Beauty & The Beast: TDR250 Rebuild

...and that's exactly what I've been up to. Well, almost nothing. Since the nice AA chappy dropped her off, the engine's come out and been stripped. I had a wee cry in the corner, and then bought a new engine. This had apprently been rebuilt. Hmmm..... a tight powervalve assemby made me have a closer look and I'm pleased I did. A few dodgy fixes in the motor have now been sorted, and now I am just awaiting some parts: fork seals, fork dust covers, engine gasket set etc, and then a weekend ...

She looked so good on Trade Me. Her bright white wheels, winking at me coyly from the photographs. The write up was smooth and convincing, the interest of others encouraging, the questions asked both daft and probing in just the right degree.

A few drinks on a Sunday evening, a chat over the phone, and the deal was done. A 1990 Yammie TDR project bike was mine. Sweet as bro! Right? Wrong. Oh so very wrong.

I fly up to Welly to pick up my new ride. First impressions ...