I'm actually in awe of your technical and mechanical expertise, not to mention your attention to detail.

 

Good luck with the watch, but I feel you don't need luck, just time-piece and quiet.......

[Hairsy]

Thank you - great thread and inspirational. Looking forward to your next one.

[Shepherd]

To add to the above  - thanks for a great thread. Even for a 'panic mechanic' like me, I enjoyed it. Maybe I didn't understand some of it, bit I read every bit.

[Ian Frog]

Agreed !

Thank you very much, ,not only for your  excellent input but for encouraging others.

Cheers

Ian

Edited February 3 by Ian Frog
Spelling ! Doh!

[Tiggie]

Excellent thread. Congratulations on a fantastic build