Rarity?

[Nathan S]

Been thinking about this a bit...

If someone was to ask what the rare old Yamahas are, most people would start talking about YZ360As, MX125Cs, genuine HL500s, etc - and fair enough too, as these bikes were uncommon when new.

But I've been thinking about bikes the everyone talks about like they're 'everywhere', but that you never actually see or hear about.

A couple of months ago, I picked up a MX125A. Talking to multiple wreckers has provided me with absolutely zero parts - not even a hint of anything useful.
So I stopped and thought about how many of these bikes I actually know of. I came up with a grand total of two bikes (mine and Vandy's).... I know the late John Hine (sp?) raced one, but beyond that...
I know of more YZ125As!

What about MX100A/Bs or MX175s?
The first DT125s that are actually re-hashed AT1s?
Etc?

What are the qenuinely rare bikes in 2008?

[firko]

I raced one in the 90's before I got too fat. It must be out there somewhere. They were indeed pretty common back then but unfortunately they weren't competitive and gradually all faded from the scene, replaced with those boring Elsinores.

[DJRacing]

They were indeed pretty common back then but unfortunately they weren't competitive and gradually all faded from the scene, replaced with those boring Elsinores.

Has history repeated??

[vandy010]

i've only ever seen one other "A" model at a meeting and that was a one off.
here at the BMCC meet the other week, i turned up with both my A & B {B is for sale soon} and Brad brought along his C. pretty rare to see those 3 all in the one place at the one time. should'v taken a photo.
AT's are pretty few and far between as well. i'd love to set one up for flat track/road race

[firko]

Part of the problem is that the vintage movement is going through its second generation of racers. The first generation pre '75 guys have probably kept a hold of their bikes thereby causing a current shortage of eligible bikes. AT1s were never common or popular and MX100s were rarely sold so there'd be few today. In the very beginnining of vintage MX back in the late 80's there was a big variety of 125s including TM125s, MX and YZ125a, Bultaco, Husky and the odd Maico or Sachs powered tiddler. It didn't take long for us to realise that the Elsinore was so superior to the rest and that started a gradual depletion of everything but Elsinores in the 125 class. At some meetings, especially dirt track, there would be whole fields of silver Hondas, just like 1974.  Where those non Hondas went is the mystery.

Here's a cool AT1 MX that's currently for sale on Mark Holoways site. It's not as original as it looks though. That looks like CR Honda forks.

[Freakshow]

i like the secret number plate..........

[Colin Jay]

Here is a picture of a fairly rare old Yamaha that a guy I know in Broken Hill owns. He has only just finished the bike early this year after a very lenghty resto where he had to custom make a lot of the parts.  From memory there are a lot of modified Suzuki bits used inside the engine due to the non existance of Yamaha parts



Don't quote me on this, but from memory it is a 1959 YD1 and there are supposedly only a few of these still up and running in the world, I might be wrong with some of the previous as it was January when I took the pick and spoke with Scruffy)

CJ

[mx250]

Here is a picture of a fairly rare old Yamaha that a guy I know in Broken Hill owns. He has only just finished the bike early this year after a very lenghty resto where he had to custom make a lot of the parts.  From memory there are a lot of modified Suzuki bits used inside the engine due to the non existance of Yamaha parts



Don't quote me on this, but from memory it is a 1959 YD1 and there are supposedly only a few of these still up and running in the world, I might be wrong with some of the previous as it was January when I took the pick and spoke with Scruffy)

CJ

"fairly rare old" . Ya kidding me. Does rocking horse poo mean anything .
 
Thats the second one that I know that's been restored. It's a Liberty Yamaha ag bike. Probably the first 'Japanese Ag Bike.

I understand the story is that the SA distributor at the time, Liberty Yamaha, couldn't give away the Yammies so they modified them as ag bikes. What you see is their handiwork. They were only sold in S.A. and weren't an offical Yammy model. Don't quote me but I believe that's the story.

I was amazed that one had survived and restored, and now a second . Great to see - manic dedications . Great resto's, great work and detail.

[vandy010]

Gee, she's a tidy little bike Col,
very nice

[mx250]

P.S.

Yammy period suspension, YDS weight, the rough S.A. outback farms and that tank rack gives a whole new meaning to 'balltearer' .

[YZ360A]

DT2MX and RT2MX.  I've probably seen and owned more yz250a's and b's than these models over the last ten years or so. You never really see them at meets etc.

It's funny though you'll be after a certain model bike for instance yz400c I was after and couldn't find one for years and then all of a sudden you own one and they come out of the wood work.

This same thing is happening at the moment with a boat I'm chasing a Lewis Bros Skiff (you sit down the back) rare as and I'm in negotiation of one in NSW and all of a sudden I've found 3 simalar boats forsale in S.A. So now the decision is now harder to make.

This is a simalar boat I'm talking about.

[paul]

hey adam i had one off those a few years back had a  alumminium buick v8 in it was a crazy thing to drive  the work man ship in the timber was really cool  still had the old race numbers on it 

[YZ360A]

Got any pic's paul.

[paul]

no adam i was a long time ago  i origialy swapped  it for a yx falcon 351 winsor sedan  that had a smokey engine from memory  and it sat in my yard for ages unused ,back in those days it wasnt worth that much  , i would of traded it for something else  so im not sure what happened to it  but  i remember takeing it to eildon or boony doon (when there was water) the thing was a fast little boat but sitting up the back felt funny

[firko]

Adam..My uncle Royce raced a Lewis skiff back in the late 50s-early 60s. It originally had an L head mopar six and then he bought one of Bill Warners speedway Super Modified 283 Chevys, complete with early Hilborn injection and fitted it. He raced it under the name Kerry-Lynn and later raced a string of Everinghams under the same name, mostly all with small block Ford engines. During that time I knew that he'd kept the "wooden boats" as he called them, the Lewis and a Sanger drag hydro he never put inthe water. My uncle died years ago and I lost touch with his family after they moved to Byron Bay in the late seventies while I was living overseas.
I recently spoke to my aunty on the phone and she told me that the boat had been in the shed covered in shit until about 10 years ago when she moved into a nursing home and sold everything. Unfortunately she has no idea who she sold it to and can't remember how much other than "it was hundreds, not thousands!". Sorry mate, no photos.