My first bike was a brand new 1987 Yamaha DT50. Over 30 years later and I still smile when i think of it. The freedom that bike bought me as teenager. Aaaahhh the days!!
I had a DT50 in the early 90`s (70km/h but my parents didn`t now it was a little faster 😂). Black-Red. I loved this bike. Time of my life. I had a GSR600 and a XjR1300 after - but my best times had with my DT50
My first bike back in 1997 was a DT50(actually owned two for about 2 decades) and boy it taught me so much about bikes. One thing I hated is the 2-stroke build-up in the exhaust as this really hamper the performance of this little 50 as time passes by. And watch the heat when venturing off road as this will shorten the life of the 50cc power plant. One if not the best ever 50cc.
I had one of these as my second bike after my Yamaha FS1E was stolen! It was in 1988, it was a grey import into the UK from Japan and was absolutely bloody brilliant, I loved it. I rode it vast distances as well, for a 16 year-old on a 50! SO nice to see one of these up and running and in such amazing condition.
Did you have a preference between this and the FS1E? I'm currently weighing up buying one or the other (I'm in Mauritius so the price is similar for both).
Usually with 50cc dirtbikes or Scooters is that they are restricted. Not only restricted but also sometimes the boring of the cylinder is way smaller. With these 50cc Mopeds the boring is usually around 40 to 42.5mm, no restrictors either, causing them to be much faster than expected from a 50cc.
This was my very first bike I bought with my own money I made working when I was 11yrs old, I absolutely loved that thing and rode it absolutely everywhere, streets(legally of course 😅), trails, dirt, miles and miles each time I took it out.....sure it wasn't fast, but it sounded cool with that little 2-stroke and it was quick enough to keep up with traffic 😂
Great to see someone give it full send like I used to mine all the time....I had the exact same colour and remember selling it eventually 35 000 ks later for more than we paid.
I've got one too same colour combinations just the EU edition since 1996 and will be forever the one ❤️. You have an stonishing bike please do believe me.
here in portugal a lot of people install a 100cc big bore kit as well as 16 inches wheels, and make those things not only look amazing, but also make them go as fast as 160km/h, that's about 100 mph
@Shield Liger pls, my DT is around 70cc and it does atleast 110km , its using just a 19mm carb , modified eletric , firebox exausht , und 13/44 , go search Baracing and see a 100cc doing almost 40hp ,
it was 1995 when I ride from a friend this little beast.i remember my hands paralysed from the acceleration ..I was a 15 year old kid ..😅😅ahhh memories..
We had the air cooled DT50 in the uk back in the 80s and 90s it only reached around 35-38mph, we did have the 125lc which we could ride at age 17 though 🙂
I had the same with golden rims. DT50MX. red/white. awesome moped. in Germany it was cylinder-aircooled. What we here see, is a DT80 with a 50ccm Motor, thats amazing, not available in Europe. Strange but cool.
ja die dt80 ist quasi baugleich mit der dt50lc. Damals war aber der 80cc hype höher, (da sie in der versicherung unverschämt günstig waren) bis die ganzen jugendlichen zuviele unfälle hatten. dadurch wurde die 80er versicherung dann unbezahlbar und die leute sind auf 50er und 125er umgestiegen alles mit Führescheinklasse 3 (heute b)fahrbar gewesen
If you're looking for more power, Finland and Sweden has amazing mods for bikes like these. You can basically do what ever you want. If you really wanna go all out you can even turn it into a 70cc.
I was just looking into removing the snorkel and jetting the carb. I wish I could find a good pipe with the stock routing, to keep it away from the ground.
@@EreksonJ Well there's a few different websites. Trimbutiken.se Rinab.nu Skoterdelen.com Rexxysmopeder.se There's more websites then that but you should be able to find some good modifications for it. If you do put our your money and install the parts properly the 50cc's can get up to 80-90 kmh.
@@EreksonJ Not alot more if you already doing 85 to be honest. With proper tuning it can go up to about 140 though. That's with like a 86CC Cylinder a new pipe etc...
This bike was designed as a European moped for the cold of Europe note the heated carburetor they are usually sold in what they call the dirt package to the USA headlight all the charging system but no taillights or turn indicators only made this model for two years
@@EreksonJ I've seized up the bottom end on a few two strokes wierd fact the top end seizes when it's hot outside I've trashed three bottom ends in the cold so if you ride any distance in the cold hook it back up about the foot peg when I got the bike it had a dent in the tank no gauges I'm sure they were broken off the rear wheel was trashed some body jumped it the peg snapped off on landing glad it wasn't me the older gauge set I put on gos to 80mph even though it won't go that fast the low compression is good for a high revving engine it will run great on the shittiest gas I use Yamaha race lubes 35 to one mix one step hotter plug you'll have to clean your tail pipe assembly once in a while because the muffler parts will accumulate oil and it gets louder for some wierd reason the sound of this bike sends the deer running and I rejected the carb has much lower end power now the front sprocket12t to much 10 to little try 11t what about the light to let you know your kick stand is down cool huh
@@EreksonJ also except for and old bultaco this is the smoothest suspension on county dirt roads I've ever owned floats across washboard like a caddy and the best drum brakes I've ever used when I bought mine they thought. It needed a new top end because of the 6.5 to one compression so I got a new piston and stuff in the deal even though the bike was very low mileage you can start it with your hand brand new once agian I'll mention that the low compression is intended and let's you run this bike at close to red line all day without blowing it enjoy it if you find a replacement led head light let me know that brake light is a real headlight killer and it's way to easy to out ride your headlight beam I can't go over 20mph at night safely
In case your wondering because of the right footpeg snapping off on the previous owner I had to replace the gauges with ones from an earlier air cooled dt
A good friend of mine has a Yamaha DT 50 R 1989 5 speed (first year of the german model) originaly it is extremly restricted to ~50km/h to be considerd as a moped under german law and be sold as one but with a few simpel upgrades like a bigger carb (16mm->17,5mm), an aftermarket sports ehxhaust and a bigger gear in the front it easily goes 90km/h, extremly fun to ride because it's power is pretty easy to control but still enough to rip through the woods
That's like a step above a Honda spree or Yamaha Razz. And to try and ride it on trails, it's probably okay as long as you're on hard packed dirt and FLAT ground, cause I can't imagine it would have enough power to go up a hill that's any steeper than about a 25° angle.
Man here in Portugal we say that those are mythical, and we just kit that thing out whit 100cc engine no lights no speedometer only some handlebars levers and grips, almost no plastics. It's so light that whit only that 100cc 2stroke engine the wheel comes of the the ground on EVERY GEAR!
goodlife 4ever I think those are the am6 engined ones. Not the Yamaha w17. I’m about to get the older and it doesn’t look like there is much tuning support.
@@paulc43 he is talking about dt lc with the square cylinder, am6 comes in dt50r and dtx 50, dt lc is the one with square cylinder, here in Portugal they are very tunable and some reach about 160 kmh (100 mph)
Just got one about a year ago and trying to get it right for my 15-year-old son. Done a bunch to it but wondering why it likes to run close to the red on temp? Someone who might have owned one would be able to tell me please please
do you know what sprockets you have on in. you seem to get a little more top than mine. also curious how your taller gears do in stop and go???? thanks
I had one same 88 model my dad got for me wen I woz 16 wen got my 50 cc bike license with dads signature 😂😂😂greek Law’s if you still have it find proma exhaust front to back or leovince you will see a lot more of power change the chain sprockets 13 front 48 back and enjoy 👍
Had the honda mt50 (snail)Not bad..luckily it siezed so got the honda mbx 50..the difference in speed.was amazing..super fast.100kmh no problem.Super dt 50.
Is this a constant mesh transmission? Dont know what constant mesh means but I do know that you can shift them without the clutch, which is why I'm wondering :)
I own the same bike starts every time love it don't off road a lot or jump it right foot peg needs a gusset. mine will do 65mph at 5500 ft in altitude don't mess with the compression instead concentrate on your jetting to get more power
@@martijnvrieling538 are you in america just about any yamaha dealer can get the majority of engine and other parts like cables and stuff if you need a gas tank or a fender or something like that they are a little harder to find I've seen several parts bikes on e bay maybe Craig's list
@@martijnvrieling538 that's all the info they gave haven't looked myself. Like I said before I have had no problem finding engine parts and stuff like swingarm bushings cables levers. And stuff like that from yamaha good luck being in europe your chances of finding major parts should be much easier as the majority of these bikes were sold in europe good luck and as I mentioned before I'll be glad to help with any tips I'm not an expert but I've learned
@@martijnvrieling538 ps the biggest mistake is believing it has no compression at 6.5 to 1 you can start it with your hand it's this low compression ratio that allows such high rpm and it runs the best on low grade petrol
also, what does yours idle at when warm? mine is idling at about 3k rpms... you think carb issue? this is my first 2 stroke anything besides a weedeater. lol
You can easily adjust the idle on these. I did have the idle set at around 1k RPM but now I have it set higher - around 3k RPM. I did this to make it quicker to bring the RPMs up to accelerate when the traffic light turns green. The only down side to having such a high idle is I've noticed it starts to build heat when I'm not moving.
Hey im from sweden and i have a dt 50 too but in sweden they only do 30kmh so i wonder what mm is the carburator and what cc is the cylinder Is yours? Pls answer soon
I decided to keep it stock. It's such a rare bike and it's so clean, I'd hate to do anything irreversible to it. I did do just w couple things though... The carb is heated from the engine coolant. I deleted that just to make tuning the carb more simple. I also removed the airbox snorkel and jetted the carb for my elevation. I didn't notice much of a difference though, except the throttle response improved when I tuned the carb. Otherwise, I'm just enjoying it for what it is.
@Daniel Lee Hi, I installed an FMF pipe (get the one for Yamaha YZ 80 1986) on mine with a Procircuit 304 silencer. You will need to cut the manifold from the original stock pipe and weld onto the FMF. The original FMF pipe manifold needs to be cut and tossed. Take it to a pro exhaust shop have them set it up for you . Also add a Kehin 20mm carb with a UNI pod air filter. I can send pictures of my bike just text 808 352 4687 title yamaha DT 50. Happy to help you.
i never knew they existed either. just picked up a 1990 with 1500 miles. rins and rides great. actually rode it about 40 miles home from where i bought it
Hey folks. I bought (traded my Seca 650 even) 1989 DT50/LC in bumblebee in 1991 as a new leftover from my lifelong dealer. I've had it in service since then and instead of bragging how little milage, it's time to exclaim the 10,371 miles on it now. The head's never been off, so that's original rings and bore etc. If you average a 10 mph speed that's around ONE THOUSAND HOURS of use. There isn't a rattly YSR 50 in existence which can claim this, I'm betting. I pour over overpriced YSR ads and rarely is there one even approaching 4k miles with out some YZ 80 motor replacement. I've geared it taller with a one tooth countershaft sprocket and have had to replace the seized and cracked swing arm on the cheap from eBay. The frame also rotted in front and I had a local legend welder do an incredible fabrication. I'm on like my 5th exhaust pipe. The factory replacements were made of real rottable steel stock and am better off on eBay acquiring OEM but rusty ones. I even got a 63 in a 45 mph speeding ticket on the thing. Fun fact: These were the ONLY completely street legal liquid cooled two stroke enduro ever sold, of any make or displacement in the USA. More features than the XTs; tachometer, 6 speed, monoshock and real, instead of goofy scoops on an air cooled dinosaur, liquid cooling.
I am 12 and my grandpa got me one of these 1988 Yamaha DT 50 liquid cooled and mine in the past has been beaten to Hell it has 58,000 Miles and there’s only one blinker that’s still on it one of the mirrors is missing and the speedometer Cable is for some reason not on the bike
Go online yamaha OEM parts if in he USA you will find most parts. I have a white gas tank Yam DT 50LC can sell it. Reply by text here 808 362 4687 Yam DT 50 . Great bikes take care of it.
Don't install a big bore on your DT, it is pretty fast for a 50cc and I think that it is enough for a bike of his size, also, big bores reduce reliability and the brakes won't be enough to stop you if you're going faster than 55 mph. It's my opinion, don't judge me. Ps: If you keep your DT stock it will increase the sale price a lot.
I don't think your size would matter too much, they have long seats so you can sit pretty much however you want. Weight could be a problem though since the engine is so small and the bike itself is already kinda heavy...
I had a rd50 my best mate had a dt50. I absolutely smoked him on the straights. He could pull 42mph mine was good for 45🤣 so much freedom for a 16 year old. Treasured memories
I think I found it, thanks! I'm trying to figure out what is compatible. It looks like the sweedish bike got liquid cooling in 1998. This bike is a 1988. I wonder if the parts fit?
In Sweden the Yamaha DT50 50cc have 1hp 30-35kmh topspeed and 3speed. No wounder why people tune them up with a 50cc 5,5hp or the 60-70cc and bigger 20-24mm carb and intake
It would be pretty hard or even impossible for someone in japan really. The DT50 was only sold in europe and some other countries. Here in scandinavia, there a lot of these, but the mx and mx2 editions as well. I have a DT50 mx2 which i recently got from my dad.
@@lehypaheroo1991 I usually see them for sale from 750€-1800€. But those are the ones in relatively good conditon. There are a lot of trashed/rusty ones, which are tuned and totally illegal to ride, for around 300€.
Yamaha dt 50 mx is very sensitive for high rpm, dont do it to much, otherwise your compression will go down fast!! Then you need a new cilinder, wich you won't find.
Hey, just wanted to tell you that, because it's a 2-stroke, don't engine break! The piston won't get proper lubrication (if it injects the oil into the carburator). BTW, i also have a DT50, but it's just newer. Mine is from 2008.
Someone Youdontknow that’s only with bikes that run premix oil injected you can engine break all you want since the oil is injected without the gas but with premix when you engine break there is no oil lubricating the piston I have an rm 125 and run premix and I don’t engine break
