Misunderstood you. Yes removing the silencer/spark arrestor would increase power slightly. I guess the crack in the exhaust could be part of it.

Another option if you don't care about looks is an FMF silencer. I want to keep the stock look is why I didn't order one.

Honestly the reason is personal preference not anything wrong with the bike,It just doesn't give me that got to have it feeling the earlier bikes do, all the bells and whistles are gone, no beads and shiny things, early Enduro's were kind of like a miniature Harley in finishes lots of chrome, shiny painted tanks, polished engines and quality.

Back in the early 70's we called it the baffle and that was the first thing everyone I knew including myself did was pull that out and toss it gave it a bit more power plus we thought the louder sound was way more cool.

While I have a soft spot for the older models, I love the later two stroke Enduros! Yamaha used a lot of the technology (and some of the parts) from the earlier YZ and MX models and I think they ended up with a very good package. The suspension is light years ahead of the older twin shocks for one... and for an old guy like me, I really appreciate that! I find the engines more refined as well... clutch and shift mechanisms are definitely improved.

P.S. A two stroke requires a fair amount of back pressure in the exhaust for the expansion chamber to work correctly. Too much back pressure results in overheating and low power but too little back pressure also results in a significant power loss. Louder can seem faster to the rider but it will not be faster when measured with a stopwatch if the pipe was properly tuned to begin with...

I am wondering how bad the roads are where you live? I cant tell by the snow. These mono shock bikes were made to handle the dirt and pavement just fine. Here is a trail I rode on in Colorado with my 78 DT 400.



Here is a video of the trail, at 8:20 Dave Meis waved me to pass and I opened up on the throttle

video][/video]

I am wondering how bad the roads are where you live? I cant tell by the snow. These mono shock bikes were made to handle the dirt and pavement just fine. Here is a trail I rode on in Colorado with my 78 DT 400.



Here is a video of the trail, at 8:20 Dave Meis waved me to pass and I opened up on the throttle

video][/video]

Cool video.
The dirt roads here dont look nearly as good as these.
Full of big holes and cracks and mud.

I used my DT on the dirt roads once or twice now that i think about it, i first tried it with the muffler installed when i first got the bike and it wasnt running very good so it wasnt fun at all.

Then i removed the muffler (ran pretty good) and raced my friend with his Honda Cr125R 2000 (5gear edition)
My friend is not a very good rider since its his first bike and he managed to get in front and stayed there.
Ive had some bike since im 8 so I consider myself a good rider and i couldnt keep up with him with the Enduro on dirt roads even if the top speed of both bikes is similar.

Plus, the Enduro didnt really liked it, i could feel that it was too much for the bike to be at full throttle chasing the CR.
I was throwing the heavy bike in muddy corners as fast as i possibly could and it felt soo heavy and out of its confort zone and the CR pulled in front so fast after the corners.... Traction wasnt the issue, power, suspension and weight were the issues

And if you take a look at it from my point of view, Why would I possibly want to trash my beautifull enduro bike on dirt roads giving her absolute hell when it obviously doesnt like it ? Right now, this bike isnt very reliable, doesnt have much power, and feels out of its confort zone on muddy roads.

I own a ,rebuilt from the ground up by myself, perfect condition, purpose built reliable dirt machine,
A mighty Suzuki RM 250 1990 which is made for that kind of stuff. This bike LIKES when i trash it in the dirt pit. Its happy when i give it full throttle, and im not scared to rev it up since ive done the engine myself and its all forged and beautifully rebuilt. The RM is my everyday dirt machine.

I bought the DT for only one reason, i couldnt find a vintage single cylinder 2 stroke streetable suzuki in quebec/canada and i saw this Dt250 for sale.
I didnt know much about these bikes , but since it was a streetable vintage 250 2 stroke , i bought it in a heart beat even if it wasnt in running condition and even if it had sat for years.

SO, im willing to restore the bike at some point and make it streetable and realiable.
The DT is my project bike, i dont feel the need to ride it on dirt roads because thats not why i bought it.
When i want to ride, i ride my Rm.

In my opinion, a enduro in a compromise between a street bike and a motocross bike.
I dont need no compromise, when i want to ride off road, i use a proper motocross bike.
On pavement, well i dont really like typical road bikes, i prefer a more simple looking motorcycle.
Thats why my weapon of choise on pavement is a enduro bike.
(also im a bit crazy with motorcycles, so its safer for everybody if my top speed is less than 80 mph on pavement)

I dont feel like riding enduros off road because they just are not very good at it.
Newer enduros like KTM and such are better, but still far from being real off road machines.
They do work off road, but they are far from being the best off road bikes.
They are very limited off road.

In short, get the right tool for the right job.

This is an interesting discussion as the DT1 (original Yammy enduro) was designed as a dirt bike that you could take on the road I have found my enduros to be much better off road than on, and have put a lot of miles of both types on them.

There is no question that a dedicated MX bike of almost any year will do things an enduro of the same year would quiver at, and when It comes to riding on the road, there is no question that my road bikes are a better tool for the job than any of my enduros could ever be.

The reason the enduros (both vintage and modern) exist is to be able to do both reasonably competently, and be able to get on your bike in your garage, ride to the store for some snacks, ride to the end of the pavement, then spend all day playing in the trees! Neither a full street bike, nor a full MX bike can do ALL of those without risking a ticket or worse. More importantly, many, many many of the open riding areas we used to enjoy have been closed by restrictions to ATV/Off-Road MC use. Unless a national park includes a dedicated off-road area, you can't ride there with your MX bike. The Sticker system used by California to exclude bikes that pollute more (two strokes) makes riding in many months of the year illegal! A simple, street legal, two stroke Yammy can go anywhere you can take your car - legally and with a bigger smile on your face. Plus many can license them as vintage bikes, meaning cheaper licensing.

Not inciting an argument, but I think the forgoing best explains why these bikes are so popular, and why, even though most of us may have dedicated MX bikes, we still love and ride the enduros more than most.

When we do the EnduroFest and EnduroRide events, you need to be able to do both, as there are roads that require a street tag.

I couldnt agree more.
But still, generally enduro bikes are heavy and their hability off road is very limited.
As you said, you can go riding on dirt roads on which you cant ride a Mx bike.
Id like to do that with my enduro, riding on smooth dirt roads where there is no pavement,country roads etc.

BUT, for instance, if you see a sand pit off the road and you want to go play into it, well its gonna be difficult.
You might be able to get up the sand hills, but you will have to push the bike to its limit and its not gonna be very fun because of the lack of suspension travel and weight of the machine and traction problems (if you dont have Mx tires).
Something to mention too, is that because Enduros have lights, indicators, and such, you can damage the bike while offroading.

Remember my winter Dt250 video, i was lucky that i didnt break anything when i crashed. But in the video you can see that as soon as the rear end of the bike has no traction and i try to accelerate, the bikes goes sideways and crashes to the ground very quickly, and it crashes pretty hard too , i didnt have a fraction of a second to react. Like a stone droping on the ground. Too heavy.
But, on the Rm 250 video, the same thing happens and the bike goes side ways as well at one point, but because the bike is considerably lighter, i could control the slide and keep the bike on its wheels.

SO, in most cases, Enduros are more capable off road than a Ninja 600, but they are still far from being good off roaders because you cant do everything you'd like to do.

I might ride mine on smooth dirt roads when its working properly and when its registered for the road.
But i bought it to go on pavement mainly. My intention wasnt to go offroad with it.
I just wanted a simple, good looking, vintage 2 stroke single cylinder road machine.

As for, and i quote '' DT1 (original Yammy enduro) was designed as a dirt bike that you could take on the road ''
In my opinion, The DT1 isnt far from my Dt250, but these are dirt bikes that you can take on the road with one of these, you can do wathever you want.