These small two-strokes were early learner-friendly machines, often pressed into farm bike duty, suburban commuting, or even as travel bikes in some cases. Photo: Williams Vintage Cycle
Welcome our 4 Sale series about interesting, unique or weird bikes for sale online. Note: This is not an advertisement. ADVrider is not affiliated in any way with either the seller or marketplace. Do you know of any unique bikes for sale? Let us know by filling in this form. Helmets For Motorbike
It’s the early 1970s, and you want a motorcycle for putting around on dirt roads, maybe the odd forest trail, and quiet back roads. Although there were plenty of choices on the market, the main options are a four-stroke Honda or a two-stroke Yamaha, like the DT100—a bike that started a lot of riders’ careers, including my own, and helped start a very successful lineup of motorcycles for Yamaha.
A Yamaha Trail 125. This member of the DT lineup was the first bike I ever rode, in my cousin’s yard. It’s obviously very similar to the DT100 machine for sale here. Photo: Yamaha
The DT100 wasn’t the original machine in this series of dual-sports; that was the 1968-model Yamaha Trail 250, also known as the DT-1. Yamaha saw the potential for dual-sport sales in the US and introduced this two-stroke as a simple trailbike that could also be ridden on-street. Other DT-series models followed, including the DT100.
These bikes followed a basic formula: Take a two-stroke engine (usually with a “Torque Induction” reed valve system, paired with seven-port head). Use a basic steel tube frame paired with budget-friendly fork and suspension. Add similarly affordable light kit, and there you had it. An OG dual sport.
Kickstart only! Hope you didn’t skip leg day. Photo: Williams Vintage Cycle
While people today often perceive two-stroke motors as being rev-happy contraptions that can blow up at any time, the DTs had a sensible powerband that emphasized reliability of raceability.
The individual models varied over the years, but there were 100 cc variants, along with other choices in the 50-400 cc range. As Yamaha’s dirt bike lineup modernized, so did the DTs. By the late 1980s, they had liquid cooling and monoshock suspension… and they weren’t coming into the US anymore, thanks to emissions regs. Import continued longer in Canada, where a DT50 is considered a highly desirable vehicle in rural communities, usually fitting into the rulebook as a scooter, meaning kids can ride them on the street at age 14 in many provinces. The DT200 dual sport is another machine that had a respectable run in Canada, serving as a sort of oddball alternative to the big four-stroke single-cylinder dual sports of the late 1980s and 1990s. Drum brakes. Hardly the pinnacle of stopping tech, but they got the job done in the ’70s and will still get the job done now at the speeds you’d be riding this thing. Photo: Williams Vintage Cycle
Drum brakes. Hardly the pinnacle of stopping tech, but they got the job done in the ’70s and will still get the job done now at the speeds you’d be riding this thing. Photo: Williams Vintage Cycle
The DT line is long-canceled in Canada now as well, but if you travel to countries with fewer emissions regulations, you’ll still find newish DT-series trailbikes on the road. For example: In the late 2010s, I noted a few on the road in Dominican Republic, and was surprised to find the DT125 still available new in that country’s showrooms then, at reasonable prices. To this day, Yamaha lists them on its global website, so I presume some countries still allow their sale. Here’s a modern DT125, still sold by Yamaha in some markets. Photo: Yamaha
Here’s a modern DT125, still sold by Yamaha in some markets. Photo: Yamaha
It’s too bad they still aren’t for sale in North America. Yeah, I know—smog is bad, etc., etc. But bikes like this were simple, affordable and utilitarian. Perhaps the closest thing we have now is Honda’s XR150L—itself a real throwback to the early days of dual sport imports from Japan to North America. A pretty classic design; really, a Japanese take on the scrambler formula, although nobody calls them by that name. Photo: Williams Vintage Cycle This bike here
A pretty classic design; really, a Japanese take on the scrambler formula, although nobody calls them by that name. Photo: Williams Vintage Cycle
This is a 1974 model, for sale by Williams Vintage Cycle, a dealership in Xenia, Ohio. Their description is as follows: 1974 Yamaha DT100 vintage enduro bike. Only 1750 miles on it. Clear OH title in our name. Starts easy and runs good. Unfortunately there is a good size dent on the right side of the tank. Other than that, its a pretty good looking vintage 2 stroker. It came to us with a new carb, new petcock, and newer tires. We repaired the oil pump so the oil injection works properly now…installed a new battery, and tuned it up. If you have any questions about this bike, let us know.
1974 Yamaha DT100 vintage enduro bike. Only 1750 miles on it. Clear OH title in our name. Starts easy and runs good. Unfortunately there is a good size dent on the right side of the tank. Other than that, its a pretty good looking vintage 2 stroker. It came to us with a new carb, new petcock, and newer tires. We repaired the oil pump so the oil injection works properly now…installed a new battery, and tuned it up. If you have any questions about this bike, let us know.
Looks like it’s a rider’s bike, not a show machine. And that’s a good thing; too many vintage enduros are being retired off as display pieces. This bike should have plenty of life left in it, and if you need parts, Yamaha made a bajillion of these and I regularly see DT-series parts bikes for sale on the used market.
Motorcycle Honda See their ad here for more details.