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Yamaha DT-1 1968

Submitted by on September 23, 20085 Comments

I was chatting to a guy called Malcolm at a wedding the other day and he said he had a Yamaha DT-1.

I knew a little bit about the bike as my great riding friend Mitch had told me the story of his first ever ride on the tank of his Uncle Ralf’s bike at age 2. Mitch now has Ralf’s bike waiting for restoration, so it was time for a little investigation.

The bike was first unveiled to the world at the Tokyo Motor Show in October 1967. It was released in Australia in early 1968 and was immediately a huge sales success. Up until that point the ”dual purpose” market hardly existed, but Yamaha created a revolution with a fun, reliable and user friendly bike that retailed for just A$580.

The lightweight bike was powered by a two stroke 250cc engine, producing a rather mellow 18HP, however the main difference between the DT-1’s engine and other bikes was Yamaha’s Autolube oil-injection system. This meant there was no need to deal with premixing fuel and oil. The bikes ease of ownership endeared it to a new generation of motorcycle fans.

The DT-1 made a statement and it was cool to ride.

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  • Speed54

    Yamaha Australia in conjunction with journo Mark Firkin did a resto of Mark’s original DT-1 in 2005 to celebrate Yamaha’s 50th anniversary.

    This bike definitely changed the off-road world, and opened up trail bike riding to the masses.

    Check out the complete project here:

    http://www.yamaha-motor.com.au/hot_news/index.htm?dt_01_main.asp?id_art=1

  • retromotor

    It turned out pretty nicely. Did Yamaha restore another bikes for their 50th anniversary?

  • Speed54

    No that was it, although there are a few more to choose from. In terms of innovation, Yamaha pioneered reed valve induction, water-cooling (early TZs), monoshock suspension (YZ250), five-valve heads (FZ750) and the delta-box chassis and EXUP exhaust valve (FZR1000).

  • retromotor

    Does mounting the radiator up near the handlebars on the YZ125 J circa 1982 count as innovation?

  • Speed54

    Yes, Yamaha were experimenting with water-cooled YZs in the late ’70s, testing prototypes in the US in 1977-78. Could be a story in that.