Picked up a very cool / custom Yamaha 360

[Blown 331]

I picked this Yamaha up yesterday. I bought it locally by word of mouth. The guy I bought it from bought it about a year ago at an auction, he wasn't sure what model it was. He said the carb, gas tank and fenders were off. He put it together and got it running. He said the gas tank was NOS, he was the first to ever put gas in it, and I believe it, its amazing. It has new tires, new chain and sprockets, new spokes, new wheels, pretty much everything is new. The hand guards are Enduro Engineering, Alumite handle bars. It has 2 compression releases for some reason, the factory Yamaha one and an aftermarket one in an extra spark plug hole. The bracketry, levers etc for the compression releases is amazing and like nothing I've ever seen, definitely old school. The first time I saw the bike was in pictures and the first thing I though was it looks like an MX360 and I'll probably buy all new plastic from DC plastic. The side panels don't really look that great in the pics. But upon seeing it in person, they are a work of art. They are sand blasted aluminum and have very nice bends and cuts to them. The front plate has every nice mounting brackets on the rear, including a cable organizer. I'd says they were cut on a CNC table and bent in a break, that or someone has some mad skills.
I think I'm going to leave the bike just the way it is, how it was originally built. I know the number plate / side panels don't look that good in these pics but they are awesome in person. I'm not sure what that pipe is but I love it, its pretty damn loud though! It has a really cool chain tensioner, though that pics is blurry. The seat foam is pretty smashed out so I need to take care of that. I ran the frame numbers and it appears to be a 1971 RT1 360. I know absolutely nothing about this model. Can anyone tell me anything about them? I think most MX360 parts will fit, anyone know? I might go with an MX360 seat if it fits. I don't plan on buying new plastic anymore but does anyone know if MX360 plastic would fit? I will get some better pics soon.

[dustrunner]

sweet bike. reminds me of my ole xt 500. never seen a 360 tho... good find....

[4x4van]

The tank graphics apear to be circa 1973 (the frame numbers can be deceiving; I have a 1972 AT2 125 enduro, all original and bone stock, but the frame says "AT1" because they didn't change the frame from 1971 (AT1) through 1973 (AT3)). Based on that, it's possible that yours, while the frame says "RT1", could be an RT2 or RT3. Side panels are handmade, as you know. Pipe is not stock, almost looks like a RM125 or KX125 down pipe from the mid/late 70s. The metal rear fender, with the "channel" on top, makes me think that it was originally an enduro (street legal) rather than an MX model (the "channel was used for taillight wiring). Front fender, brace, and forkbrace are aftermarket, as well as the chain tensioner. Interesting find.

Google pics for "1973 yamaha 360 enduro", "1973 yamaha 360 MX", "1973 yamaha RT1 360"...alot of interesting pics to compare. 1971 RT1 360 was a completely different tank design, with a bolt-in Yamaha emblem, so your tank is '72 or '73.

[Blown 331]

Cool info, thanks for the reply. The gas tank was NOS and belongs to an MX360 from what I've seen. This is the site I used to determine the year, and I see what you mean about the numbers being mis-leading but I think I did it correctly. http://cyclerestorer.com/pages/show_...acturer=Yamaha
1971 RT1B 360 1 Yamaha Black RT1-73101--75128,RT1-009101--024820
See how the second portion shows RT1-009101--024820, mine is RT1-017xxx So I'm going with a 1971 RT1, I guess maybe RT1B to be more specific. The RT1's were street legal which does explain the channel on top of the rear fender like you mentioned.

[captainweezy]

Guess you will have to wait til next week for the 250r I told you about. Whats your average trikes/bikes/quads you buy in a month/year? Do you average one a week?

[Blown 331]

Not sure on an average, I go in spells. lol. Sometimes I'll be into trucks or Harley's or something else and don't give my off-road toys much though, much less buying any.
I'm probably going to pass on that 250R. I'm getting to the point where I'm really only intersted in stuff thats really nice or really cheap. lol. That 250R doesn't really fit either and I paid about the same for this Yamaha as the price on that 250R. It was nice and cheap (for the condition)! Fit both categories!

[Vealmonkey]

I like your new toy, it's pretty neat. Are you going to return to street trim? It would look crazy with some modern street tires. Looks like alot of fun.

[Blown 331]

Thanks! I'm pretty much going to leave it as is. I had planned on new fenders and number plates from DC plastic but like I said the home made plates look a lot better in person and I've grown to appriciate what someone has done with this thing as a whole and want to keep it intact. It has brand new tires so I'm not going to pull those off. The offroad tires are more practical for me than street tires anyway.

[Chazz of Blades]

That thing is super trick. Think you could upload a few more pictures to drool over, that compression release setup has got me interested.


Redo the seat to be flatter and buck up at the back, throw on some low hanging clip ons, and street tires and it'd be a mean looking little cafe.

[Blown 331]

Here's another pic I have on me.



And I picked another runner for cheap today! All I have is the craigslist pic right now.

[captainweezy]

I am going to dig through my motors, I think I have one of those yamahama 360's and I think it came from adam's collection. Last time i checked I had like 68 69 motors...not sure now but will look into it.curiousity has me thinking now

[Blown 331]

Cool! I am actually looking for an MX360 engine and/or parts. They had an inner rotor flywheel and better exhaust. This second one I got here is missing the silencer also. I'm probably just going to buy a random silencer and cut it and make it work but I'm waiting for a super cheap deal. lol.

[captainweezy]

Well I found the motor I was looking for and it definitely is not an mx360. I need to get the numbers and run them to figure out what it is. I know it is a kick start, 2 plug motor but the top end is very tiny. Anybody want to take a guess at what it is? I also have a ton of top end parts that were in the same box.

[tripledog]

Betcha that the first bike you bought was a DT or MX 250. The left lower engine side cover leads me to that conclusion. I had a 1973 MX250 that I converted into 2 unicycles during a violent confrontation with a guard rail some 30+ years ago. That aside, your bike is just so cool!

[old-yellow]

Betcha that the first bike you bought was a DT or MX 250. The left lower engine side cover leads me to that conclusion. I had a 1973 MX250 that I converted into 2 unicycles during a violent confrontation with a guard rail some 30+ years ago. That aside, your bike is just so cool!

any pics LOL