Just wondering what these bikes are like? They look really light and nimble and good for Taiwan traffic, and I’m assuming that despite being less powerful than RZRs or NSRs, the gearing would be more useful for city traffic? I’ve seen one or two for sale so I’m curious…
They’re bloody ancient is what they are. A neighbour of mine has a mint one, though it must be at least 15 years old. I can’t imagine finding parts for them would be much of a picnic these days.
I had a couple many years back and I loved them.
I rode about a million miles on DT125s growing up, mostly offroad on dirt roads, farm tracks and open bush… in fact an ancient DT125 was the very first motorcycle I ever rode… and crashed… two stroke power band on loose offroad surfaces teaches you a lot about traction, balance, sliding a motorcycle, and picking gravel out of muddy road rash… awesome, indestructible, motorcycling minimalism… The ones we rode were long in the tooth back then and that was almost 20 years ago, I don’t know if Yamaha still makes them even…[EDIT:brief search shows Yam made them up until 2006 at least] If you bought one in TW your only chance for parts would be off breakers and mom & pop dealers in places like Thailand and the Philipines I think… 
this one isn’t mine but it’s almost identical…
I was given a free one that needed some engine work. I checked out every shop I knew around Taoyuan county that worked on more special parts and they all said it is almost impossible to find parts for them in Taiwan, so I said screw it. Probably not worth it, unless you want to find parts yourself on the Internet. I do know a shop in Yingge that will work on anything, and can fix anything. I wish of would of known who they were years ago. They are the best mecahnics I have ever encountered in Taiwan and they are cheap. Let me know if you need a hookup.
Of course, the one Plasmatron pictured isn’t a real one – it lacks the oily workman’s glove snugged over the end of the exhaust pipe. Absolutely de rigeur, don’t you know?
[quote=“sandman”]They’re bloody ancient is what they are. A neighbour of mine has a mint one, though it must be at least 15 years old. I can’t imagine finding parts for them would be much of a picnic these days.
I had a couple many years back and I loved them.[/quote]
There was a modern one released a few years back. Passed emissions tests and all, I think. Learner-legal in the UK, at least until you pulled out a little plug and put it in the other way, whereupon it miraculously gained quite a few more horses.
You realize of course that what you are riding now is nearly the new millunium version of the mid 80’s “cool bike” sans the oily work glove. Don’t forget the front fork seals that you had to change every other month and that impossibly long kickstand that always broke off the frame, the sketchy brakes, the spark plug wire cap that always got wet and managed to stall your bike in the worst possible circumstance…
Did I forget anything? Oh, they looked decidedly cool next to nearly anything else back then. Last year of manufacture in Taiwan was 1983
[quote=“MJB”]
Did I forget anything?[/quote]
The steering head races made from recycled coke cans. Indent after 1000km even when perfectly adjusted and lubed.
Swingarm pivot bolt that seizes solid to the frame after the first exposure to even 10% humidity and takes high heat and big hammers to budge.
Cylinder liner made from soft cast iron. Rebore needed every 5,000km.
Shitty oversize pistons that are made from such poor alloy and are so badly machined that they take 2,000km to run in if you don’t want to seize them.
Exhaust system designed to strangle low rev torque in an effort to make the owner believe the measly 17hp that suddenly arrives at 4,000rpm is in fact 25.
The incredible whine from the primary drive that starts up when the clutch hub bearing wears out. This happens at about 6,000km. You never could buy the bushing itself, so a new clutch drum was the only way to solve this, at nearly the price you paid for the DT in the first place.
The crappy plastic gauge lens that go opaque and yellow after a mere six months in Taiwan’s sun.
The little plastic clips which never quite keep the side panels in place even before they break off, which only takes a hard stare to achieve.
The clutch cables which break once a week.
The amazingly pathetic glow from the headlamp. Even for a trail bike.
Likewise the taillight which is either permanently shorted or the bulb is blown because the battery is dry again.
The ignition coil cunningly placed right where the spray from the front tire is aimed, guaranteeing your rainy day ride will include at least one stop to dry the damn thing off and return sparks to the plug.
The amazing ability of that ignition coil to destroy even the most expensive platinum spark plugs every 2,000km
But yeah. I still miss mine. Had some epic fun on that bike. :happybiker:
those bikes were crazy back then, nice speed and good for off road, i tried the DT-125, DT-175 and XT-350, i loved them all…
Damn! You’d have thought redwagon and MJB, of all people, would have avoided the lemons! I had two, each of which were well-used, neither of which received pretty much anything in the way of maintenance from me and both of which served me very well for a couple of years.
[quote=“redwagon”]
The crappy plastic gauge lens that go opaque and yellow after a mere six months in Taiwan’s sun.
The little plastic clips which never quite keep the side panels in place even before they break off, which only takes a hard stare to achieve.
The amazingly pathetic glow from the headlamp. Even for a trail bike.
The ignition coil cunningly placed right where the spray from the front tire is aimed, guaranteeing your rainy day ride will include at least one stop to dry the damn thing off and return sparks to the plug.
The amazing ability of that ignition coil to destroy even the most expensive platinum spark plugs every 2,000km[/quote]
:bravo: exactly, QFT!.. the engine internals never bothered me, ignorance was bliss, or maybe I had a Japanese built one, but the other niggles above all ring a really loud bell… funny thing is that all those foibles never struck me as anything other than the price of admission, the notion that someone might engineer a trouble free, utterly reliable bike just didn’t cross my mind back then… 
Too bad that you still don’t own one!
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Yes, I’m taking the piss out of the GS’s fabled troubles with shaft drives, fuel pump controllers and other glitches. Yes, I’m a little bit jealous.
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[quote=“redwagon”]Too bad that you still don’t own one!
[/quote]
yeah yeah… actually the GS has been flawless, never skipped a beat… and thinking about it, maybe it was the precedent set by the old DT125 and the long line of other crappy bikes between it and the GS that makes me find that a little, I don’t know, disappointing…
It’s not that I want to have an intermittent but terminal electrical fault at 4am on a rainy winter morning, but the knowledge that should some unholy misalignment of Bavarian stars cause the relentless German efficiency to somehow malfunction in some way, chances are you’d need a diagnostics computer, a heap of special tools and an immaculately trimmed mustache to do anything about it…
hey Plasma, were you up around Puli with a buddy riding two GS’s last weekend? I was driving down from SML to Puli when two GS’s passed in the opposite way going pretty fast in the rain. The rain was so heavy, I didn’t envy the riders.
Nope, wasn’t me… haven’t been out towards Puli in a while…
Besides, none of my buddys can ride one GS let alone two!..
It’s a Bavarian skill. A foot on each saddle, and reins around the throttle. Goes back to the Prussian cavalry.
I had one when I was 17 that my mate found in a stream. I did it up and it was the best bike I ever had. No instruments, no front brake, now worries.
How many bikes can you give to your spotty friends in a field and watch them stack and have a great time? It had so much power, I remember the acceleration in 3rd almost pulling my arms out of the sockets when I cracked it open the first time.
I was spewing at the end, I sold it for 40 quid so I could buy some shoes before I went to uni. That was the biggest mistake of my life.
Having said that, I wouldn’t get one now!
Nicely done sir! 