Hi Geoff you are being a bit harsh. No wonder your DT was a pig to ride, I think your front end needs some setting up.
I reckon they are cool. Yamaha by then were able to design the DT as trail bike with no racing pretentions by then. There is no way a DT weighed anywhere near an XT, yet calling it the big fat pig it is amounts to blasphemy on most forums.
A nice tidy 250/400 monoshock would be welcome in my shed any day. Go for it, leave it stock and enjoy it as it was designed.
Cheers, Grahame