Give me a crash course on vintage enduro bikes

[Yamanatic]

I'm definitely partial to the 1970's Yamaha twin-shock DT250 and DT175, but the Honda's and Kaw's from the same era of similar displacement are obliquely equivalent depend on taste and brand preference; sorry Suzuki people, but they just don't handle and were heavy...

The most important thing is the ride; balance between weight, handling, (usable) power, and reliability count most when the trails get challenging. IMO, 250cc is the limit off-road. A confidence inspiring and 'friendly' bike will make it easier to get into precarious situations, and more importantly get you through. My personal favorite is the 1975 DT175 - I've had 3 of them, and rode the wheels off them all in the loose sands of Florida, the back-woods of Minnesota, the mountains of far-west South Dakota, and the deserts of phoenix and my biggest ally when things got exciting was the DTs.

Bite-my-tongue, the vintage Honda's are also top-of-the-list handling bikes, and only marginally heavier that the Yams. Both the 175 and the 250 will get you tickets anyplace but the interstate, and provide predictable and useable HP in virtually any off-road adventure. Bigger bikes are more macho in the staging areas, but when out on the trail and the terrain gets gnarly, the wrestling matches begin for the Big Bike riders, and driving around them is most reassuring you made the right choice - weight over more power than you ever need unless a total bonsai rider who uses pure MPH to power throughTo remain upright at top speed takes experience. A lot of experience... or lots o' luck.

Most of the trail riding I've done was in a 5'11", 200+ pound body and the 175's / 250's were always up to the task. And a little less brute power helps keep the less than seasoned trailist on the pegs instead of kissing dirt. I remember one time riding (back in the 1970's) with several friends; we all sped unknowingly into a peat-bog and promptly plowed into the skid-pan deep mud; I was able to extract the DT250 I was on alone, and almost ruptured a hernia helping the big-bikers extract their machinery. One guy was on a CL450 Honda, and it took all 5 of us to get it out.

Most of the 70's vintage dual-purpose bikes are amazingly reliable and if they quit on the trail, it is generally just a plug or drowned ignition - (think points). You will be a much better rider if you start on something that inspires confidence rather than a frightenly fast (and heavy) big bore. Just MHO.

Warren     

[John Ritter]

Oxford, I was raised in PA and put thousands of miles in trail and woods riding 1st on a 73 DT250 and multiple years of Yamaha MX & YZ bikes 125,175,250 and 500cc. The 1975 DT175 is one of the best looking Yamahas from that era and weighs about 50 pounds less than the DT250. 50 lbs at the end of the day is a killer but it is also 7 or 8 hp down on a 250 which shows on steep long hills. Dragging a bike back on course after you blew a turn that is packed with an extra 20 pounds of mud needs to be considered also, assuming you are doing mostly trail riding. My 2 favorites for trails were modified 1976 YZ175 and the 1974 SC500 but in the 70's and 80's we didn't have as many regulations then.

[oxford]

assuming you are doing mostly trail riding.

It will be a short ride to work bike with some light offroad/trails thrown in.

 Some years back I was pretty into "dual-sport" riding which was mostly just riding to trails.  Last bike I had for that was a KTM 200xcw.  I am not expecting much out of a vintage enduro as far as off-roading.

[oxford]

Anyone ride a DT125?  I saw one pop up on marketplace and it is a sweet looking bike.  I don't think I want to go that small in displacement, it is also a little far away.  If it was close I would probably entertain it.

Pic of the bike.

[dgorms]

I have a 73 ct-1, 75 F7, and a 75 xl 175! The xl rocks!

[85RZwade]

  this whole conversation is making me want a DT 

[soonerbillz]

The 72 Yamaha DT2 250 is as good as you can get for twin shock vintage enduro that delivers on all types of riding.
 The plus is the aftermarket support is off the charts. There is not very many consumable parts on the model that are not currently available. Check our KDI enduro. Dave has been a Godsend for remanufacturing so many formerly unavailable parts for these bikes.

Are you basing that on more than just parts availability? I've been primarily a Yamaha guy since lusting after and owning a 1972 LT2. We grew up in Southern CA riding many versions of Yamaha enduros (and "MX") from 1968 on to each successive generation. 1972 was a generational leap with introduction of torque induction reed valves ahead of everyone else. 1973 improved incrementally on that platform. To me, 1974-76 was another generational leap when they reconfigured the frame and ran the exhaust pipe through the frame to slim the design and better ergonomics, added "radial" finned heads standard and more. That was the peak of Yamaha twin shock enduro evolution to me. Then they ruined the enduro series with a half assed monoshock makeover trying to capitalize on being 1st to market on the MX/YZ side with single shock success. I had a 1977 DT175 that was pretty good, and a 77 DT250 and 78 DT400- and they were a step backwards to me- bloated, heavy ill-handling pigs that did nothing well on street or dirt. I later went backwards to a 1975 DT250B after a long time away from bikes and was shocked just how good it actually was as a playbike. I got sucked into VMX around 2002 and still have a stable of 1st generation monoshock MX & YZ and am able to street legal them with little trouble here in CO, so a lot of experience with those and still working on a conversion of 1975 MX400B for street title and that may surpass my regard for the 1975 twins shocks if I can get it to handle well enough on pavement, but for a stock enduro I think the 1975 B series is about perfect. YMMV.

Mostly on the aftermarket support, yes but as well I found it's true off road capability coupled with on road ability made it to be either friendly. Those reasons plus the fact that it's simplicity and durable design/construction makes for a bike that checks all right boxes. Opinions may vary.