Yamaha DT

The Yamaha DT is a series of off-road capable motorcycles and mopeds from the Yamaha Motor Corporation, with engines from 50 to 400 cc. It began in the late 1960s, when United States motorcycle sales were weak but Yamaha research found an untapped market for off-road bikes. Few makers other than specialist European firms such as Bultaco and Husqvarna built machines for dirt riding, so owners usually modified road bikes into scramblers by raising the muffler, fitting braced handlebars and adding a bash plate. The first model, the DT-1 of 1968, was a light, slim dual-sport machine with block-pattern tires, good ground clearance, a 250 cc single-cylinder five-port engine based on a motocross design and Ceriani-type front suspension. It sold through its initial run of 12,000 quickly, essentially defining a new market, and the Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan lists the 1968 Yamaha Trail 250 among its 240 Landmarks of Japanese Automotive Technology. A monoshock rear suspension arrived in 1977, giving the MX suffix on model numbers.