There is no doubt that dual-sport bikes were a great idea, but which manufacturer came up with the idea first is open to debate. For younger classic enthusiasts, Yamaha with their DT1 was the first to offer a machine specifically intended to have a dual purpose--on and off-road. But others would argue that some of the earliest motorcycles were built to go on either streets with asphalt surfaces, or off-road on grass or dirt (it should be remembered that when motorcycles became popular in the early 1900s, there were few purpose-built roads available).

Popular Dual-sport Classic Motorcycles

·               DT Yamaha

·               Suzuki TS

·               Honda XL

·               Aermacchi Harley Davidson

Yamaha DT1

As mentioned, Yamaha started a revolution with their DT1 dual-sport bike. First introduced to the American market in 1967, the DT1 was an instant success with sales hitting the 50,000 units per year mark.

The design of the DT1 was a joint effort between Yamaha’s US distributer and the Japanese manufacturer. The Yamaha distributer believed there was an opening in the market for this type of machine, which, if produced in sufficient numbers, could be sold at a very competitive price.

Over the years, the design was updated and changed many times, generally reflecting development trends on MX machines. Yamaha ceased production of the DT in 1980 with the DT175G model.

Prices for the early DT1 are around $8,600 for an example in excellent condition, to $1,650 for the later 175G model. (See the article about motorcycle conditions).

Suzuki TS

No doubt noticing the success of the Yamaha, Suzuki was quick to produce a machine for the “new” dual-sport market with their TS range of 2-strokes. The TS250 was first introduced to the American market in 1969, and was produced until 1980 when Suzuki changed their entire lineup to 4-stroke powered machines.

The Suzuki was not as popular as the Yamaha but was a strong performer with a good reliability record. Currently, the early Suzuki is priced considerably less than the Yamaha. For example, a 1969 model in perfect condition is valued around $5,800, whereas a later model (1981 ‘X’) is generally worth around $2,000.

XL Honda

The XL model range was offered to the American market between 1972 and 1990. It was the first four valve 4-stroke offered by Honda and was a strong performer on the street and off-road, including the desert. The XL range consisted of a number of different engine capacities including 70, 125, 175, 185, 250, 350, 500, and 600, all based around Honda’s favored 4-stroke OHV engines.

The XL were phased out in favor of the more competition oriented XR range in 1990/1.

Prices for the early XL250, in perfect condition, are around $3,375 whereas a later (the last year it was offered) XL250 of 1987 is valued around $1,300.

Aermacchi Harley Davidson

When it became clear that the Asian motorcycle invasion was not going to go away, Harley Davidson decided to take on the Japanese manufacturers with a small capacity machine, and what better type of machine to offer than the dual-sport? To design and build a new machine from scratch is very expensive, so Harley decided to purchase a share in the Italian company Aermacchi. The Italian company had been producing a 4-stroke single with OHV and push rods since 1960 (the Ala d'Oro or Golden Wing).

For off road riders, the high pipe version (Scrambler) was very popular, particularly with 4-stroke enthusiasts. However, although the engine was a sturdy unit (so much so that it was eventually offered in a 350-cc version in 1969), it did suffer from vibration.

Prices for the early (1961) 250 Sprints, in excellent condition, are around $4,700, whereas a later (1978) version is valued around $2,700.

Further reading:

Yamaha DT1

TS250 Suzuki

DR400 Suzuki

2-Strokes, the Good, the Bad and the very Ugly