[TheDuck]

Nice one Pete. Going to be a sympathetic spruce up or full resto? Tried to get a chap I used to work with to sell me one of these. He wouldn't, so it's probably still rotting away in a damp barn somewhere

Probably somewhere in between.....but knowing me I will probably strip it down to the last nut and bolt.
The tank needs some work, it has in the past rusted through in all the places you would expect. The repairs (lead) were effective, the tank doesn't leak but boy are they ugly!
Repairs underway.

 

[beestoys]

Hey Pete
Once it's done a word of caution.
1 don't trust compression release
2 wear a steel spanked boot.
3 make sure there's nothing above or in front of you when you go to kick start
4 the old adage of once you start commit to getting it to the bottom.
I watched a friend get tossed over the bars because he didn't. Was kind of funny actually home laying on the ground in front of the bike. It on the sidestand waiting for him to try again.

 

[TheDuck]

Good advice @beestoys , I've still got the odd scar on my shins from kicking old Brit bikes.
FWIW we used to like shoving potatoes up exhaust pipes and then watching the owner getting fired up into the air ............. oh the fun of being a teenager.

 

[beestoys]

Yeah there was a group here that would do the same thing but use a rag instead. They played a beer game. Guys would be setting around the campfire. If someone yelled rabbit last guy that started his bike and cleared the meadow had to get everyone a beer. A well ported 2 stroke can actually pull that rag through the exhaust and get trapped locking up the piston. It won't damage the engine but it'll stop it dead in its tracks. They would randomly pick on one guy booby trapping his bike.

 

[Reston_XX]

Ha! The kick back on these DTs is like a kitten compared to the air cooled YZ490 or KX500. My first "real" street bike was a 75 DT250 (in like 78) later I had a 78 DT400 (first rear mono-shock bike) then at some point I had the last year air cooled KX500 because my buddy had an finned YZ490. They were both WAY too fast for the tight eastern woods trails but it was way fun try'n not to hi-speed crash shootn down a tight woods trail. What's compression release?

 

[cbenzaredrider]

Had me going for awhile but cool fun ride enjoy

 

[TheDuck]

What's compression release?

Not my bike but this is the unit

 

[pbz1900]

Good advice @beestoys , I've still got the odd scar on my shins from kicking old Brit bikes.
FWIW we used to like shoving potatoes up exhaust pipes and then watching the owner getting fired up into the air ............. oh the fun of being a teenager.

We once stuffed a whole big ball of steel wool down a DT350A muffler. That became a ball of hot steel wool at high speed if memory serves me correct.

 

[TheDuck]

We once stuffed a whole big ball of steel wool down a DT350A muffler.

In my road rallying days (4 wheels) we used to shove steel wool pan cleaning pads into the exhaust in order to pass the noise testing.
Spectating at the first few corners was always quite dangerous as all the pads were fired out.