1978 Yamaha DT175 questions

[Dan East]

Hi all.

I'm the proud new owner of a 78 DT175 that's in really good condition (1400 miles, original tires still like new, etc).

Unfortunately it didn't include a manual. First question, is there a way to view the manuals online? I couldn't find anything on the Yamaha site. Nowadays you can find the owner's manual for just about anything online (for free), but maybe it isn't the case with bikes yet.

Next question, which I would know the answer to if I had a manual. This bike has an oil warning light. That light comes on whenever it's in neutral (which makes me think there is a short between it and the neutral wire). Is that oil light for 2 cycle oil or clutch oil? Is it only supposed to light when in neutral? If so that doesn't make a bit of sense to me.

Question #3. The oil cap has a built-in dipstick. Is that level to be checked when the bike is standing upright, or when it is leaning on the kickstand?

Thanks!

Dan East

[Blau Zedong]

Hi, there are Haynes and Clymer manuals for the aircooled DT series, although I'm not sure if anyone has put them up online yet. Your oil light - is for the 2 stroke oil tank level, and yes it should come on in nuetral as a bulb test, if it stays on when you put it in gear then the oil level needs checking. The oil tank dipstick is somewhat unessecary once you know the oil light is working, but yes it should be checked with the bike upright. Hope this helps.
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18:54:48 Rob Fzs: jews don't give away stuff for free

18:54:59 Rob Fzs: unless its their clothes/ hair/ golden teeth

[Dave_ZedDragen]

have a look at this link from the workshop section of this forum, hopefully you will find a link to the service manual from there: https://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=41567

And yes

[Blau Zedong]

If it has a oil tank dipstick i would assume it's a twinshock DT. Dipsticks are an RD / DT twinshock era thing, I've had a few DT MX models on field and can't recall them having a dipstick.
____________________
18:54:48 Rob Fzs: jews don't give away stuff for free

18:54:59 Rob Fzs: unless its their clothes/ hair/ golden teeth

[Dan East]

That's the bike, except this has the blue / black color scheme. It's monoshock, so maybe this isn't the original oil cap? Now the dipstick I'm talking about is in the transmission for the clutch oil, not the 2 cycle.

Okay, now that makes sense about the oil light! Thanks!

Dan East

[Blau Zedong]

Ah...sorry for the confusion, same applies though, dip the transmission oil with bike upright. Standard DT175MX is a very nice bike, congrats!
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18:54:48 Rob Fzs: jews don't give away stuff for free

18:54:59 Rob Fzs: unless its their clothes/ hair/ golden teeth

[Dan East]

Thanks. I got it for $1100, and it only needs a few things (couple bulbs, passenger foot pegs and battery).

After I read this article it sealed it - I was going to buy the bike.

I rode it a bit yesterday (borrowed the antique tag off my 72 Suzuki TC-125, since the DMV is closed over the weekend) and was really pleased.

I'll take some pics today and post them in case anyone's interested.

The nice thing about bikes like this is they're over 25 years old, so there is a one-time $14 fee to register the bike as antique (in Virginia) that doesn't expire. No inspections, no county stickers. That's a cheap as it gets.

Dan East

[69.9mph]