Question on DT 400

[Jerry]

Local boneyard has a Yamaha DT 400, most likely a '78 or '79, in their yard. Turns over, complete except for some left-hand controls. No title. They want $300, which sounds high to me, but seems like these bikes have almost a cult following. It it worth getting to fix up and ride off-road? Interesting radial head design, has headlight, looks to be a long-travel suspension, monoshock rear. Tires are old but rims look straight. Entire bike is pretty clean.

[Guy_b_g]

I had one in the 90s ('78)...loved it. It'll cruise down the highway at a good clip, and mine was very reliable...bought it for $200, sold it for $1000 after 3 years of use.

[Incubus]

I've got a '69 DT1 (250ccs). It is a lot of fun. Good low end torque. Mine is dirt only. I only paid $50, but I had to do a lot of work on it. Be prepared to bore the top end. These one-cylinder air-cooled dual sport engines only go a few thousand miles of hard use before you have to rebuild the top. The good news is a top end rebuild is pretty cheap.

Patrick

[webbcraft2150]

I rode a '75 model for years. Old twin shocker. Desert raced it very hard and it NEVER left me stranded. Low end grunt would make a XS blush in envy. Minor mods netted a top end a shade over a C-note. Excellent play bike for those of us on the "hefty" side. Plenty of parts still available as it shares a bunch of them with similar DT series bikes. In the 20 some years I owned it, and thrashed it, I went thru one clutch, 'bout 5 top ends, one lower end rebuild, a dozen or so tires, bunch of sprockets and chains and about 8k at my orthopedic surgeons office.

[firstxs1100]

my suggestion

if you look at it this way

3 for the bike about 150 or so for the tires around 100 or more for the top end rebuild and 50 or so for brakes. add another hundred for misc. things like new cable new carb parts and such. then what do you have 6 to 8 hundred bucks in a historic bike that not many people have. or you could just find you a newer bike in running condition with not much wrong with it for a grand or so and ride on with no worryies no problems and not get frustrated after you buy the old bike and then get into it and say i wish i would have never bought this ol piece of junk in the first place. trust me i've been there.


one thing someone told me "do what you feel comfortable doing, not what everybody else tells you to do."

[al_ngl]

I've got a 1975 DT400 sitting right next to the XS11. Now in need of a bottom end rebuild after I rebuilt the top end. It was my first bike, and put many of my friends' 250s to shame that were 30 years newer. I'm still debating dropping the next $280 into it to get it ready for off-roading. That includes tires and bottom end rebuild from bikebandit.