Specs say the 74 had 5.28 inches trail... installing leading axle forks in the stock offset triple clamps will reduce that a couple inches at most so you might be okay? Three inches or so should still be okay.

(Triple clamps for the leading axle forks generally have less offset from the steering axis to get back the trail lost by offsetting the axle forward)

Also can't ignore other mods or factors...if done alone installing longer than stock forks will increase the trail... Longer rear shocks will reduce the trail.... smaller front wheel will reduce the trail...

So there are a lot of factors depending on planned mods that could cancel each other out and keep the geometry near stock or add together and make the geometry quite different than stock...

Great catch Mark however,you ruined my day!
I bought an 88 yz 250 for its front end to put on the IT 465.because of course there are others I’ve seen on the web
Will measure it once home,same as wheelmad,wanted the sexy disc and also the cartridges.Already purchased before the emulators were out.One thing about the old girl is shes a bit overly stable IMHO so maybe just maybe.

Hmmm... how are you doing Bluntz? Good to see you here again! Anyway, your IT465 should have a leading axle fork so the 88 YZ front end shouldn't be much of an issue.... but I don't know nearly as much about the IT465 or YZ as you do!

Doh! now that was just pure luck.
Happy New Year Mark!

All very good points, with the changes I plan to make to front and rear suspension, plus front wheel size, the geometry will be very different to original. Hopefully I can alter the geometry to suit road riding by selecting good shock and fork length combination.

Top end assembled with fresh bore and piston.
New coil wouldn't spark, so I put the old one back on. 4 kicks and she roared to life, well for a few seconds anyway. Will wait for the new air filter to arrive before I run it any further.

Love the sound of an old two stroke firing up.

Can anyone help me identify this carb? Bike is a 74 model and i am looking for a carb rebuild kit. 75 model onwards kits seem readily available, are they compatible with a 74 carb?

I did some research on Front end swaps for this bike and came up with a few options that looked like they could work. I settled on DT200 forks that I found cheap and local to see if they would fit. They are about 100mm longer that the original. Ordered a tapered roller bearing and waited for it to arrive.
The forks I brought are a bit soft but overall in good usable condition. If I decide to use them, will rebuild and add emulators, possibly shorten as well.

Bearings turned up today so raced out to the garage after work. Fitted up the races and knocked the bottom bearing on. Slipped the steering stem through the tube and it all bolted up to easily.
Top clamp, some bars and the brakes on to see how it looks.
Will need to lose the blue fork boots and replace the brake line. Otherwise, looks like it could work.

Waiting on a front wheel to arrive before I can be sure that this front end set up will work out. As warned by Mark T, the forks hit the tank at full lock before the steering stops hit.

With any luck and possibly a small amount of engineering ingenuity I may be able to add some adjustable steering stops like on Husky.