Moto WASABI : Spice on 2 wheels

Had a better look into the electric side and decided to kick out the regulator. It is very cleanly integrated but after testing my rectifier (was OK) it boiled down to maybe getting the bike back to Intl version. The regulator wire bullet are not Japanese type but european. Garanteed to rip out when you disconnect the reg. Very well welded on and all but just a tad too big for the Jap female connectors.

These regs must have been installed at the Importers.

I also adjusted the brakes and clutch as usual. Should be Ok now. I do find the motor slighly noisy, bearing noise and clutch noise.
It does pull quite well even though it's not quite run in. The seating position is very senatorial, I need to make a visit to the breaker's yard to collect the remnants of a rer set system I saw on another T. MAy be also a "Speed" saddle?

And time to check if all is well, not too many cops on ester week-end, perfect for slapping plates on another bike.
Little bugger runs well, needs just a few tweak for controls, brakes and the idle is a bit off, too rich.

After a short ride, the batery went flat, si I still have my electrick problem…after testing the rectifier OK, I just removed the regulator as it doesn't appear on any diagrams (but all my T250 have it )

After a ten-minute idling tuning session, the bttery was at 13.5 Volts... I suppose it'll be fine for riding.

I'll post more on these regulator as they do appear to have been fitted at the importer here in Switzerland.

You gotta love that "Mojave Red" color, I feel the itch for a repaint!

AN IDLE 1200rpm and stable.

After many scratching of the head, we finally found what was the prob with my 69 T250… You bet it was stooopid (I told ya!)

It has 72 "R" jugs and the carbs, carbs are a bit bigger (26 instead of 24, if i remember well). The friggin cables we a bit short or so it seems. The bottoming sound I heard was the slides hitting the throttle stop... not the bottom.

I had to fab new end cables, nice and easy, gave them 7mm extra travel which is a bit too much but works... maybe there was a prob at the cable distributor, cables that popped out I don't know. I also had bent thzrottle stop rods, certainly didn't help... BUT IT WORKS NOW!

Thanks for all the help, I just need a seat cover and it's over. I still have dreams of putting rear sets and a race seat à la Fang on it, though

Tom will probably buy the remaining T250s, I do need the space... and I need to know what I need in exchange.
He also offered 2 of the final T125 carb ruber repros, this could also bring some money on the spares front.

This is just to tell you that all of a sudden there is a bit of hope for the little T... I haven't given up yet!
Had a lot of work lately, as well as a few horror stories at home: How about getting asked for 15 LArge ones on the 1st of JAn? Year is not starting well and I have to make a bit of dosh… funds are real low so bikes become really the last of my priorities.

I had 4 T250 at one point in the workshop and ALL of them are (were) wired up with this regulator. One bike is broken in spares now.

2 of the Ts are 69 and in original shape, no bodging electrically, they come from different parts of the country... can't be the same mechanic.

The connectors are original and both original bikes are wired EXACTLY the same (color of wires, connectors and all)...

As I said, Switzerland was used as a test market (because of license laws) and often got "specialized" models for the Swiss market.

I am pretty sure signals were an option for you guys, but here they had to be on.... of course you could remove them, but for model approval on the DMV side, it was easier for the importer to slap them on and get the approval done.

This is getting interesting... I will mock up a wiring diagram with this thing on... I am not brilliant (aprt from bulbs) with the electrics. Stay tuned.

I have 3 of these 69 T250 early models and all have the type of rectifier showed by Elbert, but there is also an extra piece of kit on all of them which looks like a regulator... similar to those on, say Yam RDs... silver box. This doesn't appear on my manual (french) or the spares fiche (alpha sport, US models then)

It wouldn't be the first time a brand did a speciality run for the Swiss market, as it is (was) often used as a test market.

Off my head: Lambretta scooters from the 50s fully decked with chrome accessories and pinstriping... elsewhere in Europe, they were butt-nakeded with drab paintwork... or jap bikes coming with indicators (signals) when these were accessories elsewhere in the world... of course everybody removed them

I'll shoot you a pic... just to be sure I'm not mind-numbed by my air leak!

Here's the set-up on my bike

One thing I can do to push my T250 resto forward is to solve my electric problem.

Since it idles high, I tested everything and it keeps blowing bulbs (specially the small ones) and then it's a chain reaction.... ping ping ping.

I'm getting 15.5 v at the batt, so feels like my regulator (porcupine) is at fault. The voltage doesn't go higher than 15.5, does that mean only one diode is shot?

then is it possible to insert another diode in the circuit (zenner?) so what ? and where?

well I tried all my leads (vacuum inlet for tank, resprayed wd40 everywhere, almost set on fire!, also checked th drain plugs... you never know)... nothing slows down that beast.

it only happens when hot (hotter=higher idle) and ONLY if I whacked the throttle… goes higher and higher.... and stay there... 3 whacks =~1000 rpm more.

it does feel like there is SUCTION somewhere, but it ain't with the outside... it's as if there is a depression inside the motor. ie something that would suck air from a carb.

When i stopped it because of the smoke (WD40), i could hear coming from the RH carb (the one NOT hunting up, but not idling) gurgling sounds... freaky!! and if i opened the slide with my finger, the sounds got worse, almost like a boiling sounds ie bubbles.

To me it sounds as if this float bowl is getting sucked!

Did a few more tries today:

Sprayed the most potent carb cleaner druing tickover... F***all results
Switched slides
then carbs
F ALL!

out of rage, i took the 2 grottiest looking T250 26mm carbs I had lying around, didn't even wash them... and plugged them in.

Guess what?

same result!

So I guess the carbs aren't the prob, the motor is.

The only thing I haven't changed (for lack of funds) is the inner crank seals...

For you all experts out there, is it possible for bad inner seals to upset carburation at idle that much... I mean from 0-to 5k?

When bike is dead cold, it feels like you could adjust the idle (stays around 3k) but once warmed up, it just creeps higher to 5k No amount of tweaking will lower it. The idle screw does have an effect (say lower the idle to 3k) and the choke works... but the hotter it gets, the higher it goes.

Followed Johnny's advice and let it rest for a week + it was too cold to work. SOOOO drumrolll...

Carbs cleaned and I tell ya they're clean

Iggy set up pedantically

All carb to jugs seal bettered wiv a dab of silicone... everything is air and oil tight.
Heads retorqued.
Changed the petcock, it flows well
Everything as per std specs.

Still revs at about 5k. MAkes you feel like you wnat to shut the throttle, but.. slides are as low as possible. It also doesn't cut th revs when you rev it up... goes slowly back to 5k... so throttle response NOT snappy.

MY plugs are a nice darkish milk choc color.
Except the LH one : has the same color but has a side of the porcelain where the color is still white original.

Could this indicate an air leak?

I pulled the rotor off and check if the bloody seals were the right way in... they are! I'll just shoot you a drawing of a detail that I'm not 100% sure about it but it looks OK though and couldn't cause the rising revs prob.

kinda disappointed here.. it would have been a good ending

Boy in 15 years of dabbling with bikes and scoots, I've never had something that obstrusive. Makes me really question my practice

So if the crank seals are allright, then it boils back to the carbs doesn't it?

Could the heads play tricks like that? say the plug hole .. I think I'd hear something, though...

I decided to tackle this as two singles. Turns ou the LH side is the one hunting up, no idle but keeps revving its tits off and the RH isn't idling but runs from 3 to redline. If i let it go to the idle zone, it coughs up and usually dies, like rich. Plug this side black and wet.

I seem to remember i put the crank seals with the lip facing out... will check.... MY parts diagram isn't very clear about that.... Which way???

I tried fitting the rubber boot just to see. it cracked (bloody workshop is wayyy to cold, -2C) but even put on had no effect on the idle. So I'll be going thruh the carbs again, I'm afraid.

I also def have a batt charging/stabilizing prob: this litlle bike eats bulbs for a living... Ah, the joy of restorations....I also def hav a batt charging/stabilizing prob: this litlle bike eats bulbs for a living... Ah, the joy of restorations....

What could cause a motor to start and rev its tits off to 5k (and up) except a major air leak? I can't find any

The T250 is quite happy to go and stay in the red zone (8-9k) so 5k is like half-throttle setting?!!??

As far as I know the choke plunger can't be the culprit as it opens a fuel passage... it does work but at these revs not enough to choke the engine down. The idle (air) screw doesn't seem to have any effect.. but again at that range...

Just to make it clear: I usually make stoopid mistakes.

This thing is giving me fits!

It runs after swapping the leads... but is Huuuuunting up the rev range at idle... No Airleaks I can detect between carbs and jugs...heads plugs and rest torqued down...

Okay I'm not running an air filter nor are the rubber caps on top of the carbs, but that can really be enough to have an idle at 5000rpm and climbing.

Cutaways in the right direction
News seals left and right
Cleaned carbs (weren't that grotty)
etc...

Running t250II jugs and their 26 carbs

Could someone hint me in the right way before I set it on fire ?
Oh and battery's not charging... but that is (should) easy.

I've been checking the bugger yesterday and what I found goes along your lines:

LH Condenser is actually triggering RH Coil (white wire)... and I took great care making sure the leads DIDN'T cross Explains why I had to reset and adjust the points so much.

I s'pose that setting the LH point to open on the LHF mark with the RH COIL firing LH plug will do the trick...if you get my meaning... Switching the leads should achieve that.

The noise I heard sounded like the mixture was being ignited AFTER TDC

Checked the coils too (white type) and they're Okay, except they're a bit less than the other type (grey pair) Mine get 4.5 Ohm- 8Kohm and the grey type get 4.5-12K.

as I'm using T250R jugs and carbs (different porting, tad more power) should I put the "stronger" coils in?

I wanted the T250 to start today, good thing for the last thing of this year.. BUT the little bugger doesn't want to....

All I get is a firecracker type of noise from the RH exhaust, like back firing but real sharp... After noticing my plugs were long reach (instead of short ) and resetting the points, still nothing.

I've got sparks galore (at plugs), gas and oil, reset carbs, new plug caps and a Known Good Set of Plugs...

I see one of my points (LH) doesn't spark when opening... Am I in for a new set of condensors?

And what would be today's equivalent of a NGK B-77 plug? Currently having a set of B9HS.

Bummer.

Motor all back together and in the frame. Looking Good.

PM was really quick with the replacement pistons. Arrived today. Will slap them on tonight.

PAul wanted me to send the pistons back, fair enough, but it would just taake too much time.
I am in a hurry to tighten the heads and be done with the rebuild.
I met a Swiss gent over the Internet through The FAM forum (german- and member-only, don't start complaining if you're not drawing new blood to the scene), Walter Bachmann, who also has a T250, although a 1972. Sent him the pistons and a few more parts, that recouped my expenses a bit.

Waiting for the news set from PM.