Yamaha Trailmaster

YAMAHA TRAILMASTER

CW Trail Test

IT HAS BEEN SAID that you cannot get too much of a good thing, and since the Yamaha YG-1 80cc got such a warm reception from the CYCLE WORLD staff in our April issue we thought we had better look into Yamaha's trail version of the same machine. Basically Yamaha has added to the YG-1 such touches as knobby tires in 250 x 16 size (the YG-1 mounts 17-inch), "sport" front fender, scrambles bars, larger rear sprocket for trail gearing, single seat, protective skid shield under engine, luggage rack, and a special bright red or yellow paint job.

We used up a large supply of superlatives on our last encounter, but regardless we still have a lot to say about the Trailmaster. As the picture on this page show, we found our favorite test ground near the Editor's mountain cabin under several inches of snow. Our Eastern readers will be immediately familiar with the problems of riding on soft snow, never knowing precisely what lies under the resilient surface — slippery, too. We had excellent opportunity to determine the handling qualities under both the snow conditions, and later, on somewhat drier trails. To be conservative, it handles superbly and far better than what one would expect from so small and light a machine.

The famous Yamaha rotary valve truly comes into its own off the road where slow running is often required and torque means a great deal more than horsepower, especially when the engine does not need to turn 10,000 rpm to achieve it. We met and conquered almost every obstacle with very little assistance from the rider and under full control, due partly to the excellent flotation offered by the large section tires. Incidentally, owners of any one of a number of the various small displacement lightweight trail machines should look into the mounting of 2.50, 2.75 or even 3.00 section tires; they improve handling and flotation in sand and other soft surfaces far better than the standard thin tire. They also contribute somewhat to improving the general comfort and ride.

To carry our enthusiasm for this machine to the ultimate, we are now preparing an article on modifying the engine and are in the process of testing a modified machine with a special exhaust, supplied by reader Jack Smith in Los Angeles. We expect to be able to repdrt of great things for this machine; similarly tuned models are already winning lOOcc scrambles in the West.

For the technical detail-minded; horsepower (estimated) 71/2-8, single-cylinder, two-cycle, 0.47 pounds torque @ 5,000 rpm, kick start, four-speed transmission, battery ignition with key, total weight 140 pounds, overall length 71 inches, top speed 40 mph, oil dampened suspension front and rear.