A careful mechanic rebuilds an old Yamaha DT1

[herr_oberst]

30 minutes of Zen. My best friend growing up had a succession of AT1's when we were kids, I had an HT1. These were such cool bikes.
There's a companion video where this guy rides this very bike 600 miles across Wyoming, just brutalizes the poor thing. I'm glad he brought it home and gave it a total rebuild.

[cstreit]

I enjoyed watching that. I appreciated two things:

First that he had all the right tools he needed and they were well taken care of

Second that he didn't over restore the bike. I see some of these channels that will turn an absolute turd into an over-polished thing that you know won't hold up long.

[Skillet83]

Wish I had that kind of knowledge. Me, take it down that far? Restore it to original. That is the OCD in me.

[cstreit]

Originally Posted by Skillet83

Wish I had that kind of knowledge. Me, take it down that far? Restore it to original. That is the OCD in me.

Id have had a really hard time leaving some of it alone like he did. At least rust remove and paint the rear swingarm... You had it all the way off!

[herr_oberst]

You might change your mind if you watch the Wyoming video. That little bike took him through 600 miles of dirt roads - snow, rain, muck. The guy came thisclose to giving up because sometimes the road was just too hard, but the bike never let him down, except when the front fender jammed up with mud, and the cable from the oil pump slipped it's groove - and even though the bike was stalling because it was starved for oil it never seized fully and the bike got him through the adventure.

He's got the tools and skill to completely split a crank and put in a fresh rod and big-end bearing and reassemble and rebalance the assembly, as well as refresh the whole bottom end of the crankcase without resorting to butchery.

I think he gave the little bike what it deserved, a complete mechanical refresh, to give it another chance for an adventure while keeping the patina of 54 years of service right there in the open for everyone to see.

[Steve Carlton]

I have fond memories of a 1973 CT3 175 I had around 1974. I bought it used with about 1,000 miles on it. Prior to that I had an RD350, then later a Seca 550. Good bikes!

[Yorkie]

Just sold mine. Perfect for running around town.

[pwd72s]

Long live the 2 stroke dirt bike! (Yamaha 160, then a 360 in my past.) 11,300 0n that odo...very nice and well equipped shop. Impressive know how.

[cstreit]

That reminds me - this definitely looks like an oil pump, but why does it have a cable cam on it?

[herr_oberst]

Thats the pump for the oil injection. There's a second cable on the throttle housing that activates the pump. It's the famous "Yamalube" system, and that's the cable that fell off the track on the Wyoming adventure; who knows how long the bike was running without a shot of oil in the gas!

[A930Rocket]

That was cool. Thanks for sharing.

Obviously, that was not his first rodeo.

[cstreit]

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

Thats the pump for the oil injection. There's a second cable on the throttle housing that activates the pump. It's the famous "Yamalube" system, and that's the cable that fell off the track on the Wyoming adventure; who knows how long the bike was running without a shot of oil in the gas!

Ah.... So more throttle = more oil injection. Thanks - had me scratching my head for a while.

[pwd72s]

Too bad he's not closer to me. I'd give him a bit of shop decoration. I have a never opened quart of "Yamalube" oil sitting on a shelf here...gotta be around 50 years old.

[manbridge 74]

Like in my RG500 a lot of guys still running the oil pump on these old bikes will keep some oil in the tank as well in case there is a problem with injection. The demand based pumps rarely are an issue but a cracked feed line or clogged nozzle end could cause seizing. Some parts are HARD to find. Maybe he was mixing some good oil, even at 100:1 it might have saved his bacon.

[herr_oberst]

He also rode a Honda 90 1000 miles in Alaska. Here's his equally sympathetic rebuild of that little feller....

[pwd72s]

I'm maybe 15 minutes into this: Thanks!

[Baz]

Thanks for posting, Herr Oberst.......very impressive!

At our high school from '70 to '72 when I attended, we had a group who rode bikes and all parked in their own section out front. Most of them were friends and I also had a Yamaha dirt bike - only an 80cc -and didn't take it to school.

Now I have these two, plus the Hawk 250......

[herr_oberst]

Love those Honda XL's! And the same guy that had all the AT1's I spoke of earlier had a white XT500 Thumper after he moved on from the Enduros!

[cstreit]

If you like that video - you HAVE TO watch this guy

https://www.youtube.com/@c90adventures

He did Alaska to Argentina on a C90 scooter. He also took a toy gas powered jeep like 1000 miles to and through Moab. Very entertaining channel.

He's a crap mechanic but rolls with the consequences of it very well.

[Bill Douglas]

Originally Posted by Baz

had a Yamaha dirt bike - only an 80cc

My mom had a Yamaha 80 trailbike. She used it to ride around the farm on. What a fantastic, reliable and fun bike that was.