Couple of 70s (history) questions

KXKen

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Jan 6, 2001
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What was the first year of the YZ monoshock?
What was the first year YZs where yellow?
What was the first year of the CR monoshock?
What was the first year CRs where red?
What was the last year for the Suzuki TM?
What was the last year Yamaha made the white Dirt Bike that wasn't a YZ and what did they call it?
 

DesertDog

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Jan 14, 2001
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The first year production mono shock was 1975, the pre production, was 1974 works bike.
1976 was the first yellow yz I believe.
I believe the white dirt bike was a mx175
 

KXKen

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Jan 6, 2001
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I believe there was a whole line of white yamaha MX bikes. I remember my friend having an Mx100 in (aprox.) 1977
 

TUCKER330

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Dec 8, 2000
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The 1975 yz line was yellow, but the 74 models were white. The 1975 MX line was white. There were a few post 1975 works bikes that were white. I think the TT line was the last Yamaha availible in white that was not a YZ. I dont think that the CR went to the the PRO-LINK until the early 80's. The early elsinores were silver until about 1975.
 

erblr

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Jun 1, 2000
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early bikes

1st crs:(elsinores) 73 250 silver with green stripe on center of tank
74 250,125 silver with green stripe on tank (identical)
75 250,125 silver with red stripe on tank
76 250,125 red everywhere, moved up shocks
77 250,125 same with red fork boots
78 250,125 radically different. black seat, longer travel
:think
 

erblr

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Jun 1, 2000
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75 mx 125

I have a 75 mx 125 (white tank with black and red) thatI am restoring to sell.All I need is a throttle cable ,baffle and a front number plate... It is all original, right down to the finned shock bodies.
 

johnnymoto

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Nov 9, 2000
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Man I remember seeing the first 125 monoshock in our area. The 125 class at the time was really the cr 125 class because they were the thing then. This van pulled in practice early from Humble Yamaha in the Houston area, we thought this was odd being in Texarkana,Arkansas. We expected some funky little YZ's but they rolled out a white 125 monoshock. The paint may have been their own color instead yamaha. I had a cr 250 at the time and had ridden my friends cr 125 early in practice but when I saw the monoshock I new the 125 class would never be the same. All of a sudden the feather light and paper thin, tricked out hondas didn't look so exotic. When the monoshock to took to the track for practice it seemed like it was the only bike out there, everybody was watching it. It was sleek,fast and trick. I guess it didn't hurt that the kid was lightening fast too. It seemed like the rest of the 125 class just gave up that day because he smoked'um big time. At the end of the day we all knew we had been a part of the changing history of motocross in the 70's. It did impact everyone because the next year I was on a yellow tanked YZ 360 monshock. With a short stroke engine and a close ratio trans it was like riding a sam missle with a short fuse. That is another story in itself.
 

BBB

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Jul 10, 2000
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I had a brand new '75 MX400b and I was told it was the first production monoshock bike line. My friends all thought the monoshock was mega kewl in those daze and thier laying down Moto-X-Fox shocks werent as cool as my mono-look. ;) I think Yamaha had a few prototype YZ monoshocks in testing the year before.
 

BBB

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Jul 10, 2000
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I have done lots of research on this, and I realize DeCarbon did alot of work on this design in the early 70s, but best I can find, the first monoshock bike was a Scorpion.



Scorpion 1951-56 (and 1963-65?) - offroad machines.

Scott Founded by Alfred Angas Scott, who patented an early form of caliper brakes in 1897, a fully triangulated frame, rotary induction valves, unit construction and more. He patented his first engine in 1904. Started production in 1908 with patented triangulated frame and vertical-twin two-stroke. Very innovative company created the first kickstart, monoshock rear ends, efficient radiators and rotary inlet valves. They offered drip-feed lubricators and centrestands in 1914, as well as designing unit-construction engines, friction-band clutch and twin pannier gas tanks.



Source:

IAN CHADWICKS TRIUMPH PAGE
 

dirt bike dave

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May 3, 2000
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BBB - the manufacturer's name was Scott. I think Scorpion might have been the model name of their off-road bike.

Scott named his bikes after animals. I believe the Scott Flying Squirrel road bike was a two stroke, water cooled, mono-shock that was built well before the 50's. I've got a reference encyclopedia published in England featuring all the old British brands, and Scott was well ahead of its time with many innovative features.
 

BBB

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Jul 10, 2000
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You are correct, I wrote that out incorrectly, sorry. If anyone knows of anything prior to this inventor, please let me know.

I am unsure whether this source is correct, but here is some older Yamaha info:

OLD YZ INDENTIFICATION
 

KXKen

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Jan 6, 2001
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I thought that pre yellow YZs where silver. I also thought that the first monoshock was a silver YZ. I might be wrong but that's how I remember it. I don't remember YZs being white. I know MXs where white but I don't remember YZs being white until after they where yellow. The CR guy sounded right on. Also the TM guy sounded right.
 

OnAnySunday

Big Pig
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Nov 20, 2000
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lost in the deserts of NM
Yamaha's YZ line has had a bit of a "what color do i want to be this year" complex. :)
The originals were silver (the ones -w- the tank strapped to the frame).
Mid 70's went with yellow. (all YZ's should STILL be yellow as far as i'm concerned)
Early / mid eighties went -w- white -w- red seats. then pink. then purple.
Then mid 90's changed to purple/blue, and now blue.

The first year for all red CR's was 1976.
 

mopowa

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Dec 6, 2000
75
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I thought the yz line started in 75. I had a yellow 74mx100 that I think was the moto bike. with the intro of the yz the mx became a white detuned trail
bike and the yz was for moto.
 

xrsforever

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Nov 2, 2000
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I had a new 72 green tank yamaha MX 100,with a down pipe. This was the FIRST year for true MX's for Yamaha. Before this you got a European bike, Penton,CZ,Husky, Maico etc.. or a DT Yamaha and started taking things off. Like fenders, lights,etc...:D
 

HGilliam

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Nov 20, 2000
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I had a 1969 Yamaha AT1 enduro that I sold to buy a 1970 AT1MX. The AT1MX was a purpose built MX racer based on the Enduro line. It had a different cylinder, pipe, head, carb, ignition and a close ratio gear box. Later I put this motor in a Rickman Metisse rolling chassis and had the first good handling dirtbike I ever owned.

The first monoshock Yamaha I ever saw was in late 1973. I went to the last two Grand Prixs in europe and watched Hakan Anderson race the factory proto types in Sweden and Austria. The next year the silver tank/leather strap YZ's showed up for sale at all the Yamaha shops.By this time I had been riding Husky's for two years and never went back to the japanese bikes. All I remember about the YZ's was fragile and expensive!

Howard
 

mxkid

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Jun 6, 2000
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Sorry about that! The 1981 CR125/250/450R's & XR200/250/500R's had single shock suspension. All of the smaller 1981 CR/XR's had dual shocks. Not sure about the XL line, but I think the larger models got single shocks in 1982.

RJ
 

KXKen

Member
Jan 6, 2001
535
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Thanks for all of your posts guys. This stuff is kind of cool to think about sometimes. I'm glad that somebody else out ther had enough interest to respond.
 
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