Description
Author: Colin MacKellar, ISBN: 9781852239206, Published in 2010, 191 pages, Hardcover
Yamaha is unquestionably one of the great names in motorcycle racing with extraordinary commitment to racing, rather than just building and selling the bikes commercially. It was Yamaha who produced the first over-the-counter racing superbike, the TZ750 whilst also gaining over 350 GP victories to date.
Colin MacKellar, with the help of interviews with some of the key personalities that influenced Yamaha's fortunes and covering both technical advances and racing success, charts the development of the first YAl and its successors. He looks at the early factory RD and RA racers, the giant-killing TDs and TRs and the mythical TZ750 superbike, before rounding off the story with an analysis of the YZ250, the mainstay of production racing over the last twenty years, and the OW and YZR factory racers in the Blue Ribband 500cc GP class.
Synopsis
Yamaha's fame in the annals of motorcycle racing history is ensured by their outstanding contribution to the sport. Yamaha gives the full story of the racing two-strokes, from the company's fateful decision to go into motorcycle racing in 1954, right up to the 1990s, and the awesomely powerful machines being produced today.
- Full history of factory and production two-strokes up to 1993
- Comprehensive specifications for each production model
- Critical analysis of the evolution of the factory's two-stroke engine design
- Superbly illustrated throughout with colour and black and white photos
- Full details of the motorcycles' racing fortunes
- Interviews with key personalities and riders
