TY350N - is it just a bigger 250 ?

[pom]

Hi
I'm new to this game and have recently brought what is supposed to be an 84 TY350N off eBay for a bit too much.
I goes OK, but I like to take things apart and have been looking around for parts/info etc., and it turns out the 350 seems to be fairly rare in Oz (well everywhere actually). So I thought I might ask a few questions.
Is the 350 just a bigger bore 250 ? So most parts would fit ?
Are there any Oz specialists for parts - I need to start with a gear change that isn't better to buggery.
What is a "pinky" ?

Any information or contacts for this type of bike would be much appreciated.
Cheers
Pom

[David Lahey]

TY350s are reasonably common here in OZ but they were not sold in some countries (like the UK) so their distribution around the world is uneven.
The TY350N, apart from the motor, is the same as the TY250N.
The 350 was developed for the USA market and we were lumped in with that marketing effort.
Both are the first incarnation of the monoshock air cooled Yamaha design that was very popular from 1984 to 1991.
The N model is the only air cooled monoshock model Yamaha sold as a 350. The rest of the air-cooled monoshock TYs were all 250s.
The N model bikes had red painted steel frames and white plastics and drum brakes.
The last air-cooled monoshock (TY250R) had a disc front brake, white frame, blue forks and pink rear mudguard and is known as the "pinky" Yamaha.
What can be a bit confusing is that after finishing making that series of air-cooled monoshock TYs, Yamaha made a new series of TYs that came out in 1993 with water-cooled motor, aluminium frame and twin disc brakes called the TY250Z. The first model of this series also had a pink rear mudguard and pink forks and chain guard, but is commonly called a "zed".
Bob Ginder of B&J Racing in Tennessee (USA) is a good source for the TY350N. There may be Australian suppliers too but I don't know of them.
If you don't have any success finding a supplier, PM me and I'll give you the contact details for someone who has successfully campaigned one of them since 1985 and has recently done lots of restoration work on it.

[pom]

Dave
Thanks for the excellent info - hopefully I haven't brought a dud, and now I feel a bit more confident ordering 250 aircooled mono parts.
Thanks again
Pom

[Trango]

David, was it the N model 250 that was released as the road friendly bike? I think it had a larger metal fuel tank, more padding on the seat & higher gearing. Think it also had a different muffler but not sure. The 350 was the competition model. The next model came out with the white frame and white fork legs and only a 250 competition model was available.

[David Lahey]

Yes there was a 250cc tin tank model with road bike parts but I thought it was some other letter model. There is one of them up here that was put through the machinery approval hoops at great expense and is road registered.

I'll see if I can get something definitive on the model designation for the tin tank and the comp model and post a link to it.

[David Lahey]

OK here is a pinky - TY250R

[David Lahey]

Here is a link to a website that is dedicated to modifying TY350s

http://myweb.cableone.net/bcanderson/Mods.htm

[Stu]

David, with the info that you have on the TY350 regarding rego, how easy is it to rego a TY250a? Worth it or not?

[David Lahey]

Here is what I thought a TY250N looked like and here is a link to a string about identifying a TY250N

http://www.trialscentral.com/forums/ind ... topic=5436

[David Lahey]

And heres a brochure shot of a TY250S showing the rear frame loop to support the big rear lights and a LH side stand.