1969 Yamaha DT-1B
The DT was my first relatively involved motor vehicle job. It was far from a restoration, but it was a start. It had been sitting for at least 10 years, and had a carburetor full of varnish. The first order of business was to get it running. A lot of acetone and patience got the carb cleaned out, and a lot of kicking finally got it started. I sanded and painted every part except for the engine. I had the rear springs sandblasted, and the fork sliders ground and re-chromed.
Anyone who has ridden one of these pseudo-dirtbikes knows how hairy they are. The brakes aren’t so good, the bars are wide, and the riding stance is low and laid back. I never took the DT in the dirt, but did ride a friend’s 1976 Honda MR175, which gave me a newfound respect for the early dirt riders.
Below is what the bike looked like when I got it. The picture doesn’t quite do justice to the rough condition it was in. It also doesn’t show me pushing it up the street from where I bought it for $50, or getting it up a bunch of stairs with a pulley! The pictures of it with the orange paint are the before pics. I hope that's obvious.
