Tt 350

[TT 350 fan]

Hi, Im Brenden from Tamworth, Australia, Been a lurker for a while,and as I finally got a bike not long ago, I thought I would join up.

Its a 1995 TT 350G, My dads also got a 1989 TT 350W, the red and white model. His is in beautiful condition. Mines not to bad either except for a ripped seat, which will be fixed soon. Im going to post up some pics of the bikes later on tomorrow once I have uploaded them to a host site.

Some differences we found between the 89' and 95' Aussie TT's are they went from 6 to 12v in the electrical system, They have now got warning lights for indicator, high beam & neutral, They have a different headlight cowling & headlight. The later model has a bigger headlight then the earlier ones. Taillights and rear guards have also changed slightly.

Other then that, The bikes have never changed really mechanically. All they did was change the plastics colour and the graphics for the later models. The TT350 was sold here in Australia from 1986 - late 90's. There was also a TT 250 available here, it was exactly the same bike as the 350, but just had a smaller capacity engine. The engine that was used in that, was also used in the XT 250 twin cam models here in Aus. I think you guys over in the US also got the XT 350 twin cam model, which also used the same type of twin cam engine as our XT 250 twin cam. We never got the TT 225 here in Aus, From what I can gather, it has some different parts to our TT 250/350 and looks like it uses a single cam engine instead of the twin cam.

Both bike are currently being prepared for rego, so they can be riden legally on the roads here in Australia, they just need little things like indicators, tyres, etc.

Ill be back tomorrow, to post up the pics then. Cheers, Brenden

[Smacaroni]

I'm interested in seeing pics as not many 350s made it to our shores and even fewer are left.

BTW, this should help you out with the seat: https://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1025829

[TT 350 fan]

[TT 350 fan]

On the red and white TT, The handlebars have been changed from the original bars, and bark busters had been fitted. Dad's removed the bark busters, he's gonna fit an original set of handlebars, he also has a new set of original handguards to fit back on it, he wants to get it all back to original condition. The handlebars on it now are raised slighty over the original ones, about an inch higher then the standard setup. It currently has pazzaz brand handlebars fitted. They feel weird when you ride the bike. I dont like them at all. The original bars have an excellent feel to them. I also have to find out where all the original warning stickers go that were on the bike when it was new. I have a whole repo decal set and it came with all new warning stickers.

Ill post up some more stuff in a few days, Pics of the different speedo setups etc.

[Smacaroni]

I have a whole repo decal set and it came with all new warning stickers.

Is "repo" a brand name over in OZ? Cause it means something entirely different in the US.

[TT 350 fan]

No, its not a brand name, just a slang term I used for the reproduction or reproduced decal set. I know you guys also use repo as slang for reposessed, so do we. I probably should have said repro instead.

[TT 350 fan]

My dad used to own another TT350 back in 1986. He said that the only difference between the model he had in 1986, and the 1989 one he has now was the "TT350" decals on the air scoops were slightly different. It also had a red front disc brake cover instead of the white one. The 1986 bike didnt have the sidestand switch either.The 1989 one does,so does my 1995 model. Back in 1986 the 350 cost $3800 brand new. The TT250 cost $3000. He reckons he should never have sold it, but he had just turned 17 at the time and was getting his bike licence, and back then riders who had a learners licence were only allowed to ride a 250 CC or smaller capacity bike. Nowdays though, it goes on the power to weight ratio,not just engine size, so the TT350's are now learner legal bikes..

Ive also noticed that the USA models had the headlight switch next to the trip meter. On the bikes here in oz, the light switch is on the handlebar near the high/low beam swich, turn signal switch and horn switch etc. The aussie bikes also had a speedometer fitted instead of the trip meter. It also looks like the the US bikes also didnt use a battery in the electrics.Also from what I can gather, the US bikes all used the 12 volt lighting system. Ours were only 6 volt, but as I said before,they finally went to the 12 volt system in the later models.

[Smacaroni]

Very interesting. On vintage and post-vintage machines it's really helpful to know the differences for your own machine vs. other very similar ones. In my case, the difference between the 82 vs. 83 XT550 (minor, but significant) and those bikes vs. the XT/TT600 which had a much longer production run. Also, my bike has pieces from XT200-350 bikes which were similar enough, such as the tachometer is the same except the red line mark is at 10K on the small XTs, where the 550 would destroy itself over 7K.

No, its not a brand name, just a slang term I used for the reproduction or reproduced decal set. I know you guys also use repo as slang for reposessed, so do we. I probably should have said repro instead.

Ah, understood.

[TT 350 fan]

Here's the pics of the different instrument setups used in the Aussie TT's.The top pic is of the 89 model,the bottom one the 95 model. Notice my dads bike has an oil light in the speedo, The speedo has obviously been changed from the original. It looks like its out of a DT or some other two stroke yamaha as it has the two stroke low oil warning light up in the corner. It will be changed back to the original speedo later on.

Im posting up this info up because it might help out other people looking for info on these bikes.. Its good to know the little differences between the bikes sold in different countries.

P.s does anyone know if the small round indicators shown above in the pics of the red & white TT, where used on any other bikes sold in the states? Thanks

Edited January 5, 2012 by TT 350 fan

[TT 350 fan]

Another difference we have found between the two bikes is the front forks on the 95 model dont have the air valves for regulating the air pressure in the front forks..

[Smacaroni]

I'd venture to guess the 89 fork tops will screw into the 95 forks. If you want them I'm sure they're still available from Yamaha, OR you could just buy a "tank valve" that you'd find in an air carry tank, then drill and tap them - here they're tapered threads so they seal quite well. I would imagine that they're tapered in Oz too.

Very few hardware stores carry tank valves here, however, I've found most farm supply stores do. Last time I bought them it was under $10 (may have been even less) for two.

Here's an even cheaper method, although it will likely leak and need to be re-pressurized every now and then: http://articles.superhunky.com/4/1

[wjjk]

I have just bought a1987 exactly the same as your red and white one except mine is not in as nice shape as yours. I was wondering if you know a way to check the oil level between rides without draining it to measure if it is burning oil or not.

[brettjjj]

I know this question was asked months ago, but ill post up the answer for anyone else that needs to know. To check the oil on TT's. Just look at the right hand side crank case, just below the kick starter, theres a small round window that shows the oil level. The level has to be between the upper and lower lines marked on the crankcase.

[brettjjj]

Hi , Im Brendens dad, Weve finally got both these bikes all fixed up, registered and back on the road. When we took them in for rego, we've found that the later model grey coloured tt350 engine puts out less power than the older Black coloured tt350 engine. Grey engine rated at 8.8 Kw, the black engine rated at 10 Kw. Probably why the grey motor idles and runs way smoother than the black one, it also explains why we found that the grey engine didnt go quite as hard as the black engine.... We also found that the different dash setup on the later model with the XT style headlight, telltale high beam, turn, and neutral lights, was actually an optional package that was available through aussie yamaha dealers. We found a dealer that actually remembers them, and he said the package came with a few different parts, the actual telltale lights are still available he said, the rest of the package is not.

The guy didnt mention it, but I wonder if this package included changing the electrical system to the 12 volt system, because we've seen other 1995 and later TT350's that still have a 6 volt battery , no telltale lights etc, and the smaller headlight.

Im waiting on new Z spokes from buchannons spoke and rim in the USA, we couldnt get them anywhere here in oz..

All parts on the bikes were replaced with new genuine yamaha parts purchased from the USA. A genuine front rim for example was gonna cost us close to $600, I got the exact same part in the USA for $240 delivered. A huge difference. I spent around $2500 on new parts so far, this price would be around $6000 or more if Id bought these parts through aussie yamaha dealers. Its just completely ridiculous how much difference there is considering the aussie and US dollars are pretty much equal.

Most nuts and bolts were replaced on the 89 bike,.most bolts were replaced at some stage with allen bolts, which meant I had to carry a heap of different size allen keys around, so I replaced them again with original bolts nuts and screws so they can all be undone with the tools from the original tool kit

Heres a list of the parts Ive replaced so far on the 89 model.All these parts are brands new genuine yamaha parts..

Most nuts, bolts and screws.

Footpegs and mounts.

Rear brake pedal.

Rear brake rod, springs and pins.

Front rim.

Front hub.

Front spokes.

Front axle.

Speedo drive.

Speedo cable.

Speedo unit.

Handlebars.

Hand grips.

Hand guards

Front brake and clutch levers.

Front brake master cylinder.

Front brake hose. (non genuine braided steel line-ADR approved for road use) $80 .

Front brake caliper.

Chain guard.

Headlight.

Rear rim.

Rear axle, nut, and snail cam chain adjusters.

Rear brake backing plate.

Rear brake backing plate brake lever and cam assembly.

Carburettor inlet manifolds X2.

Magneto cover.

Indicator flasher relay.

All 4 indicators, mounts and rubbers.

Fuel supply hose plus clips and carby joint hoses plus clips.

List of new parts on the 1995 model.

Handlebars.

Grips.

Clutch and brake levers.

Hand guards.

Fuel tank.

Chain guard.

Front rim.

Front axle.

Front spokes.

Front hub.

Brake hose (braided steel)

Fuel tap.

Seat cover.(non genuine)

We have both got more parts to replace yet. We will post up some pics of them soon for anyone thats interested..

Edited December 16, 2012 by brettjjj

[Smacaroni]

Always glad to hear when a restoration comes together. And here I thought US dealers were a rip-off.

[thornie]

Been reading your Father/Son thread with interest as I`m restoring a `91 TT350 currently and have adopted the same approach of attempting to use nos/oem parts where possible.

This has worked out well to date but the falling Australian dollar and increased USPS charges will increase the challenge.

The front brake hose has been a problem to locate but I noticed you have been able to source a local equivalent for $80.

Can you please advise details of the supplier and whether it was a custom or generic hose? Any help appreciated.

Look forward to photos your finished bikes. 

[91 TT 350]

Hi brettjjj

nice bikes mate!

I have just bought a 91 TT350 and the carb joints are buggered. Local bike shop price for genuine ones were over $300. A bit rich I thought.

Did you buy genuine or were you able to find aftermarket ones? How much did they sting you for them?

 

cheers mate

 

91 TT

[Numberz]

Hey mate,

i am considering buying one of theses as my first bike, are they ok on the road? Can they handle top speeds very well?

[die broke]

My buddy bought ttr225 in 1989 or so. He still has it and it runs good. The red and white colors look soooo cool. And that little fender bag grab bar thing made it a real trail bike. Good work you all did.

[nedajrestore6480]

Hey guys, i am looking for a 1986 or 87 tt225 yamaha gas tank, cant find one for a better price than 500$

In the process of restoring my dirt bike