I had one from new in1979, bought from Bates in Dartfod, England. Loved it, a real beast, started 1st time every time, best I got was a third in my class at Canada hights, a championship track, in the UK. It's the only bike I ever regret selling.
My dad replaced his Sl 350 with a xt 500 he loved it . Your turn “ breathed on it “ is a great old expression. Flat track guys got some power out of that motor . Big 38 mm mikuni
The stock XT or TT500 was a great trail bike. Slow trailing was great fun. Stock motors were ok. Bump the compression and it’s a whole new animal! Stock cam and 36mm Mikuni round slide carb and Supertrapp mufflers were a nice add on.
I met Mike Bell at my local track in 76 or 77, too old now 😜. He was there with a couple of mechanics and an incognito van. I lived really close to the track and could hear people riding al the time. I heard Mike, not knowing him or most of the time anyone practicing on any given day, on a strange sounding bike. I raced 250 expert class on a KX250 and everyone knows the 2-stroke sound but, I heard this loud thumper and was like WTF is that? I hauled ass to the track and there they were. He said it was a works bike from overseas. It had a white tank at that time but, it was a Yamaha. Looking back now, they may have been at my “way out of the way track” to test a mono shock setup on “this” bike. That was a super day for me, meeting another hero of mine. Along with “Hurricane” and “Jammin’ Jimmy”, what a time for a young teenager 🤘🤘🤘
Back to beginnings of Moto-X, good informative videos I love this. My brothers 76’ XT 500 needs to be pulled from storage, what a waste to just sit. And it will kick you over the bars.
I was at the 1977 mxgp at Farleigh Castle Aberg finished 3rd in the first Moto, It was a great looking bike and a great sound... CCM where also still racing 4 strokes at that time.
I have heard so much about the difficulty of starting and kickback of these 500's but have only experienced it 1 time while initially bringing mine back to life after it sat 12+ yrs in the open desert. I am 63 yrs old 165lbs., once l get the motor past TDC it is no problem at all, just gotta kick ALL the way to the bottom. Mine will almost always start 1st or 2nd try hot or cold. Love this bike.
Owned one in 1980 built by pro endurance rider William Woolman . It had aline bored Yamaha hubs , Poweroll 541 stroker megacycle cam yz forks custom shocks . That thing was a rocket . Rode a ton of single and 2 track in Michigan. Great video.
Took an XT500 X-Country in ‘76. 8000 miles and three months. What a hoot! Even went through Sturgis…at a time when you didn’t want to be caught with a “rice burner” there….especially riding an “enduro”. Good times for sure!
Really Awesome storytelling bro! like a trip down memory lane , so well explained, so interesting! some of those pics were drool worthy, just gorgeous bikes!
@@TheMotocrossVault you are correct about this engine kicking back and doing serious damage to you if you don't have the compression right when you try to kick start it.
Bought a 77 TT500 based on a good review in 'Dirt Bike ' magazine from I believe April back then (loved your review of the1st issue of Dirt Bike,would be cool to see an April 1977 video) had a co-worker who built an HL500 out of his TT. Great featuring this classic
Great video. I’m loving all you historical recaps. I had an XT500 in the early 2000’s and wish I’d never sold it. What a fun bike. I still have an SR500 thank god. Once you get the routine down for kickstarting, it’s pretty easy…just keep your hand off the throttle when kicking!!
I fortunate to race a original HL500 back in 79 (UK) which belonged to a close friend and work mate I was 17 at the time and won many races on it. As I remember I struggled to climb on it as it was so tall and certainly couldn't start it whilst on it. Looking back it wasn't the best handling bike by far and the front forks offset seamed to steep? But once heading towards start line my fellow riders hearts would sink as I would go a lot quicker on this beast than on my YZ400C. If I recall it had a high lift cam and high comp piston fitted which came from the US. Eventually it was taken up to a 660 and was a fierce old beast to ride! Happy days though! Pip Godfrey.
Hi found you like the TT's mine's a 77 I got in 82 and yes I still ride it … 3 updated rebuilds in forty years , bigger +longer forks ,fox shocks , longer swing arm wider rims , 4mm larger carb custom pipe..An AMA flat track 500 cc class rider showed me the PROPER Way to start the beast . If the tune up is right and warm one kick not even on the bike left foot kick left hand on throttle one kick gives you a jack hammer exhaust song at a slow idol .
Enjoyed your vid Tony, Try looking at the Eastwood/Hagon Yamaha, I had one of the last ones made, about 1984, took it out to about 520cc, very interesting bike if you like the HL.
Hey my man. I love your videos. You put such awesome content. Great research as well as your actual experience and knowledge from being there in alot of cases. Truly a boon here in TH-cam. Hope you are well. Much love. Hope u n the family is great. Always wanted to grab some kinda late modernish 250 frame and wedge a tt500 or xr500 motor in it.... This bike represents someone doing just that only a long time ago lol. Cool bike. I'll prolly neve=see one in the flesh unless I visit Kaplans museum.
I had one in 1979 in Australia. I mainly used it for Enduro's so it was road registered. I used Fox forks 44mm dia and Fox AirShox for the rear. Very competitive easily do 100mph. I used YZ465 twin cam front brakes & IT 465 rear brake on Sun rims. Had tried many motors in various stages. Some would explode clutch baskets too. Still have the original Catalogue and Letters. Sold the bike when I was 42 now I'm 61. Best dirt bike ever for my era. Easily beat a YZ465. Owned over 50 bikes still have 6.
I remember too that they had made 3 Valve heads. I tried to procure one to no avail as only 3 were made. Apparently they had 2 exhaust ports not 2 inlets. Mat Turner
Had a '94ish SR400...same family. Loved the bike..Had a flat spot at 3000rpm the local mechanic wouldn't /couldn't fix (be bothered fixing) ..and sold it for a Kawasaki w650 with an electric start..Great bike...;but the lack of a balancer made for vibrations.
My friend had a TT500 with a white brother's high compression piston and a super trap exhaust. He usually just push started it because of the kickback.
There's several proper Profabs in the UK, as we've apparently valued them more than Americans. Torstan Hallman has recently stated that the NVT framed bikes were not fit to race seriously. He thought them really poor. They were made out of so so metal on the cheap. It's a modern myth that they were any good. They're rare 'cause they broke. Survivability of Californian made DMS and C&J frames is really high as they were quality.
I bought an XT new in 1976, put Marzocchi ( Pronounced Marzockee by the way, not Marzoochie ) , why do you do that ? 9" forks and S&W shocks on it, so I know them well. Rode it round Australia as well as many other obscure locations like Arnhem Land and Weipa. The kick back once knocked me out as I opened the throttle accidentally as I was starting the cranky bastard, my right knee was thrown up to my chin and I went to the ground, much to the mirth of the observers on the building site in Weipa, NQ. Sten Lundin , even in Australia, and every where else I presume, even by his Mum and Dad, is pronounced as it reads, not Lundine. Why do you do that ? Interested to know. Baz.
Bent raced the Profab in '77 and '78.The engine they picked up was an XT in autumn '76, bought from an American competing in the Six Days in Europe. The TT came out months after the the XT. I think the first swingarm had the laydown shocks, not as you've set out the photos.Yamaha didn't get the NVT frames made. The European Yamaha distributor did, and they made two lots, said to be 200 the first year and nearly 200 the second year., basically staggered a year later than Bent raced. Profab sold frame kits in America under the HL banner. The NVT was a low quality rip off of the Profab and the frames didn't hold together. The joke is all the frame kits are now high grade copies of the NVT and also copies of the late C&J frames. Nobody does a Profab copy. A first year Profab turned up in England within the last year. Supposedly twentyish frames were made the first year. You have a duty to posterity to get your facts straight.
@@TheMotocrossVault I have to admit it was a lot more informative than most of the TH-cam guff on the subject. Tom White has stated they used his tuning packages, at least in the first year. They developed a three valve head for the second year, but it doesn't seem to have been much of an advantage. The first year they didn't have 50bhp, that came later with the special bored and stroked Pro-Tec stateside bikes. If you look at early photos of Bent actually racing his HL you'll see it had two swing arm mounts for the shocks.
There was a specific way to start a TT 500 if you weren't taught this by the sales puke you walked with a limp most of the time . Luckily my sales puke was an amateur class rider that weighs less than 180 lbs and showed me the proper way to start the beast.And to this day I can start it in 3 kicks with left foot I've had the bike 37yrs- and 3 rebuilds up grades and still does 90 on knobbies
For 1977 they made the starting foolproof (mostly-unless you got in to much of a hurry & stopped slightly short) with a Kickstart gear that disengaged at the bottom of the stroke & a window to see when you are just over top dead center (now to yellow to see very well but don't really need anymore) My 2000 XR650R is a little harder to start, both are cantankerous when trying to restart after dropping while hot 🔥 Batman
I had one from new in1979, bought from Bates in Dartfod, England. Loved it, a real beast, started 1st time every time, best I got was a third in my class at Canada hights, a championship track, in the UK. It's the only bike I ever regret selling.
My dad replaced his Sl 350 with a xt 500 he loved it .
Your turn “ breathed on it “ is a great old expression. Flat track guys got some power out of that motor . Big 38 mm mikuni
My dad replaced his SL 350 with a Yamaha Mx360, motocrossed out version of the 360 DT enduro.
The stock XT or TT500 was a great trail bike. Slow trailing was great fun. Stock motors were ok. Bump the compression and it’s a whole new animal! Stock cam and 36mm Mikuni round slide carb and Supertrapp mufflers were a nice add on.
Just checking in for my history lesson. Thanks Tony I enjoyed it as always.
I met Mike Bell at my local track in 76 or 77, too old now 😜. He was there with a couple of mechanics and an incognito van. I lived really close to the track and could hear people riding al the time. I heard Mike, not knowing him or most of the time anyone practicing on any given day, on a strange sounding bike. I raced 250 expert class on a KX250 and everyone knows the 2-stroke sound but, I heard this loud thumper and was like WTF is that? I hauled ass to the track and there they were. He said it was a works bike from overseas. It had a white tank at that time but, it was a Yamaha. Looking back now, they may have been at my “way out of the way track” to test a mono shock setup on “this” bike. That was a super day for me, meeting another hero of mine. Along with “Hurricane” and “Jammin’ Jimmy”, what a time for a young teenager 🤘🤘🤘
Back to beginnings of Moto-X, good informative videos I love this. My brothers 76’ XT 500 needs to be pulled from storage, what a waste to just sit. And it will kick you over the bars.
I was at the 1977 mxgp at Farleigh Castle Aberg finished 3rd in the first Moto, It was a great looking bike and a great sound... CCM where also still racing 4 strokes at that time.
I have heard so much about the difficulty of starting and kickback of these 500's but have only experienced it 1 time while initially bringing mine back to life after it sat 12+ yrs in the open desert. I am 63 yrs old 165lbs., once l get the motor past TDC it is no problem at all, just gotta kick ALL the way to the bottom. Mine will almost always start 1st or 2nd try hot or cold. Love this bike.
Owned one in 1980 built by pro endurance rider William Woolman . It had aline bored Yamaha hubs , Poweroll 541 stroker megacycle cam yz forks custom shocks . That thing was a rocket . Rode a ton of single and 2 track in Michigan. Great video.
An episode on those xr600 ATK chassis kits and how they preformed would be cool and other chassis they sold
Took an XT500 X-Country in ‘76. 8000 miles and three months. What a hoot! Even went through Sturgis…at a time when you didn’t want to be caught with a “rice burner” there….especially riding an “enduro”. Good times for sure!
Really Awesome storytelling bro! like a trip down memory lane , so well explained, so interesting! some of those pics were drool worthy, just gorgeous bikes!
Glad you enjoyed it!
@@TheMotocrossVault hi Tony.. Are you aware of the term "scrambler"
@@TheMotocrossVault BSA = Birmingham Small Arms... Yep the were a gun manufacturer originally who would eventually get into motorcycle production.
@@TheMotocrossVault you are correct about this engine kicking back and doing serious damage to you if you don't have the compression right when you try to kick start it.
I dig the Saddle Back shirt. I grew up a couple of miles from that track. Was never able to ride it though.
Bought a 77 TT500 based on a good review in 'Dirt Bike ' magazine from I believe April back then (loved your review of the1st issue of Dirt Bike,would be cool to see an April 1977 video) had a co-worker who built an HL500 out of his TT. Great featuring this classic
Awesome video I remember watching them race back in the day.
Great video. I’m loving all you historical recaps. I had an XT500 in the early 2000’s and wish I’d never sold it. What a fun bike. I still have an SR500 thank god. Once you get the routine down for kickstarting, it’s pretty easy…just keep your hand off the throttle when kicking!!
Great video as always .. id love to see one about the Suzuki RMX series
I think he did an rmx review video
I fortunate to race a original HL500 back in 79 (UK) which belonged to a close friend and work mate I was 17 at the time and won many races on it. As I remember I struggled to climb on it as it was so tall and certainly couldn't start it whilst on it. Looking back it wasn't the best handling bike by far and the front forks offset seamed to steep? But once heading towards start line my fellow riders hearts would sink as I would go a lot quicker on this beast than on my YZ400C. If I recall it had a high lift cam and high comp piston fitted which came from the US. Eventually it was taken up to a 660 and was a fierce old beast to ride! Happy days though! Pip Godfrey.
Nice trip through history 👏🏻
I saw a C And J framed 500 that was like 600 plus cc in Dez SO Cal in late 70 early 80. We could hear it from miles away, beast
Hi found you like the TT's mine's a 77 I got in 82 and yes I still ride it … 3 updated rebuilds in forty years , bigger +longer forks ,fox shocks , longer swing arm wider rims , 4mm larger carb custom pipe..An AMA flat track 500 cc class rider showed me the PROPER Way to start the beast . If the tune up is right and warm one kick not even on the bike left foot kick left hand on throttle one kick gives you a jack hammer exhaust song at a slow idol .
Enjoyed your vid Tony, Try looking at the Eastwood/Hagon Yamaha, I had one of the last ones made, about 1984, took it out to about 520cc, very interesting bike if you like the HL.
Hey my man. I love your videos. You put such awesome content. Great research as well as your actual experience and knowledge from being there in alot of cases. Truly a boon here in TH-cam. Hope you are well. Much love. Hope u n the family is great.
Always wanted to grab some kinda late modernish 250 frame and wedge a tt500 or xr500 motor in it.... This bike represents someone doing just that only a long time ago lol. Cool bike. I'll prolly neve=see one in the flesh unless I visit Kaplans museum.
Thank you very much. Good luck with you project
@The Motocross Vault what can you tell me about the 1985 Kawasaki Kx 125 what was good what was bad, how and what did the magazines think?
84's kicked butt. 85's were expected to continue what the 84 started but the magazines considered them a let down. Mostly the engine I believe.
Wow what a flashback, great video! Don't forget about Kawasaki! Rock on!
You're right, I've never heard of it. Great video
Why
CCM were running a 4stroke in that race that you showed a bit of with Brad Lackey on a Honda in 78
Enjoy the history. I have A TT 500 I have no trouble to start it. Once you understand them.. And they're lots of fun.
I had one in 1979 in Australia. I mainly used it for Enduro's so it was road registered. I used Fox forks 44mm dia and Fox AirShox for the rear. Very competitive easily do 100mph. I used YZ465 twin cam front brakes & IT 465 rear brake on Sun rims. Had tried many motors in various stages. Some would explode clutch baskets too. Still have the original Catalogue and Letters. Sold the bike when I was 42 now I'm 61. Best dirt bike ever for my era. Easily beat a YZ465. Owned over 50 bikes still have 6.
I remember too that they had made 3 Valve heads. I tried to procure one to no avail as only 3 were made. Apparently they had 2 exhaust ports not 2 inlets. Mat Turner
Might be a good bike for hill-climbing, with extended rear swing-arm.
So the oil in the frame tube was like a psuedo oil cooler.
So they call this the Bent Aberg replica right?
I know of one ☝️ genuine HL 500 here in Australia. I believe it’s a “79” model
Really interesting
Got an xt 500 and had it for 37yrs.
Ps easy to start just get it on the right stroke
Regards
Did anyone make a single shock chassis for these motors?
Tony, you are quickly becomig my best friend, during this quarantine lock down. Thank you for your service!
Thanks
Had a '94ish SR400...same family. Loved the bike..Had a flat spot at 3000rpm the local mechanic wouldn't /couldn't fix (be bothered fixing) ..and sold it for a Kawasaki w650 with an electric start..Great bike...;but the lack of a balancer made for vibrations.
Another pair of companies that built complete frame kits was White Brothers and Rickman Matisse .Frame weights were way less than 20 lbs .
Great presentation thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it!
My friend had a TT500 with a white brother's high compression piston and a super trap exhaust. He usually just push started it because of the kickback.
There's several proper Profabs in the UK, as we've apparently valued them more than Americans. Torstan Hallman has recently stated that the NVT framed bikes were not fit to race seriously. He thought them really poor. They were made out of so so metal on the cheap. It's a modern myth that they were any good. They're rare 'cause they broke. Survivability of Californian made DMS and C&J frames is really high as they were quality.
I bought an XT new in 1976, put Marzocchi ( Pronounced Marzockee by the way, not Marzoochie ) , why do you do that ? 9" forks and S&W shocks on it, so I know them well. Rode it round Australia as well as many other obscure locations like Arnhem Land and Weipa. The kick back once knocked me out as I opened the throttle accidentally as I was starting the cranky bastard, my right knee was thrown up to my chin and I went to the ground, much to the mirth of the observers on the building site in Weipa, NQ.
Sten Lundin , even in Australia, and every where else I presume, even by his Mum and Dad, is pronounced as it reads, not Lundine. Why do you do that ? Interested to know. Baz.
Don’t forget the BSA 441 single.
You didn’t. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Hi, excellent video as always... can you ship your VAULT MERCHANDISE to England ?
Many thanks, Mike.
Yes I’m pretty sure Teespring ships to the UK
Bent raced the Profab in '77 and '78.The engine they picked up was an XT in autumn '76, bought from an American competing in the Six Days in Europe. The TT came out months after the the XT. I think the first swingarm had the laydown shocks, not as you've set out the photos.Yamaha didn't get the NVT frames made. The European Yamaha distributor did, and they made two lots, said to be 200 the first year and nearly 200 the second year., basically staggered a year later than Bent raced. Profab sold frame kits in America under the HL banner. The NVT was a low quality rip off of the Profab and the frames didn't hold together. The joke is all the frame kits are now high grade copies of the NVT and also copies of the late C&J frames. Nobody does a Profab copy. A first year Profab turned up in England within the last year. Supposedly twentyish frames were made the first year. You have a duty to posterity to get your facts straight.
I seven when this was going on and did my best with the limited information I could cobble together from the sources I had.
@@TheMotocrossVault I have to admit it was a lot more informative than most of the TH-cam guff on the subject. Tom White has stated they used his tuning packages, at least in the first year. They developed a three valve head for the second year, but it doesn't seem to have been much of an advantage. The first year they didn't have 50bhp, that came later with the special bored and stroked Pro-Tec stateside bikes. If you look at early photos of Bent actually racing his HL you'll see it had two swing arm mounts for the shocks.
Nice, Aloha.
I found a 750 2stroke
bikes are cool, but your girls are WAY cooler.... best regards to your lovely family from Chile
Lol thanks!
like from Ukraine
Å=(awe) Åberg ~ Aweberg
There was a specific way to start a TT 500 if you weren't taught this by the sales puke you walked with a limp most of the time . Luckily my sales puke was an amateur class rider that weighs less than 180 lbs and showed me the proper way to start the beast.And to this day I can start it in 3 kicks with left foot I've had the bike 37yrs- and 3 rebuilds up grades and still does 90 on knobbies
For 1977 they made the starting foolproof (mostly-unless you got in to much of a hurry & stopped slightly short) with a Kickstart gear that disengaged at the bottom of the stroke & a window to see when you are just over top dead center (now to yellow to see very well but don't really need anymore) My 2000 XR650R is a little harder to start, both are cantankerous when trying to restart after dropping while hot 🔥
Batman
I have A ; PLS yamaha where koos mulder was dutch champ end europeen champ, reare bike
I owned a 78 xt 500 in high school fun bike on the roads but it was heavy
look on facebook
Goodbye
Hello