Report From Japan
REPORT FROM JAPAN
W.B.SWIM
YAMAHA IS REPORTED to have developed a hot 125cc twin racer which will make its initial run at the Isle of Man T.T. race. No details are available on the super secret new bomb, but Yamaha is definitely put ting everything they have into racing this year in a do or die effort to rack up grand prix race wins and publicity. Honda's Luigi Taveri ran away from Yamaha's 125cc singles in Spain and France. If Yamaha's new twin has as much as rumored, Honda may have to get to work on a six-cylinder job to replace the 125cc four they have Taveri riding now.
Yamaha has put two new models on the market, a new 250cc sports machine incorporating their automatic oil and gaso line mixing system and a 55cc version of the popular Yamaha 50cc machine. All the makers market a 50cc bored out to anywhere from 52cc to 59cc in Japan be cause of a local law that prohibits a 50cc motorcycle from carrying a passenger be hind the rider. Yamaha has no plans for exporting the YJ-1 55cc model. The 250cc YDS-3 is basically~ the old YDS-2 with the "autolube" system added, but Yamaha took the opportunity while they were making this change and added a few new features. The five-speed sportster now has a three step adjustable rear suspen sion unit, turn signals front and rear, one air cleaner instead of the YDS-2's pair (to give room to fit the "autolube") and a new front fender. The 2-cycle twin engine has been upped one horsepower to 24 hp @ 7,500 rpm and torque is up to 2.3 kg-rn @ 5,000 rpm from 2.14 @ 6,000. The 55cc YJ-l lists a maximum speed of 51 mph with four gears. The 42 x 40 mm engine has 7.1 to 1 compression and 4.8 hp @ 8,000 rpm. Torque on the rotary valve single is 0.48 kg-rn @ 6,000 rpm. The kick-started machine has a hy draulic swinging arm in the rear and a leading link front fork.
The Motorcycling Federation of Japan is planning a 24-hour endurance race August 1 and 2. It will be held at Suzuka Circuit, which has recently installed lights around the grand prix racing course. The race, held during the hottest season of the year, will start at 2 PM on Aug. 1 and end at 2 PM the next day, with the winning machine expected to cover nearly 2,000 miles. A team of three riders will take turns on each machine, with no rider in the saddle for over one hour at a time, if present plans are followed.
Bridgestone came out with a 90cc scrambler less than a month after the company put their 90cc street model on sale. The new machine copped a 2nd and 4th against top competition in the first race it entered. Bridgestone is hunting hard for top riders for its factory team, and have nailed down Honda's Nobukazu Ot suki and Tohatsu's Shinichi Tamada al ready to pilot the new 90cc. Nothing has been announced officially about the 90cc scrambler, but it has around 10 horse power in comparison with the standard model's 7.8 hp and compression has been raised. It goes like a 125cc on the straights, but seems to need a bit more on the steep slopes. A 15mm carburetor is mounted, the battery tied into the air cleaner box, the air cleaner swapped for a much smal ler one and the ignition switch graces the battery box. The shortest muffler seen on any scrambler in Japan gives out a shrill whine when the 2-stroke engine is wound up. Front springs have been stif fened and a small fender is mounted firmly way up above the front wheel. Its first outing was at the First East Japan Moto Cross, and veteran riders were surprised to see the two machines do so well, as it generally takes a while to shake down a new model and get the bugs out of it. You nearly had to be a motorcycle racer to count at the recent 2nd Japan Automobile Grand Prix races, held at Suzuka Circuit. Of 3 1 motorcyclists, active and retired, who drove, 24 placed in the money, that is sixth or better. Five win ners in the nine classes were motorcycle racers.. Motorcyclist magazine test rider Chikara Okubo won his race, as did for mer Honda grand prix racer Kenjiro Tan aka and former Yamaha G.P. star Hideo Oishi.
Yamaha developed the "autolube" sys tem which does away with messy pre mixing of gasoline and oil for their 2cycle motorcycles with the assurance that it would make a big hit in foreign mar kets. This it has, but what the company didn't reckon on was the enthusiasm of the riders in Japan, where every gasoline station has a pump which dispenses a pre-mixed fuel mixture for two-strokes. Local demand was so big the factory is about bursting at the seams, according to Yamaha Sales Manager, Isao Komiya. Even turning out 20,000 machines a month in the factory which was designed to produce 15,000 hasn't been able to keep up with the orders, which are back-logging, he said. The company is rushing construction of its new factory, which will boost capacity to 25,000 per month. This can be stretched to 30,000 without too much strain, Mr. Komiya said. Local demands were so strong, in fact, that Yamaha held overseas sales down to 6,000 in April and then eased up to 8,500 in May. Also, the 80cc Yamaha, which has 75cc in the Japan version, was designed primarily with the overseas market in mind. Once it was out it zoomed like a rocket in Japan, however, and monthly production is up to
6.000 and still can't meet demands, the sales manager said. A good example of that best laid plans business. Mr. Komiya added that Yamaha expects to sell 240,000 motorcycles this year and 360,000 in 1965. Production last year was 180,000.
A new 2-cycle rotary valve engine has been fitted to the Rabbit model S301 125cc scooter. This is the only rotary valve scooter now in production in Japan, although there was a 50cc rotary valve scooter some years ago which has since gone out of production. The new Rabbit Junior has four speeds and a grip controlled center pulley system. Maximum power is 8 hp @ 6,000 rpm compared to
7.1 hp the old engine had. Maximum speed is about the same at 57 mph but compression has been raised to 6.7:1 and torque to 1.13 kg-m @ 4,000 rpm. The body is the same as the older model. Rabbit also announced minor changes on its 90cc scooter at the same time.
A real downpour washed out the 10th All Japan Moto-Cross Championships. Some 300 entries, including seven American servicemen, were on hand for the 19 race, 2-day program. Fog closed in tight late Saturday afternoon, and Sunday it poured and poured, washing out three Open class elimination races, the finals in the five classes run and the 125cc and 250cc national championships as well. Of the seven Americans, all in the 250cc class, three survived the elimination heats, one with a 5th place and the other two with 10th in their races. Four U.S. servicemen are among the 22 riders who have earned an invitation to enter the 250cc national championships, rescheduled later.
Suzuki riders won all three of the 500cc heat races, sweeping one, two, three in the first two and first through sixth in the third. The 30 who will be in the 50cc final include 17 Suzukis, 11 Tohatsus, one Honda and one Bridgestone. Suzuki also nabbed both 90cc elimination races. Suzuki has 17 in the 25 90cc finalists along with 3 Yamahas, 3 Hondas and 2 Tohatsus. Tohatsu and Kawasaki split the two 125cc racqs between them. For the final it will be 10 Suzukis, 10 Kawasakis, 5 Yamahas, 4 Tohatsus and one lonely Honda. Suzuki took the first 250cc heat race and the other was nabbed by the only Greeves in Japan. The Greeves was brought here by Honda so they can tear it down and see what's inside, and was lent to one of the company's factory riders for this race. Competing in the final are 11 Suzukis, 7 Yamahas, 3 Hondas and the Greeves. The fact that there are more Suzuki riders in every class for the finals than any other brand gives a pretty good indication of the strength Suzuki has shown in local scrambles events this seasuii.
Beautiful Sunday weather brought out more than 10,000 spectators to the 7th Tokyo Moto-Cross. The Johoku Riders took home the club trophy from among the 278 entries. Several new riders were on hand to compete in their first race, and a few did better than they had been expected to. It's nice to get new blood into the game. The day gave two winner's cups to Suzuki and one each to Yamaha, Kawasaki and Honda. Yamaha took the Open class event, followed by two Suzukis and a Kawasaki. Three Suzukis were home before a Honda rider found the finish line in the 250cc race. In the 125cc it was Kawasaki, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Suzuki and 2 Tohatsus. Suzuki swept the first six places in hte 90cc race before one of the new Bridgestones could get in. In the 50cc it was Honda, Yamaha and 2 Tohatsus before the first Suzuki in.
The 14th Suzuki Moto-Cross six-event program went four to Honda and one each to Tohatsu and Suzuki. Honda riders won the four large classes, the Open, Over 251cc, 250cc and 125cc while Tohatsu took the 90cc event and Suzuki won the 50cc race.
The first shipment of 200 Hodaka Ace 90cc scramblers sailed from Nagoya late in May. The Pacific Basin Trading Co mpany in Oregon is introducing this radically new machine to U.S. riders. The outlook is particularly encouraging, for where all large Japanese makers export motorcycles primarily designed to be ridden by Japanese on Japanese roads with only the minimum modifications necessary to make them saleable abroad, the Hodaka Ace was designed specifically for the American rider. This is quite an interesting departure, and one which may have far-reaching effects.
