You finally got to me Firko :-)

[Andrew L]

My Ballarat swap meet pod a few down pipe fittings just needs some paint to pretty it up. Its amazing what you can find if you wander around bunning's long enough.

[firko]

That's neat.........and oh so DT1 perfect .

[Tahitian_Red]

I'm gonna try that Air-Filter trick!

After looking at those pics of the RT-1MX ad CD9 several times over the last few months I couldn't help myself and order Excel rims and HD stainless spokes for the RT-1.  I'm going to add as many aluminum YZ type pieces and maybe a Ti bolt or two.  I'll post photos as soon as I have it finished.  It is a sickness isn't it?
 

[firko]

I moved this over from the resto thread where it didn't really fit in
The Rat Bike Project:
This bike isn't so much a restoration as a 'retrofit'. I purchased the bike from Nathan a year or so ago to use the engine and parts in one of my Hindall frames but a change in direction on that project saw the DT1 sitting in a corner doing nothing. Then, a couple of weeks ago I had the brainstorm of using it for what Nathan originally built it for...a cheap and cheerful pre 70 racer without the unnecessary bling that adorns some of  my other VMX bikes. Nathan had the bike set up fairly well but I didn't like the MX250 tank and plastic so I dug into the period stash and came up with the steel back mudguard from the original 'DT1 from Hell', a NOS A&A plastic front 'guard mounted using GYT mounting hardware, a '68 DT1 tank with original paint and an original seat that had been replaced with a better one on my restored DT1. I fitted a Webco head, GYT cylinder and PVL ignition to the engine and replaced the home made pipe with a GYT item. The plan with the bike was to build a reasonably competitive 250/pre 70 class bike for as little money as I could using as many period correct parts as possible and looking like it had caught a time machine from Foster Park or Christmas Hills, circa 1970. Rob Dillon from WA will be riding it at the Wyaralong Nats in November and while the bike probably isn't the most competitive in its class, I think it'll be a more than capable race bike with someone on board not intimidated by the DT1's handling reputation . After the Nats it'll slip into the role of being a loaner for friends and riders who want to try VMX for the first time. I think we'll all have some serious fun on this little bike .

*The Arnaco shocks will be replaced with period finned alloy Works Performance items once I rebuild them
*The forks will be replaced with a similar set fitted with Race Tech gold valves and trick springs that currently live on my Hindall project. (That themselves are being replaced with Can-Am Betors.)
*The DANGEROUS Chinese Gunnar Gasser copy throttle will be replaced with a genuine item as soon as it arrives from the USA.
*The cables will all be replaced with correct length genuine grey Yamaha cables...probably tomorrow.
*I'll fabricate a sprocket cover to keep the scrutineers happy.
*I have a period Skyway silencer for the GYT pipe but currently can't find it. It'll turn up .
* I have to find a neat way to mount the pipe side number plate.

                                                                             
                                                                                The bike as I bought it from Nathan
                                                                           
                                                                           
                                                                           
                                                                           

[shelpi]

hey Firko I like it, looks like its original and well set up, that clutch actuator looks tuff

[Iain Cameron]

Nice Mark I think the DT\RT bug has caught on , we used to be the only silly buggers now if you don't have one your not cool . Iain

[firko]

 You can't replicate original patina. It would be a crime to remove this University of NSW Kensington campus parking pass from 1972. The remnants of the 1970 and '71 stickers were there as well but I removed them before I realised my mistake.                                                                                 
                                                                                       
             

[firko]

Nice Mark I think the DT\RT bug has caught on , we used to be the only silly buggers now if you don't have one your not cool . Iain

I've recently had a couple of blokes from the Evo side of the fence ask me if I had any DT1 or RT1 bikes or parts for sale because they like the idea of a Yamaha pre 70 racer. If I didn't have so much on my plate I'd get stuck into the DT1 from Hell rebuild....it's all there, the engine's built but I just need the time. Because I've already got three pre 70 bikes the priority isn't there for me right at the moment.
We seem to have started a slow spreading DT1 virus Iain  .

[Tahitian_Red]

I blame my latest addiction on Firko and these two gentlemen:

[firko]

I blame my latest addiction on Firko and these two gentlemen:

It's funny how things roll.....I'm essentially a Maico guy who got bored with the same old same old and needed a change of scenery. That slight deviation to build my Cheney RT1 reminded me just what a great engine those old Yamahas have and my new RT1/DT1 obsession was born. I'm starting to enter that same old, same old mode again however so next year I'm embarking on a yet another new direction....building both pre 60 class 500 TriBSA and 650 Triumph pre 65 motocrossers and assembling my Shell OW72 flat tracker. If I get overwhelmed by all that 4 stroke complexity I'll have my Maico Metisse pre 65 project to go to as a sanctuary of familiarity . I love entering into unknown areas and learning new things about bikes I previously knew little about. That's the fun part for me.

[firko]

 While surfing google images I came across one of the few DT1 Cheney's I've ever seen. It's frame #43 compared to my #14. Frame #12 was found in almost beyond help condition in a barn in Massachusetts. Mine's the only restored one I've ever seen so what happened to the rest of them?                                                                                   
                                                                                                   
                                                                                                     

[shelpi]

Bugger I tried to resist, Im a Suzuki guy, it couldnt  happen to me, I luv side cars cant believe it now have a RT incompltete but I like it, ive got the bug,  what is it about these bikes

[Iain Cameron]

Shelpi give me a call if your after any parts , Ive finished my 3 RT's and have quite a few leftovers . Iain . ps welcome to the DT\RT tragic club .

[firko]

what is it about these bikes

I think it's three things......The bikes place in dirt bike history, that beautiful little engine and last but not least, the hot rod factor. The aftermarket motocross accessory industry was formed on the DT1's need for improvement. You don't have to do too many laps on a stock DT1 to find that they're not designed to win races so that's where the fun in owning one come in. We can fit alloy rims, lightweight hubs, Betor or Ceriani forks, lower the frame cradle and lengthen the swingarm, port the livin' shit out of the barrel, fit a Webco or GYT head, change the pipe over to something that works, fit plastic Preston Petty 'guards, and hacksaw 20 lbs of weight out of it, each little mod improving the old bike one micro at a time. There are a myriad of period trick parts out there on eBay for comparatively little money and the old magazines are full of How-To articles on improving the bike. 

Back in 1992 I'd been racing my Maicos quite happily in the knowledge that I owned close to the best in the class when over a few bottles of red Geoff Eldridge came up with the 'challenge' of me building a racer out of leftover parts and he restoring an original bike with us creating an ADB magazine piece on both bikes transformations. Unfortunately GE was killed before he could start his project* but I built my racer, soon christened the 'DT1 from Hell' in honour of my friend. That bike was one of the most enjoyable builds I ever did because I let my imagination run wild. The only restriction I had was the rulebook. The bike went on to come second to Boagy in pre 70 at two Nats in a row and won a dirt track Nats....pretty good for a 500 buck hacksaw and Oxy welding special. I only mention the DT1 from Hell to raise the point that these old cut and shut DT1/RT1s bring out the Doctor Frankenstein mad hot rodder that lays dormant within many of us. They can be as cheap or expensive as you want then to be or as trick or stock as you like. The engine is one of the all time great dirt bike engines and can be modified to your hearts content and remain as reliable as a Kenworth diesel. While our conscience wouldn't allow us to hack up a Husky, CZ or Maico to build a pre 70 Frankenbike, we don't feel so bad modifying a DT1 or RT1.

* I ended up with the DT1 basket case that Geoff had bought to restore and 15 years after his death I finally completed the job. I still own it.
                                                                                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                                                                                      [

[shelpi]

Shelpi give me a call if your after any parts , Ive finished my 3 RT's and have quite a few leftovers . Iain . ps welcome to the DT\RT tragic club .

cheers for that, the big lump that the jug sits on is the main missing part Ive even got the original black tank with the red stripe no drinking straws up front, other than that its a start