Your Collection: 1971 Yamaha Mini Enduro JT1
Sunday, January 27, 2013 | 10:05 AM
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PrintThis weeks collection comes to us from Dennis McCorkle.
My retirement project has been to restore my original 1971 Yamaha Mini Enduro JT1. I won this bike in a contest from a weekly motorcycle newspaper "Motor Cycle Weekly" at a half mile dirt track race at Ascot Speedway in Gardena, CA. This was the second place prize! The paper didn't make it for the long haul but the bike did. I have made training wheels for this bike and my 4 kids and 2 nephews, plus multiple neighbor kids (all adults now) learned to ride.
The first picture is a banner (circa 1960's) from a local Yamaha dealer that burnt down. This banner was salvaged.
Pictures 2-4 showing my bike that I have restored from the ground up. Using all original Yamaha parts.
After a few test rides when I had completed my project, the last picture shows where it now is displayed in my family room. (My wife is not too happy).
- Dennis
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Wow that bike is awesome !!! This was the very first bike I ever rode and learned on, wow that brings back some memories now...
My 1st bike was a 1974 Yamaha Mini Enduro and ironically so was my Dad's (his was new). Sadly we sold mine to my cousins and when they grew out of it they sold it to some friends down the street. The last time I saw it the motor had been ripped out and the carcas was sitting on a hillside.
They are such cool little bikes and shockingly well built. It's nice to see people restoring them to their formar glory.
Man this bike is so cool. This bike built a lot of racer / rider foundations for off road MX racing. I met my best friend when He was riding this bike. Took it back to my garage and tore it down. Put a shorter intake rotary valve, got out the hand grinder
and went to work on ports. Got a cool up pipe and got our groove on to work and modify dirt bikes. But how does this equate with today's new riders? How can they
buy a 4,000.00 entry level mx bike? I saved up like most of guys from the 70's with paper routes, and other entry level jobs....with the current four strokes and their price tag this sport will not grow..or poss die. But this YM PUTS A SMILE ON MY FACE.
Despite the pencil thin frame, shocks, and forks, those bikes were pretty indestructible. I had both the 60 and the 80cc version back in teh day. Probably the most fun I ever had in motorcycles until I grew into the open 2 strokes from the early/mid 80's ... Great job restoring it. It's beautiful.
@ LarryWitmer
Today its called internet porn !!! LOL
Or be a big drug dealer !!! Your case sell Toupee's LOL !!
@ Larry Witmer you said what I was gonna say pretty much! Yes I made my money delivering papers and mowing lawns, Finally my DAD let me use MY MONEY to buy my first dirt bike! I laugh just like you at the Two Tribes stuff when they say I got my first bike under the Christmas tree! I worked and paid for all of my bikes except the ones some people gave me to race. After I showed them I was kinda good.
I don't know what your wife is talking about. That's a perfect place to display the bike.
I too had one back in the day that I shared with my brother. We rode the $hit out of that bike and when we sold it, ran just as good as the day we got. So long ago!
I remember the old days at Ascot racing night motocross, it is almost like another lifetime ago.
The JT1 was my first "real" motorcycle. I actually learned on a Sears Cat minibike.
Pounded the heck outta that Yamaha. Sold it to a friend & he pounded it too. Loat track of it after that. Very cool resto.
You tell your wife that she is LUCKY that you have a family room. 'Cause that bike is worthy of the living room!
After seeing my friends' 71 model;hearing that his Dad thought it was fun to have the air blowing across your face and the mud flying around;and my comments about how cool it would be if you (Dad) and me could go riding together, my Mom (who made $50/wk) decided I should have a nice shiny 72 Mini Enduro. I cried when I received it. I was elated to ride with my Dad on weekends, and it began a love affair with motorcycles and motocross that is as strong today as it was then. (As I circulate the track on my KTM 350).
I still own the original "Desert Orange" '71 just like this one, that my father bought new for my brothers and I. Plus I have 10 others I have picked up just waiting to be restored, every color offered both years now represented in the collection.....I love these little bikes!!
I remember the mini bike class at the local tracks were saturated with these things, Honda SL-70's, those 90cc Kawasaki camper bikes lol. It was "Run what ya Brung". If ya never had a mini enduro (like me), ya wanted one. But my 73 XR75 made up for it lol.
I do believe that this restoration is in the class of "Way Better Than New". I had a Mini Trail and my friend had one of these, and I was beyond jealous, although me and my mini-trail were pretty tight. Being little and riding these little bikes, it seemed like the world was a much bigger place. The hills steeper, whoops were actually a long series of individual jumps, etc. Your restoration is on par with the crown jewels in Buckingham Palace - your wife really needs to gain some perspective. My plan is to move my restored 1970 Bultaco 250 Pursang into the living room as a focal point/chair, so tell her to be happy she married you instead of some nut like me!
Nice! this was also my first bike. A neighbor had lost his in the deep end of the family pool and left it there for a few days before telling his parents. He ended up giving it to me in a bourbon box all in parts with the piston rusted and stuck in the cylinder. My brothers friend helped me put it back together so that I could ride. The whole experience basically shaped my life. I learned how to ride work on motors all in a summer.
Right on !
I have one in my garage that has never been riding.
Dad the bike looks great, I have never seen it look so good. Even after I broke parts on it learning to ride it, jump it and pop wheelies. Congrats on finishing it. Looks good where it sits. Too bad being up there it will never be riden again. I am sure in 2 years when Brody is 4, same age I was when you taught me, he would want to ride it at least once. Again looks good Dad, good job.