Read Ari’s article about him and Zack’s No Pavement Challenge through Wyoming on Common Tread! rvz.la/3El0PxB If you need new tires for your ride, consider Michelin! rvz.la/3HJtxc0
Loye you Zack and the team to enjoy your videos. I have a request, could you guys stick photos of bikes zack references, eg dad's BMW, or in qa section when comparing. Sometimes it sounds familiar but can't remember how it looks. Thanks and keep doing what you love.
@@Pepperoni_Toni I'm not against newer bikes, especially on Daily Rider. I think most people don't use their 50 year old bikes as a daily rider. However, Ari rebuilding an old bike and Zack riding it is something that I'd like to see more of.
My uncle just to pick me up from kindergarden on one of those, sat me on the tank and I just to grab the handlebar from the top bar. Since then, I fell in love with motorcycles and I still have flashbacks of those rides when ridding my bike now as a middle age man.
Thanks so much for this Zack! My first bike, 16 years old, 1976, two weeks after getting my license, was a DT250B. Rode to high school during the week and to fields via the train tracks on the weekend, racing friends and blowing out the forks on jumps. What a blast. The kick start, the sound, the difficulty shifting from first to second, switching to reserve when she started to sputter, thanks for bringing it all back.
Thanks for keeping "Dave" and "BattleToad" around two of my favorite bikes on the channel. DT-1 is great, appeared it would have rated high on the giggle scale. Watching Ari rebuild the DT-1 was a very good video as well, strangely relaxing.
The DT-1 was my first riding friend's motorcycle. The yr. was 1974 and I was riding a Honda CB-175k and a PE-185. Was a great summer of us and 4 other guys riding and racing are way through high school. Sadly, he and 2 others did not make it. Crazy kids on bikes. RIP Jim, Tod, and Eric!! RIP
Love the sound, smell, and power band of a 2 stroke. It is an icon of my youth back in the ‘70s. I bought a Buddy 50 scooter just because it was the last 2 stroke sold in the USA.
Thanks for the trip down memory lane! I'm in my late 60's and have been riding for over 50 years... so of course I owned a DT250 (one of the late 70's mono-shock versions - complete with aftermarket compression release which added some obnoxious noise and supplemented the underwhelming brakes). Back then, my bikes were a DT250 and a RD400; today's version is a WR250R and a T7 (up until a few years ago, I had an R1 as my street bike, but my knees are no longer "rear-set friendly").
My dad owned the Kawasaki shop in town so we sold a ton of “Bighorn” 350cc enduros. They were hard to kick over so we added compression releases to most of them… it did make a heck of a noise. Kawasaki actually had an extra area on the cylinder head to drill out for the compression release.
Always put on compression releases back in 70's. Mostly used them to slow the bike down when going down really steep hills instead of using the rear brake, And they seems helped with starting on some bikes if you flooded them.
It was on a Monday, October 14th, 1968, that I passed my driver's license test, and my dad and I drove to the Yamaha dealer, and I rode home on my new DT-1. I have owned 42 other motorcycles since, and I'm looking at new bikes for a fresh ride this spring... The best personal activity is, motorcycling! Let's not forget Yamaha's other huge success at this time - the legendary XS650...
I love watching your and Ari's videos, especially the two of you on adventures. I rode a DT175 through high school in the early 80s in SoCal. The ring-a-ding commute was a great throw back for me. Thank you Zack!
I learned to ride on my dads 72 Suzuki ts250. I also learned to work on bikes with it haha. Still have it, still fire it up and ride around town a couple times every summer. Those old 2 strokes are a ton of fun.
I rescued a 1981 DT-175 that was frozen from wheels to engine when I was 12 around 1992-ish. Got ‘er working and running by swapping out bad electronic ignition for points and had a blast on that thing. Great memories! Learned a lot about two strokes and working on motorcycles with it.
A wonderful throwback to truly analog, stick-and-rudder riding on a characterful little machine. I love my '17 Tuono Factory but I miss the simple machines of my youth.
I usually don't comment but I think the forefather of the Teneré 700 is definitely the later XT 500. Even the name Teneré is borrowed from the old XT -series. This bike, at least in Europe, was the first real "adventure bike" in the sense of our nowadays understanding of the term.
In the fall of 1969 I bought a used Dt 1 for $400. Give it new rings and got $300 as a trade in for a brand new 1970 Triumph trophy 500. After a loving break in 600 miles the Triumph was stolen...I got about $800 from the insurance company and bought a perfect Norton P11 Ranger for $1000. God works in wondrous ways when you are 19 years-old! That Norton was the best, but your Dt 1 brought me back to great memories. Thanks!!
I am SO thankful that I started riding in 1972! There were fewer people, we had surprisingly good cheap Japanese motorcycles, and a national speed limit that favored the small bikes owned by teenagers. Even in SC, we could ride 20 miles on trails and only touch asphalt when crossing a county road.
This is how I learned to ride. Had a GT80 at 10 years old, and my dad's DT125 enduro ('76?) was the first "full sized" bike I rode. The sounds and feel all come back with this video.
It's always important to understand where things got started. It's also fun to watch such a seminal machine get put through its paces with little more than a quick once-over (Wyoming), then get a rebuild and daily-ride here. Once again, incredibly well-done, Zack.
My first bike as a Minnesota 17 year old was a '72 DT-2 bought new on a fall clearance sale for $625. Then-in these hinterlands -Bultacos and Husky's were mere fantasy; no dealer network. Yamaha brought both affordability and accessibility.
The first motorcycle that I shared with my three brothers was a 1979 GTMX-80… which is a 72cc mini clone of the that DT-1…. We were in rural Northeastern Missouri… we went everywhere around there, across all our fields, and dirt and gravel roads. It was a wonderful little motorcycle to learn on.
I bought a used '68 DT-1 in 1971 when I was 17 years old. What a fantastic route to adventure! Lots of fun at the abandoned gravel pits and local trails, as well as on country back roads. Six years ago, I picked up a '17 Honda CRF250L with the intent of revisiting my youth. It worked! Have done several thousand miles of the MABDR and NEBDR, plus local hooning on back roads. It turns out, "you can go home again". One note: the swingarm on your '69 has a square cross section. I had thought that was unique to the '68 DT-1. Perhaps they had leftover swingarms and used them up on early '69s before switching to round tubes. Thanks for this and all your other videos. Great stuff!
My first bike was a VERY used 1970 Yamaha HT1 90CC. The thing had been raced, semi patched together but it never let me down in the few hard years I put on it. This generation of on/off road bike were game changers. My buddy was far faster than me but he was stuck on his SL70. My Yamaha made mincemeat outta his little honda. Then he went to the local suzuki dealer and picked up a brand new Suzuki TM125. OMG those were light switch engines. Those early years of the TM'S, CR'S, etc had more motor than the suspension, brakes, etc could handle. Some the best days of my life l👍
I loved the 6-volt headlight comment. I had an XT500 back in the day (which is a more passable great, great grandfather of the T7) and its 6-volt headlight had all output of a candle lantern. But it was sure a lot of fun on the desert trails around Tempe way back when. 😃
Old enough to remember 6 volt electrics as a standard fitments. Realistically the most effective part of their use was to differentiate between the front of the bike and the rear. And I think that may have mostly been because of coloured plastic.
I was 12 in 1980 when my dad bought me a used 1977 Yamaha DT 125 for 500 bucks.It was the happiest day of my life at the time and I was a very lucky kid.I had an absolute blast riding trails and sandpits!When I first got it,I could just barely pick it up when it fell over!...I would sure love to have that bike today.
In the early 80's I had a summer of fun with a 1970 DT 360 in the woods. It was stripped of all road equipment. What a great time to be 14 years old and that bike was a blast!
The DT-1 got me into motorcycles. My friend's older brother had a white '68 which my friend borrowed a lot and I rode pillion. His "gleeful abandon" with me on the back elicited much hysterical laughter from us both and prompted me to get my own bike in 1970 when I was 13 - a '68 YAS1C 125 scrambler which I absolutely loved although I pushed it way beyond it's intended use. I later bought a brand new '74 DT250A with which I had many wonderful adventures.
My sister around 1974 had about a ‘72 Yamaha 350 enduro style. It had a dark blue gas tank - I can still see it. She mostly used it for a short work commute (AT&T phone switchboard operator!!) I remember riding on the back with her and I had my own yellow helmet with black Yamaha stickers ha
Loved the "Pavement is lava" video and the rebuild by Ari. Ari's work intimidated the hell out of me but he shared in the comments a few of his shortcomings to balance it out for me, LOL! Thanks again Ari and very nice job reviving the the DT-1. I'm sure I enjoyed some of it's development when I had my beloved 1981 XT250. I also rode my brothers '85 RZ350.
I was all smiles when I saw the DT1 in the Wyoming episode. My first bike was a similarly trashed out 1974 DT100 that I got after working all summer for $2/hr in 1979. I was in rural New Brunswick and that little dirt bike was everything to me. At 13 years old, I was in heaven - my salvation every time I kicked that thing over and went for a rip onto the back woods dirt roads.
Brilliant, I had a 1974 175 when I was 15yrs old, even rode it to school few times, very naughty. It had the same clocks and made the same classic stroker sound as this one so this really took me back. For me the DT and RD ranges were gamechangers in motorcycling, incredible designs that were affordable for the masses.
Brother, I grew up on the Yamaha Enduro series. When i was 7 years old in 1968, I got my first motorcycle. It was the Yamaha Mini Enduro. It looked exactly like my dad's DT-1, except it was a 70cc about a third of the size. When I wore out my mini Enduro, I graduated up to dad's DT-1. The DT-1 had passenger pegs. Being a natural teenager, I got to have two girls and me on that bike. It didn't have any vibration issues on the highway. I won many races on dad's DT-1, even against the newest offerings from Suzuki and Honda. Sorry for the book, but I have millions of memories of racing and riding both of those motorcycles.
I have such great memories riding one of these. Did a ton of miles in the 70's on one. The imoportant issue was "Yama-Lube". It was the first 2 stroke that did not require you to pre-mix the gas & oil. BTW. In 1975, it cost 27cents to fill the tank. You also had to carry 2 extra spark plugs. They would foul about every 100 miles or so. The tach's did that on new bikes. Suspension did suck. Watch for bumps & unload the seat. Put your weight over the rear tire & the handling in the on road curves gets better.
My first bike was a '82 DT100 Enduro. Was able to get a scooter license when I was 13, with it in NM and it took me thousands of miles around my home town and in the high desert. Great bike.
thanks for the memories, in 1970 my brother and I went to the Vancouver motorcycle show and part of the entrance fee was a ticket on a brand new Yamaha, as we went in ever the gentleman I let my brother enter before me and dang if he didn't receive a call after he got back to Powell River that he won the bike and it was a gold DT1, he didn't have a motorcycle license so our mom asked me to bring it up to Powell River for him, I lived in Vancouver at the time and I had a Ducati Monza which is also a 250, it was a gorgeous day when I picked it up at Fred Deeley's in Vancouver and started up to PR which although it is on the mainland took two ferries to get there, and the road between the two ferries was wonderfully twisty and at the time very few people lived there, no screaming adventure just a glorious day riding that bike, it started up every time with just a firm prod and handled beautifully I thought, you have to remember bias ply tires and drum brakes were all we had, my Ducati had the same kind of tires and drum brakes, hell the cars from the 60's didn't have disc brakes, I thought the Yamaha was a wonderfully torquey little engine with acre's of ground clearance, much better than the tires, like all things we get for nothing my brother didn't seem to appreciate it much and it eventually disappeared, no idea at all what happened to it, enjoy your show and I'm always looking for the one bike that I will fall in love with, until then the ones I have will do because they are the best
Thank you for doing 3 videos with the DT-1. I remember when Yamaha came out with the DT-1. I preferred the dirt to the street so I bought the MX version of the DT-1.
The DT-1 is a great machine. When you look at it you immediately know to not expect a lot from it but yet it's still rather good. It's charming and plucky.
This really brings back memories for me, because the parking in front of the Junior high school I went to in Knoxville TN had many of these and similar bikes. We always called them enduros. I don’t remember anyone ever calling them scramblers.
What an unexpected but fun trip down memory lane this morning. A 125cc version in the same color was my first ever bike (52 years ago.....yikes). That one sadly ended it's life folded in half abruptly when a car pulled across the road in front of me an landed me in the hospital.
Zack you’re the best motorcycle reviewer on UA-cam! The Daily Rider should be a separate channel from the main Revzilla channel! You guys are the TFL of the motorcycle world! It’s time to review the KTM 1290 Super Adventure S/R Thank you for the phenomenal reviews, it’s entertaining and an absolute pleasure to watch!
I live not far from where you did the ride. I took out my 70s Enduro from the garage to give it a winter crank. I got it going for a few seconds, but it's just too dang cold. Snow will thaw in a month kr two and it'll be in the 40s and 50s then. Hoping for better, warmer days. And yes, the mirrors vibrate alot.
I bought a 1978 DT175 in 1980 @ 15 years old with my paper route money. Rode off road until I went on to get my endorsement. Rode it everywhere after that. Great fun!
Man, I love these videos. Zack's a great presenter. I miss the ring-a-ding-ding sounds of two strokes, but not really the fiddling needed to keep them running in top form. Lots of nostalgia for me in this one.
The 2 smokes ive owned are hammer simple UNLESS you mess with expansion / carb / big bore kits. Then yep - youll spend quite a bit of time re-tuning. Now i usually leave em stock and keep an eye on premix/oil levels and except for the shorter rebuild time theyre as easy as a 4-stroke in my opinion.
@@robcampbell3235 Probably the best idea, right there. I was thinking mostly of my '75 Suzuki GT550. Three cylinders and oil injected. The carbs didn't like staying sync'd. Also had to frig with the centre carb adjustment and jet to keep it from overheating, while not fouling the plug. I had the engine rebuilt after the main seal went. Bumped the compression by planing the cylinders, so I had to go through the whole rejetting process, but it did make it pretty squirrely for the time.
@@SirOsisofLiver yeah syncing carbs sux. But zooks are such smart 2 strokes its kinda hard not to experiment with 'em. My first motorcycle ride was age 5 on my godfather's pink water buffalo. Id love to have an old zook 2t.
@@anthonysilvestri4946 Bummer. I'm on the opposite side. 5'9" and 160 with a 30inch inseam. So there a lot of tall bikes that make me feel out of sorts. Enjoy the ride bud! Hope you find something you like.
I had a 1971 Suzuki TS-185. I really liked that bike. It was reliable, comfortable, and a good beginner bike. I used it offroad more than onroad and I thought it did the job just fine.
You guy's got my respect on that Wyo ride! That is my home state and I can attest to the harsh conditions. Hard on new bikes, a huge task on a museum bike...lol.
I keep hearing the terms “dual sport” and “adventure bike”, but wondered how does the term “enduro” differ? This is what I always thought these bikes were when I was younger.
16 years old, my mom bought me my DT 400..1977. it had 500 miles on it, I rode it into the ground! Loved that bike!! Stll riding today at 61.. on a Yamaha Mt 10, has that same Enduro feel to it, but a bit more power..😀
I have a 1981 Yam XT and I am sympathetic with many of Zach's comments. The bike gives a lot of feeling when you ride it. Brakes ... well, one just needs to be aware and careful, then it's no problem. Passenger? I went to Amsterdam for a movie with my wife, she wasn't super happy especially because of the footpegs attached to the rear fork .... but again, we did it many times and it was fun. The real issue was the 6V electrical system .... lots of bulb replacements due to voltage fluctuation. Eventually I converted it to 12v.
Im so happy you guys finally did some content with a vintage Yamaha enduro. These bikes are just so special in their own way. I love them so much I have 4 of them right now, 3 DT250's and a DT400. The 400 is a RIPPER lol.
Oh man, that DT-1 is surely a treat but if you ever get the chance do a Daily Rider review on a Yamaha TDR 250, you'll be blown away. Gotta love the ole 2T.
I rode one from eastern Pennsylvania as far north as there were roads on Ontario. Then I rode west to Minneapolis, then north and east to northern Wisconsin. I camped the whole way and was 22 years old. I stayed many years in northern Wisconsin and the Yamaha was terrific on the dirt roads up there.
This brings back great memories. In 1969 my dad bought a used 1968 DT1, white with black pin stripes and red logo badge. I was 9 years old and he took me on many rides with him on mountain roads and trails. Sometimes he would sit me up front so I could operate the controls, or pretend to, ha ha. You don't see any kids on the back of cycles these days! You'd probably get arrested! After about a year he stripped all the lights and instrumentation, put on full knobbies, a high plastic front fender, expansion chamber, a GYT kit, custom painted it and used it strictly for off road riding with his buddies, doing enduros, camping etc... In the ever present quest for more power he sold it to my cousin and bought Yamaha's first 360 MX when it came out. Years later I bought myself a 1973 DT250. I kept it barely street legal, knobbies, expansion chamber, small mirror tucked under the handlebar. I even laid down the shocks for more suspension travel. The damping in the stock shocks would last about 3 whoops before fading with them laid down. Not a good idea! A pogo stick with wheels! I don't know how many times I got tossed over the handlebars!
I owned a honda cl 90 in 67..a white tank Yamaha 125 enduro with a MX kit ( the electric start delete..battery delete..expansion chamber etc )..then a 69 dt1 as a 15 yr old permit holder in California..moved to a Honda SL 350 in 71..a new Z1 900 in dec of 72..each one was a wonderful step in experiencing and learning...the DT1s strength was reliability...low price and ease of maintenance..by modern standards it handled like a truck but at the time it was a awesome path to freedom for a 15 yr old kid in socal...
I raced professional motocross in the 60-70’s. Maico, Bultaco, Puch, Jawa, Penton, Husky, Montessa, CZ, Preston Petty developed a new plastic fender. All these European bikes are gone except Husky and Maico. Japan took it over. 2 strokes made so much more power and lighter vs 4 strokes. So easy to work on less than 200 pound desert dirt bikes.
I love that you guys will ride literally anything with two wheels. Growing up around these old turds I find myself loving the nostalgia of them more and more. My latest purchases, while not as ancient as the DT-1, I picked up a beautiful 79 Goldwing and a 81 Silverwing both of which are becoming more and more collectible and because welll, old CR's and Z-1's are difficult to find.
I used to have two DT-1s. One was in near mint condition, the other was a parts bike that I cobbled back together. I miss playing around with those old bikes, but I don't miss trying to find parts for them. This has been an awesome video series. Thanks for the work you & the team put into making these videos :)
I learned to ride on a rental DT200R in Greece back in the early 90s - thus Yamaha enduros will always hold a special place in my heart. Still can't believe the guy rented me the bike even though he knew I did not have a motorcycle license at the time. Also don't want to remember how recklessly I rode that thing on- and off-road and that I never wore a helmet on it, no matter where I went.
I had a 1979 DT175 MX . Great bike . I used it for my courier job for 5 days a week , and as an Urban Enduro bike all weekend ! That was back in the '80's lol Very tough bike , wish I still had it .
I learned to ride on a 1972 Yamaha AT2. The headlight is a 6v system however Holly's Retro Bright headlights can be plugged right in. You do need a new headlight bucket but going from an old sealed bulb to a modern LED is amazing. I also daily mine off and on from a Hypermotard 950. Work is close and a 2stroke with a milk crate on it is a great lunch getter.
I bought an identical 69 DT-1 in the summer of 1970 when I got out of the Navy. I had other bikes previously but the DT-1 was my introduction to off-road riding. I rode it to work, in enduros, on fire roads in South New Jersey. I had more fun on that bike than on any of my other 20+ bikes I've owned. If I could find an affordable one today I'd buy it. A DT400 would be even better.
These 2-shock DTs of the early 70s are the best looking i.m.h.o.. I tried to get one a few years ago, but they are unobtainable here in Germany, at least for an acceptable price. In the end I found a '74 XL250, which I restored. (In the meantime I've got 5 of these old XLs and never regret. 😁)
A spicy chorizo taco is arguably the perfect answer to my question. While I may prefer a shrimp based taco, your logic behind the chorizo is well thought out and allows me to fully understand all that is the DT-1. 🤘🤘🤘
I have always ridden street bikes and consider myself pretty knowledgeable on general motorcycle history. Thank you for growing my knowledge and opening up another chapter. It is so great to see a machine of this vintage being used as it should. Impeccable road test narration as always. Well done.
That thing is great, my uncle had a 250 not sure what year it was but the paint was white with a black pin stripe he also had a 125that was yellow with black pin stripe 3rd bike was a Honda trail 90 which I think it was a 1968, it had the rocker front end. Great times, I would spend a couple weeks every summer with my aunt and uncle in Idaho. Thanks for the great video! Keep em coming!
The Yamaha original enduros were ground breaking. Some folks call them badge bikes or dual shock bikes. I've got three of them and I love them. My favorite is my 90cc HT1 B from 1971.
I ride a 78 Honda CB125s as a daily. About 5 miles of that commute is on a 55mph+ freeway and it's the most terrifying thing and I wouldn't trade it for anything. That bike is very comfortable at 45 and even 50. 55-60 is nuts and that's why I love it. Is it a good daily rider? No. Is it what I have? Yes.
Read Ari’s article about him and Zack’s No Pavement Challenge through Wyoming on Common Tread! rvz.la/3El0PxB
If you need new tires for your ride, consider Michelin! rvz.la/3HJtxc0
Loye you Zack and the team to enjoy your videos.
I have a request, could you guys stick photos of bikes zack references, eg dad's BMW, or in qa section when comparing. Sometimes it sounds familiar but can't remember how it looks.
Thanks and keep doing what you love.
I watched it a week ago. Fascinating work.
Zack make Henning ASMR rebuild the 1975 Honda XL350 you rode in CTXP so you can daily ride it 🙂
@@Liam1304 do golden boys say michelin on them. I've had golden boys on many of my bikes I never new they were made by michelin.
I'm not sure who was happier bouncing around on that DT-1 -- Zack or the tach needle.
Yall are getting your money's worth out of that DT-1, good on you
Id rather see more of this bike than some modern sport bike
@@Pepperoni_Toni I'm not against newer bikes, especially on Daily Rider. I think most people don't use their 50 year old bikes as a daily rider. However, Ari rebuilding an old bike and Zack riding it is something that I'd like to see more of.
after the journey, rebuild, and now review🤌🏻
@@Pepperoni_Toni agreed, more old bikes that people can actually afford
50 years of service?
I think value has been well covered.
My uncle just to pick me up from kindergarden on one of those, sat me on the tank and I just to grab the handlebar from the top bar. Since then, I fell in love with motorcycles and I still have flashbacks of those rides when ridding my bike now as a middle age man.
I used to collect my kid brother from school like that on my DT 175MX lol . I'm 53 now and he's 43 , we still ride bikes every day .
Hell yeah 👍
🖤👍
I hope you guys will do a rebuild of the xl350 as well. We just love this off pavement series… keep on
I hope they do too. I really like the XL350, it's a far better bike than the old DT-1.. even though I do understand the importance of the DT-1.
XL350 still good. No rebuild required
Thanks so much for this Zack! My first bike, 16 years old, 1976, two weeks after getting my license, was a DT250B. Rode to high school during the week and to fields via the train tracks on the weekend, racing friends and blowing out the forks on jumps. What a blast. The kick start, the sound, the difficulty shifting from first to second, switching to reserve when she started to sputter, thanks for bringing it all back.
Thanks for keeping "Dave" and "BattleToad" around two of my favorite bikes on the channel. DT-1 is great, appeared it would have rated high on the giggle scale. Watching Ari rebuild the DT-1 was a very good video as well, strangely relaxing.
The DT-1 was my first riding friend's motorcycle. The yr. was 1974 and I was riding a Honda CB-175k and a PE-185. Was a great summer of us and 4 other guys riding and racing are way through high school. Sadly, he and 2 others did not make it. Crazy kids on bikes. RIP Jim, Tod, and Eric!! RIP
These videos are love letters to these amazing classic bikes. Please more trips, more revivals and more reviews.
Zack has the greatest laugh on the planet. Brings a smile to my face every time he does it.
Everyday is a good day when revzilla uploads a video with vintage stuff
I was commuting on the R3 but I think that this video has inspired me to rotate it out for the XT250 for a bit 😉
Dual sports are some of the best commuter bikes 👌
Love the sound, smell, and power band of a 2 stroke. It is an icon of my youth back in the ‘70s. I bought a Buddy 50 scooter just because it was the last 2 stroke sold in the USA.
Recently got an old zuma for the same reason. No premix electric start and all the ring a ding and perfume i want. Good choice.
Thanks for the trip down memory lane!
I'm in my late 60's and have been riding for over 50 years... so of course I owned a DT250 (one of the late 70's mono-shock versions - complete with aftermarket compression release which added some obnoxious noise and supplemented the underwhelming brakes). Back then, my bikes were a DT250 and a RD400; today's version is a WR250R and a T7 (up until a few years ago, I had an R1 as my street bike, but my knees are no longer "rear-set friendly").
Is that what you have now a wr250 and a T7 ? I had a honda xr250r and a bmw f800gs. I've since sold the xr got £2050 for it 1996 model.
My dad owned the Kawasaki shop in town so we sold a ton of “Bighorn” 350cc enduros. They were hard to kick over so we added compression releases to most of them… it did make a heck of a noise. Kawasaki actually had an extra area on the cylinder head to drill out for the compression release.
Always put on compression releases back in 70's. Mostly used them to slow the bike down when going down really steep hills instead of using the rear brake, And they seems helped with starting on some bikes if you flooded them.
It was on a Monday, October 14th, 1968, that I passed my driver's license test, and my dad and I drove to the Yamaha dealer, and I rode home on my new DT-1. I have owned 42 other motorcycles since, and I'm looking at new bikes for a fresh ride this spring... The best personal activity is, motorcycling! Let's not forget Yamaha's other huge success at this time - the legendary XS650...
My first street bike was an XS650 Special. What a great bike.
I got a hand me down 1979 DT 125 from a cousin when I was 13 or so. It's still putting in work on the farm today.
I love watching your and Ari's videos, especially the two of you on adventures.
I rode a DT175 through high school in the early 80s in SoCal. The ring-a-ding commute was a great throw back for me. Thank you Zack!
I learned to ride on my dads 72 Suzuki ts250. I also learned to work on bikes with it haha. Still have it, still fire it up and ride around town a couple times every summer. Those old 2 strokes are a ton of fun.
Choice bike. Keep it.
I rescued a 1981 DT-175 that was frozen from wheels to engine when I was 12 around 1992-ish. Got ‘er working and running by swapping out bad electronic ignition for points and had a blast on that thing. Great memories! Learned a lot about two strokes and working on motorcycles with it.
Took me back to the 70's Zack. What a great sound.
A wonderful throwback to truly analog, stick-and-rudder riding on a characterful little machine. I love my '17 Tuono Factory but I miss the simple machines of my youth.
I love how Zack keeps calling the DT "little buddy." It's so wholesome.
I usually don't comment but I think the forefather of the Teneré 700 is definitely the later XT 500. Even the name Teneré is borrowed from the old XT -series. This bike, at least in Europe, was the first real "adventure bike" in the sense of our nowadays understanding of the term.
In the fall of 1969 I bought a used Dt 1 for $400. Give it new rings and got $300 as a trade in for a brand new 1970 Triumph trophy 500. After a loving break in 600 miles the Triumph was stolen...I got about $800 from the insurance company and bought a perfect Norton P11 Ranger for $1000. God works in wondrous ways when you are 19 years-old! That Norton was the best, but your Dt 1 brought me back to great memories. Thanks!!
I am SO thankful that I started riding in 1972! There were fewer people, we had surprisingly good cheap Japanese motorcycles, and a national speed limit that favored the small bikes owned by teenagers. Even in SC, we could ride 20 miles on trails and only touch asphalt when crossing a county road.
those bikes were so impressive to handle what they handled on that Wyoming trip.
Made me feel so much better after riding my 83 XL 125 this morning....
Oh man… keep these classic daily rides coming. I bought my first classic bike… a 1968 Honda Cub cm91 (overhead cam model). So cool!
This is how I learned to ride. Had a GT80 at 10 years old, and my dad's DT125 enduro ('76?) was the first "full sized" bike I rode. The sounds and feel all come back with this video.
It's always important to understand where things got started. It's also fun to watch such a seminal machine get put through its paces with little more than a quick once-over (Wyoming), then get a rebuild and daily-ride here. Once again, incredibly well-done, Zack.
My first bike as a Minnesota 17 year old was a '72 DT-2 bought new on a fall clearance sale for $625. Then-in these hinterlands -Bultacos and Husky's were mere fantasy; no dealer network. Yamaha brought both affordability and accessibility.
The first motorcycle that I shared with my three brothers was a 1979 GTMX-80… which is a 72cc mini clone of the that DT-1…. We were in rural Northeastern Missouri… we went everywhere around there, across all our fields, and dirt and gravel roads. It was a wonderful little motorcycle to learn on.
I bought a used '68 DT-1 in 1971 when I was 17 years old. What a fantastic route to adventure! Lots of fun at the abandoned gravel pits and local trails, as well as on country back roads. Six years ago, I picked up a '17 Honda CRF250L with the intent of revisiting my youth. It worked! Have done several thousand miles of the MABDR and NEBDR, plus local hooning on back roads. It turns out, "you can go home again". One note: the swingarm on your '69 has a square cross section. I had thought that was unique to the '68 DT-1. Perhaps they had leftover swingarms and used them up on early '69s before switching to round tubes. Thanks for this and all your other videos. Great stuff!
My first bike was a VERY used 1970 Yamaha HT1 90CC. The thing had been raced, semi patched together but it never let me down in the few hard years I put on it. This generation of on/off road bike were game changers. My buddy was far faster than me but he was stuck on his SL70. My Yamaha made mincemeat outta his little honda. Then he went to the local suzuki dealer and picked up a brand new Suzuki TM125. OMG those were light switch engines. Those early years of the TM'S, CR'S, etc had more motor than the suspension, brakes, etc could handle. Some the best days of my life l👍
I loved the 6-volt headlight comment. I had an XT500 back in the day (which is a more passable great, great grandfather of the T7) and its 6-volt headlight had all output of a candle lantern. But it was sure a lot of fun on the desert trails around Tempe way back when. 😃
Old enough to remember 6 volt electrics as a standard fitments.
Realistically the most effective part of their use was to differentiate between the front of the bike and the rear.
And I think that may have mostly been because of coloured plastic.
Still own a road legal tt 500 whith a light kit and if you need to ride in the dark its better to strap a torch to the bars 😂
I was 12 in 1980 when my dad bought me a used 1977 Yamaha DT 125 for 500 bucks.It was the happiest day of my life at the time and I was a very lucky kid.I had an absolute blast riding trails and sandpits!When I first got it,I could just barely pick it up when it fell over!...I would sure love to have that bike today.
I was smiling all the way thru this episode! Thanks for sharing this piece of history with us.
In the early 80's I had a summer of fun with a 1970 DT 360 in the woods. It was stripped of all road equipment. What a great time to be 14 years old and that bike was a blast!
The DT-1 got me into motorcycles. My friend's older brother had a white '68 which my friend borrowed a lot and I rode pillion. His "gleeful abandon" with me on the back elicited much hysterical laughter from us both and prompted me to get my own bike in 1970 when I was 13 - a '68 YAS1C 125 scrambler which I absolutely loved although I pushed it way beyond it's intended use. I later bought a brand new '74 DT250A with which I had many wonderful adventures.
My sister around 1974 had about a ‘72 Yamaha 350 enduro style. It had a dark blue gas tank - I can still see it. She mostly used it for a short work commute (AT&T phone switchboard operator!!) I remember riding on the back with her and I had my own yellow helmet with black Yamaha stickers ha
Loved the "Pavement is lava" video and the rebuild by Ari. Ari's work intimidated the hell out of me but he shared in the comments a few of his shortcomings to balance it out for me, LOL! Thanks again Ari and very nice job reviving the the DT-1. I'm sure I enjoyed some of it's development when I had my beloved 1981 XT250. I also rode my brothers '85 RZ350.
The joy in your voice says it all. Thanks for sharing this ride with us :)
I was 9 y/o when that bike was new. I love the way it sounds, takes me back to the open lots in SoCal where I grew up...
I was all smiles when I saw the DT1 in the Wyoming episode. My first bike was a similarly trashed out 1974 DT100 that I got after working all summer for $2/hr in 1979. I was in rural New Brunswick and that little dirt bike was everything to me. At 13 years old, I was in heaven - my salvation every time I kicked that thing over and went for a rip onto the back woods dirt roads.
Brilliant, I had a 1974 175 when I was 15yrs old, even rode it to school few times, very naughty. It had the same clocks and made the same classic stroker sound as this one so this really took me back. For me the DT and RD ranges were gamechangers in motorcycling, incredible designs that were affordable for the masses.
Brother, I grew up on the Yamaha Enduro series. When i was 7 years old in 1968, I got my first motorcycle. It was the Yamaha Mini Enduro. It looked exactly like my dad's DT-1, except it was a 70cc about a third of the size. When I wore out my mini Enduro, I graduated up to dad's DT-1. The DT-1 had passenger pegs. Being a natural teenager, I got to have two girls and me on that bike. It didn't have any vibration issues on the highway. I won many races on dad's DT-1, even against the newest offerings from Suzuki and Honda. Sorry for the book, but I have millions of memories of racing and riding both of those motorcycles.
I have such great memories riding one of these. Did a ton of miles in the 70's on one. The imoportant issue was "Yama-Lube". It was the first 2 stroke that did not require you to pre-mix the gas & oil. BTW. In 1975, it cost 27cents to fill the tank. You also had to carry 2 extra spark plugs. They would foul about every 100 miles or so. The tach's did that on new bikes. Suspension did suck. Watch for bumps & unload the seat. Put your weight over the rear tire & the handling in the on road curves gets better.
My first bike was a '82 DT100 Enduro. Was able to get a scooter license when I was 13, with it in NM and it took me thousands of miles around my home town and in the high desert. Great bike.
Alamogordo, by chance?
@@SchoolforHackers Farmington
@@gregrisley1050 Hail desert brother!
thanks for the memories, in 1970 my brother and I went to the Vancouver motorcycle show and part of the entrance fee was a ticket on a brand new Yamaha, as we went in ever the gentleman I let my brother enter before me and dang if he didn't receive a call after he got back to Powell River that he won the bike and it was a gold DT1, he didn't have a motorcycle license so our mom asked me to bring it up to Powell River for him, I lived in Vancouver at the time and I had a Ducati Monza which is also a 250, it was a gorgeous day when I picked it up at Fred Deeley's in Vancouver and started up to PR which although it is on the mainland took two ferries to get there, and the road between the two ferries was wonderfully twisty and at the time very few people lived there, no screaming adventure just a glorious day riding that bike, it started up every time with just a firm prod and handled beautifully I thought, you have to remember bias ply tires and drum brakes were all we had, my Ducati had the same kind of tires and drum brakes, hell the cars from the 60's didn't have disc brakes, I thought the Yamaha was a wonderfully torquey little engine with acre's of ground clearance, much better than the tires, like all things we get for nothing my brother didn't seem to appreciate it much and it eventually disappeared, no idea at all what happened to it, enjoy your show and I'm always looking for the one bike that I will fall in love with, until then the ones I have will do because they are the best
Thank you for doing 3 videos with the DT-1. I remember when Yamaha came out with the DT-1. I preferred the dirt to the street so I bought the MX version of the DT-1.
I bought a brand new DT2 back in the day and absolutely LOVED it!!
The DT-1 is a great machine. When you look at it you immediately know to not expect a lot from it but yet it's still rather good. It's charming and plucky.
Love the custom tank badge.
I had a 78 DT250 and this brings back so many memories.
Ooooooooooh boy raaaaaantantandingtantan. AAAH THE MEMORIES ARGH THE FEEEEELLSSSSS!!!
This really brings back memories for me, because the parking in front of the Junior high school I went to in Knoxville TN had many of these and similar bikes. We always called them enduros. I don’t remember anyone ever calling them scramblers.
What an unexpected but fun trip down memory lane this morning. A 125cc version in the same color was my first ever bike (52 years ago.....yikes). That one sadly ended it's life folded in half abruptly when a car pulled across the road in front of me an landed me in the hospital.
That brings back some great memories. I had a 1971 Yamaha 250 when I was in high school
Currently restoring a 1973 ct3 175 and these videos have inspired me to keep working hard to bring it back from the dead!!
1973 CT3 I've restored in the last 10 years about 10 ct3 Restarting a 1969 DT1 S at the moment and a 1970 DT1
Oops restoring dt1
Zack you’re the best motorcycle reviewer on UA-cam! The Daily Rider should be a separate channel from the main Revzilla channel! You guys are the TFL of the motorcycle world!
It’s time to review the KTM 1290 Super Adventure S/R
Thank you for the phenomenal reviews, it’s entertaining and an absolute pleasure to watch!
I live not far from where you did the ride. I took out my 70s Enduro from the garage to give it a winter crank. I got it going for a few seconds, but it's just too dang cold. Snow will thaw in a month kr two and it'll be in the 40s and 50s then. Hoping for better, warmer days.
And yes, the mirrors vibrate alot.
I’d love to see an episode like this for the XL350 as well! One of my personal fave bikes!
I bought a 1978 DT175 in 1980 @ 15 years old with my paper route money. Rode off road until I went on to get my endorsement. Rode it everywhere after that. Great fun!
Man, I love these videos. Zack's a great presenter.
I miss the ring-a-ding-ding sounds of two strokes, but not really the fiddling needed to keep them running in top form. Lots of nostalgia for me in this one.
The 2 smokes ive owned are hammer simple UNLESS you mess with expansion / carb / big bore kits. Then yep - youll spend quite a bit of time re-tuning. Now i usually leave em stock and keep an eye on premix/oil levels and except for the shorter rebuild time theyre as easy as a 4-stroke in my opinion.
@@robcampbell3235
Probably the best idea, right there.
I was thinking mostly of my '75 Suzuki GT550. Three cylinders and oil injected. The carbs didn't like staying sync'd. Also had to frig with the centre carb adjustment and jet to keep it from overheating, while not fouling the plug.
I had the engine rebuilt after the main seal went. Bumped the compression by planing the cylinders, so I had to go through the whole rejetting process, but it did make it pretty squirrely for the time.
@@SirOsisofLiver yeah syncing carbs sux. But zooks are such smart 2 strokes its kinda hard not to experiment with 'em. My first motorcycle ride was age 5 on my godfather's pink water buffalo. Id love to have an old zook 2t.
This era is so cool for bikes. Nice riding Zack!
This bike got soul! 💘
Hope it will find some loving hands for a second wind.
Episodes like this remind me that I don't need 1200 cc to have a good time or get around. Love small cc bikes!
I weigh about 240 (at 5'11") so I can't ride small cc bikes :-(
@@anthonysilvestri4946 Bummer. I'm on the opposite side. 5'9" and 160 with a 30inch inseam. So there a lot of tall bikes that make me feel out of sorts. Enjoy the ride bud! Hope you find something you like.
I had a 1971 Suzuki TS-185. I really liked that bike. It was reliable, comfortable, and a good beginner bike. I used it offroad more than onroad and I thought it did the job just fine.
You guy's got my respect on that Wyo ride! That is my home state and I can attest to the harsh conditions. Hard on new bikes, a huge task on a museum bike...lol.
Luv these old enduros. Learned to ride on an old Yahama 175 back in the day. Great memories on that old, light, slow girl.
I keep hearing the terms “dual sport” and “adventure bike”, but wondered how does the term “enduro” differ? This is what I always thought these bikes were when I was younger.
We always called them enduros also. Took me a long time to quit calling my modern dual sport an enduro.😉
16 years old, my mom bought me my DT 400..1977. it had 500 miles on it, I rode it into the ground! Loved that bike!! Stll riding today at 61.. on a Yamaha Mt 10, has that same Enduro feel to it, but a bit more power..😀
I have a 1981 Yam XT and I am sympathetic with many of Zach's comments. The bike gives a lot of feeling when you ride it. Brakes ... well, one just needs to be aware and careful, then it's no problem. Passenger? I went to Amsterdam for a movie with my wife, she wasn't super happy especially because of the footpegs attached to the rear fork .... but again, we did it many times and it was fun. The real issue was the 6V electrical system .... lots of bulb replacements due to voltage fluctuation. Eventually I converted it to 12v.
Im so happy you guys finally did some content with a vintage Yamaha enduro. These bikes are just so special in their own way. I love them so much I have 4 of them right now, 3 DT250's and a DT400. The 400 is a RIPPER lol.
Oh man, that DT-1 is surely a treat but if you ever get the chance do a Daily Rider review on a Yamaha TDR 250, you'll be blown away. Gotta love the ole 2T.
I rode one from eastern Pennsylvania as far north as there were roads on Ontario. Then I rode west to Minneapolis, then north and east to northern Wisconsin. I camped the whole way and was 22 years old. I stayed many years in northern Wisconsin and the Yamaha was terrific on the dirt roads up there.
This brings back great memories. In 1969 my dad bought a used 1968 DT1, white with black pin stripes and red logo badge. I was 9 years old and he took me on many rides with him on mountain roads and trails. Sometimes he would sit me up front so I could operate the controls, or pretend to, ha ha. You don't see any kids on the back of cycles these days! You'd probably get arrested! After about a year he stripped all the lights and instrumentation, put on full knobbies, a high plastic front fender, expansion chamber, a GYT kit, custom painted it and used it strictly for off road riding with his buddies, doing enduros, camping etc... In the ever present quest for more power he sold it to my cousin and bought Yamaha's first 360 MX when it came out. Years later I bought myself a 1973 DT250. I kept it barely street legal, knobbies, expansion chamber, small mirror tucked under the handlebar. I even laid down the shocks for more suspension travel. The damping in the stock shocks would last about 3 whoops before fading with them laid down. Not a good idea! A pogo stick with wheels! I don't know how many times I got tossed over the handlebars!
I owned a honda cl 90 in 67..a white tank Yamaha 125 enduro with a MX kit ( the electric start delete..battery delete..expansion chamber etc )..then a 69 dt1 as a 15 yr old permit holder in California..moved to a Honda SL 350 in 71..a new Z1 900 in dec of 72..each one was a wonderful step in experiencing and learning...the DT1s strength was reliability...low price and ease of maintenance..by modern standards it handled like a truck but at the time it was a awesome path to freedom for a 15 yr old kid in socal...
I raced professional motocross in the 60-70’s. Maico, Bultaco, Puch, Jawa, Penton, Husky, Montessa, CZ, Preston Petty developed a new plastic fender. All these European bikes are gone except Husky and Maico. Japan took it over. 2 strokes made so much more power and lighter vs 4 strokes. So easy to work on less than 200 pound desert dirt bikes.
Honda mini trial came out. Trail 70, 90 and Yamaha mini enduro
That"s a very thorough review of the DT-1.
Probably my favorite bike of all! Loved 3rd gear for it's wide band. BTW, great job on the engine rebuild!
I love seeing all the content from this bike
I love that you guys will ride literally anything with two wheels. Growing up around these old turds I find myself loving the nostalgia of them more and more. My latest purchases, while not as ancient as the DT-1, I picked up a beautiful 79 Goldwing and a 81 Silverwing both of which are becoming more and more collectible and because welll, old CR's and Z-1's are difficult to find.
I used to have two DT-1s. One was in near mint condition, the other was a parts bike that I cobbled back together. I miss playing around with those old bikes, but I don't miss trying to find parts for them. This has been an awesome video series. Thanks for the work you & the team put into making these videos :)
This is the second motorcycle I had as a teen. Thanks for the reminder that I loved that bike
Corvette guy needs a feature on one of these videos.
why so the SV650 can embarrass it off the line up to about 100mph? LMAO
Bought one new back in 69 or 70. Due to life i had it for a short year. But it was perfect for the conditions i was dealing with. Fond memories.
I learned to ride on a rental DT200R in Greece back in the early 90s - thus Yamaha enduros will always hold a special place in my heart. Still can't believe the guy rented me the bike even though he knew I did not have a motorcycle license at the time. Also don't want to remember how recklessly I rode that thing on- and off-road and that I never wore a helmet on it, no matter where I went.
I had a 1979 DT175 MX . Great bike . I used it for my courier job for 5 days a week , and as an Urban Enduro bike all weekend ! That was back in the '80's lol Very tough bike , wish I still had it .
I learned to ride on a 1972 Yamaha AT2. The headlight is a 6v system however Holly's Retro Bright headlights can be plugged right in. You do need a new headlight bucket but going from an old sealed bulb to a modern LED is amazing. I also daily mine off and on from a Hypermotard 950. Work is close and a 2stroke with a milk crate on it is a great lunch getter.
Yeah! I´ve been waiting for this video... its great to combine videos, the trip, the fix and then the ride... great channel!
can’t imagine so much fun in 1969, what a cool bike
I raced motocross, rode desert and street on my 71 DT-1 for years, never let me down.
I bought an identical 69 DT-1 in the summer of 1970 when I got out of the Navy. I had other bikes previously but the DT-1 was my introduction to off-road riding. I rode it to work, in enduros, on fire roads in South New Jersey. I had more fun on that bike than on any of my other 20+ bikes I've owned. If I could find an affordable one today I'd buy it. A DT400 would be even better.
These 2-shock DTs of the early 70s are the best looking i.m.h.o.. I tried to get one a few years ago, but they are unobtainable here in Germany, at least for an acceptable price. In the end I found a '74 XL250, which I restored. (In the meantime I've got 5 of these old XLs and never regret. 😁)
A spicy chorizo taco is arguably the perfect answer to my question. While I may prefer a shrimp based taco, your logic behind the chorizo is well thought out and allows me to fully understand all that is the DT-1. 🤘🤘🤘
I have always ridden street bikes and consider myself pretty knowledgeable on general motorcycle history. Thank you for growing my knowledge and opening up another chapter. It is so great to see a machine of this vintage being used as it should. Impeccable road test narration as always. Well done.
That thing is great, my uncle had a 250 not sure what year it was but the paint was white with a black pin stripe he also had a 125that was yellow with black pin stripe 3rd bike was a Honda trail 90 which I think it was a 1968, it had the rocker front end. Great times, I would spend a couple weeks every summer with my aunt and uncle in Idaho. Thanks for the great video! Keep em coming!
The Yamaha original enduros were ground breaking. Some folks call them badge bikes or dual shock bikes. I've got three of them and I love them. My favorite is my 90cc HT1 B from 1971.
I ride a 78 Honda CB125s as a daily. About 5 miles of that commute is on a 55mph+ freeway and it's the most terrifying thing and I wouldn't trade it for anything. That bike is very comfortable at 45 and even 50. 55-60 is nuts and that's why I love it. Is it a good daily rider? No. Is it what I have? Yes.
I have the same year CT-1 and she's a ripper! so much fun!