The Yamaha brand name on the "fresh" seat was applied with a stencil. I had several made already a long time ago by the company who always makes my stickers. You have to use the old seat for that as Yamaha used strange fonts. Rub the stencil well on the seat cover and simply spray it over.

The result is quite satisfactory; from a distance you cannot see the small irregularities (the paint “crawls” under the stencil of course).

With the seat provisionally fixed it is going to like already like a small motorcycle!

Next the front fork can be inserted. Firstly the front fender has to be fitted over the front fork; a nice rubber is placed over the lower bearing. Fortunately this part was perfect, just cleaning and lubricating with silicon spray was enough.

The front suspension can be seen here. Yamaha called it “Neidhart” suspension. The system with compressed rubber blocks can be seen in detail when you click the name in “Google”.

The bracket for the main stand and footrests is also temporarily fitted.

A final inspection for all the “upside-down” parts before the bike is moved upright.

The rear wheel is inserted with the brake hub and the brake arm and rod are loosely attached.

Front wheel is fitted with the front brake cable, again just temporarily.

That was not so clever, because the mud flap could not be attached…….: I had to remove the front wheel again before I could do that. The plastic flap had a small crack that could be repaired by plastic melting.

The headlamp nacelle got new rubbers around the edges and fitted well on the frame.

An extra large rubber was needed around the fuel tank opening; a small smear of fluid rubber has to be added yet on the ends.

Provisionally the handlebar can be placed on the bike now. From underneath you can see the routing of all the electrical wires and cables. When everything is okay it can be fitted firmly.

With some grease the parts for the “sliding throttle” mechanism were fitted and “tested” for good movement.

Assembled everything looks a lot better but it will take some time before I can give “full throttle”!

The brake rod was already fitted loosely when I mounted the rear wheel, but here are al the parts in order of assembly.

The rear brake linkage and spring are fitted from the inside of the frame and are kept in place now with a clip, later on the brake lever will be attached of course.

The Yamaha MF1 is back on its wheels and is going to look a lot better than when I got it!

The tiny fuel cock is very special. After careful cleaning most parts were fortunately in good order, especially the rubber seal, which you cannot make yourself. The nylon seal bushing had to be re-made, but that turned out to be possible after 2 faulty ones……!

The fuelcock is well protected behind the leg shields once the machine is completely ready.

The “electrical” work in the headlamp nacelle starts by fitting the horn and the flasher relay. Next the ignition switch is attached and most of the wiring can be connected. I tested all the circuits as far as possible at this stage as it avoids a lot of problems later-on. The speedometer is still with the restorer and I will pick it up after the snow has gone. I do not trust the mail.......! What to do when it gets missing......!

The cycle-parts are now more or less ready so I can start thinking of the engine!