Finding Your Vintage Bike Type

Whether or not someone is a collector, it might seem like an exciting thing to own a vintage vehicle. It can be a way to connect to history or be transported to another time. Some people have a preference as to which type of vehicle they revere, but for outdoorsmen, the most enticing buy might be vintage Yamaha motocross bikes. When buying a vintage bike, the seller may not have all of the information a person needs to verify their purchase, such as year and model. For buyers, there are two ways to check or estimate when the bike was manufactured.

Check the VIN or Serial Number 

If not listed on the title, the VIN or serial number is often found on the bike head or the motor. A number that includes dashes or spaces indicates a bike that was manufacturedbefore 1981. These numbers are referred to as serial numbers. If the number does not have dashes or spaces, this means the bike was made after 1981, and the number is referred to as a VIN. After you’ve located this number, you can search online for tables with the listed numbers correlating to the year and model of the bike.

Knowing the Features

There are a couple of key features that were introduced to Yamaha bikes in certain years. In 1975, Yamaha started making bikes with a rear mono-shock, which is a part that aids in handling and reduces bumpiness for the driver. Any bikes without a rear shock are most likely pre-1975. The second major development was in 1998 when Yamaha began producing bikes with a four-stroke engine, which was larger than the previously standard two-stroke engine. Knowing these markers can help you get an idea of when the bike was made.

Checking for the serial number or VIN and knowing the years that key features were introduced to Yamaha bikes can help tremendously in determining the year and model of a bike in the absence of a title.

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