Hello, Tim from Wisconsin here. I'm an Industrial Engineer in my late 50's. Have a wife and 2 boys (12&13). My 1st ride on a Yamaha was about 44 years ago on a '75 DT 250, when my brother returned from the air force. I was 13 yrs old. He left the bike with me while he went to college. My buddy had a Honda mini 50 (he taught me how to shift before the DT arrived), learned how to clutch on an XL 70 from another friend. 3rd buddy broke a rod in his speedway mini bike so his dad got him a used RM 100. So that was our trio: DT 250, XR 75 and RM 100. It would take 2 of us to tip up the DT if it fell over. Dreamed of a YZ but that never happened. We rode for a few years, the DT got stolen and then recovered from Milwaukee, painted primer gray, with the harness hacked up. Some guy offered to buy it for $100, needed money so it went away. While in college, bought a leftover 82 Seca 750. Great bike, stupid owner. Crashed it on St. Patricks day. Go Figure! 10+ years later bought an 89 FJ 1200. Still have that bike. Had a GSX 1100 before the FJ. Did like the "wind up" from the drive shaft, so sold it after I got the FJ. Early 2000's bought a TW200 at auction, fun bike for our country property, had too much stuff so it went to a buyer in South Dakota. Still have a 76 RD 200 that I bought at a different auction. That bike had intermittent ignition of right (pto) cylinder. Kids, houses, life, jobs have let the RD sit in the barn/shed. Bought XR 80's for my boys during the Pandemic, so I'm resurrecting a '79 MX 175 from my brothers barn so I can ride with them. We bought the MX at a swap meet about 15 years ago. I test rode it then, and at some point he said it wasn't running right so he took it to a local shop, and then another shop for a 2nd opinion. A few years passed, and my brother said they had told him it needed a crank? bearings? rod bearing????? At this point, he can't rememeber the specific diagnosis, so I retreived it with plastic over the crank case in his barn. Piston/cylinder/head in a box, exhaust off, etc.
My real passion is: 70's Yamaha snowmobiles. GP, GPX, SRX, Enticer. The single cylinder 292 (GP) is a real hoot, along with the , Enticer thinking they shouldn't be as fun as they are. Presently have too many 79 SRX's, no 77's, and a 76 basket case. Had a 340 SRX and a collection of NOS pistons but sold the 340 stuff to stick with 440's. I want to get the MX 175 going for me and then my 13 year old since he is truly too big for an XR 80. After the MX, I will retrieve a 94 RM 125 from my brothers barn and ride it. (It has typical RM stator issues). The bike I would like to own is a 40 year old IT 250.
.

That's interesting, thanks for tell me I'll take alook tonight just to be sure.
Although when I bought it the seller didn't know what year it was and I'm sure he gave me the serial and I looked it up to find out it was a 77

Hey everyone!

My name is Brodie, I’m in Sacramento, CA. I’m new to this forum (obviously) but not necessarily new to Yamahas. When I graduated high school seven years ago, my father gave me a heck of a project. It’s a ‘77 DT250 that had been sitting in the back yard under a tarp for ~20 years. It took us a couple days and some minor elbow grease to get it running. I was immediately impressed with how little effort it took.

We got it registered and I drove it to and from my first job that summer before college, then I went to college and sort of forgot about it. Between then and now, I rode it periodically. Mostly I would just give it a couple kicks to make sure it still ran.

I’m now starting to take it a little more seriously. I’ve got plenty of time to focus on restoring it, thanks to the pandemic. I think with a little more patience and elbow grease, I can get this thing back to near mint condition. I’m very much looking forward to getting to know everyone on this forum! I thank you all in advance for your help and advice.

-Brodie

from the UK.

Howdy, Michael here with a 1973 CT 175 I picked up from a friend. It was bought at a garage sale and sat under a tarp long enough to destroy every surface... Good news it had been parked in that garage (before my friend got it) since 1976 and only has 830 miles on it. This bike is for my daughter who wanted to learn about but mostly ride motorbikes. It has been a great project for us and I appreciate all the information that is available here to learn more about this machine. We just got it finished up and running, thanks again!

Great story!

Is daughter old enough to ride it on the road, or is she limited to private land for the moment?

She has been doing trails, just got her license so she is good to go!

Hi, my name is Scott. I live in Kansas City, MO. I have a 81 IT 250 it was a great riding bike, but the motor is blown. I’m looking for a new 250 motor, but I also have the top end of an 81 465 motor and looking for the bottom end. I was wondering if that motor would fit the frame of the 81 IT 250 or if it would need a different swing arm etc.

Hello Folks , I am Randy from Virginia. I am a CPA by trade so no great mechanical background....except i also farm so i can fix stuff with baling twine and barbed wire!!

I have had a Yamaha enduro bike in one form or another for over 35 years .....started with a DT125 all the way up to XT600. Pic of my current stable attached.

My current project is finishing a retore on a 73 DT3(painted 72 color). It was being set up as an "MX" bike but luckily i have most of the DT pieces (except for signal lights and tool box).

I appreciate the collection of knowledge and passion for these machines that is present on this sight