T80 Resto underway!

Hi All,

Chilli greetings from down under. Autumn is finally here. Up until a couple of weeks ago we were still having 30C days. Unbelievable for this time of the year.

Well, the time has come to finally get stuck into the restoration of the old girl. I will be taking my time so pics will be uploaded accordingly. So far some rust in the usual areas, looks like it has been repaired in the past.

Need some advice about the dreaded swing arm pivot bolt. I have unscrewed it but it looks like the rubber sleeves in the bushes are turning with it. Any ideas on how to remove it?  








Thanks, Frank.

No easy way to get s/arm bolt out, looks like it has moved out about 1/2 inch You could try an electric or air impact tool on it to see if that will loosen it, At the last resort you may have to cut the swinging arm and try to drive it out, obviously that will destroy the s/arm so best to get a replacement before you do that.
Pity replacement frames are not available as that would be a better way saving welding etc on the old one. Someone must have some somewhere as the basic frame is the same as all models Jap home marker & Greece.

Thanks for the reply John but I put some thought into it and came up with using a G clamp and it worked a treat. Not hard at all but I did soak the bushes and bolt with WD40 overnight.

Using one end of the G clamp on the bolt head and bashing the other end of the clamp with a sledge hammer did it.

But now I have come across the centre stand spindle which won't come out. It turns with the stand so looks like it has also fused together.

I think you were lucky there as you managed to get it started. If you cant unscrew it out of the drive side s/arm then this wont work. Mine wont even turn, only just twists the bushes. The only way would be to cut through the threaded end and make up an extractor to pull on bolt head, maybe after welding a piece of studding to head of bolt. As I am not stripping the bike down I just leave it.
As for stand, some heat with a gas torch should free that.

Wow !! you were lucky, mine refused to budge during restoration, the bolt head was twisting on the shaft and if i continued it would have sheared off, so i left it in place and shotblasted and resprayed around it. https://yamahatownmatet80.forumotion.co.uk/t974-nearly-there#3624

My opinion is to pass it all through sandblasting, only in this way the damage caused by the rust will be seen.

What is really needed is a source of new frames

That would be a godsend John but as Duckrider says sandblasting is the only way here or to dip it in a bath of molasses and leave it for a couple of days. It strips the rust away.

Saying that, I will be handing the frame, swing arm and forks and a few other bits and pieces over to a sandblaster who is local and he can clean everything up for around £60. Interesting to see the result.

Engine casings and cylinder head, I will get them hydroblasted as it is the more appropriate material to blast alloy with.

Aluminum caps from the engine would be preferable not to be painted in silver,
but to become chrome-plated because the shoes will rub the color over time.



That's what I did with all the screws, axes, and various supports







So did the handle bar  switches.

Nice. Any progress about your resto project?

Not much progress as I have been getting stuck into refurbing a horse float for my daughter.

The T80 has come back from sandblasting, been epoxy primed and I have had to open up some sheeting around the centre stand area as it was bulging with rust.
To do that, I had to drill out some spot welds which can be done again with a mig.

The brown color is from the molasses solution that I had the bottom section sitting in to chemically clean the rust from the sections that I opened up.

Once I finish the horse float, I will continue with the Townmate. Certainly got enough on my plate!  

Looks like some previous owner has done some 'bird s**t' welding around the end of the main tube where it terminates in the bottom frame section. Overall it looks quite bad. Pity that Yamaha dont still do replacement frames. Would save a lot of work.

Hi guys

It is interesting to see the pics of the  corrosion horror stories. Typical of the result of modern manufacturing practice to assemble parts without any lubrication now a days.
I realise that hindsight is a great thing but it makes sense to check for lack of lubrication on some of the "popular" seizure items now and again even though not stripping the bike down, more of a maintenance addition.
Good luck with the bodywork repairs.

cheers