Vintage Enduros

Acolytus

Acolytus

Member
#1
#1
Hey guys, I know this is not necessarily about "mini bikes", but it's still resembles them in a way. Sooner or later I'm looking into buying a vintage enduro bike of some type. I want a vintage bike for a few reasons: 1) They are very durable and they were practically made to be bulletproof. 2) There are a very large variety of bikes to choose from. 3) Most of them came with a head light, tail light, blinkers, mirrors and gauges (speedometer and sometimes a tachometer). 4) Those bikes hold a fairly steady value and have lots of potential. 5) If equipped with the lights and all, they can be made street legal. 6) All of those vintage enduros look very sleek and just classic.

I have been doing research on some of them and have found them very interesting and just intriguing in general. Seems like all of them came with 2-stroke engines too, though I'm a 4-stroke engine fan myself. I'm not talking bad about 2-stokes because those things pop wheelies without a sweat. Depending on what type of enduro you get, the rarity of the parts are different for every bike and manufacturer. I really don't want to get a newer enduro because they can be pricey and I question the quality of these newer ones since they are never made like they used to be.

I'm still learning more about these, but I have some questions about them too, along with opinions about them. Which is the better manufacturer of enduro to buy- Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki or Yamaha? I'm taking about just like performance, options (lights, mirrors, gauges, etc), price-wise too- relatively inexpensive and easy to maintain/repair. Also is there another place where I can browse/buy one (besides Craigslist), like an auction or something? Well, I think that's all I have to say for now about these enduros so if anyone know something about these bikes please reply, or send me a private message. Thank you!
 
bville

bville

Member
#2
#2
The enduro of yesteryear are the dualsports of today.Honda had the sl and xl in 4 stroke.I see them on ebay.Yamaha had the ever popular dt a 2 stroke.I have a new crf250l Honda at the present time,but have had many different bikes over the years.If you want to find out more go to adv rider they have an old school section.They are all good pick one up and fix to your needs and wants.
 
maverick1

maverick1

Active Member
#3
#3
I am partial to the old 2 stroke Yamaha enduro's but would feel good with any of the big 4 brands. There are a couple really good forums on the net for the Yamaha's. The 2 strokes are simple and easy to work on. Besides the Yamies the Honda Elsinore were some bad azz bikes.
 
Tom S.

Tom S.

#5
#5
Acolytus said:
...Sooner or later I'm looking into buying a vintage enduro bike of some type...
Click to expand...
Do it sooner rather than later. :laugh:

If you like four-strokes, stick with Honda. They are the most plentiful, which makes it easier to find a nice one, and they're still generally well supported by the OEM and aftermarket. The same is true of Yamaha, if you decide to get a 2-stroke. Suzuki and Kawasaki make fine bikes but there are fewer of them out there to chose from and they don't seem to have aged as well. I own examples of all four Japanese brands plus a couple of Euro ones. It's hard to go wrong with a late-70s/early-80s Honda XL 250/350/500/600. In the Honda dirt bike world, XL means street legal, and XR means off-road only. CR-F means it's newer than you're looking for.

I think the most important thing is to buy the best one you can afford. There are mountains of tired old dirt bikes out there, and if you get a project bike you might find that fixing it up costs more than it's worth when you're done. If you shop carefully, you'l see that the price diff between a nice one and a crappy one isn't all that great. Beware of bikes that are modified with lots of aftermarket parts.

Regardless of the brand, some parts might be hard to find. Some of the Hondas have chain guide blocks that wear out and have been discontinued. A lot of these bikes used sealed-beam headlamps. They will often run with a dead battery, but if you do, it will burn out the headlamp and they don't sell new ones anymore. An NOS headlamp bulb can cost $100 or more, so be careful.

You'll find lots of good info here at the Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Owners Group forum:

The Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Owners Group

It's not as busy a site as OldMiniBikes, but the people there are friendly and helpful, and there is classifieds section.

Oh, and the part about not building them as good as they used to? I disagree. Every brand-new dirt bike I've purchased has been better than the last one. I'm always amazed that they can still find room for improvement.

I've been hungry for a two-stroke, and recently bought this '78 Yamaha DT400. I haven't run it yet. It's been sitting indoors for a long time, and will need a battery, new air filter, etc., before I start it, but it really seems to have no serious needs or damage. It cost quite a bit less than $1,000.

 
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