New for the 1974 model year, Yamaha’s mid-sized enduro used the company’s newest suspension, swing-arm, and frame design. Meant for off-road fun, not having lights and other road-legal features, this 1974 Yamaha MX175A can be found listed here on Facebook Marketplace in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, and they’re asking $1,500. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Lothar… of the Hill People for the tip!
Hiding the AutoLube oil injection pump tank and the exhaust, the left side cover looks much nicer than the right side cover does, which is where the electronic CDI is hidden. Make sure you have a screwdriver or, at the very least, a dime to open them up. For those of you under age 40, a dime is a thin “coin,” a small circular metal piece formerly used as legal tender before tapping your credit card or phone on a machine that reads your info and adds it to the growing data list of your personal spending habits and location became the normal way to pay for things.
That side cover could use some love, and these aluminum alloy wheels look great when they’re polished. I’d get on that, as well. But if there’s one thing I don’t need, it’s another motorcycle sitting in a couple of storage units (trying to talk myself out of it). I like a 175 off-road motorcycle for its small, easy or easier to handle power. Not that a 250 would be outrageous, but for folks on the smaller and/or lighter side, a 175 is a nice compromise.
There are no gauges, no lights, no turn signals, or anything else that most of us are used to on our motorcycles. Even us on-off riders like to have those things, or most of us do. This bike is light and is meant to be a motocrosser, at least according to Yamaha in this era. It’s really more of a fun bike than a serious contender (“I cccould’a been a cccontend’a.”) for racing.
The engine is Yamaha’s 171-cc two-stroke, air-cooled, oil-injected single with around 15 horsepower and 11 lb-ft of torque. Power is sent through a five-speed manual to the rear wheel, of course, and the seller says it runs but has low compression and could use some top-end work. I know that feeling. Hagerty is at $3,133 on the low end, so a few hundred bucks and less than a weekend and you could have a very nice bike here. Have any of you owned a Yamaha 175?
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