Here's something a little different: I acquired this 1966 Yamaha YL1 from an employee, who had previously gotten it from a friend who's dad brought it over from Thailand. It had been languishing in his basement for many years, and took a few weeks of work to get it running again (I didn't do the work, I don't know much about two-strokes!).

The YL1 is a two-stroke twin 100cc; I guess they were quite popular in southeast Asia. I don't know how many were sold in the U.S. It's going to need the inside of the tank cleaned and sealed because it got quite rusty. Also the tires will only hold air for about a day, so they will need replacing. They are the wrong size anyway, in fact we think that might be why the centerstand doesn't fully reach the ground!

It does run pretty good, and I have driven it a bit. One cylinder puts out less smoke than the other, so that is a concern, but when you gas it, it seems to even out. So I don't know. It actually has a heel-toe shifter that I keep bumping into the wrong gear! Suffice to say it's a small bike.

It has a cracked speedo lens, and a bit of surface rust, but otherwise it's all there. I don't think they're worth a lot so I don't know that I can justify a full resto. But it does kind of have a nice patina to it. What do you think?

 

Savage! That thing looks massively fun!

 

So today is the day I took the old Yamaha out for its maiden voyage (well at least since I've owned it). After a little clutch adjustment, and an embarrassing reminder to turn the fuel on, she went down the road without a hitch. It's going to need some tires, but otherwise it's a hoot to blat around on. Not real fast but with the chassis flex, 40 mph has a good amount of your attention!

 

Awesome! Definitely don't wait on sorting your tires. That's just asking for trouble.

I hope you're having a blast on it though. Bikes like these make you take the time to appreciate the foundation of why we ride. It's easy to lose a bit of that on the larger cc bikes.

 

AH I love old bikes! Hoping to build some kinda cafe bike myself soon. Enjoy it!

 

This spring the project was to get new tires, and while they were at it they cleaned and sealed the gas tank and sourced me a new fuel shut-off valve.

The new tires were desperately needed; the bike goes down the road a lot better now (it's not so wormy anymore). All the love lavished on it lately has apparently lifted its spirits as now it gets up into the mid 50's mph-wise. Hills are not its strong suit, but I suppose it's all relative. After all it's only 100cc and I weigh around 190 pounds.

If you're used to modern motorcycles, the four-down shift pattern requires deliberate thought. I'm hoping with more time on it, it will come more naturally. But I haven't left town with it yet. It killed on me yesterday at a stoplight (it fired right back up), so I'm not sure if the carbs need another cleaning.

Hopefully I'll get some more good rides in this summer; it loves to rev and makes a real noise. I even got a vintage style Simpson shorty helmet to wear while riding it. And it generates at least one appreciative smile by onlookers on each trip.