457-Mile Time Capsule: 1979 Yamaha GT80F
“There is one important difference between the Yamaha GT80 and other dual-purpose minis: reliability. The Yamaha two-stroke engine is legendary for its reliability. Torque Induction – the Yamaha reed-valve intake system – gives the machine quick, responsive power at low-rpms.” So says a brochure for the 1979 Yamaha GT80F. This time capsule is listed here on eBay in Cape Coral, Florida and the bid price is $2,025 but the reserve isn’t met.
An absolutely beautiful bike – but I’m biased toward Yamahas – this Crystal Silver GT80 is a holdover from the era when Yamaha was changing their dual-purpose motorcycles to the DT-series. It may look more street than trail, but this is one little off-road powerhouse. Don’t let the turn signals fool you. By the way, those are the amber things poking out on little chrome stalks in the front and rear. Your cars and trucks actually have them built into the fenders, believe it or not! Sadly, nobody uses them anymore.
The GT80 was made from 1972 for the 1973 model year, until 1981 with small improvements along the way. Thousands of people learned how to ride motorcycles on little bikes like this GT80 as they were small enough for older kids to reach the ground, not too powerful to be overly dangerous, and were often fairly inexpensive to buy. This bike has a four-speed foot shifter and they’re all upshifts, with the bottom being neutral. Some reviewers weren’t fond of that setup.
The seller has provided some great photos, so thanks to them for that! This little time machine has just 457 miles on it, that’s incredible. That’s only 10.15 miles a year over the last 45 years. The seller says that it’s stored in a climate-controlled room and it sure looks like it could be ridden to a show, win a trophy, and then be ridden home again to be parked on a piece of velvet in the living room. The GT80F (the 1979 model) has long-travel front forks and heavy-duty rear shocks, along with a “bashplate” under the engine to protect it when you take it down the trail.
Speaking of the engine, this one is about as clean as it gets and is Yamaha’s 72-cc piston reed valve two-stroke single with about 5 horsepower and 5 lb-ft of torque. Sadly, the seller doesn’t say one word on how or even if this one runs, but I’d have to believe that it does. I’m a big fan of small motorcycles, have any of you owned a small Yamaha like this GT80?
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Comments
Dang…better get mine out….these are going the way of the Trail 70 although they spaked those pretty good. Lusted the Mini 60 and then the GT80 as I was there and not a big guy at the time…..let’s see where it goes.
Funny….went further into the Ebay for his feed back…..hasn’t sold anything yet…
You meet the nicest people on a Yamaha.
Uh, wasn’t that “Honda”??
I had a Yamaha RD350. Learned to ride on it. It had issues that would be expensive – a Y-shaped throttle cable (two slider throttles for a two-stroke twin, with a joined cable) that would have been a special order, costing more than the bike did for me. It lacked a kill switch, which almost got me killed in traffic.
I sold it for $100 in 1985. I could kick myself – a “two-smoke” cycle, particularly with metered oil injection, is THE way to go. Simple, reliable, powerful enough to kill you. Maintenance is, tires and chain.
I’d love to have this one, but I’m winding my riding days down, now. I’m done chasing across the country for rare bikes – yes, I’ve done it in the past, but the past is gone.
Cool little bike, and road legal, an RM80 of that vintage would run rings around, but there not road legal.
Did have a young fella on a YZ80, out run my katana tho, for a short while.
Since the staff just can’t seem to shake what’s wrong, I’ll from now on be brief,,,,,
I owned one from 1973 until 1976, when I sold it. I learned to ride on it and loved it! I only sold it because I got my driver’s license and didn’t ride it much after that. In fact, I wanted to get it registered in 1975, when I got my motorcycle and automobile learner’s permits, but my parents said “No”, because they thought it would be too dangerous! I wanted to use it to ride to high school like my best friend did, so I wouldn’t have to ride the bus, but it wasn’t going to happen! BTW, I went to a parochial (Roman Catholic) High School, so the student body was from several local towns. I wanted to ride from my home to the school about ten (10) miles away, but the parents had other ideas. The friend that rode his Yamaha DT1 to school every day was riding about twenty (20) miles, from Gloucester, MA, to the school in Peabody, MA every day!
As an aside, when using these for trail riding in the dirt, the first thing you did was remove the turn signals, so they wouldn’t snag on a branch on the trail and break off!
I’m sorely tempted to bid on this little time capsule. If it were closer to me and I didn’t have to pay to ship it home, I’d be all over it!
It feels like it was just the other day, sometimes.
Auction update: this one made it up to $4,150 and the reserve wasn’t met. The seller has it relisted at $7,500 or best offer. Wowie.