Mark, That bike I bought off you is nearly restore, I think thats great, don`t you.
Yeah Dave I'm really glad it's soon to be reborn but my point is that if you didn't change your mind so often and had kept that bike you wouldn't be looking to spend crazy money for a DT2MX today.
apparently they're not that good as a race bike,
You're right Nathan, in stock trim the DT2MX is just another so-so early Japanese motocrosser, a bit like a TM Suzuki in that while they're not all that flash is stock trim, they're pretty good fodder to be turned into a competitive racer with a bit of lateral thinking towards modification.
The DT2MX features the penultimate version of the old DT1 based "small case" engine. Even though YZ250A/B experts will cry "no way", the DT2MX isn't that far off the YZ's state of tune. Sure it hasn't got the fancy nancy lightweight gearbox and clutch basket but it does have close ratios and the bulletproof clutch all early Yamahas are noted for, even if it's a smidgey heavier. The cylinder can easily be ported to YZ specs or even further, the same reed block is used as the YZ so the same replacement modern design reeds can be used. Add a 36mm Mikuni and a more modern pipe and you're in the ballpark horsepower wise.
Chassis wise the DT2MX isn't that far off the planet. Sure it's a bit heavier than the YZ but the geometry is fairly similar. Yamaha had noted what the period hot rodders were doing to the DT1 frame by lowering the engine cradle and lengthening the swingarm so they designed a frame utilising those dimensions. The forks are as close as buggery to YZ specs it's not worth noting, the only major difference being the slight weight saving from the skimmed down fork legs on the YZ. The front and rear wheels feature identical hubs and mud catcher DID rims and even though the YZ featured the improved Thermal Flow shocks, they were still pretty ordinary and would have been replaced years ago.
The only other part that would be seen to be less quality is the DT2MX's steel tank compared to the nifty alloy item on the YZ. Everything else from cables and levers through to the handlebars and grips are so similar as not to be of any consequence. I seriously consider the DT2MX to
potentially be a better bike than the later MX250 and if modified properly, as good as the YZ as a race bike.
As a collectors item the YZ250A/B has a cult following that demands serious money but in actual fact, the DT2MX is a far rarer bike having only been around for a very short production run. It was Yamaha's first production motocross bike
not based off the existing trail bike and for a first up effort was a well equipped and physically beautiful piece of kit. An interesting side benefit of the DT2MX being such a one off bike is the unusually high availability of NOS parts, mainly because most of the parts are one model only fare, for instance the 'no-name' smooth outside engine cases, kick starter, cylinder, head and many other parts are commonly available on eBay because they were only used on a short production run bike that sold poorly and isn't popular with restorers. Complete NOS transmissions or individual ratios are commonly seen on eBay for sensible dough. The only difficult to obtain parts are the unique to the model side number plates which due to inadequate mounting tabs were often lost. I've had three DT2MX's and none of them had the left side number plate. Because of the rarity these are the only parts that get serious money.
I've got a DT2MX that I paid a paltry $200 for on the water at the moment. I originally bought it as a parts donor for my Hindall but I decided that because it's all there and being so rare I'll give it a long term concourse resto.
