'72 Yamaha DT250MX: Need forks/tubes

[Hawkeyenfo]

Hi all,

Just talked a neighbor out of his DT250MX! Poor bike has been sitting outside for a LOOOONG time. Forks/tubes are very rough and currently frozen. Anyone have or have a source for new tubes or entire fork set-up??

Thanks! pics as soon as I can can get them up :)

Thanks!

[stainlesscycle]

i believe the dt2mx is 34mm forks right? if so, these should all work : 74/75 mx250/360/400/sc500 or 77/78 dt250/dt400

and yz up to 76, but good luck finding those.

[Foot dragger]

I had one of these as a parts bike,the 72 was kind of an awkward time for Yamaha. kind of a hopped up enduro but still with some MX parts. When the 73/74's came out the 72 was forgotten so hardly anybody races a 72 in vintage MX.
Still be a cool and violent bike to get running. I sill have some center cases for one in the basement and some other small odds and ends. I have a pretty good crankshaft as well. Most any vintage 35mm Yamaha MX/enduro fork will go right on and look and feel the same,they can be real cheap on ebay.
Could be a 36mm fork but I dont think so.

[nachtflug]

Originally Posted by Foot dragger

I had one of these as a parts bike,the 72 was kind of an awkward time for Yamaha. kind of a hopped up enduro but still with some MX parts. When the 73/74's came out the 72 was forgotten so hardly anybody races a 72 in vintage MX.

I bought a brand new 1972 DT2MX as a leftover in 73. I think hopped up enduro is a little unfair given the DT2MX was a pretty serious bike at the time as was the RT2 MX. I'm assuming the frame/swing arm may have been borrowed from the DT1 but the DT2MX was all business with the seat, pipe, tank, cylinder, pegs, shocks, etc being specific to that bike. My cousin had a 73 DT3MX and if anything it might have been a tad less nasty.

But 1973 was the (I think ) year the YZ was unleashed on the public which was a very hopped up DT2 and RT2 (MX) so one can make the claim that the DT/RT2 MX's were one of the stepping stones which led to the YZ. The rest is history. I think that is much more flattering than hopped up enduro's and given that Honda/Kaw weren't even quite yet in the mix in 1972 with MX specific models I think the DT2MX along with the TM250 Champions and TM400 Cyclones (talk about aptly named) played a very significant role in the development of production MX bikes.

The only other thing that comes to mind is that you can't talk about Yamaha's early MX efforts circa 1970-1973 without mentioning Don Jones because while the product was made in Japan they basically gave Don Jones enduro's and let him do all of the R&D which again led to the YZ which is STILL being made in 2013. The holy grail is the YZ360 which when the market was good a few years back were going for way over $5K with some unridden gems going in the $10K range. At least those were the asking prices..

Hey what about the Jammer riding #66 and Gary jones on 88 and DeWayne Jones being a holeshot king and Ake Jonnson putting Maico forks on his Yamaha and Jak Van Velthoven being really tall and Yamalube and...

[nachtflug]

[nachtflug]

[nachtflug]

I am very partial to DT2 250 MX's. When I got mine new (at 15 - 3rd bike) to be able to loft a front wheel effortlessly was intoxicating. great looking bike, the 72 RT2MX with the black stripe is one of the best looking bikes ever in my book.

[BIG ED XT FAN]

Originally Posted by Hawkeyenfo

Hi all,

Just talked a neighbor out of his DT250MX! Poor bike has been sitting outside for a LOOOONG time. Forks/tubes are very rough and currently frozen. Anyone have or have a source for new tubes or entire fork set-up??

Thanks! pics as soon as I can can get them up :)

Thanks!

Theres a guy in illinois. He can help you out. "Forks by Frank" Thats what he calls his business. All size forks. BIG ED YZ FAN!!







'

[RodT]

The 1971 DT1E-MX was the last Enduro conversion for yamaha. In 1972 they came out with the DT2MX and it was all MX. I had one and raced it for several years. It worked good on the track, but didn't have enough flywheel for trail riding. The DT2MX had a reed valve engine and The DT1-EMX had a piston port engine.

[stainlesscycle]

the dt2mx also got internal flywheel/magneto - with that and reeds, it was a big jump from the dt1mx. the next generation (73 mx250) was a significant improvement with many changes.. in 74 the mx250 was also better (improved transmission)...

[Rokoneer]

HUGE props to Franks. Used them for years and would recommend them highly.

http://www.frankmain.qpg.com/

[nachtflug]

Originally Posted by RodT

The 1971 DT1E-MX was the last Enduro conversion for yamaha.

I could be wrong but I believe those 1971 250 and 360 "MX" tagged bikes are somewhat rare, either because they didn't make a lot of them or not a lot survived, or both.

[PSchrauber]

In case you want to save as much original parts as possible, the old stanchoins can be saved. The tubes will be straighten, the rust pittings and mines turned away and then rechromed to original diameter, (with a thicker hard chrome layer). There must be company's in the US that do this when we have them.

Or look up for complete front ends (forks with triple clamps) that are similar in fork length from likewise bikes of Yamaha. So you don't have to care about the diameter of the forks. In my experience most fronts end are interchangeable.

I mounted to my Yamaha TY 175 twinshock (modded to 200ccm) now the front end of a TY mono 250cc which was not so difficult, I just needed different bearings and an extra mount for the drum brake arm. (The frame is a NOS British Mick Whitlock mini Majesty frame from the beginning eighties, saves many pounds in weight).

[Hawkeyenfo]

Thanks for the fork data and the link to Frank's! I'm still looking for "new" ones but will give him a call! Also, VERY inspirational pics and history....it definitely helps to put light at the end of the tunnel :)

Happy New Year!!

[Skowinski]

No advice here, but just a thumbs up for the memory - I had one of these when I was in high school. Looked just like the one in the pics that flug posted. Cool old bikes.