Yamaha DT3

Taking a quick browse through Craigslist this weekend, a found something that really grabbed my attention, a 1973 Yamaha DT3. I've always loved the '68-'73 DT1 series, but most of the bikes I'd seen listed were either a lost title bike, a complete basket case, or on the other end a too-expensive-for-me pristine example. This one was just right, a titled runner for a fair price. After calling the seller I headed over to look at it. I was fairly certain I'd be bringing it home, unless the seller's ad had been misleading. Turned out to be just as described, and I even got to test ride it first. 10 seconds after unloading it from my truck, I was out having fun with it.

Here it is after giving it a wash. Just over 2000 miles on it. It has a 1975 Georgia inspection sticker on one of the fork legs, so spent it's early life in the south. The guy I bought it from got it from someone who had it just sitting in a garage for at least 20 years. He then replaced the engine seals, petcock, rebuilt the carb, had the exhaust cleaned out at a radiator shop, and some other stuff. He didn't do anything cosmetic, but just sorted the engine, road it for a bit, and decided to sell it for whatever reason.

It's missing the rear turn indicators and needs fork seals. The drum brakes seem fairly decent on it.

The right side of the tank looks the best. It has a bad spot of the left, but I'll be keeping the worn original paint. I'd always liked the gold color on the earlier DT's, but the green is growing on me. The thing coming from the middle of the head is a compression release, with the lever on the left handlebar.

It is a very sweet running bike. It sounds great, and has plenty of power for back roads and trails.

It has Dunlop Trials Universal tires, which the owner thinks could be the originals. The front is cracked, but the rear looks very nice. I'll get new rubber before doing many road miles on it. The same with the chain and sprockets, as they are likely the originals.

Spokes wire tied together. I think this was done mostly to keep one from causing damage or puncturing a tube if it broke.

This bike originally came with a low front fender, but it was common to switch to a high mount. The owner thinks the mount is Yamaha, but didn't know about the fender. I'll be on the lookout for a stock low fender, but likely would keep the high mount on the bike. The fender is black plastic, and likely whoever put it on painted the rear fender black to match, as it should be silver.

Someone must have had the bike tip over on soft ground, so widened the side stand footprint, a nice mod.

The seat cover is still soft, but has some bad spots on the sides. I'll likely just patch it up a bit for now. With the patina of the bike, new parts like a seat cover would kind of stick out, so I'll just keep it as it is.

It's got a few things to fix, but I'm really digging the bike already. It should be lots of fun, and maybe a nice restoration project later on.