I Got Bit By 99 Mosquitos!

The 1982 Yamaha XT-200J.

This was the third motorcycle that I bought.
I was 18 years old, and I needed some street-legal transportation in addition to my dirt bike riding in order to get myself back and forth to work.
I thought about trying to get my 1981 Honda XR-250R street-legalized, but that was shot down when the fat pig who bought that bike new basically told me he still owed money on it, therefor he didn't have a title to hand over to me.
He was also quite rude to me over the phone, as well as fat.
Very, very fat.
Obese, even.
Quite a fat slob.
And a liar.
Did I mention he was disgustingly fat and dishonest, as well as very, very fat?

Soooooo, what I ended up doing was trading my XR-250RB in at the local shop (a place I'd be working at 3 years later, by the way) toward the purchase of a mint condition 1982 Yamaha XT-200J.
As you can see by the above pic, this was a nice little dual-purpose bike.
Small, light-weight, maneuverable, and very good at fun trail riding.
Being a 200cc engine vs. a 250cc one of the XR I'd just traded for it, the lack of power was readily apparent from the first second riding the bike.
But, it was still a much better bike than the AT-2, and it was 100% street-legal, and it was in like-new condition, and it at least had enough performance to do what I needed, so I was quite satisfied with the bike.

For one solid year - from April of 1984 to April of 1985 - that XT-200J was my sole way to get around without having to bum a ride.
I used it for all of my transportation needs on the street.
I trail rode it, rode in the sand pits and gravel banks with my buddies, and used it on the street for anywhere I had to go, whether it be work, the grocery store, or anywhere else.
I was completely happy to be in this situation, especially after relying on a coworker to cart me to and from work for a few months prior to getting this bike.

All spring, summer, and fall, it was simply ride, ride, ride.
I'd literally go trail riding in the morning and early afternoon, then go into work (when I was on 2nd shift of my rotating-shirt job just a mile-and-a-half from home).
When I was on 1st shift, I'd go to work, then go riding after I got out for the day.
On weekends, I'd go riding with my buddies.
The bike was constantly being used, and remained 100% reliable, requiring only normal maintenance and upkeep.
I had 10,000 miles in it by the time April of 1985 rolled around.

An interesting thing about the XT-200J is that the basic engine design is still used in Yamaha motorcycles sold this very day.
The 2010 TT-R230Z and the 2010 TW-200Z both use the engine design, which first came out on the 1981 SR-185H street bike.
Quite a long-lived engine - very simple and rock-solid, unless you're a moron, or course, because morons could break a rock just by looking at it.

Off to jerk for another freebee Saturday,
-John