Anyone start out on one of these?

While searching for my next project I spotted this little guy on Craigslist. It was close by and I could not resist. If the Z1's take me back to my youth, I guess this takes me back to my childhood! It's a 1971 Yamaha JT1 mini-enduro.
BEFORE

AFTER

I remember them well. My first "new" bike was a 1971 HT1 Yamaha 90 enduro in 1971. I still love the old Yamaha enduros.

Nice job on that!

got to love the mini enduros, I got a 1980 mx 80 sitting over in the corner, all there but needs alot, someday I'll get to it. enduros were my passion before the kz, all need repairs now...

One of the neighbors had one of those . He let me ride it . Headed right down the road with it . Two minutes later a cop showed up threw it right in his trunk and left with it . He never let me ride it again . His dad was pissed .

Very nice. I love those bikes.

A friend had a Honda SL100 that we flogged mercilessly. Great memories...

The Yamaha Enduros do have an almost cult like following. Guys are still riding them on off road adventures just as they were intended to be ridden. There''s even a annual "Endurofest" where they all gather for 3 days of camping and extended trail rides. I may have to look for a bigger one and join the fun..
It may be limited to the mini, but this restoration made me appreciate the aftermarket support available for the Z1'/KZ's. Finding a decent set of fork tubes was impossible. No one makes reproductions and even Franks Forks said they can't make them due to the "plugged" design.. In 3 months of searching, I found an NOS tube for one side. The seller wanted $300 for the single tube. The fork tubes are different for the left and right sides, so who knows if I would have ever found the other one. I ended up dropping $475 to have the originals re-hard chromed (ouch). I could buy reproduction Z1 fork tubes for $100 from at least 3 different sources. JT1 piston rings are like gold. A complete set of Z1 rings is about half the price ,if you're lucky enough to even find them. .

MDZ1rider wrote: The Yamaha Enduros do have an almost cult like following.

I learned to ride on an early Yamaha XT250. The prices are a little sily for them these days - for the DTs as well.

It may be limited to the mini, but this restoration made me appreciate the aftermarket support available for the Z1'/KZ's. Finding a decent set of fork tubes was impossible.

I recently found a set of NOS fork lowers for the KZ440. $100 + shipping.

Sometimes there are advantages to owning (kind of) unpopular models.