Portland Oregon October 3, 2021.

Awoke early in Portland, before my 6am alarm. I had packed my “race bag” with snacks and race required fire extinguisher the night before. Slipped into my race suit and pulled my hooded sweatshirt over the outside for a bit more comfort during the commute.

Immediately after getting on the Yamaha Wr250 i would be racing I realized I was already navigating my first challenge of the day. Temps in the low 40s and the sun wouldn’t be rising for another half hour.

Cold, darkness, and swift riding out of the suburbs and through the wine country. Thick fog, light traffic, and Mt Hood watching over me as my hands slowly grew numb.

Oregon back roads are simply fabulous, arrived at the Mac Track cold and excited after a very reasonable 50min ride. It brought back many memories of riding in the cold mornings to school when I lived there. Constantly irritated by numbness in the fingers and fog nagging at the inside of the helmet’s face shield.

The Race was sponsored by the SFRC(Sang Froid Riding Club) of Portland. They are a group of motorcycle nuts well known to me. They put on several events per year including The Back 40 (A dualsport ride through some gnarly forest roads), The Alley Sweeper (A dualsport enduro through the unmaintained alleys within the Portland city limits), and other less formal parties/events.

Many of the organizers and participants had stayed over night at the track. As the previous day was an optional track day for participants. I was greeting with warm smiles and crackling fires at the trackside campsite. (Remember, cold. Still pre dawn).

0730: Ate hot breakfast sandwich and cold brew from Safeway. Bought a roast beef sandwich for later in the day.

0800: Race Prep – Pay registration fee, tape off lights, walk track.

0830: Confirm race support is coming (Graham driving down from Portland for the whole day).

-Aside on Graham:

Graham H. Is well known to me. He was a motorcycle friend from when I lived there 7 years ago. He is several years my junior. Kind, of good nature, and quick to lend a hand. He continues to commute and wrench on his vintage Cb450 and was going to drive his classic Civic Hatchback to the event on Sunday.

But nay! His weekend was fated to be more difficult than he anticipated. On Friday night his Honda was stolen, and he was in the middle of a rebuild on his Honda cb. The engine was completely out. I frantically called him Saturday, “Graham, whats going on? Are you out for tomorrow?” Cool as the Dude himself he replied, “No way, I have a backup plan. I’ll make it.

Jump forward to Sunday Morning, Shortly before 9am(when the riders meeting was to happen), I see Graham roll up on a classy Vintage BMW R75 from the mid 70s. This fool pulled a favor from his family and in his words, “Rode a family heirloom” down from the city to be my support guy for the day. Strapped to the back of the machine was my last piece of essential race equipment, a 5 gallon fuel can.

0900: Riders meeting

0930: Tech inspection, transponder testing, and practice laps. Track is HOT.

Bike is torquey, light, and fun as hell. But these Shinko tires are the opposite of grippy. Quickly realize I will be racing according to the limitation of my grip as well as my mental endurance.

1030: Bike fueled, rider ready, le man start queued op on the front straight.  11 bikes, 3 classes, 6 hrs.

    -Aside on the Le Mans start:

A Le Mans-style start was used for many years in various types of motor racing. When the start flag dropped, drivers had to run across the track to their cars which were parked on the other side, climb in, start the car, and drive away to begin the race.^[4]   -Wikipedia

1035: START

-Boggle the standing start, forgot I left the key in the off position. Ah well, I have hours to recover.

-Goal: manage traffic, learn course, memorize the fastest and safest line I can repeat for hours.

-Realization: Im not fast. I need to turn my shit up.

-Lap 10-20: Damn, Im getting passed way more than I thought. These tiny supermotos are fast as shit!

-Beyond counting laps, my life is the track now. I was born here, I will die here. This is where my life is lived today.

-Looking, searching, getting frustrated trying to find the braking point and entrance point for two of the corners.

-Close to 1 hr my sloppiness pays its dividends: I dump the throttle from the tightest left hander and the back end swings away from the rest of my direction of travel. I feel the bike’s geometry stabilize a slide and then its gone. Im rolling in the grass and boy does my right thumb sting.

-I easily lift the bike (and per the rules) push it back across the infield to the pit for a quick tech inspection. Bike is perfect aside from grass in the frame sliders. I just got a sore thumb and grass stains on my True Hand shirt.

 

-My Pit man Graham checked on me, It was still so early in the race I didn’t drink or eat or gas. Just got back out there as soon as I could. Probably lost 5-7 laps. (STOP 1)

1130: Time becomes irrelevant, brain decides I will stop when I have physical needs or if I start making mental mistakes. Working hard at this point, increased HR, sweating, fighting through (need to remedy this).

1130: Sure enough, brain starts to misfire. Miss a few braking points and come into the put for mental break and rockstar energy drink. (STOP 2)

1230: Hour 2, feeling like im finally learning the track, 1/3 of the race complete. Finishing feels like a possibility. Elbows up, hammer down, finally getting some good battles with the CBR250 in my class. Passing slower bikes consistently, and being less rattled my the pros blasting around me.

1300: Hour 3 approaching, gas light comes on, a fantastic excuse to pit for a moment and push through to the midpoint. Feeling solid. Graham fills my tank while I pound another rockstar and a bit of gatorade. Still gotta rip that wheelie out of pit lane though. (STOP 3)

1340: RECESS 5 minute intermission for track direction reversal and re-grid according to position.

-Run to porta potty and drain the tank. Inhale gatorade and 3/4 of a hersheys/almond chocolate bar.

-Struggle to re-seat earplugs and almost miss the restart back on the grid.

-Grip it and rip it.

1355: Shit, this is a whole new race track.

Nausea, vertigo, whats happening?! Shit my eyes. I was staring so hard at the “brand new” corners I was actually making myself motion sick. This was a surprise challenge, easily remedied by looking farther ahead through the corners.

Hell yeah, this is a whole new race track! Running clockwise is what my brain was waiting for. Within 5-10 laps I know the braking points and gears I should be using. And I am shredding. The front straight is now a flat out into a hairpin right. I push the shinkos to their absolute braking limit every lap and smile with glee as they chirp and skid in front the main grandstand. Now people can HEAR I’m pushing it to the limit.

1430: Absolutely vibing out here. Brake, shift, feel the toe drag all the way through the corner, smooth on the throttle and wide open when the grip is back. Repeat this pattern until life has lost its luster.

Race is tighter, fewer passes, fewer crashes, everyone is settling in.

Shit- racer from NYC on the cbr250 crashes HARD in front of me on the hard breaking section. I see his body tumble from 60mph to 0 right in front of the grandstand.

I brake, turn in, drag my toe, and wait to life to lose its meaning.

1445: Feeling tired.

-Knees hurt, right hand really hurts, slight headache as well. Back off the pace for a few laps. Thinking. Need to make it through. Come in to pit for a quick mental checkup, caffeine boost. No fuel. <1 min stop. (STOP 4)

1500: Come back out on the track feeling funky fresh, get a little too excited, miss my braking point entirely on the front straight, skid straight through the corner. No drama, point the bike the right way and resume shredding.

1530: Good battles with the smaller bikes, The CBR250 is repaired and back on track. Nice to battle and pass them consistently. Keeps things interesting. Notice the sun is starting to get lower in the sky, also the crowd is growing. Damn, its like a real race with spectators and everything! Come into pit for fuel and caffiene. I jump off the bike and HOLY SHIT my friend Darren is here to cheer me on! Hell yeah! A friend in need is a friend in deed. +10 Stamina just from seeing him standing there. (STOP 5)

1535: Less than 1.5 hrs left. I GOT THIS. Try to push the bike a bit farther knowing Im close. more speed in the fast corners and later braking in the slow corners.

1600: Am I losing it? Are those horses on the track? just beyond the back fast corner I see cowboys warming their mounts. Takes me many laps to decide if these are real or imagined. Somewhere near here I get a really satisfying late braking pass on the fast straight in front of the grandstand. Stuffed him!

1645: Knees are toast, sharp pains reminding me that while my machine is metal I am merely squishy stuff.

1649: Where the christ is that white flag?

1650: white flag! 5 minutes! HAMMER DOWN KIDDOS

1655: Oh thats right, time isnt real. I just live and die on the track today. Keep braking, shifting, turning in and looking for the meaning of life.

-Oh hey! there it is, its over. Checkered flag.

Naturally pop a little wheelie for my friend Darren standing in the pit waiting for me to come in.

-Park the bike, hugs for my pit hero graham and my 1# fan Darren.

-Next person in my face is a lady with a hi viz vest with a patch that I used to own emblazoned with the words “Oregon Emergency Medical Technician.” “Are you ok?”, She breathes with urgency. “Do I look Ok? I feel great!” I reply warmly. “Ive been watching you all day, you barely stopped, did you drink anything?” “Yeah, Gatorade and Rockstar.”  I thanked her for her concern and asked Graham to get me some real water to mix in with the gatorade so I could start to properly re hydrate.

1715:

Somehow remained vertical. Felt good to stand and not constantly float from ball of foot to ball of foot to ball of foot to ball of foot.

Ended up getting 2nd place in my modern class. I really just wanted to finish the event, so getting a podium was awesome. (Even if my class was only 3 bikes).

For the record, I was the only IRON MAN competitor, and finished the race with 345 laps and 0 penalties. The KTM team that absolutely blitzed the day was 1st overall with 415 laps. For the math, fast bikes were making sub 1min laps, slow bikes like me where making ~1min laps.

360 laps would be running 1 min laps for the full 6 hours without any pauses or breaks. So I feel like I was pretty close to a decent race pace overall.

Got some sweet swag and a trophy. People said nice things about me, felt great. Drank the trophy PBR on the podium. Got wet with champagne. Felt like a dream.

As I was walking away from the crowd two racers got in a fist fight, I turned to my friends in the pit and said “Wait, motorcycle racers getting hot headed after racing all day?! Whattttt? What are the odds.”

Of course, being a complete nut. I saddled up the gear, gave away all the merch I could not carry on the plane back, and rode back to Beaverton with my 1# fan Darren.

The good

– No rust

– all of the original electronics are intact including the battery, it all works.

– has stock tool box

– The front end is from a ninja 250, with brembo master cylinder, brembo caliper, and an EBC floating rotor .  Works super good

– tank has 2 small dents.  Came up good with a custom Ed Yak Wax

– Got the stock front end with the bike, its all in good shape

– Got a spare tank

– Came with a rear rack and a set of luggage (also with racks).  Very old man, not really that nice but hey, they were free.

– Had title

– Does wheelies

The Bad

– has an air leak, I think its the exhaust.

– They cut the original exhaust off and booger welded a pipe extension on with a muffler, it sucks.  Going to need a new one.

– The exhaust was super loose and caused the bottom mounting bracket on the frame to ovalize.  Currently have random junk stuffed in there to keep it tight.  Not sure how to fix that just yet

– The smaller front wheel and shorter forks fucked up the rake.  Bike is a little dart-y at speed

– Bike is very much set up for on road riding, not much off road.

– seat needs some new foam

Short Term Plans

– Just bought some stock sized dirt tires.  Putting the stock front end back on so I can ride offroad.

– I tried to crowd source a plan for the bike on Tuesday night but that involved me swapping the suspension off of the Tacoma, putting that on the XT, then swapping my CB500 motor into my Tacoma, or something….  It changed every 5 minutes.  I’m easily confused.  I was confused by the end.

– Get a second rear wheel and swap tires and forks when I am doing on road/off road stuff.

– If you can’t tell im torn.

Long Term Plans

This, or something similar.

I already love the bike.  I’m pretty pumped.

So… Turns out the it250 has a spring loaded pin inside the oil drain plug. This spring loaded pin puts pressure against the trans gear cam selector. Mine was missing since I bought the bike.

This is why it would pop out of gear and shift shitty. So technically I could’ve bought the $2 spring and not taken the trans apart at all ha. Anyway, shifts / runs great now.

What I’ve done since owning it

• New piston
• New (used) crank / connecting rod that I had balanced
• yz250 head
• yz250 swingarm
• DG pipe / silencer
• Racetech front suspension with vintage Terry-kit dampers
• NAMC rebuilt yz250 rear suspension
• New Mikuni VM36 carb
• Clutch

On the dirt bike, I feel like it matters more to attempt to tune the suspension. Ya know… Jumping shit. Wheelies past friends.

On my 1979 IT250 here’s what I did

• Racetech front springs: .43kg stiffness. I weigh 175 on a good day. I said it before but Racetech is great since you can choose different spring rates.
• Terry Kit vintage dampening rods. eBay find. Apparently these give you 1″ more of fork travel and make for a more plush ride at high speed on bumps? Can’t find much info.
• I set preload to just under an inch
• used 300mm of 20 weight fork oil
• new all balls fork seals

So will these improvements make the IT feel better? Who the fuck knows. I want to see how it feels without doing modern front $200 Racetech emulator cartridges.

Front combined with my beefed up rebuilt YZ250 rear monoshock should be good.

Preload

So how exactly do you measure preload? It’s pretty simple. When you screw the top cap on, it’s how much you are compressing the fork spring. My manual calls for about half inch but I went with just under an inch. Preload below.

Below pic is from Racetech website… The Terry kit dampening rods had less holes, but the holes were bigger I think? I find the dampening rods the most confusing part.

For clarity, other than popping out of gear which is the reason for the tear down, my it250 runs super crisp. Gobs of power. Compression is spot on.

After taking the cylinder off, the piston looks perfect. Zero scoring on piston or cylinder. Rings also look perfect. So I didn’t plan on doing the piston which is a happy surprise.

However, here’s where things get weird. WTF… the connecting rod is bent. Slight bend to the left. How the F did this happen and why does the bike run great?

The only conclusion I came to is that before I bought the bike I assumed the previous owner seized the motor in a gnarly way, hence the slight rod bend, which is still impressive to bend a rod. So I assumed I’d now be at the 2nd or 3rd oversized piston.

Extra weird: nope. I’m at the stock size piston and cylinder. How the F did the rod bend?

Is it possible the dude replaced the entire cylinder and piston with a STD size? That seems unnecessary.

Is it possible when I submerged the IT in water in the pines, it got water locked for a second and that created the slight bend? I doubt it since I turned the bike off right away and pulled plug to drain water before starting it. Nothing makes sense.

So that’ll be another $150 to replace the crank and rod. Shit.

Thoughts anyone?

My IT250 suspension is clapped out like mikes moms squeeze box. It’s beat the F up.

Since it’s the start of winter I’m taking some time to redo a couple things. My bike always pops out of gear so gonna sort the trans, but more importantly… do the suspension.

So, this is my way of saying, we have about 4-5 months till prime dirt bike riding weather. Your bike is junk. Put some time into it.

• Maybe do your forks. Mine were leaking bad
• Maybe get new, stiffer fork springs. Mine are too soft
• Maybe put on new tires
• Maybe check your jetting. Mine was rich
• Maybe do an oil change / air filter / clutch
• Maybe do the crank seals. I can name several people that have air leaks

Pretty soon everyone will be old and have kids. We’re not there yet. We slacked hard on dirt bikes this past year. 2018 I want to ride more. Reading / Pines / Bridgeport / Millville vet track. I want to do some sort of race. Maybe actually do mid Ohio race this year. Fuck, let’s have a few more fun years.

Anyway…
Turns out there are more little differences between a YZ and IT. My forks are 36 where YZ is 38.

What I’m doing to my suspension:

• Racetech front springs only is about $140. I’m going this route. With .43kg spring stiffness. You can choose based on how fat you are. Was going to, but not doing cartridge emulators which are an extra $200
• Racetech rear was too expensive. Was gonna be around $500-700. I found a guy on eBay that sells an all-rebuilt yz250 shock beefed up for racing. Got it for $380. It has thicker oil, better bump stop which I was missing, and pressurized to 185psi. Dude says he uses this one on his vintage yz465 he races.

Read this: Test of a couple 70s Yamaha YZ’s with Racetech suspension:
http://www.pulpmx.com/stories/vintage-corner-race-tech-suspension-test

Watch this: Having fun on old YZs:

More pics of rear suspension:

I wish I was this dude… Toyota long bed in some sick mustard color, 3 MX250’s, and 2 hot chicks. That guy is the fuckin’ man.

Check out the article HERE

You can also check out some other past write-ups of Bill’s work on BikExif:
Norton Commando MK III
Aermacchi Sprint

Check out the article and congratulate Bill next time you see him around town.

Bill Beckers newest build is this impressive #yamaha #xs650.

A photo posted by Cast & Salvage (@castandsalvage) on Jul 15, 2015 at 4:07am PDT

Some pics from Brian R, vids from Jake, and Instagram random.

@chinonthetank hill climb #readingdirtbikegetaway

A video posted by Nate King (@natemking) on May 30, 2015 at 5:06pm PDT

Getting cocky on the IT and starting basically on the hill. Fail.

A video posted by chinonthetank (@chinonthetank) on Jun 6, 2015 at 5:13am PDT

@chinonthetank

A video posted by Brian Robert Radke (@brianrobertradke) on May 30, 2015 at 5:18pm PDT

Does anyone know anything about these mid-1980s Yamaha big wheels? 

It looks like they came in 80cc / 200cc / 350cc. They’re way cooler than the modern Yamaha TW200. IMO.
And then at the bottom… Those Honda trikes look awesome and dangerous.

One of the Yamaha big wheel 200 which recently sold on eBay had the description:

This is a kick-ass bike that will go anywhere. None of your friends have one. Better that that, none of your enemies have one either! This is GLOAT-CITY doing a wheelie! I am selling it because I am getting a little older and feel safer on a four-wheeler. But I still bust it out occasionally when I want to crap out my neighbors.I could have washed it up for the photos, but then I’d be getting a lot of questions like “does it run?” or “Is it any good in the mud?” or “Can you cross a creek with it?” Yes, yes and OH, Hell yeah! This bike does it all.
 Quit bein’ average and do something cool for your self. Your wife will hate it, so park it in the living room. That way when she starts yelling, you can ride it to the refrigerator and get a beer!

They need a little cleanup but are runners. The red DT actually has a wrangler jean jacket made into a cover with a serious fade.

And if you needed any more reason to get psyched on the old enduros check out these guys instagram accounts. Tons of great old photos.

I spy Vic Eastwood and Hakan Andersson. #motocrosshistory #motocross #worldmotocross #realmx#natualterrain#70’smoto

A photo posted by DG’s Vintage Motocross Garage (@dg533) on May 6, 2015 at 12:48pm PDT

Sliding r in MXA style. #motocrosshistory #motostyle #motocross #mxa

A photo posted by DG’s Vintage Motocross Garage (@dg533) on May 3, 2015 at 7:57pm PDT

The great Joël Robert holding the high line on his Factory Suzuki at the 1971 Saddleback Park Trans-AMA @dirtbikemag #Legend #BeerSmokesAndHaulingAss #Motocross #70sMoto A photo posted by Tony Blazier (@tonyblazier) on Apr 26, 2015 at 6:15am PDT

The Toyota SR-5 Sport Truck -the official truck of the 1978 AMA Supercross Series. #MikeBell #JamminJimmyWeinert #WhatEverHappenedToLowTrucks #Motocross #Supercross #70sMoto

A photo posted by Tony Blazier (@tonyblazier) on Apr 20, 2015 at 7:23pm PDT

The benefits are:
– Lighter engine
– 6 speeds vs 5 speeds
– Overall more solid engine
– Parts availability are better (Wiseco makes piston kits for $100)

Well this got me pumped so at some point last year I picked up this 1981 MX 175 cheap with a solid motor, no title, and a bit rough around the edges. It was perfect candidate for the motor swap. However, after a few hours of disassembly and attempted reassembly the motor doesn’t swap over clean. Motor mounts kinda line up but more importantly the chain line is about an 1/8″ off so basically it would need all new mounts to correct everything. So the swap is possible but currently more work than I’m looking to invest in it. I had to try it for myself and this post is for anyone (probably few but..) who has thought about doing this.

MX motor piston is still standard bore which is good.

MX cylinder head

Motors side by side. DT175 left and MX175 right

MX motor in the DT with just the bottom right bolt engine bolt.

DT motor in the DT

DT will stay stockish for now. I have an early model MX175 exhaust that I’m going to try and fit on. Supposedly a power upgrade but we’ll see.

First off… Why do you care and what’s the deal?

On 2 stroke dirt bikes, there is a rubber seal on either side of the crankshaft. Over time these dry out.

The seal on the magneto side (left side) prevents air from getting into the combustion chamber. If the seal on this side goes bad, you’ll get air leaks. Your idle will hang and/or the bike will rev erratic randomly. Bike will run lean and trying to tune it will be pointless.

The seal on the clutch side (right side) prevents crankcase oil from getting into the combustion chamber. If the seal on this side goes bad, you’ll burn a ton of oil and eventually foul plugs and suck the crankcase dry of oil.

Ok.

Things you’ll need to change the crank seal which you most likely do not have or own:
– air compressor set up and air gun to loosen certain bolts for the first time in 30 years
– 26mm / 29mm / 30mm socket
– yamaha magneto puller tool

Magneto side crank seal

1. Use OEM yamaha seals. Get them from BikeBandit.com
2. Pull the cover off
3. Bolt will be a 19mm. Unless it’s recently been loosened at some point, absolutely no way you’re getting it off without an air compressor set at above 80psi.
4. Once that bolt is off, screw on the yamaha magneto puller tool
5. Tighten it on there and then start to use the 2 wrenches to pop the magneto off. If this is the first time your magneto is coming off, be prepared to feel like you’re going to strip threads, or break something. Every time that it’s the first time i’m blowing off a magneto that’s been stuck on there for 30 years, it’s blows off with a crazy loud noise. Shit is seriously scary.
6. Use an impact driver to get the stator screws out.
7. Then take a drywall screw and hammer it gently into the old seal. Only poke it through a tiny tiny bit. Then screw it in only until it grabs. Then use a hammer to pry, and pop out the old seal. Side note – if you can get the seal out with a pick instead of a drywall screw, do it. Good luck though.
8. Wipe everything dry with alcohol. Then, since this side is prone to air leaks, I use Black Gasket sealer on the outside of the seal. Never gotten air leaks by using this method.
9. Push the seal in gently. Tap it in gently if you have to. Also, once the seal is pushed all the way in, put a thin coating of gasket sealer around the outer edge. Someone once recommended this. Works for me. Again, gasket sealer is up for debate but I like it on things that are prone to air leaks.
10. Since it’s all apart, wipe the contact areas of the stator and magneto clean with a rag and alcohol.
11. You’re done this side. Reassemble. Important note – when you put the magneto back on make sure you tap it on super hard with a rubber mallet. It needs to sit all the way into the woodruff key and the bolt needs to be tight as shit or the woodruff key will sheer off.
12. Last note. These seals are directional. So put them in the right way which is little round spring facing into the combustion chamber. My images show it going in backwards, sorry. However. I put them in backwards in my IT and never had a problem … actually think it makes more sense to put them in backwards so the little spring can’t fall into the combustion chamber. I dunno, it’s your call. 

Clutch side crank seal

1. Pull the cover off
2. Undo the clutch spring bolts
3. Those 2 bolts I’m pointing to will definitely not come off unless you have an air compressor set up. Maybe if you have a clutch basket holder. Still they prob won’t come off.
4. Once you do get them off, it’s easy. Pull off the clutch, and pull off the primary gear. Take a photo to ensure proper reassembly if you need to before pulling shit all apart.
5. Popping the seal out on this side is the same as the other side you just did
6. Wipe everything clean with alcohol, and put this seal in dry. No gasket sealer.
7. Reassemble. Make sure you tighten those 2 big bolts back to the torque spec or at least make them tight as shit. Then… Drink a beer.

The IT is coming along.

• Got the Vermont registration so I can actually ride the thing legally now
• Sorted out all the little missing bolts and retarded shit from the previous owner. Needs a different silencer. Looking for a good, used DG piece.
• Got it cleaned up. The blue and yellow is pretty wild looking. Minus some missing OEM yamaha decals which I haven’t bought yet… this is actually how it’s supposed to look from the factory. Pretty ugly, but I’m really into it.
• Had Adam loosen some stuck bottom-end bolts for me with his air compressor. Doing crank seals tomorrow.
• I get some “false neutrals” between 2nd-4th gear sometimes. Not sure whats up with that yet. Anyone ever experience this? Does thicker crankcase oil help?
• It runs semi okay, but the carb needs some adjustments. I have some Boyesen reeds to put in too. Then it should rip pretty good.

Another good one popped up on craigslist for $350.
Adam and I decided to buy it together.
Drove 2.5 hours to the tip-top of hickville NJ.
We ended up getting it for a fair price of $300.

In case you didn’t know… Yamaha made “MX” versions of the DT. If you walked into a Yamaha dealership in the 70’s and wanted to buy something 2-stroke to play with in the dirt, you had a few different options:

DT

• motor tuned for balanced power through the rpms.
• modest suspension
• dual sport tires
• daily rider type bike

MX

• DT motor tuned for off road riding. Possibly put out a little more HP but can’t find any definitive info on that.
• Early year MX’s (69-73) it would be a DT1-MX or AT1-MX (MX after the model). These were bikes where you’d walk in the dealer, tell them you want an MX, and they would modify a DT by taking the lights/gauges off and add a couple performance parts (tires/piston/carb/pipe/possibly a GYT kit) to make it an MX.
• Later years (74 – 82) MX models actually came from the factory as a MX. Like a MX175 (MX before the model). Similar to the early years, it had no lights, gauges, and some performance parts like the exhaust. According to the Clymer manual, these had a better exhaust that would be upgrade from the DT pipe.
• According to parts list, there was a lighting kit option that you could add on that looked similiar to the IT lights.

IT

• As close to a YZ as possible.
• Basically a street legal YZ with lights.
• Probably de-tuned a tiny bit compared to a YZ?
• Only made starting in the late 70’s – mid 80’s.
• No oil injection.
• IT stood for ‘International Trials’

YZ

• Full off-road race bike.
• Higher compression motor.
• Aggressive gearing. Race suspension.
• No lighting coil or lights.
• Not possible to make street legal.

There’s not a lot of info out there about all this stuff and Yamaha made so many variations to all these bikes that its been hard to find out all the little details.

One thing that’s interesting about the MX version, is that the VIN number states it’s an “off-road” bike. This is the VIN website to look it up.

The MX and YZ both say “off-road”. The DT and IT says “dual-sport”. So I guess based on that you wouldn’t be able to title and register the MX version? Even if you tried to do the VT registration trick?

Anyway…
Adam is going to try and put the 79 MX175 motor and pipe in his 75 DT175. The newer motor is more powerful and 6spd tranny.
I’m going to use the front end for my CT1-175.

Should be interesting.

Someone in middle-north NJ put a Yamaha IT250 on craigslist. Within 2 hours I called him and decided to go check it out.

The guy wanted $650. I bought it for $540. No title. Stuff like this goes quick, so you gotta be prepared to pull the trigger asap. Huge thanks to neighbor Brian for helping me get it!

It needs some TLC, but it seems to run legit. It’ll shape up well. It’s gnarly fast.

In case you don’t know what the IT is… it’s basically a full on race YZ version with lights and street legal. So it’s the holy-grail of street legal and off-road 2 stroke Yamahas. IMO.

I’m not 100% positive on all this… but differences between the normal Yamaha DT/CT versions and the IT versions are that the IT had:

• YZ motor
• YZ suspension
• better expansion chamber
• bigger carb
• different head and piston
• similar gearing to YZ – 6spd
• light aluminum wheels
• no oil injection
• plastic everything
• light magnesium hubs
• footpegs, shifters and rear-brake levers that fold in

I’m hoping to not put much of any money in this thing. Fingers crossed.

The motor sounds good. It runs pretty good as is. Tires are good.
I’m hoping to clean it up. Do the wiring. Give it a full tune up. Do the VT registration trick, and just rip on it. It has a sweet custom Kawasaki spark arrester ha. Def keeping that.

Honestly, I’d prefer the IT175 but they’re super rare. I don’t need the fastest bike. I haven’t seen many IT’s pop up on the east coast at all. I always see them on eBay in Cali. I’m an avid ebay/CL stalker. Yann has the IT400, he got it out at mid-ohio.

I rode it around the neighborhood last night and on del ave for a bit. The front wheel pops up in every gear.

For comparison. The 79 IT250 had around 35hp. Where the 79 DT250 had around 18.

All Packed Up

The Scenic Route a.k.a. Driving Directions Avoiding 76

Sitting in Traffic

Small Electrical Problem.

Sorting out the Electrical Problem, Turned out to be a broken connection.

Hip Shot

Bachelor Party: Ryan Scott Punching a Bag (Top Score)

Matt Yetter Punching a Bag, Actually he wiffed. HA!

Post Party Scenery

Hand Painted Thank You Sign

Hand Painted Cocktail Sign

About to leave for home

Pizza World Pit Stop

Pizza World Pit Stop 2

Random Stop

Home

Thanks to Adam for helping make my bike so rad!