After doing a partial dismantling of my son’s new (to us) ’04 Yamaha PW80, I put it back together again and learned a valuable lesson in dirt bike ownership: always turn off the fuel tap. Other than carb pressure and gravity, there is nothing else stopping your garage from smelling like gas and a puddle forming.
The second dismantling came when it wouldn’t start after the flood. The spark plug was always dodgy, so I’ve gotten a pair of new ones (no problem finding them at Canadian Tire).
 |
| Good advice, straight from Yamaha |
A tiny amount of Googling found me the Yamaha shop/operating manual, that covers everything from not carrying dogs on the bike with you to how to tear down the engine.
This is such a simple machine that it’s a great way to get a handle on the basic motorbike system. If you want to get handy with bike maintenance, start with a dirt bike (I started with a Concours…).
The next strip down has been more comprehensive, though to remove the tank, fairings and seat takes all of seven bolts. The air filter was pretty bad with chunks of mud in the air box. It’s a shame that people treat a bike like that then just chuck in storage. Why not clean it first? In any case it’s clean now.
 |
| The metal shop at school sorted out the broken muffler. |
I’ve got a busy hands afternoon after work checking the new plugs for spark (it’s definitely getting gas) and putting it back together again knowing that I’ve taken it right down to the engine. With how it took off last weekend (I impromtu wheelied down the driveway thinking it would barely be able to move me on it), I’m looking forward to seeing how spunky it is with a complete tune up.
With a new plug in it has strong spark – the carb is stinking of gas and it still won’t start. Time to pull the carburetor and sort it out before giving it another go. Leaving it open overnight doesn’t appear to have done it any favours.
 |
| The unhappy carburator |
 |
| A Yamaha PW80 down to the mechanicals |
I’ve got to get my mits on a me-sized dirt bike so we can go into the woods together up at the inlaw’s cottage. That DR600 Dakar is still for sale, I wonder if he’d take a grand for it. It’s a bit more than a mid-sized dirt bike, but it would do the business and also eventually adventure bike for me too.
It’d make a good Swiss army knife bike.