ATV Restoration Project

I've wanted an ATV for a long time. So when I was offered a 1987 Yamaha Warrior for $300 I grabbed it. And with a price and age like that, it needed some work.

It was parked many years ago because of a intermittent ignition problem. The original owners took it to a shop and had parts replaced, but the problem did'nt go away.

First thing I did was empty the mice nest from the air box and drain the gas tank. Brake fluid was brown, so that was replaced to.

The original owner warned me the starter has been cracked for while, and he even offered to weld it. When I turned the motor over with the starter, it sounded like nut's and bolt's in a blender. The nose of the starter was broke off and that let the starter gear rub on the broken peice (you can see in the picture where it rubbed on the inside). That would explain some of the metal shavings found on the oil filter. There is'nt enough clearance to weld the peice back on, but thanks to ebay I got the parts needed shipped to my door for $15.

 While I waited for the starter part to arrive, I removed the Carb for cleaning. What you see in the picture is just a sample of the varnish that was in the bowl. It was full to the top of varnished gas. It looks like I can get away with out needing a rebuild kit, the needles, jets and gaskets are not damaged, just needed to be cleaned.

 I could'nt get any spark at all. Trouble shooting the wiring going to the CDI box showed that it was'nt getting the ground signal when the key was on. The lights, shift indicators and starter where working fine with the key switch, but I had to jiggle the switch for the CDI to get it's ground signal. Once I got the switch opened, it was obvious the problem was a correded ground contact, and that contact is dedicated to the CDI box only, making it look like the key switch was working fine at first glance. I think I may have found that intermittent ignition problem.

There is a crack starting in the intake manifold I'll have to keep an eye on.

 Damaged throttle cable on the carb end was not allowing the throttle plate to close all the way, had a fast idle. I was able to patch it together and get the correct idle speed.

Next will be new front wheel bearings, there getting sloppy. 

More to come when time allow's, it's running good and a blast to drive!