Description
Additional photos of this Yamaha YZ250 are available here for your perusal.
The Yamaha YZ is one of the most iconic names in MX – as Dirt Bike Magazine put it, “the history of the Yamaha YZ250 is the history of motocross in America. No other machine was the platform for so many world-shaking innovations. The list of firsts goes on and on: reed valves, single-shock suspension and power valves all started with the Yamaha. There’s no telling what the history of motocross would look like if not for the YZ250 and the people behind it. But it certainly would be very, very different.”
In 1978, Yamaha debuted an all-new version of its YZ250 which got a new motor, frame, and suspension.
This example is VIN: 2X4004803.
There is no odometer, true mileage is unknown.
“I bought the bike from the original owner’s son. He said that his mom bought this bike for his dad in Christmas of 1978. His dad rode it a couple of time on their property near Redding, California, and he was allowed to ride it once, and then it was put in a shed and basically forgotten about. Fast forward 30+ years, the bike was brought down to Las Vegas and sold as-is. It was dirty and the plastics were very faded, but underneath that was a very intact bike. I had the original tank and gas cap polished and brought back to life.”
“All the little bits and pieces were there, such as the fork cap and the front brake cable guide that keeps the cable from getting tangled in the bars.”
“The bike was then stripped down and cleaned. The tank was polished and the rest of the plastics were replaced, and the number plates were painted on like back in the day, instead of using sticker backgrounds.”
“The seat was recovered. the fork bellows were replaced.”
“The chain was rusted and it was replaced, but the sprockets were not.”
“The original tires looked good, but were rotted and needed to be replaced.” It is riding on IRC Volcanduro tires with date codes of 0318 and 1918.
“One of the chain rollers was damaged and we had a new one printed on the USAF Thunderbirds parts printer.”
“Fork and shock seals were replaced.”
“The pipe was rusted and not salvageable, so an aftermarket pipe was made. The engine was disassembled and reassembled with new seals, bearings and gaskets. We had to replace the airbox boot.”
“We also got new graphics. Everything else is original. The wheels were not straightened, they were perfect. The original DID stickers are still on the rims. The Kayaba sticker from the factory is still on the forks. The swingarm was not painted, it was cleaned. The carb was cleaned. The bike was not started after it the motor was reassembled. No gas was put into the tank after it was polished. I have the original title, and I tracked down the original owner. He wanted to come see the bike, and was interested in reacquiring it and said he was coming to Las Vegas for business and would stop by and see it, so I held on to it. But then when he got here, he said he was too busy to come by, so now I’m selling it.”
Cosmetic Blemishes: please see the album up top for all known cosmetic blemishes. Here is a selection:
Inside of the tank:
The sale includes “one spare side panel, an original one, that I had kept to show condition of the original plastics, and I had thought about polishing it, but I knew it wouldn’t match the rest of the body work. So its just there for general purposes.”
The seller sums up his bike by saying, “it’s the cleanest YZ I have seen. It was not ridden at all. This is the one I kept out of my collection when I sold the rest of my dirt bike collection to someone. But its time to streamline my life a little and sell some of this stuff off.” Currently located at our facility in Santa Monica, California (please make an appointment for an inspection), this Yamaha is offered on the original California title from 1979. Have any YZ250 stories or questions about this listing? Let us know in the “Comments” tab!
