Post Sale Update: This Z500 sold for $4,202 after 12 bids on eBay.
The Yankee Z500 was the brainchild of John Taylor, the American importer for OSSA and Bultaco. He thought American dirt bikes should be able to compete with Europe’s best offerings, so he created Yankee Motor Company. He started his quest just by importing OSSAs, then threw OSSA engines in Yankee custom frames. The piece d’resistance, though, was the Z500. Yankee took two OSSA 250cc singles and fused them together to form the 500cc twin heart of this rare bike.
Unfortunately, John wasn’t particularly successful – which is why you may have never heard of this bike before. Just 760 (or 764, I’ve heard both numbers) were built because the bikes were 344 pounds dry, just too heavy to be successful in off-road racing. Trivia time: this was the first production bike with a rear disc brake, even though it still used a drum up front. Want to learn more? Check out this article on Motocross Action Mag.
This specific Yankee Z500 (VIN: M1100 612) shows 5,113 miles, but it’s been in dry storage for a while and it will need a bit of work. The seller says it kicks over with great compression and it has spark. The bike is missing some parts, though plenty of them are in picture son the seller’s workbench. What’s great is that the sale includes the owners manual, parts manual, and pre-production factory service manual. Find this Z500 for sale in Fair Haven, Michigan with bidding up to $3,100