About a month ago, I sold a very nice 1978 Yamaha SR500 cafe racer to Randy Pobst, a race-car driver from down Georgia way. I bought the bike two summers ago from a Free-Stater who was about to relocate to New Hampshire from San Francisco and didn't want to transport the bike- so, of course, I paid Daily Direct to bring it here anyway! The bike was great fun, lithe and narrow, sounded great, and was loaded with a lot of cool parts, some of which are no longer available. As fun as the bike was, I wasn't commuting with it (well, only once), I wasn't racing it, and hadn't built it, so it was kind of the odd bike out, and when I started on my H-D Ironhead Sportster project, my workspace was feeling cramped. One Saturday morning over breakfast, I was feeling cranky about the amount of iron in the barn, and posted the following to craigslist:
1978 Yamaha SR500 SR 500 AHRMA USCRA
Up for sale, a 1978 Yamaha SR500, "Single Road." This is a kickstart-only machine that was only imported into the US for a couple of years. It's a cult bike worldwide, and is still being produced in Japan as a 400. This is a very nice example of a west-coast style SR, with a lot of modifications; ride it on the road, or go vintage racing.
Mods include: Yamaha "spool" hubs laced to alloy rims- much lighter than the original cast wheels
Mikuni 38mm VM White Brothers carb (slide cutaway raised, needle jet hood lowered).
K&N air filter
White Brothers big-bore single wall header pipe
SuperTrapp muffler
Clubman bars, bar-end mirror
Low-profile "Lucas style" taillight
Bullet-style alloy turn signals
Upgraded Yamaha master cylinder
Single-pull quick-twist Gunnar Gasser throttle
Fork brace
Progressive suspension rear shocks
It’s not a showbike, but a solid, good-looking example with plenty of café-racer cred, and a total blast to ride. Shop manuals come with it- including a reprint of the original Yamaha manual. Tires have plenty of wear left. $1500 firm. If you like, I can give you a letter for the DMV so you can get the “KXTRT” plate that I currently hold.
About fifteen minutes after I posted the ad, the fun started. I got more email in the next few weeks than I'd gotten in my entire life. A spirited email dialogue began with Randy that continued until after the sketchy dudes he'd hired delivered it and he'd ridden it a couple of times. Last I heard from him, he was still getting the hang of starting the little darling. . . the SR500 can be a bit balky to start in any case, but with the oversize carb and open exhaust, she could be a real challenge, especially on a cold morning. These were the starting instructions I'd sent Randy while he was still waiting for the bike:
The Compleat Kickstarter
Being a treatise on the care, feeding, and starting sequence of the SR500
(It's snowing hard outside, by the way)
You may want to rent "Lawrence of Arabia" and watch the first scene a few times. . . oh, come on, he actually dies in the second scene. The first scene is the elaborate starting ritual for his Brough Superior SS100. This is nothing so complicated as that.
It must be said in the beginning that this motorcycle, like the Britbikes to whom it pays homage, truly prefers to be ridden every day. If one is not to ride it every day, there are certain compromises that must be made. First, keep the battery fully charged. This may be a function of my inability to locate non-resistor spark plugs, you may want to order some. Second, if the bike has been sitting for more than a day or two, drain the float bowl. Modern "motor fuel" seems to go bad in a matter of hours in the float bowls of carburetors. You'll get in the habit of leaving a small plastic dish and a 17mm wrench in a handy spot. Drain, replace the bowl plug, turn the fuel tap to "prime" (yes, it's a vacuum-operated tap) until the little bubbles stop swirling around in the fuel filter, then turn it to "on."
Are you wearing boots? Good. There are those who pride themselves in starting their SR500's in sandals. Fine for them. She will, occasionally, backfire. Snap! go the foot bones.
Most importantly: ignore the choke. It is only there to confuse you. The bike will not start if you attempt to use it. Likewise, leave the throttle completely closed. If it's open at all, you will hear a distinctly hollow sucking sound from the intake, giving you a clear idea of your chances that way.
Familiarize yourself with the decompression lever, a small lever mounted below the clutch lever. It is your friend. It lifts the exhaust valve. Stand the bike upright (off the side stand). Turn the key to "on", pull the lever in, and kick the engine over three or four times to "clear" it. This is of uncertain meaning, but it always sounds good, and seems to help when the bike is cold.
Let the lever out, and turn the engine slowly until you come up against compression. Pull the lever in once again, and ease the piston over top-dead-center. If you look at the little window on the right side of the head, the TDC indicator will just barely be coming into view. Let the lever out, bring the kickstart lever up as high as it will go (on whatever ratchet tooth is happens to be on), think good thoughts, and smoothly put your leg, your back, and your very soul into the downstroke. Did she start? No? Then repeat this paragraph until she does. Probably four or five times -or more- if she's cold. That's the price of that huge carb and open exhaust.
She started? Lovely. Especially if she kept running. Once she's run for ten or twenty seconds, you can ease the throttle open a bit. Once she's let you do that, you can put her on the sidestand, and don the jacket, gloves, and helmet you wisely waited to put on. If you put them on first, you could die of heatstroke before the sixth kick, and besides, everyone will think you a complete prat. Calmly get ready to ride while she chugs away, properly warming up. Once I'm astride the bike and ready to go, I'll often open the oil cap and check the oil return. I can't think of any other reason that the cap is right there in front of you.
Hot starting is usually less complex. The big VM roundslide carb lacks the "hot start button" of the wretched stock item, but she'll usually fire up with one or two attempts. Only twice has she ever stalled while I was out on a ride. Stay calm, really. Stick to your routine. Take the bike out of gear before you try and kick.
If you're bump starting and you have a long hill, pull in both the clutch and the decomp, get rolling (turn the key on!), let out the clutch, then the decomp. Magic. -g.
1978 Yamaha SR500 SR 500 AHRMA USCRA
Up for sale, a 1978 Yamaha SR500, "Single Road." This is a kickstart-only machine that was only imported into the US for a couple of years. It's a cult bike worldwide, and is still being produced in Japan as a 400. This is a very nice example of a west-coast style SR, with a lot of modifications; ride it on the road, or go vintage racing.
Mods include: Yamaha "spool" hubs laced to alloy rims- much lighter than the original cast wheels
Mikuni 38mm VM White Brothers carb (slide cutaway raised, needle jet hood lowered).
K&N air filter
White Brothers big-bore single wall header pipe
SuperTrapp muffler
Clubman bars, bar-end mirror
Low-profile "Lucas style" taillight
Bullet-style alloy turn signals
Upgraded Yamaha master cylinder
Single-pull quick-twist Gunnar Gasser throttle
Fork brace
Progressive suspension rear shocks
It’s not a showbike, but a solid, good-looking example with plenty of café-racer cred, and a total blast to ride. Shop manuals come with it- including a reprint of the original Yamaha manual. Tires have plenty of wear left. $1500 firm. If you like, I can give you a letter for the DMV so you can get the “KXTRT” plate that I currently hold.
About fifteen minutes after I posted the ad, the fun started. I got more email in the next few weeks than I'd gotten in my entire life. A spirited email dialogue began with Randy that continued until after the sketchy dudes he'd hired delivered it and he'd ridden it a couple of times. Last I heard from him, he was still getting the hang of starting the little darling. . . the SR500 can be a bit balky to start in any case, but with the oversize carb and open exhaust, she could be a real challenge, especially on a cold morning. These were the starting instructions I'd sent Randy while he was still waiting for the bike:
The Compleat Kickstarter
Being a treatise on the care, feeding, and starting sequence of the SR500
(It's snowing hard outside, by the way)
You may want to rent "Lawrence of Arabia" and watch the first scene a few times. . . oh, come on, he actually dies in the second scene. The first scene is the elaborate starting ritual for his Brough Superior SS100. This is nothing so complicated as that.
It must be said in the beginning that this motorcycle, like the Britbikes to whom it pays homage, truly prefers to be ridden every day. If one is not to ride it every day, there are certain compromises that must be made. First, keep the battery fully charged. This may be a function of my inability to locate non-resistor spark plugs, you may want to order some. Second, if the bike has been sitting for more than a day or two, drain the float bowl. Modern "motor fuel" seems to go bad in a matter of hours in the float bowls of carburetors. You'll get in the habit of leaving a small plastic dish and a 17mm wrench in a handy spot. Drain, replace the bowl plug, turn the fuel tap to "prime" (yes, it's a vacuum-operated tap) until the little bubbles stop swirling around in the fuel filter, then turn it to "on."
Are you wearing boots? Good. There are those who pride themselves in starting their SR500's in sandals. Fine for them. She will, occasionally, backfire. Snap! go the foot bones.
Most importantly: ignore the choke. It is only there to confuse you. The bike will not start if you attempt to use it. Likewise, leave the throttle completely closed. If it's open at all, you will hear a distinctly hollow sucking sound from the intake, giving you a clear idea of your chances that way.
Familiarize yourself with the decompression lever, a small lever mounted below the clutch lever. It is your friend. It lifts the exhaust valve. Stand the bike upright (off the side stand). Turn the key to "on", pull the lever in, and kick the engine over three or four times to "clear" it. This is of uncertain meaning, but it always sounds good, and seems to help when the bike is cold.
Let the lever out, and turn the engine slowly until you come up against compression. Pull the lever in once again, and ease the piston over top-dead-center. If you look at the little window on the right side of the head, the TDC indicator will just barely be coming into view. Let the lever out, bring the kickstart lever up as high as it will go (on whatever ratchet tooth is happens to be on), think good thoughts, and smoothly put your leg, your back, and your very soul into the downstroke. Did she start? No? Then repeat this paragraph until she does. Probably four or five times -or more- if she's cold. That's the price of that huge carb and open exhaust.
She started? Lovely. Especially if she kept running. Once she's run for ten or twenty seconds, you can ease the throttle open a bit. Once she's let you do that, you can put her on the sidestand, and don the jacket, gloves, and helmet you wisely waited to put on. If you put them on first, you could die of heatstroke before the sixth kick, and besides, everyone will think you a complete prat. Calmly get ready to ride while she chugs away, properly warming up. Once I'm astride the bike and ready to go, I'll often open the oil cap and check the oil return. I can't think of any other reason that the cap is right there in front of you.
Hot starting is usually less complex. The big VM roundslide carb lacks the "hot start button" of the wretched stock item, but she'll usually fire up with one or two attempts. Only twice has she ever stalled while I was out on a ride. Stay calm, really. Stick to your routine. Take the bike out of gear before you try and kick.
If you're bump starting and you have a long hill, pull in both the clutch and the decomp, get rolling (turn the key on!), let out the clutch, then the decomp. Magic. -g.
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