"Feedback"
"FEEDBACK"
Readers are invited to have their say about motorcycles they own or have owned. Anything is fair game: performance, handling, reliability, service, parts availability, funkiness, lovability, you name it. Suggestions: be objective, be fair, no wildly emotional but ill-founded invectives; include useful facts like miles on odometer, time owned, model year, special equipment and accessories bought, etc.
YAMAHA 350 TWIN
I wish somebody would publish a magazine which consisted of nothing but one large “Feedback” column. After two years of absorbing knowledge from this section, I think I’ll make my first contribution. My present bike is a 1972 R5 350 Yamaha. It has over 11,000 miles on the odometer.
In all those miles, I bought my most expensive replacement part yesterday, a rear sprocket ($15.49). The bike is getting better every day.
During the break-in period, the bike was a real dog, and I was even considering a trade-in on a brand new CB350 Honda. Neophyte R5 owners take heart —things take a skyrocket for the better at about 1000 miles. In the first 1000 miles I put on the bike, it went through six sets of spark plugs, not to mention a top speed of 70 and 40 miles to the gallon. In the next 10,000 miles, it went through four sets of extremely cold plugs, which were replaced before fouling, a consistent top speed of 110, and an average 60 miles to the gallon.
There seems to be some doubt about the longevity of two-strokes on the street. I think my case partly refutes the retorts of the ring-ding haters, and, judging by the way the bike’s running now, I’ll write to you next fall after another 11,000 miles and completely refute it.
The only time I baby my bike is when it’s in the garage (maintenancewise). On the road it’s ridden like I’ve been told that I have a week to live. And, contrary to popular belief, it’s a comparatively cool-running bike, and I’ve never known it to lose power from overheating. On one particular short run, made with a 1971 CL450 Honda, we maintained a constant speed of 95-100 mph for just over 100 miles. When we arrived at our destination, we both shut our bikes off, and went into a restaurant. Twenty minutes later, we came out, and I laid my hand on my cylinder head, which was lukewarm. If you spit on the 45 0's head, it boiled.
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But please don't get me wrong. The bike's not perfect. The seat has almost no padding at all, and this is really felt after an hour in the saddle, the chain has a tendency to stretch at alarming rates (for a 350), and the bike has a strange ability to burn bulbs out quickly.
These, however, are relatively minor points. Handling? There's not too much left of my centerstand and footpeg rubbers, and you have to go a long way over to drag them. Gas mileage? I was once 300 miles from home with $3.76 in my pocket, and made it, even enjoy ing a hamburger along the way.
When I think of my former bike, a 1970 Yamaha 200, which withstood hour after hour at 7500 rpm for the 5000 miles I had it, and my present wonderbike, then read the road racing results coming in, I sometimes wonder why anybody buys any other marque.
Cyril Abs Kitchener, Ont., Can.
I’m writing this letter to Feedback in order to thank Gilbert and to congratulate Jerry Smith for telling it like it is!
That was a brilliant way of letting the inotor-minded world know that the R5 is an excellent machine. I have owned Hondas, Suzukis and Kawasakis, but none of these have lived up to the reliability and the almost perfect characteristics of the “better machine.”
When I received my motor I was very energetic about “racing” it. To make a long story short, I did race, plus put 13,000 miles on my R5 in 1-1/2 years.
You would think that the bike would seem to be worn out (top end wise) by now. No way. I just finished a trip from Florida to New York and back.
I did have my share of problems, though only minor ones. But to date I have replaced the following parts—three sets of spark plugs, two tires, one battery and a right hand crankcase cover.
To end it all I would like to say that the R5 is definitely a great bike for someone who goes for speed, great handling, good looks and reliability. To Gilbert-keep up the good service and don’t let anyone forget—Yamaha is the better machine!”
Mike Dennis Tallahassee, Fla.
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My Yamaha R5-B is a sweet machine. It is sad the service is rotten. Bought used (1800 miles) and in fair shape in September 1971, the bike was used daily for commuting in moderate city traffic (25 miles a day), taking exception for winter and heavy rains. So I had ample opportunity to appreciate its numerous brilliant qualities: cheap to buy, deceptively maintenance-free, accelerating briskly, handling nicely at speed, starting on the first kick, comfortable seating and controls position, at least for my body build, looking elegant, leaking not a drop of oil. The plugs never fouled in any kind of riding conditions; the chain, lubricated weekly with motor oil, rarely needed retightening. Even on very cold days the choke lever can be released almost immediately after starting.
In order to do some nitpicking I must confess that the machine never reached its advertised 103 mph, 85 mph being the highest the speedometer ever read. The headlamp costs an excessive $9 and cannot be replaced with a standard sealed beam. The gas tank, beautifully shaped as it may be, is a trifle small and 70-75 miles is the average between refueling stops. The front brake cannot be called inadequate, but needs a strong grip to be activated for vigorous stopping and cannot be modulated easily. Fade becomes noticeable under energetic riding.
At 4000 miles, the original rear tire was replaced with a Michelin Rapido, a type I trust more for riding in the rain. Then something annoying: the left exhaust pipe flange fractured at the 2500 mile mark. This flange cannot be replaced; you pay $30 for a whole new exhaust pipe. Instead, I had a machinist make one on a lathe and weld it...it fractured at 5000 miles. This one was welded and grinded...and fractured again at 6000 miles. I am now having another flange made for $20, the lowest bidder out of five machine shops. But most of this is picayune and is not to be considered as complaints. They are the lot of every steady rider. And no manmade machine can be considered perfect.
Then in the last days of June, with 6500 miles on the odometer, disaster struck or rather infiltrated. At that time, I got stranded late one night with a puzzling case of dead battery. A thorough check of the electrical system the following day revealed nothing amiss and I suspected that the AC generator rotor, the only part that could not be checked without much dismantling, was at fault. This suspicion was confirmed by the cooperative people at Daytona Motor Corporation a few days later.
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I was told the AC generator rotor had to be changed, that they did not have the part in stock, of course, but that they should get it in no more than two weeks. My suggestion of having the rotor rewound was disapproved. Well, I could live for 15 days, charging the battery nightly, limiting my range to 15-20 miles from home and abstaining from driving at night, at least with the lights on. Two weeks later the new rotor had not appeared at the shop, nor the week after that, not even four or five weeks. This annoying state of affairs lasted the best part of two months. Then, a firm letter of mine to Fred Deeley Limited, Yamaha’s distributor for Canada, brought a polite answer and the promise of a new rotor in two days. Seven days later no rotor is to be seen anywhere.
Calls to many shops in the hope of finding the missing part volunteered the information that this part was defective in as many as 40 percent of R5-Bs sold at some dealers. But then, two months is a very long time to wait for any part, all the more for a part as vital as an AC generator rotor. So far I have been a very patient, silent and faithful customer, but as the days of our too-short summer go by, I am getting vociferous, vindictive and violent, but devoid of any means of pressure on a distributor except by having such a letter published in a leading magazine.
Pierre Rivest, MD, M.Sc. Montreal, Can.
1971 BSA 650 LIGHTNING
After six months and only 2200 miles, my 1971 650 Lightning has proven to be very disappointing.
First of all, the crankcase and chain case leak oil like there’s no tomorrow. Not only does this make the cycle messy and grimy, but it also leaves little puddles wherever I park. Secondly, the gas tank vibrates very badly while in second gear and while cruising around 50 mph. My biggest complaint of all, however, concerns gas leakage. My left carb on the bike sometimes leaks so bad that it squirts gas out like a water pistol—which in turn soaks my pants leg and sprays gas all over my jacket. The gas tank also leaks badly and is slowly taking that second-hand paint job off in the process. In fact, the tank leaks so bad that I have to carry a rag around with me while riding to keep from getting paint on my clothes.
R. H. Kealy Jr. Dallas, Texas
