The Yamaha GT80 Is a Fast-Appreciating, Beloved Gem

This one-owner, 2,980-mile 1974 Yamaha GT80 currently for sale on eBay is so original it even comes with its factory warranty card.

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The Bike Everyone Learned to Ride on

For a tiny, 72-cc Japanese motorcycle to be considered transcendent, it needs to be a very special thing. To get the inside line, we reached out to Ken Kaplan Sr., GT80 expert, and boss of leading Gas-Gas and Buell reseller Kaplan Cycles in Rockville, Conn. He remembered:

Oh man, that was my first real bike when I was eight years old. You know, more people learned to ride on one of those than just about anything else.

Bringing it Back

We asked what work this GT80 might need, having had its carburetor removed and being in storage for a while. Kaplan told us:

To be on the safe side, I’d drop a little Marvel Mystery Oil in the cylinder and add a little pre-mix to the fuel, just in case the oil injection isn’t working. But these things were so durable. I’d say even now you have about a 90-percent shot that it won’t need any work to the bottom end of the motor. We put 20,000 miles on my first GT80 in the ‘70s, and all we did was put fuel in it.

Kaplan’s love for the GT80 is undiminished, but there is one bike he still covets:

Oh, the Vincent Black Shadow. That’s the Holy Grail, isn’t it?

“This Mini is Built to Take It, Wherever you Take It”

This was the last line of a 1979 Yamaha ad for the GT80, which by then had firmly established its reputation for great strength and reliability. It came with a four-speed gearbox, instrumentation, lighting, and an automatic oil injection system so the correct amount of pre-mix was added to the fuel at all times.

Introduced in 1973 as a bike fit for either racing, hurling around a yard for hours, or even commuting, the GT80 made the most of its five horsepower. Key to its success was that despite boasting a strong, full-cradle frame, it managed to weigh a mere 130 pounds. Supposedly, 55-plus mph was attainable.

The modest little Yamaha rightly joined the ranks of foreign motorcycles beloved in the US market. It was rugged, handsome, and reliable. Many riders today will have fond memories, usually involving thrashing one mercilessly for hours until it ran out of fuel because it just didn’t break.

A Little Work Required

Whether you choose a nut-and-bolt restoration or merely to renovate the Yamaha GT80 enough for it to run and ride, eBay can supply some vital parts, from sundries like ignition points and bearings to key restoration items such as faithfully reproduced sticker sets and even this incredible new old stock speedometer, which has apparently sat on a shelf in its original box for 40 years. Whatever vintage motorcycle parts you need, eBay can help you locate them.