"You know, I'll never buy another 2-stroke.  I can't believe I said that!   I grew up on Yamaha 2-stroke machines!  The summer of 1969 my friend across the street got a brand-new Yamaha Mini Enduro.  He let me ride it a few times and I was hooked!  The next summer I saved up a whopping $175.00 and bought my first bike, a used 1969 Yamaha Enduro 90.  It was a funny yellow-orange color, but I loved that bike!  From there I rode other Yamaha 2-stroke machines and never considered a 4-stroke.  That all changed last year when I rode my father-in-laws old Yamaha XT500C! After the first ride my brother-in-law said I had perm-a-grin!  I loved the sound of the XT, the vibration, and I especially loved the low-end pull!  The old XT just has a great feel to it.  Ya know . . . that's when it hit me, size does matter!   I'm talking pistons here and I'll never go back.  Well, I acquired the old XT from my father-in-law last year and have had a lot of fun fixing it up.  My wife thinks I'm obessing over it and maybe that's why I built this web site, but in reality I think I'm just enjoying my conversion to thumpers.  In a couple years, when I look for a new bike, you can bet it will be a 4-stroke, but for now I'm having fun with this classic old thumper!

(Picture taken in the field behind our house in Boise, Idaho in December of 1976.)