This is where it got silly for a bit, and life beyond 21 seemed higly unlikely. I bought this Yam from Colwin Motorcycles, of Frederick Street, Sittingbourne, on New-Year's Eve 1982. I had to wait a week and a half till my 2oth birthday to insure it. And for the next 18 months rode it flat out everywhere I went.
Hard to believe now, but in the early 80's 73 bhp was a lot of power for a 650. OK, odd to see a shaft-drive, on a sports bike, but it worked; and there was no filthy chain lube to worry about.
Yamaha heralded it as the 'first in a new generation of lightweight superbikes'; it weighed a good 15kg less than the porcine Kwak Z650, had 10% more power AND twin discs. So it had a rear drum; this was launched in 1980 remember.
Mine not being the YICS model, it had a peaky motor, with an almost 2-stroke like power band. Fitting a Piper 4-into-1 exhaust added a flat-spot, but ensured I could be heard at full-on scream for 2-3 miles.
It got thrashed up and down the country, got used for commuting at a time when I lived in Birmingham, but often worked elsewhere. It even did 2,500 miles around Europe in 2 weeks; mainly at speeds over 150kph.
And after 18 months it was tired. The cam-chain rattled, the valve shims had been swapped to the largest size. Even the carb-linkages had worn the carb bodies so they leaked and couldn't be balanced.
Somehow, I had survived the lunacy; the poor old Yam hadn't quite. Time to retire her for something steadier; with a better life expectancy. For both of us.
Hard to believe now, but in the early 80's 73 bhp was a lot of power for a 650. OK, odd to see a shaft-drive, on a sports bike, but it worked; and there was no filthy chain lube to worry about.
Yamaha heralded it as the 'first in a new generation of lightweight superbikes'; it weighed a good 15kg less than the porcine Kwak Z650, had 10% more power AND twin discs. So it had a rear drum; this was launched in 1980 remember.
Mine not being the YICS model, it had a peaky motor, with an almost 2-stroke like power band. Fitting a Piper 4-into-1 exhaust added a flat-spot, but ensured I could be heard at full-on scream for 2-3 miles.
It got thrashed up and down the country, got used for commuting at a time when I lived in Birmingham, but often worked elsewhere. It even did 2,500 miles around Europe in 2 weeks; mainly at speeds over 150kph.
And after 18 months it was tired. The cam-chain rattled, the valve shims had been swapped to the largest size. Even the carb-linkages had worn the carb bodies so they leaked and couldn't be balanced.
Somehow, I had survived the lunacy; the poor old Yam hadn't quite. Time to retire her for something steadier; with a better life expectancy. For both of us.
