5th Apr 2009, 13:58

Have just bought a T80, can't wait to get it on the road & join the club. I was at an auction & 3 were up for sale.

9th Apr 2009, 10:09

Hi, I have just swapped my pit bike spares for a 1990 T80. It's been stood in a green house for the last 10 years, and has done only 9000 miles. It only took a few minutes to get running and sounds good.

The down side is it's very rusty, I have stripped it down to its last nut and bolt to restore her. So far the rust is only surface and no welding is needed.

I have a Honda C90 1988 in original condition, and thought it would be good to have Yamaha's version as well.

So far I would say that it does not have the quality of the Honda, but does have some nice touches. I am looking forward to riding her. My main ride is a Yamaha FZR600, but I have to say I have more fun on these tiddlers.

I agree that there are not a lot of spares on ebay for the T80, but what there is it's cheap.

Sorry for boring you silly, but I am excited.

11th Apr 2009, 07:34

Don't be. I had a 1988 T80 back in 2001 that I ran for a two years daily in all weathers with no problems. I replaced it with a 1991 C90. The Yamaha was better. It felt more solid, had a better range and smooth gear box and shaft drive. The C90 had a torquier engine and the finish of certain parts were better, for example the switch blocks. If I had my way I would still be using the T80 to this day and many years to come.

20th Apr 2009, 09:52

Hi, still working on my T80, I have been given a litre of paint, which is more or less the same colour, and some good primer. As I said the last time, the rust is just surface, I am going to use her mainly in the winter because my Honda is so good and I want to keep it that way. I have bought most of the parts for the Yam. So far I have spent around £25, and reckon another £30 will see her back on the road, thanks to Ebay.

I will let you know how it all goes.

Cheers, Keith.

19th Sep 2009, 01:02

Hello to you all.

I've just brought a T80, looking forward to picking the work horse up, I had a 50cc scooter for 1 week and had to get rid of the thing (20mph, noisy and young lads could run faster than the damn thing). Was looking for a Honda 90 and saw a Yamaha T80 for sale. Bit of rust here and there, but one kick and it's off.

Thanks for your comments, it's help to buy one.

From Tone.

P.S. any tips on respraying I should know about?

27th Nov 2009, 08:30

Hello people, looking for a rh swithgear for a T80 as my brake lever has snapped.

If anyone's got one, please contact mel151072@hotmail.co.uk

Cheers, Mel.

7th Dec 2009, 06:35

Does anyone know if the Townmate is still available in countries other than the UK. I seem to have read somewhere that they are still sold in Far East countries? There maybe clones as well.

8th Dec 2009, 16:21

I don't know if the T80 is still sold in far eastern countries, but the last one in the UK was built in 1995. There aren't many left in the UK, because they often fall into disrepair or end up stolen. The likes of China make various clones. One of which, if I remember correctly is the Jailing 80 or 90, which has a four speed gearbox with manual clutch. I would avoid anything like this because build quality is appalling, and they last about two years if you're lucky. Also dealer service is very poor. So if you can, try and get a very late T80 and spend a bit of time renovating it, and you won't go far wrong.

19th Dec 2009, 02:57

Thanks for that info, I have a 1991 T80 at present, quite good condition, although have to keep the rust at bay on rear mudguard. There is also an inherent poor design where the rear section of mudguard is jointed to front half, rust gets into joint. Wax oil helps a bit if kept applied to inside of mudguard. Other weak points are rusting of swinging arm & the box section to rear of engine. Mechanically though they go on for ever as long as you change oil every 1500 mile.

There are a number on eBay from time to time, but many of these although low mileage are well rusty, & go for silly prices.

The nearest new step through that I can find is the Suzuki Address, which is 125cc. Quite a good price at £1700 and has a good dealer/spares back up. Not quite so economical as the T80, but has better performance and suitable for longer journeys.

27th Apr 2010, 14:08

Just bought a T80 1984 for £50, a bargain! She lay in a shed for 2 years unstarted. 2 litres of new fuel, and 2nd kick she fired. What a wee bike, goes like a dream with 11000 miles!

I need a side stand and front indicator! Does anyone have spares for sale?? Parts in Northern Ireland are like hens teeth! Any info appreciated thanks!

31st May 2010, 10:00

Side stand is part of foot rests, so you will need the whole assembly. These were only fitted to the earlier models, so you may have to trawl around a few breakers. Sorry, I do not have one.

24th Mar 2011, 19:15

I have a T50 here in Albania, and I bought it 7 years ago. I think that it is the best bike that I have ridden. It is comfortable, it's easy to ride, and doesn't need too much fuel. Now it has 74000km, and it feels like new.

6th Nov 2011, 09:51

Just recently got myself a T80. Doing my A1 licence on it with a view to getting a bigger bike in a year. At this rate I'm not sure I'll bother upgrading. I drive around Jersey currently on it with a big grin as it is so much fun! Indicators though are rubbish. Anyone tried switching for LED ones or similar?

10th Nov 2011, 07:50

The best thing you can do for the indicators (and the rest of the electrics) is get some fine grade wet and dry paper, and clean all bullet connectors. Then go to the frame and disconnect, clean and reconnect any earth points. The 6v system was barely adequate at new, and these bikes are all at least fifteen years old now. I had barely functioning indicators (with no other load on electrics) and since cleaning up, I can now have headlight, brake light, neutral light and indicators working well, whilst sat stationary with engine at idle.

I am looking at getting an LED tail light, and swapping to LEDs in the instrument cluster, but LED indicators are too much hassle compared to what the clean up gives.