Yamaha DT-1

The 1968 DT-1 is more than a contender for Yamaha’s most important motorcycle. It’s a bike that broke things wide open for the entire Japanese motorcycle industry. Words by Mitch Boehm, Editor & Publisher of Moto Retro Illustrated. Photos by Joe Bonnello and Ed Burke archive. As wild and transformative as the 1960s were, year eight of the decade was a doozie. The Tet Offensive. Assassinations. The White Album’s release. The ascendancy of Nixon. NASA. Police beatings in Chicago. Hippies, LSD and growing disillusionment with the so-called Summer of Love. Crazy times, for sure. Motorcycling had its own explosive event...