Are you gonna own that Dave?

It seems improperly modified.
The tach mount is nowhere as cool as yours..... not even rubber mounted.

Great catch!
The Ascot and the Big Bear were Yamaha's earliest attempts to produce a off road machine..
Now they are really collectible and it's getting hard to find original bikes
You have done a great job on this resto..congrats!
I am a huge fan of early Yamahas and the YDS series is on of my favorites.... the are a couple great Facebook groups for them as well there is a very active Yahoo group specific to these bikes.. that group has many knowledgabe members who do not frequent FB or other sites..older folks who worked in dealerships and shops..plus a number of overseas members too.. lots of info out there..

Here is my YDS3 I have in my shop.. awaiting restoration..

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This bike is pretty special..it too was a great find..
It is a very early 1964 model.. according to Yamaha the YDS3 was produced in late 64 to be sold as a 1965 model replacing the YDS2 series.. the YDS3 models came with 5 digit serial numbers.. but the very early bikes shipped to the USA were bikes produced before YDS3 production was up to speed..
Because Yamaha had not yet completely finalised production of certain YDS3 specific parts(wheels..tank..etc) these early bikes were built using parts from both the YDS2 and the YDS3..
The key indicator for these bikes is the fact that they had only 4 digits in the serial number..
The earliest known 5 digit YDS3 bikes were of very late 1964 and early 1965... my bike predates these..
Nobody really knows how many of these early bikes were made..but most of the knowledgable folks I have talked to say it was likely only a few hundred..
The vin serial stamps on my bike are matching(frame/engine) and are noted in early Yamaha files as being a true YDS3..
I firmly believe this bike may be the earliest known YDS3 in the states..it surely is the only one I have seen like it..

Just picked up a yds3 on Craigslist. I will post a pic of it later. I got some parts with it and a service manual that I can scan and upload if anyone is interested

Just picked it up today. Here is a couple pictures I think I got it for a fair price, should be a nice little project. Its a 1966 YDS3 250

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And here is a service manual that I got with it, I will scan it at work on monday and upload it for you guys

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Found this neat old two stroke tuning book. Has port diagrams and pipe dimensions for the yamaha TD1. Along with similar info for other vintage yamahas

Hi I enjoyed reading that you have an early YDS3 I also believe that mine is also My serial is "8536" with motor number D10C-8536 I believe an early Big Bear Scrambler The bike is complete less the high pipes Its a black/white with horizontal badges and black/white seat Surprise that I still kicks over but it had sat outside for who knows how long If you have any comments please let me know thanks Jeri

hey all, i have a '62 yamaha YDS-1. the key has 4 positions, im guessing OFF, ON, ON w/Lights, _______ ???
on and on w/lights are either in the 2/3 position or 3/4. idk which and also unsure what the other spot is. here's my vin for any interested parties... havent confirmed '62 but that's what the p/o said. Appreciate any help!
Y14-11938

The last position is often for parking light. On a nice new ignition switch, the key can be removed in the off and last position, but not in the ride positions. Unfortunately the ignition switch on Gr8auntiepat's RD200DX was not nice and tight and the key flew out somewhere on a nice Wiltshire country lane!

From what I understand, back then it was rear light only in the US, but here in the UK and Europe we had a small 3 or 4 watt bulb in the headlight as well. Our ignition switches usually have an extra wire coloured blue/red and this is for the headlight park bulb.