DT250 vs. YZ250 Parts

[Succubus]

I recently acquired a '75 Yamaha DT250 that I want to get running. The motor seems to be complete, but I'm missing a bunch of body parts, like the oil and gas tanks, seat, fenders, front forks need replacing, CDI, coil etc. Can anyone tell me how much compatibility there is between the DT250 and the YZ250 from the same year or same era? Parts for these old bikes can be difficult to find and if te parts from the other model will also fit my bike I will have a greater ranges of possibilities. Thanks, in advance, for your help.

 

[Joeschmo]

go to yamaha-motor.com then go to the parts catalog for both of those bikes and check the parts numbers or you can maybe tell if there different right from there

hope i helped

 

[2stroke]

Its been my experience that the YZs were always a few years ahead of the DTs generally speaking. For body parts and electrical, Id try other DTs like the 400.

75 and 76 were pretty much the same on the 250 and 400 enduro models...minor changes in 77 as the mono shock finally came to the DT. (Motor cases were different too) Before in '74, the 250/360 motors were a good bit different.

In any case, as for body and electrical your best sources would be 75,+ 76 DT250/ DT400..... Im not sure how the engine parts would cross between the 250 and 400 though.

I dont think you will find much that crosses directly from the YZ line, although I cant say for sure cause I never tried.
I sort of ran into this situation myself...Ive got a '76 DT400 and I bought a '77 DT400 and it turned out not to be a good source of parts....I did find, however, that the MX400 engine parts from '75 were all interchangeable with my '76 DT.

One other thing I found out in my tinkering with old Yammys...the '74 360 bottom end is quite a bit different than the '75/76 400s...

What I am doing is building what will be a '76 DT with a full '75 MX powertrain. (for vintage MX)
What are you planning on? street?

 

[Succubus]

Not street. This old bike will never run on the street - at least not except for the occasional test drive while I get it up and running. I plan on dirt and trail only. The lights are gone, all the electrics are pulled except for what it needs to fire the plugs. This is for my son. I rebuilt a '74 Suzuki TS250 earlier his year for me and my teen now wants one of his own to ride in the hills with me. I see this as kind of a comparison test that should have been done back in 1975. Thanks for your responses. I have found the Yamaha site very helpful. A lot of the DT400 does appear to transfer. The 250 and 400 for each year, in fact, are usually on the same parts fiche. I really haven't found much from the YZ that looks like it will work. The handlebars are the same, for instance, and the clutch handle is the same, but the clutch perch has a slightly different number. Go figure. I am a bit confused about reading Yamaha part numbers. They usually start with a three digit number, followed by a five digit number, then two two digit numbers. I'm pretty sure that one of those last two digits numbers is a color code. The five digit number is often the same between models and close years, but the three digit number is often different. Anybody know what the first three digits represent and which number rules? Am I safe in assuming that if the five digit number matches then the part is compatible and the first three digits only represent the year?

Thanks, y'all.