Yamaha TT500
(Page 4 of 6)
November/December 2008
By Margie Seigal
That said, Gordon’s not immune to some of the bike’s weak points. “There were some problems with this bike, especially the 1976 model,” he says. “It didn’t have the piston indicator gauge to show when the piston had passed top dead center, which reduced the chances of the engine kicking back and slamming the rider’s knee into the handlebar. Experienced riders always turn the bars to the left so if the engine kicks back, the rider’s knee won’t hit.” Gordon also notes that the stock exhaust on the first year TT wrapped around the right rear shock, causing the shock to overheat and eventually fail. Yamaha fixed the problem by redesigning the exhaust for the 1977 model.
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Those niggling issues aside, the TT was built for the long haul and holds up well to use. Easy to own, maintenance on the 500 is about the same for any dirt machine, allowing for age. “I like to use semi-synthetic on my TTs. Full synthetic is too thin for older air-cooled engines. I change the oil and adjust the valves about every 3,000 miles. You don’t have to tinker with the one carburetor — once it is dialed in, it stays there,” Gordon says.
“The TT500 has lots of power and lots of torque. One thing that attracts me is that the bike is a good ergonomic fit for me,” Gordon continues. “I am 5-foot-8, and the low seat height and foot pegs, and handlebar placement, fits me to a T. The brakes are adequate — the Yamaha stops, but you can’t compare it to a modern-day bike.” MC
Click here to read a short interview with D. Randy Riggs, who rode the first TT500 in Cycle World's exclusive October 1975 test of the new thumper from Yamaha.
The Missing Link: Yamaha's first 4-stroke thumper
By Margie Siegal
“Around 1974 or so, I got a call from the retail dealer in Buena Park [Calif.]. He said there was a guy asking for parts for an unusual engine. A light went on, and I asked the dealer to find out where he had got it. The guy clammed up. That’s the last I heard of it until I saw it at the Hanford meet.” — Bill Stewart, retired, Yamaha Motor USA Testing Department Manager
The course of engine development is not always smooth. What seems like a good idea on a computer screen does not always translate well to reality. And in the old days of drafting tables, the process of moving from two to three dimensions was even more fraught with unforeseen obstacles. Prototypes demonstrate in a concrete form the process of development of the production motorcycle. But since factories don’t want rival companies — or journalists — to get their hands on a prototype, they’re almost always destroyed.
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