Yamaha named this motorcycle after the Big Bear race, though they never actually won it themselves. That didn’t stop them from slapping the alliterative name onto a range of scramblers displacing 125, 250c, and 350ccs. I don’t have any personal experience with the Big Bear, so I’ll leave you with this critical quote from Matt Cuddy of Superhunky, who said it was a ‘fake dirt bike’. “…the 350 weighed right up there with Buick Roadmasters. Sitting on one was like straddling an oil drum, with sharp protrusions sticking out from every surface, just waiting to harpoon the rider if he went down. Also, the gigantic chromed up-pipes weighed at least 75 pounds combined, and put the center of gravity up somewhere around the riders neck.“
That quote is entertaining, but I don’t think anyone’s going to be buying this to actually get dirty nowadays. So if you’re looking for a stylish street bike with dirt pretensions, here’s a classic option. The parallel twin two stroke 305 motor was good for 30+ horsepower, and it was paired with Yamaha’s popular Autolube oil injection system. For more information, check out this retrospective from Rider Magazine.
This example had a complete engine rebuild 400 miles ago but the total mileage on the chassis is unknown as the bike is not using the original odometer. The seller claims it’s been ‘fully restored to like “perfect” condition’, plus it comes with the hard to find OEM air pump. Find this Big Bear for sale here on Craigslist for $5,995 in Sunnyvale, California.