Livernois Motorsports Posted October 15, 2012 Report Share Posted October 15, 2012 Today, the weather was warm but it rained on and off all day. I decided to pull out a motorcycle I've had since I was about 14 to see if I could get it running. It's been at least 10 years since it last ran. It's a Yamaha YSR. The YSR is a miniature sport bike that was produced from 1987-1992 and became very popular on the west coast, but not too common in the mid-west. The bike featured an air-cooled 50cc two-stroke engine and 5-speed manual transmission. Since it has a clutch and gears, it has to be registered as a motorcycle instead of a moped and requires a motorcycle endorsement on your license. This one is a Japan spec 80. They never produced an 80 in the U.S. We got it from Japan in about 1994 and it was shipped here in a crate via airplane. The 80 has an air-cooled 80cc two-stroke and visual differences including flush mount rear signals, 100 kph speedo (which it easily pegs), and tachometer. This one has the VIN tag and all decals in Japanese. After sitting for so long, the throttle was stuck and the carb was pretty nasty. I removed the carb and disassembled it to find gas that smelled like turpentine and every moving part frozen in place. My dad ended up coming over to assist. After the carb was clean, I tried to open the gas tank to find it was also stuck shut. After getting it open, also found it was pretty nasty. Cleaned the inside of the tank, filled it with new fuel, changed the oil and it started on the 2nd kick. I rode it around the block a few times, then it started raining again. I'll never sell it, but was curious what it was worth. I looked online and found a few 50's selling for $2,000-$3,000, but I've never seen another Japan spec 80. 2 liter bottle for size comparison -Rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TractorAK Posted October 15, 2012 Report Share Posted October 15, 2012 What a nice bike I had the Aprilia liquid cooled 49cc. Here I am on it I had had it up to 59 with me on it. Absolutely nothing till power band then real snappy I sold it last year to buy a Moto Guzzi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrming Posted October 15, 2012 Report Share Posted October 15, 2012 Very cool, Rick! Going to make a pass on it at Milan on the 26th? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpd1151 Posted October 15, 2012 Report Share Posted October 15, 2012 Alright, maybe it's just my line of work that made me trend towards it, rather than the bike..... But I think the real storyline hidden (not all to well) is the signage behind the bike which reads: "LeBlanc For State Representative" Are you running for office Rick? Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrming Posted October 15, 2012 Report Share Posted October 15, 2012 Alright, maybe it's just my line of work that made me trend towards it, rather than the bike..... But I think the real storyline hidden (not all to well) is the signage behind the bike which reads: "LeBlanc For State Representative" Are you running for office Rick? Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk 2 Actually it was the first thing i noticed too... however since political talk is a big no-no on most forums, i decided not to comment! LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Livernois Motorsports Posted October 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2012 Thanks for the replies! The Aprilia is very cool!! No 1/4 mile passes on that John lol Alright, maybe it's just my line of work that made me trend towards it, rather than the bike..... But I think the real storyline hidden (not all to well) is the signage behind the bike which reads: "LeBlanc For State Representative" Are you running for office Rick? Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk 2 My dad is a State Rep Mike. Rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrming Posted October 15, 2012 Report Share Posted October 15, 2012 Ok... i just had to google it.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_LeBlanc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IowaFoSho Posted October 15, 2012 Report Share Posted October 15, 2012 Boy! You're dad was cool to let you have a fun toy like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Livernois Motorsports Posted October 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2012 Boy! You're dad was cool to let you have a fun toy like that. My parents are definitely cool! They always had cars when I was growing up and I've always had toys. My mom to this day is still into cars and has a Saleen Speedster Mustang. My dad has his share of toys as well. I got my first snowmobile, an Arctic Cat Kitty Cat when I was 3 years old. I also got a dirtbike with training wheels. I can't even count the number of snowmobiles and motorcycles I had growing up. I probably had 12 of the YSR's alone over the years. -Rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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