| 1978 Yamaha DT250E Dusty |
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| February 1st '01 I was looking for a dirt bike to play on this summer. I wanted a cheap two stroke and it naturally had to be a Yamaha. So one sunday I took my dog for a walk to the local bike shop, to check out the yard for something suitable. |
| In the long row of dirt bikes to be dismantled was a DT250 Yam. Alot of the bikes had vital parts missing (engines, wheels & exhausts) but this one looked to be almost complete, apart from a missing saddle, headlight and a few smaller items. |
| Not long after that day, a deal was done that didn't make a large hole in my wallet and another Yamaha motorcycle had been rescued from a premature ending. |
| Once I'd got the bike home, the cleaning and checking began. I've ordered a microfiche and manual from Motocom to assist me in getting it running. |
| March 10th '01 To date I've painted a few parts, cleaned up both wheels and brakes. The engine looks OK although I have a few more jobs to do on it, before I fire it up. The two stroke oil supply pipe from the pump is leaking. The front tyre has a puncture and the electrics look a mess. A recent project was to remove the swinging arm to paint it. I've had a battle to remove the spindle, so I've had to add a spindle to the list of parts required. |
| March 21st '01 The highs and lows of restoration sum up this past week. Seven days ago I was about to give up on Dusty for a while and work on Buzz. The swinging arm was causing me major headaches. Firstly I couldn't get the thing off the frame. Then I couldn't get the spindle out of the swinging arm. New spindles are no longer available and the spacer is $42 cdn. Haaaaaaaaaa! But now the clouds of doubt have gone and the sun is once more shining down on me. I have acquired another arm, spindle and spacer. The arm has a new coat of paint on it and is now having a good lube job done to prevent these problems ever returning. Other parts I have collected for the bike include a headlight and front turn signals. But I still need a saddle, side panels and rear turn signals to finish the project off. The manual has now arrived so I can also sort out the electrics, so at the moment it feels like one step back and two steps forward! |
| April 12th '01 As you can see from the latest photo, Dusty is nearing the end of a tidy up, to get it roadworthy. I'm not quite there yet. While trying to start the engine the other night, I discovered no spark, so I will have to check the points. I will need a magneto puller to gain access to them, not an everyday tool, but start up should be soon. Watch this space! |
| July 28th '01 Today I found time to play about with the bike and sort it out. I fitted a new set of points, dismantled the kill switch and cleaned it up. After a couple of kicks it fired up, a couple of minutes later it died again, same problem, no spark. So I fitted a different spark plug and it's now running fine. The above picture is a little out of date. I've fitted another gas tank as the silver one had a big dent on the top. Dusty now has a red tank, front mudguard and right hand side panel. I hope to spray the bike yellow like the Yamaha's of old, but that won't be done until the winter. |
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| Page updated 18th November '03 |
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| Sept 9th "01: Dusty now has a partner, Rusty. Also rescued from Recycle, the local bike store. The bike is still not in great shape but it runs really well, being alot more powerful than Dusty. Over the winter I will strip it down and clean it up. |
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| 29th Nov. '01: Winter is now here in Alberta so it's time to do some maintenance on the bikes. Rusty is having it's fork seals replaced and a bit of paint applied. |
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| Would you like a video on how to wheelie? If it's an unknown skill as it is to me, check out this website: www.learntowheelie.com |
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