Yamahas For 1980
Yamahas for 1980
An All-new 650 Four,25O Singles and Better-Than-Ever Monoshockers From Yamaha.
Now that Yamaha has its, uh, Special success leading the other factories into look-alikes in the laid-back mode, 01' No. 2 has gone the copiers one better for 1980: Yamaha has introduced new road machines done as Specials, and for which there are no Standards.
For more serious riders, there’s a new 650 Four, a four-stroke 250 playbike and the biggest and most powerful open class motocross monster ever offered on the mass market.
Both sides, that is semi-chopper styling and totally new machinery, appears with the 650cc Yamaha Four. The factory intends it as a high performance machine with style. To this end the engine is extremely narrow and compact and mounted in a chassis that takes the chopper-look another step further with a sleek fuel tank, the bottom line of which follows the base of the low two-step seat. At the rear the arc that surrounds the rear wheel runs into the cast alloy grab rail that recalls the adjustable suspension points seen on Velocettes years ago. Wheels have curved cast spokes to give the effect of speed at a standstill. Brakes are single disc front, drum rear.
The new engine looks like an XS11 engine in miniature. Bore and stroke are 63 x 52.4 mm, for a capacity of 653cc. The double overhead camshafts are driven by chain. To reduce width the alternator is mounted above the gearbox and is connected to the crankshaft by a silent chain. The starter also goes above the gearbox and drives to the rear of the clutch. The ignition is transistorized. It’s on the righthand end of the crank. Even so, overall width at the crank is no more than the width of the cylinder head, that is, narrow, which should make the racers happy. Main and connecting rod bearings are plain, and the primary drive is by helical gears from the right side of the No. 3 crank throw direct to the clutch. The gearbox has five speeds and final drive is shaft, not the usual thing in a sports machine and one that makes the claimed dry weight of 455 lb. all the more remarkable.
As a matter of Yamaha policy, the Four’s model name is Maxim-I. Says that on the side, and there is nothing on the bike to reveal engine size. The more formal name is XJ650, but the proper designation is mentioned only in passing.
Yamaha says that the Maxim-I should compete with other manufacturers’ 750cc and 550cc machines and they hope to get away from the old system of putting every bike into a class assigned by capacity. By the way, the XS650 Yamaha lives on this year on the form of the reliable sohc Twin.
For the record, the XS 1100 was tested in these pages last month and the new XS850 appears elsewhere in this issue, so details of those models aren’t needed here.
Instead, Yamaha used its 1980 dealer show to introduce two production show bikes. They are called the Midnight Specials, one an XS850 the other an XS 11, and they will attract attention. The wheels are gold anodized. The fuel tank caps are plated with real gold, and the exhaust pipes and handlebars are black chrome. Dazzling.
The other road bike news is Yamaha’s new entry-level four-stroke 250cc Single. The engine is mostly a smaller version of the one used for the XT, TT and SR500s, but the model itself is nothing like those machines.
The 250 comes in two versions. The Exciter II has a strictly solo seat, with the usual passenger space being occupied by a top box, or trunk. It’s plastic and mounted so as to fit right in with the rear fender. Comes with a padded backrest, reflectors on the sides and a lockable hatch. The inside is big enough to hold the normal full-face helmet, or your briefcase, lunchpail. homework or whatever. And the box can be unlatched and removed.
Why this feature? Yamaha watches people, and they’ve noticed how many motorcycles have been fitted with boxes like this. usually homemade and/or lashed to the luggage rack.
For riders who don’t need the luggage space, there’s the Exciter I, the same engine and frame, etc., but with a passenger seat instead of the trunk. As another option, the buyer can get either bike and the other bits, that is, one can remove the seat and fit the box, or vice versa.
The motorcycle itself has electric start (no kickstarter), a major change from the 500 Singles. Preliminary specs show claimed power of 17 bhp and a dry weight for the buddy-seat version of 267 lb. dry.
The 500 Singles are mostly carry-over for 1980, with the dirt-only TT, the dualpurpose XT and the street-only SR having some minor changes and different paint.
The news is the 250 class, where Yamaha introduces the dual-purpose XT250 and dirt-only TT250. They have the 250 Single engine, as you’d guess.
And they are Monoshock. The 250 engine isn’t as tall and the bike doesn’t weigh as much, and Yamaha has reduced the size of the shock and spring, so the play and dual versions come with the suspension Yamaha has made famous and has made work on motocross and enduro models. Weight is listed as 260 lb.-plus for the TT, another 10 lb. for the XT with the street equipment. The four-stroke off-road field is going to be competitive this year.
So will motocross. Yamaha’s top of that line is the YZ465. Right, 465. Not since the Maico 501 has this much firepower been on the market. The engine is an enlarged version of the YZ400, but the added power brings along a new frame and the latest monoshock, the smaller one seen first on the YZ250, complete with reservoir. The YZ250, tested last month, and the YZ125 naturally use their own versions of the improved suspension.
The IT models follow their usual habit of picking up the proven parts from the YZ racers. Major change comes for the IT 175, which gets the YZ frame and a new engine. The IT400 gains 25cc and the IT250 doesn’t change much at all.
But there is another IT, an IT 125. Odd, in a sense, because the displacement classes in most enduros are 175, 250 and open. As a playbike, though, the IT 125 makes sense. What it amounts to is the YZ style frame and suspension, with a milder version of the motocross engine. Good size and power for riders who are moving up from the teen-size 80s and 100s, but aren’t ready for the 175.
Finally, sad to say there is one model missing from Yamaha’s 1980 lineup The RD400, surely the most successful production club racer ever, has been dropped. Engineering and dedication kept the bike on the market last year, despite a sales curve that went down while the emissions rules went up, but for 1980, the expense of offering the last of the two-stroke Twins was more than Yamaha was willing to pay.
