Like most of us who are now charter members of the big "Five-O-plus" club, we tend to get weepy and nostalgic for the 'good old days'. Like pining for motorcycles we had in our misspent youth. In my case, the bug hit last spring after thumbing through the latest issue of the Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club (VJMC) magazine. For the first 14 years of my motorcycle experience, I rode Yamaha’s and Kawasaki’s exclusively. Probably the main reason for this choice was there were dealers in my area. Thinking back, I remembered the very first motorcycle I purchased new.  

I was 17 years old and that bike was a 1971 Yamaha RT1-B 360cc Enduro. Yes, folks, the term “enduro” mean street/trail long before the dual-sport moniker came to be known.

I mowed lawns and working on a dairy all summer for the $200 down, subtracted from the $995 purchase price. The sticky part was coming up with the rest. My father had the solution; “I'll co-sign a loan for you, but you have to get a steady job to pay off the balance.”  Although I didn't realize it then, he was also trying to teach me about financial responsibility and how to establish good credit. Well, I received the loan, purchased the bike and landed a gig washing dishes at a local restaurant every Friday and Saturday night for the next two years. Tough duty for a skinny, 17-year old, but I was also one of the few high-school kids with a brand new motorcycle!


Fast forward to now: I checked around locally and most of the RT1-B’s I found were rode hard and put away wet. Beaten and neglected. Although they also made a MX (motocross) version of the RT1-B, many stock bikes were converted and raced and naturally, thrashed without mercy. After much searching, I finally found a running example on eBay in the LA area, but then started “hand-wringing” about whether I really need it or not, etc. I had precious little spare room in my garage, but my cousin Paul in upstate New York stepped up to the plate and graciously offered to have it shipped it to him. When it arrived, he began the restoration process.   

As luck and timing would have it, my now freshened up RT-1B was completed just in time to make the popular AMCA/VJMC sponsored Rhinebeck Super Extravaganza Weekend at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds. A long running event, it consists of vintage motorcycle displays, trucks, tractors, an auction, a swap meet, etc. I booked the tickets and informed my family and friends in New York about my homecoming tour.

A brief comment about the mechanical abilities of my cousin Paul is in order. He is one of those guys who can fix and repair anything, not just motorcycles. Paul has restored WWII era trucks, Jeeps and rebuilt/restored many 60’s-70’s era Camaros, Chevelles and Corvettes. Knowing my Yamaha was in good hands, I had no doubt my RT-1B would be sorted and ready to rock when I arrived.

The time spent getting the bike ready included sourcing all kinds of parts from eBay, “The Bike Bandit”, and several other vintage motorcycle sources. The bike ran fine when it arrived at Paul's house, but like most vintage motorcycles it needed some TLC. By email and phone, Paul patiently guided me through the process, all the while trying to remain cost effective. It’s the little things that are challenging, I discovered, and things like an original air-box cover can be as rare as hen’s teeth. But with patience, these too can be found.

Other items were impossible to find -like tank badge emblems- so we found and purchased some re-pops. The same for period tires and in my case, the original rim size was critical to the fitting. Things like footpeg rubbers, OEM turn signals, the speedometers and tachometer were surprisingly easy to find. They say the money being made on eBay today is “parting-out” vintage bikes, and on any given day, some 2,000 items were listed for the RT1-B alone. Pretty amazing when you think about it, and so easy with PayPal! Just a few clicks and items were shipped from all over the country back to my cousin’s garage in upstate New York.

A year went by quickly, and I was excited to finally fly back and see the results of his work. I was really happy with the result and it felt good to ride that model Yamaha again after 38 years. One thing that struck me was how light and fast it was!  

The next morning, we loaded up his 1975 Yamaha 250 DT2 Enduro and my newly refurbished Yamaha and headed for the VJMC booth at fairgrounds. We had fun bopping around and we proudly displayed both bikes, which looked great together. We received a lot of compliments and comments about both. A look at the photos here and one can clearly see these are two very cool vintage Yamaha enduros from a past era.

There are a few minor touches I think we need to do to complete the bike to my satisfaction. It needs some new seat foam and a muffler insert, as I don’t remember it being so loud – especially for a two-stroke!  I would also like to re-paint the tank, as there are some small dimples that annoy me and take away from the lines of the rest of the bike. Heck, maybe I'll spring for a set of sprockets and a new chain too. This will come all in good time. Paul has registered and insured the bike, and I told him to ride it and enjoy it for the time being. Of course, now I have a perfect excuse to make an annual pilgrimage back to my home town, visit with cousin and go for a vintage ride!

So, in the end, the rewards for taking on and completing such a project far outweighs the financial cost. Besides, another vintage motorcycle is now happily running and back in circulation. JJ Cerilli