My RDS7

Spondon · Post by **Spondon** » Sat Mar 14, 2009 3:43 am

Here's a pic of my other stinkwheel--a '72 DS7 with an RD350 top end and carbs. Raask rearsets, DG chambers.

advant63 · Post by **advant63** » Sat Mar 14, 2009 11:26 am

HOOLIGAN

H2RICK · Post by **H2RICK** » Sat Mar 14, 2009 10:19 pm

I make NO claims to being a brand y expert (thank Heaven for THAT empty space in my life) but CMM had a big article on that very bike about 2 years ago or so. I seem to remember that they had it listed as a 1970 one year only model. My brother in law (oh the shame) had a purple and white one brand new which I believe was a 1971 which was the first R5 (or R3). I certainly stand to be corrected on my vast ignorance of brand y stuff.....

GT Tim · Post by **GT Tim** » Sat Mar 14, 2009 10:31 pm

H2RICK wrote:I make NO claims to being a brand y expert (thank Heaven for THAT empty space in my life) but CMM had a big article on that very bike about 2 years ago or so. I seem to remember that they had it listed as a 1970 one year only model. My brother in law (oh the shame) had a purple and white one brand new which I believe was a 1971 which was the first R5 (or R3). I certainly stand to be corrected on my vast ignorance of brand y stuff.....

Purple and white...sounds like a '72 CS3...electric start 200. Cool little bike.

husson73 · Post by **husson73** » Sun Mar 15, 2009 11:11 am

Purple and white R5 came on 71, but first R5 on 70 were orange and white or red and white.

GT Tim · Post by **GT Tim** » Sun Mar 15, 2009 11:21 am

Went looking for a pic after your post and found these. Never saw heard of a purple/white R5 before.

Thanks for the heads up.

H2RICK · Post by **H2RICK** » Sun Mar 15, 2009 1:13 pm

So, husson, does this mean the DS7 was a 1969 model or 1970 model??
....or was the R3 brought out in 1970 ??? 1971 ???

Yes....I know......this interest in brand y is a sign that Uncle H2's gears are slipping...or his head bolts need retorquing....or something

I'm going to dig out that issue of CMM and see if my memory is wrong or not...

Hmmm....it's the Sept 2004 issue but the article does NOT mention what year the DS7 actually is. Strange.....

Thanks for the pic of the R5s, Tim. I'm going to forward that to my brother in law for his memory scrapbook. His came to a sad end when he drove it off a tee intersection the wrong way. The front end was never the same after that and he sold it quite soon after the crash. He has not owned another bike since then.

GT Tim · Post by **GT Tim** » Sun Mar 15, 2009 1:17 pm

H2RICK wrote:So, husson, does this mean the DS7 was a 1969 model or 1970 model??
....or was the R3 brought out in 1970 ??? 1971 ???

Yes....I know......this interest in brand y is a sign that Uncle H2's gears are slipping...or his head bolts need retorquing....or something

I'm going to dig out that issue of CMM and see if my memory is wrong or not...

Hmmm....it's the Sept 2004 issue but the article does NOT mention what year the DS7 actually is. Strange.....

DS6 was 69-70. DS7, 71-72. Both 250's. I had a '70 DS6

I'm not husson, but hope this helps.

H2RICK · Post by **H2RICK** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 5:57 pm

Thanks, Tim. Now looking at ANOTHER book I have (don't ask how I keep ending up with all this brand y oriented literature) it appears the R3 was a 350....but came AFTER the YR1 and YR2 350's. It's ALL so confusing....

So in the 250 capacity: DS3, DS5, DS6, DS7 and then immediately to the RD250 with no R-anything in between ??
The 350's were: YR1, YR2, R3, R5 & B & C, RD350 and so on ???

Heck, their models are harder to interpret than Suzuki's are......

GT Tim · Post by **GT Tim** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 6:10 pm

IIRC, they were known as YDS for a while, up to YDS3, after that I do not know.

Another caveat, the '69 DS6 was the DS6C and the '70 was the DS6B,
...go figure

Kawasaki and Yamaha have had some strange ID methods for their bikes in the past. I could never keep all the F's straight in K's dirt/street line.

husson73 · Post by **husson73** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 5:04 am

Well the DS7s were sold new in my country on 70 (yellow and white for 70 model year as 71) and after and the R3s were sold new in my country until 70 included (have owned a R3 first registred on april 70) but the R5s were sold new also on 70 and after.

GT Tim · Post by **GT Tim** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 5:15 am

This is my '70 DS6 the day I picked it up at the P.O. It was a fun little bike...

It looked somewhat better when I sold it.

H2RICK · Post by **H2RICK** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 3:53 pm

Tim, if you want to see a resto project on a DS6, Classic Motorcycle Mechanics is currently running a 6 part series on your very bike. The first part was in the Sept. 2008 issue and the final installment is supposed to be in the Feb. 2009 issue which I haven't seen on the stands yet.....although it's only March 17th.