I bought one of these off the showroom floor the summer of 1974. Loved it! The reed valve system was great. Modifying the reed openings in the piston woke the engine up more than I would have ever believed. Moving the shock position closer to the front on the swing gained some much needed rear travel. I miss the bike, it was independence for a 14 year old kid. Racing it in hare scrambles in lower Michigan I always removed the massive silencer thinking I was gaining speed and torque. All it really did was make my ears ring for days. Good luck with the auction!
That’s great I too bought that bike off show room floor in 1975. I put skunk works suspension in back it laid the shocks down with a weird bracket of coarse I had no idea what I was doing 😂 raced it in woods class Sunshine speedway FL 🤙
I bought one just like that in 1977 not running. Rebuilt the top end and rode the hell out of it for a few years. Love the new carb that says not for aircraft use🤣
A friend had one when they were new. I got to ride it, and decided I wanted one ...or something better. Many years later when he had ragged it out and was on another newer MX bike we adapted it to a home made go cart . WOW that was fun !
In 81, i got my first big bike. It was a 73 yamaha dt 125. I could only touch the ground on one side, and enjoyed pushing that thing faster and faster...
That was my first motocross bike and the start of racing the southern California tracks. Carlsbad, Saddleback, Indian Dunes and Ascot Park which was only a few blocks from my house. I bought pipes from Uncle Donny (pre FMF) who was also from the area. To this day that bike is my favorite because it was my first love.
I had this bike as a boy. I had to use a milk crate to get on it. Unfortunately, the metal screen inside of the air cleaner broke a piece off and got sucked into the combustion chamber and wiped out the piston and cylinder.
Sad story, reminds me of a tm400 i built for a friend. He finished the bike, carb and air cleaner. Had a bolt dead center of metal cover he left loose. It eventually ate that bolt.
I scored a 74 mx360 some 15 years ago or so for $500 from a poor guy trying to make his rent. Still have it squirreled away in the garage. A real trench-digger for sure. I bet that guy's kicked himself a few times for selling it. We've alll been there. Damn can't believe how long ago it came home with me. Time really flies.
This was right around the time Japanese manufacturers figured out maico had the geometry to copy. I had a 175 … looking very similar. Still have a maico 250. Nothing wrong with the Yamahas. The tuning forks have always enchanted me. My maico doesn’t look anywhere near as finished as a Yamaha. The 175 had a bad stator. Beautiful bike… my dad traded it away when I didn’t get it back up and running. Not mint but damn I wish I still had it. Got traded for probably 200$ worth of something or other
I was going to say if you put a mono shock on it it would way ahead of it's time I said that before I your show if you watch alot movies and tv series from the 70s and 80s they ride alot of Yamaha's when they were doing stunts or racing I was watching the fall guy last night they showed Lee majors jumping 3 40 foot buses on a IT250 of course it was a real stunt man.
Back then didn't the factory make factory ride for there team better bike than stock 250 they'd . Sell to the select few called factory privateer? Bikes were better than stock not top factory Yamaha ride ?
That was my first bike bought it off the show room @ cycle springs Yamaha In palm harbor FL raced it in the woods class Sunshine speedway st,pete Florida
The restoration of that motor is the BEST I’ve ever seen 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Man they looked so much better in the classic black and yellow.
I bought one of these off the showroom floor the summer of 1974. Loved it! The reed valve system was great. Modifying the reed openings in the piston woke the engine up more than I would have ever believed. Moving the shock position closer to the front on the swing gained some much needed rear travel. I miss the bike, it was independence for a 14 year old kid. Racing it in hare scrambles in lower Michigan I always removed the massive silencer thinking I was gaining speed and torque. All it really did was make my ears ring for days. Good luck with the auction!
That’s great I too bought that bike off show room floor in 1975. I put skunk works suspension in back it laid the shocks down with a weird bracket of coarse I had no idea what I was doing 😂 raced it in woods class
Sunshine speedway FL 🤙
Love those old school 2 strokes!
I bought one just like that in 1977 not running. Rebuilt the top end and rode the hell out of it for a few years. Love the new carb that says not for aircraft use🤣
A friend had one when they were new. I got to ride it, and decided I wanted one ...or something better. Many years later when he had ragged it out and was on another newer MX bike we adapted it to a home made go cart . WOW that was fun !
Wow. I like that camera work on the engine. Thanks for spending the time going over it. The front end looks almost like some of the bicycles now.
In 81, i got my first big bike.
It was a 73 yamaha dt 125.
I could only touch the ground on one side, and enjoyed pushing that thing faster and faster...
That was my first motocross bike and the start of racing the southern California tracks. Carlsbad, Saddleback, Indian Dunes and Ascot Park which was only a few blocks from my house. I bought pipes from Uncle Donny (pre FMF) who was also from the area. To this day that bike is my favorite because it was my first love.
My sweatshirt smells like 2 stroke exhaust just by watching this video
Man I wish I was loaded and had heated storage. I’d be a Colector for sure. I bleed green so I’d have an amazing lineup of kawi’s.
Beautiful Vintage MX Dirtbike. I think this was the last year Yamaha had MX's, before they went to YZ? Those VMX Plastics are gorgeous!
Man that thing sounds good my dream bike rite there 😊
I had this bike as a boy. I had to use a milk crate to get on it. Unfortunately, the metal screen inside of the air cleaner broke a piece off and got sucked into the combustion chamber and wiped out the piston and cylinder.
Sad story, reminds me of a tm400 i built for a friend. He finished the bike, carb and air cleaner. Had a bolt dead center of metal cover he left loose. It eventually ate that bolt.
I scored a 74 mx360 some 15 years ago or so for $500 from a poor guy trying to make his rent. Still have it squirreled away in the garage. A real trench-digger for sure. I bet that guy's kicked himself a few times for selling it. We've alll been there. Damn can't believe how long ago it came home with me. Time really flies.
Pierre Karsmakers raced at my hometown motocross track Spillway Park Santa Maria, Ca. in 1973. What a time to be alive.....
I had the 73.,..basically the same bike....awsome
🐝🏁 My Dad's old bike. Memory ❤ Video 👍
This was right around the time Japanese manufacturers figured out maico had the geometry to copy. I had a 175 … looking very similar. Still have a maico 250. Nothing wrong with the Yamahas. The tuning forks have always enchanted me. My maico doesn’t look anywhere near as finished as a Yamaha. The 175 had a bad stator. Beautiful bike… my dad traded it away when I didn’t get it back up and running. Not mint but damn I wish I still had it. Got traded for probably 200$ worth of something or other
Beautiful bike !🙂👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Oh, how I love the history. It's beautiful!
That is beautiful
That thing’s sick🙌
Fantastic bike
Great bike 👍
Nice 👍. In 74 traded my 70 cl70 for a new 100MX . Screaming yellow zonker🤠
Wow, I had the 74 100 MX wrote the heck out of that bike. 👍
Absolutely.
Beautiful wow
These old dirt diggers were the bees knees.
AMAZING!!!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Awesome!
Brings back memories my first bike at ten years old was a 1974 mx 100 looked identical to the 250
Nice 250
👍👍👍👍
Sweet 😊
Back when a single man with few $:van go buy one set it up go ride a big event
For the125
What brand chain?
1075 and a half for mono shock
I was going to say if you put a mono shock on it it would way ahead of it's time I said that before I your show if you watch alot movies and tv series from the 70s and 80s they ride alot of Yamaha's when they were doing stunts or racing I was watching the fall guy last night they showed Lee majors jumping 3 40 foot buses on a IT250 of course it was a real stunt man.
YAMAHA!!! RULES!!!
So much cylinder volume, so little exhaust
How much are you asking?
It's on eBay auction right now
Back then didn't the factory make factory ride for there team better bike than stock 250 they'd . Sell to the select few called factory privateer? Bikes were better than stock not top factory Yamaha ride ?
Sometimes the Factory bikes really sucked compared to the aftermarket USA parts and as a rider you were not allowed to use them. (Fox Shocks etc)
Sounds so nasty 👍
That was my first bike bought it off the show room @ cycle springs Yamaha
In palm harbor FL raced it in the woods class
Sunshine speedway st,pete Florida
Great looking masterpiece when vintage motocross was fun the 70s the golden years