MY TY80A Project
My idea differs to most because my plan is not to restore the TY to as new, but to be able to assemble the best original conditioned bike I can, using whatever resource is avaliable to me. This project is not about spending endless dollars making the bike better than new. It is about continually trying to source parts that are better than is currently fitted to the bike. There are to be no NOS parts or non original paintwork on this bike.
Lets see how I go.
The project begins
The first TY80 arrives. The previous owners had let the bike sit out in the elements for years. Not much to look at and heaps of parts missing. So the project begins!
The parts chase
First parts found, a set of perfect condition used mudgaurds purchased on E-bay.
Next nice find
Next up I managed to secure an excellent condition original seat. Once again good old E-bay had come to the rescue.
I am on a roll
E-bay also came through with a good condition original pipe with excellent heat shield. This pipe still had the original spark arrestor fitted.
Bike Two arrives on the Scene
I had no intention of buying another one but this bike came up in the local trading post. Good solid example. Runs well, but kick starter shaft broken.
Time to make one good one out of two poor ones!
Now that I had two donor bikes and a good supply of excellent quality parts it was time to start putting together one good bike.
Away we go
First job was to dismantle both bikes, comparing the condition of the parts and keeping the best bits for the project bike.
Exhaust Pipe
We used exhaust pipe from closest bike and fitted it with the heat shield from the other as it was in better condition paint wise and the sticker was complete.
Shocks
Next I Fitted the gaurds I had previously purchased off E-bay. Fitted the best shock absorbers, Tyres and the best of the side panels. Neither flywheel covers were complete so best one was used. I am still searching for a good one.
Forks
One bike had a set of forks with very minimal rust pitting which was up between the triple clamps. This cleaned up well with CRC and wet and dry emery paper. Forks were dismantled as the forks with the more rusty sliders had the best conditioned alloy legs. Reassembled forks and filled with ATF to the correct level and fitted to bike.
Seat
The seat and pan I had purchased off E-bay were fitted to bike to replace cracked original.
Tank
Tank choice was easy. This one just never made the grade for some reason!
The TY is finally starting to look good.
Next Step .....
Have been trying to locate a good engine side cover but so far have had no luck. As you can see the rear of the cover has been removed. All the ones that have been coming up on the auction sites have had similar damage. Hopefully will be able to get onto a good one soon.
Would love one in this condition.
What it should look like. If you have a spare I would love to know!
Oops Backward Step!
Sourced myself a better tank from the US. Had a small dent on the RH side of tank. Decided I would blow it out with a bit of air pressure. I normaly do this using a wide jaw vice and an ajustable belt. Stupidly I decided such a small dent would pop out easily so did not fit the strap. What do you know, the dent pops out and a fraction of a second later the tank slips out of the vice. The result.....as you can see, the air pressure spreads the tank and bouncing to the floor adds a few more dents, resulting in one stuffed tank. Lesson Learnt.