My first m/c was a Honda SL 125 for a year, until I turned 16 and bought a 1976 RD400C.

Not long after, I got a part time job at the Yamaha shop. Yes, over the years, they have built some "less than stellar" models, but most are of good value and quality. Kept working at Yamaha shop part time until the mid 1980's.

I've watched over the years, people making a big deal over Honda mini trail 50's and 70's wondering why? They are pretty much turds performance wise compared to mini enduro and GTmx.

Heck, we had so people in my hometown that bought Honda XL 350's, and they thought they could out run my crappy Yamaha RD400. I always got the last laugh on that. Even my brother converted and bought a TT600 and thought it'd outrun my RD. I outran him one night after work, and made an RD believer out of him, but he preferred dual purpose.

I will say the honda's dependability had always been decent, even though they were usually a distant 2nd in a race, until the elsinores. haha

My friends and I would talk around the bar about people having HONDA tattooed on the inside of their foreheads, as they could see owning nothing else.

Nowadays, I like all brands, even Hondas...But I'm watching the price of the older Yamaha enduros just get higher and higher. Wish I had bought a ship load of them. My good friends would swap their enduros with me, for my RD for a day or two. I finally bought an XT550 in 1982, because I was glad Yamaha came out with the 4 valve head. I still have my 1986 XT600, and it still runs, but needs the cam cover taken off and resealed (oil leaks). I have antique license plate for it.

When did you get your first Yamaha?

My first motorcycle was an IT250 and I went from being a trail rider to a novice hare scramble racer/enduro rider on that bike. Since then I’ve owned/raced Honda, Kawasaki and GasGas motorcycles eventually becoming a fairly decent B-class racer before marriage, career and kids became more important than racing.

About 10 years ago my two boys and I started racing vintage motocross and riding vintage trials. Primarily Bultacos and Hondas, but my youngest son rode a TY80 in trials. Last May I was given a ‘79 YZ400 that hadn’t ran in ~30 years. Then I ended up trading a Pursang for a ‘79 YZ250. Both YZ’s are being setup to compete in AHRMA XC. Also toying with the idea of selling one, or both, of my Elsinores for an IT175 for my youngest son to race.

To this day I am not sure why my dad brought home a motorcycle, a Honda 50 for me to ride in 1966. We had just moved to a pretty good sized cotton ranch halfway between Phoenix and Tucson, I was 10 years old and they literally turned me loose, like most of us, no helmet just go ride until you run out of gas. It was the step through frame with almost no suspension. That led to a Montgomery Wards Benelli 125 (my Dad also bought one, although he had never rode motorcycles).

By my freshman year of high school in Parker, AZ I was working and bought my first motorcycle with my own money a Honda SL 100. I blew it up 4 times in 6 months and broke the frame jumping it like Evel Knievel, clearly it was not up to my abilities so I bought my first Yamaha a 1971 DT1. I thought I wanted lights etc. so I bought an enduro rather than the MX, within about 3 months it was stripped with a Gyt Kit pipe, carb and head and I started racing it. Along the way one of my friends asked if I wanted to buy his 68 DT1 for $150 and bought it (still have it).

My first real street bike was a Honda 700 Interceptor, but my last two street bikes have both been Yamahas. Of my 12 current bikes 8 are Yamahas so clearly they are my preference although my latest modern bike is a KTM (all of you talked me out of the WR250!).

That the story of my bias although I will admit I always wanted a Husqvarna Cross and if I would have had the money in 1971 to buy a new Husky 250 Cross, my bias might have been different.

I work FOR Honda, and don't HAVE one!

Now, I have had alot of Honda's over the years, my favorite was a '92 CBR600F2, but since I became an Enduroholic I'm not interested in Honda's 4 stroke offerings at all. I have had 2 Honda MT125's but found them buzzy, noisy, and slow. So, I'm far more interested in Yamahas, and currently have 6, 3 enduros, a '78 YZ400,an XS750, and a Riva CH185 scooter. I really like pre-'72 Kawasaki & Suzuki enduros, but they are tough to restore from a part availability & cost factor. Nothing is cooler to me than pinstriped badge tanks in a candy color!