Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

~', ' ~'9 . .. . ,~ ' ~ ' : •• '" . ' :;;... _ . .." ' . ~ . .. ~ - , . Yamaha's TT5OO, first of the present crop of big bore four-strokes, has seen gradual refinement through the years. Now it's reached a point where the next logical machine, one step beyond its present "playbike" configuration , Based on the 499cc motor (above right), the machine paved the way for other Japanese manufact ~ Im:Rression: Yamaha TT500F Does T T stand for Thoroughly Trick or Trail By Charles Morey Photos by larry Little and Morey Neither: If our headlineleft you wondering if Yamaha - had completely redesigned their friendly, familiar 499cc four-stroke , single cylinder trail!fun bike, wonder no more . It has received a few good changes , It hasn't recei ved enough of them to m ake it a (q uote) serious off' til l road racer. It s s 1 a compro- 26 mise . The wor n ir« co mes to mind , as , in , "N:~e , bu t, nothing to writ e home abou t. Remaining as the corn ersto ne of th e e ntire , m a ch in e , t he massive singl e overhead cam thumper - literally, the reason for the b ike's existe nce has received no major cha nges . The intake valve has been increased from 45mm to 47 mm in size for sligh tly improved pe rforma nce . Only th at and the addi tion of a knob that makes it easie r to sta rt when warm pu ts th e motor on th e list of im p roveme nts for the " F" version. Called the wa rm e ngi ne starter knob in the owner's manual, the device leans the carbu'retor gas /air mixture, slightly and, as '. prom ised , d oes make ho t m otor less a p robl em . Fi r~t IUtroduce,d on : th e SR50 0, the,!" s st ree t -go ing SIste r, t h e knob IS a welcome detail. There were a few times howeve r trying to get restarted after 'ba iling off up on some forsak en hillsid e , that not eve n a t rick new white plastic knob was helpful. Sometimes, the TT sim ply will not start until th e Everpresent Big Bore Single St arter sa u nters up and smugly flips it through a single .kick, The EBBSS is an obnoxious bea st t ha t roams the e a rt h looking for sweating riders wh o ha ven 't mastered t he sacred rite of Starting T he Big Bore Single , There's a righ t way to d o it , and it' s not necessarily covered in the five -page how -to section of the owner's manual. The onl y consolation that comes with being the unwilling . victim _of t n.e. ,E BBSS ' disgusting ~ ta rt i n g d isp la y of expe rt ise is th e kno wledge that he ce rt ai n ly m ust ha ve sold his soul in exc ha nge for th e gift a nd that he won't live forev er. T he reason you do n't tell him exac tly tha t , is beca use he's usuall y ve ry large. Although , come to thi nk of it , the sma ller ones arc even worse , Either wa y, once th e sta rti ng drill is m astered and /or you 've 'mad e your dea l wit h th e devil, the motor becomes ' your fa vori te part of t he TT. For pla ybike , purposes , th e power is idea l. It co mes on st ro ng ly and sm oothly, never receivin g a kick on the top end . Fast riders and sq u irrels will m iss tha t. Ther e's no sudden punch to shoot you fa ster down the trail o r get yo u sideways when it co me s up on th e cam , but th ere defin itely is lot s of sm ooth , co ntro lla b le pow er . Think of it as a tractor , rid e it accordingly , and you'll hav e a grea t tim e , The playbike suspension keeps go fast riders busy , particu larly when they happen upon a set of sandy whoops at speed . The TT has no hesitancy about going into a se ries of tank slappers when its modest suspension reaches the limit. Combined with a wet weight that (estimated) must approach 300 lb . , the sideways forces gain a certain momentum, oftentimes greater than a mer e 160 lb . rider ca n co u nteract. Not great enough to move a jos hua tre e, Bu t close . Ridden wit hi n its limits, the TT500 is an excellent machin e . T he new 7. 6in ch tra vel lea d ing axle fork s cou p led with the nit rogen -ch a rged rea r shocks p rovide a boulevard ride for those who want it. An d t hey do it with a seat height that anyone ca n live with; long legged MX bik es are great in th eir p lace, but being able to put a foot do wn whe n crossin g a stream or climb ing out of a gully is a dec ided ad vantage to th e end uro/ cross country rider. new boxed aluminum T he swingarm looks trick and does its job well. It probably isn't really necessa ry with the sta nd a rd suspension , but shou ld th e owner make som e shock cha nges, the alum inum swingarm will , provide a better base for those modifications. On the " F" model, the TT500's chain tensioner has received a little , beefing up. The pivot point on last year's model was supported from on e side ; th is time the shaft th a t the tensioner privots on is doub le supported for durability. Seals have been added ,to keep dirt, water and what-have-you off the bearing surfaces , The im p ro veme nts should make it impossible for the tensioner• toJ • '

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