[Beairsto Racing]

I was mini-bike crazy when I was young. I pleaded with my parents frequently. I even dragged home a couple of pull start, centrifugal clutch "lawn mower bike" projects and my Dad wisely told me, to wait until I could afford a proper bike.
One day in grade 4 @1980, my folks said we were going for a drive, to look at a little '78 Yamaha GT80.
It cost $265, they loaned me the money and I had to pay them back with my paper route money. I also shoveled drive ways in the winter and mowed lawns during the summer, to afford gas, injector oil and maintenance. Lots of valuable life lessons were learned then.
My GT80 provided me with the freedom to explore trails and fields. I couldn't wait to get home from school, deliver newspapers and then disappear for a couple of hours.
I enjoyed it for a few years and then sold it, to move up to a bigger bike.

Fast forward several decades and I've been looking for a clean example. I'd passed on a few rough projects. I've learned it costs almost as much to restore a little bike, as it does a big one, once you start looking at paint etc.
2 years a go, I came across a decent example at a vintage motorcycle swap meet. I got it for $650, far from perfect, but it was a good runner. It had a couple of bruises, but nothing that I couldn't live with.
I recovered the seat and crash bar. I replaced the tires and tubes. The fork seals were leaking and I later discovered the chrome was damaged in the seal area. I spent a year looking for new forks, they are no longer available from Yamaha, used ones were usually worse than what I already had. In the end, I had mine re-chromed and rebuilt, which cost a little more than what I paid for the bike to begin with.
It got pushed out of sight for awhile but I recently reassembled the front end, I also bead blasted the exhaust and painted it...that's as far as I'll go with it.
I took it for a couple laps around my back yard, to my wife's amusement and then drained the gas out of the tank and carb.

I've put it up on a shelf in the garage, to just enjoy looking at it.

 

[nick49]

Ha, ha. My first real motorcycle was a Yamaha 80 YG1 Trailmaster that I got when I was about 15. Before that I had a Minibike with a 3 horse Briggs I bought from an outfit in Detroit. It was $100 in kit form where I had to paint and assemble. I later put in a McCulloch Gokart motor with 3-4X the power, raised the top speed to over 50 and could wheelie. I learned how to piston and cylinder port the YG1 which I did with files and it took forever. I cut away the rotary valve and shaved the head. I made drag bars out of 7/8 tube, built a racing seat with a hump in back. This was in about 1965 and my ultimate goal was to run on the salt at Bonneville as it was just a couple of hours away. My dad was a college Prof, didn't have any tools, so I had to improvise and learn it all on my own.

Sounds like we both got bit early!

 

[Gixan]

Nice stories guys,

I was hooked early on as well when my Dad brought home a lawn mower powered mini bike.
next bike was the "mini enduro" 60 beairsto.

Here is an actual picture of it in 1971.

cheers g

 

[Jimmyboy]

I love it!!
i remember riding those when I was a kid too. Wicked light switch powerband too!