Collecting old dirt bikes is a hard habit to break. The prospect of diving into a left-for-dead heap of carbon steel and plastic and actually coming out with something you can ride is pretty addictive. That certainly was the driving force behind urging my father that the 1977 Yamaha IT250D he found in my homeland of Southeastern Ohio for $45 was a steal.

Steal or not, there's certainly a lot of work to be done. Check out the few pics taken below. Updates, along with a list of various costs incurred in the rebuilding of this bike, will be posted over the next several months (years?).

By the way, for those who think this was a good deal, find the nearest chalk board and write the following 200 times: "$45 buys one expensive dirt bike...." Let me know if it works for you because God knows I need a cure.