Hi guys, i shared this on the mx pages but no luck so im sharing here for those that may not bother with the mx stuf, its a DT1 with frame and engine numbers DT1F-103043.   Is this an mx bike or just a converted trail, it has the gyt pipe fitted , thanks for any help...  

I think you mentioned it's a European bike and/or for sale outside the US? 

Problem is the VIN lists mostly show only the US models.  From the limited info given it "could" be an MX with a VIN higher than the US model table? 

Some of the experts can ID the MX cylinder and head from pictures but your pictures don't show much. 

It's also not unheard of for someone to sneak a "1" or other number at the beginning or end of the number section to disguise an original VIN number.  To get an expert to respond like DEET or Enduronut you will probably need to post pictures of the engine and frame VIN. 

Other features like rear swing arm and front wheel can help ID...  but those parts and the pipe are easily swappable.

Looks like a 21" front wheel but can't tell if swingarm is round or square...  I think round would be 71-on and square would be 70 and earlier...  for US models at least. 

Anyway, what I forgot to say is it's doubtful you didn't get a response because it's an MX...  the problem may be there simply just isn't enough info given for anyone to definitively ID the bike.  More pictures would probably be helpful if you can get them. Cylinder/head and VIN pictures for sure. 

North American import for sale here in the UK, and the seller is probably the largest of our bike importers. Link attached below.

Could be a typo on the numbers shown on the listing, could be a Canadian import (numbers on some bikes go higher there) or maybe the upper limit on the VIN table needs increasing (my US import DT3 has a VIN higher than the range in the VIN table).

1971 Yamaha DT1 250 Unregistered US Import Barn Find Classic Restoration Project | eBay

Looks like it has several 1971 features...  round swingarm, two bolt lower triple clamp, aluminum fork sliders... 

I don't know enough about the engines to tell for sure if cylinder and head is MX but looks to be Enduro if I had to guess? 

Looking at the VIN chart, if it were a higher MX number that would mean Yamaha made over 13,000 1971 250 MX models?  That seems like a big jump from 1970 when they only made about 2200 MX models

Far more likely might be as Alan said, VIN listed is a typo.... or maybe someone snuck a "1" onto the beginning of the number on a 1971 "close ratio" model.  (I've seen a few altered VIN's, easy to do on early models) Getting an picture of actual VIN from seller may solve that mystery.  Certainly something I would do before buying because if VIN is obviously altered if might be impossible to ever get registered? 

 

Cylinder head is enduro based , as MX and GYT heads had one spark plug hole
in a vertical plane .

Perhaps I might have worded that better .
The additional photos in Allans link have a left side shot of the bike where the head is clearly visible .
The head has two angled plug holes , one to the rear , and one to the left , as on the Enduro .
GYT and MX heads as Enduronut correctly pointed out have a vertical plug hole ,
solitary on a 68 , but on later years a second angled plug hole was also present .
The head may possibly have been modified at some time , but was never GYT or MX ,
as no vertical plug hole is present .

Thanks for looking guys, i guess it maybe not an original mx but ive asked them to send me pics of the numbers on the bike to check out..

Good idea...  I don't know how strict your country is but I've heard things about getting dating letters, etc. which might be hard to do with a VIN so far outside common lists. 

And if the actual VIN stamp looks altered...  say the leading "1" in the sequence number doesn't match the size and font of the "1" in "DT1", it might be impossible to get registered even with some kind of paperwork.

Here in Nevada I had a hassle at the DMV even with a valid out of state title.  They made me go to the "main" DMV in Las Vegas for a second VIN inspection because in the other state they left off the leading zeros in the VIN on the title.  Then the first re-inspector would not sign off.  I had to make an appointment to see the main inspector-manager.  Got it done on the third try.  She was nice because she said they usually require a certified letter from the original title state certifying the title with the missing zeros is not for a different vehicle...  which can be impossible or easy depending on the state. 

She liked old bikes and it was obvious to her it was the year and model on the title and the stamping didn't looked altered so she signed off on allowing a Nevada title to be issued with the leading zeros added to match the stamped VIN. 

Apparently the problem is the computers see XXX 01234 and XXX 1234 as completely different numbers so sometimes crooks would add a leading zero to a stolen bike and get it re-titled with clean paperwork...  and the VIN looks legit to most people as the number still will match the Year/model lists if you ignore the leading zero.  That's one reason the US went to a standardized 17 digit VIN in 1980-81

I hate dealing with title and registration hassles. 

I agree with Swoop and Enduronut that the cylinder head is clearly from an Enduro model rather than an MX, however, the cylinder barrel does appear to be the MX version. In Alan's photos showing the left side we can see the cylinder fins, and the gaps in those fins are aligned vertically on both sides as they would be only on GYT or MX versions (similar in appearance to the 360 barrel's fins), the Enduro cylinder barrel fins have the gaps staggered from side to side on every other fin. We cannot see the top right view of the barrel where the fins would be trimmed around the GYT pipe, but I believe we would find that they are indeed the unique MX/GYT shape. I would not discount the possibility that this could have been some type of international version MX and thus out of the range of recorded VIN numbers in our charts, but certainly additional investigation would be needed to verify or disprove such, and I don't have the expertise to that determination. The bike has potential, albeit perhaps a "diamond in the rough".