Saving Old Seagulls

Thanks Vic, will look at these after the Weekend. Tomorrow we're off to Amiens, France, where the Yam will have a go at the Somme.

Besides a page on the history of the early Yamaha outboards http://www.yamaha-motor.co.jp/global/pr ... index.html I haven't found ANYTHING on Google about it. I have tried with various filters, but with no result. Hence this appeal.

This entry is 'very' off-topic and will contain words such as 'Yamaha'. Please do not read on if you'd think you could feel offended!

A couple of weeks ago I couldn't resist a very pretty looking Japanese outboard: one of the earliest Yamaha marine motors, i.e. a 1963 - 1965 Yamaha PC-3, also known ...

Thank you all for your comments and ideas.
I think changing the tap to a motorbike one has the advantage of having a 'reserve' on the tank, as well as being easier to visually check if the fuel tap is open of shut. (a lick of bright paint on one side of the lever can do miracles)
The O-ring repair ...

Is it a crime to replace the original (leaky) fuel tap by a motorbike tap from the same era? The point is: my tap leaks. Not a lot, but always. Sometimes it leakes a little less, sometimes a little more.
And, oh no, I don't care for the loss of expensive petroil, and I don't even care for the ...

There's a nice exploded view of an ATCO,
together with a 1950's review,
to be found at :

http://www.31mersey.freeserve.co.uk/boatimpellor.htm

In the SAS Book of Survival, the author claims 101 uses for condoms:
from keeping your stuff dry while wading, to use as a floatation device, etc . . .

Now yours truly has use #102 :

put a squirt of oil in a condom
put one end of the throttle cable in the condom
give the condom a couple of turns ...

What puzzles me is the advise to lower the jet needle when altering the petrol to oil ratio from 10:1 to 25:1. (AMAL carb)

I thought that lowering the jet needle would result in a leaner fuel mixture.
Less two-stroke mixture would mean less oil for lubrication and sealing as well!

So the amount of ...

Not to forget: electrolysis.

This phenomenon occurs where two different metals are in contact under water.
A small electric currect will flow, destroying the 'lesser' element.

On ships a ZINC anode if often used to deal with this problem.
The idea is that this 'lowest' metal is given up to ...

Environmentally the use of an older outboard rather than going out to buy a new one is infinitely better. The energy required - and the carbon deposited in the atmosphere - in the production of a new unit massively outweighs the possible pollutive effects of running an oldie.

Thank you Charles ...

If there is 'one' instrument that might solve the problem of a seized bolt, it must be an impact screwdriver .
If used correctly, there's a fair chance that you can re-use the bolt after cleaning up the threat.

Oh, and to prevent seizing it in the first place:
use a bit of the good old copper ...

In an answer to another topic on this Forum, John wondered why British Seagull never used stainless steel fasteners on their engines.

When I was a lad, I had a mentor who was a motorbike-racer.
He was always trying to save on weight, and made numerous parts for his bikes in aluminium. As he was ...

Do US Customs always put Seagulls in quarantine?

Nice motor, Rikanaka!
And thanks John for the update.

In Holland someone is offering a 'brand new - zero hours' Seagull 4 for sale. Highest bid so far is € 200.00

http://popol.punt.nl/upload/seagull/seagull4.jpg

try this LINK

if the link ...

As far as I can remember, none of my twenty-odd two-stroke motorcycles came with a variable timing.

The idea behind ignition timing is to try and time the peak combustion to apply the most efficient pressure on the descending piston.

As rpm increase, less time is available for the mixture to burn ...

The resistance between the primary and ground appears to 0.009 ohms and I'm not getting a reading on the secondary.


With a reading like that it seems that you are using a digital ohmmeter.
To get a correct readout, you will need to switch the scale to the lowest possible setting for the primairy ...