Yamaha Srx600

YAMAHA SRX600

RIDING IMPRESSION:

The less-is-more bike comes to America

$2130

IT ISN'T BIGGER-AND-BETTER OR new-and-improved. It doesn't have a 16-inch front wheel or single-shock rear suspension. And it's not powered by a razzle-dazzle, hypertech engine. Yamaha’s new, single-cylinder SRX600 roadster has none of the trappings we’ve come to expect from Japanese motorcycles; but Yamaha is gambling that U.S. riders will appreciate the SRX’s no-frills, back-to-basics character.

Anyone who likes that approach has to thank a growing percentage of Japanese motorcyclists for the SRX. Yamaha’s home-market research revealed that a sizable number of riders were getting fed up with the ongoing march toward overly complicated, roadracer-styled machinery. Out of that consumer survey came I984’s SRX250, a 250cc “modern Single” that met with immediate success. The 608cc SRX600 and a 399cc SRX400 came next, and enough riders were taken by these new Singles that many dealerships soon had waiting lists of eager buyers.

For 1986, the SRX600 is bound for America, and it will be essentially the same machine that Japanese riders clamored for last year: a freshly styled, barrel-chested bike straight from the what-you-see-is-what-youget school of motorcycle design. Providing the beat for this new stanza in motorcycling’s songbook is an engine derived from the one used in the XT600 dual-purpose bike. Slight changes to carburetion, intake and exhaust plumbing, along with a lmm overbore (making the bike legal for Japan’s F-l roadraces), have added two horsepower and a bit of torque. But not surprisingly, there’s still nowhere near enough power to put the SRX in the same performance class as the middleweight multis.

Which is fine with Yamaha, because the SRX isn’t about outright performance; it’s about a balanced blend of power and handling, mixed in with a fair amount of style that is evidenced in a number of ways. The engine, for example, is not secreted away behind plastic panels, and it's not even painted flat-black, meaning you can actually see what it looks like. And instead of plastic or steel body parts, aluminum is used extensively, such as in the sidepanels, headlight brackets, handlebars, fork brace, speedometer panel and oil tank. There’s also a beautifully sculpted fuel tank complete with an aircraft-type filler cap, and singlewall, stainless-steel header pipes that take on a golden hue with use. So visually, at least, the SRX is a nice change from rocket-boy sportbikes and hey-look-at-me cruisers.

Riding the SRX600 is an equally rewarding experience. For riders weaned on quarter-mile times and top-speed figures, though, the bike’s acceleration will be disappointing at first. And due to its more-forward weight distribution and seating position, as well as its taller gearing, the SRX even feels less sprightly than the XT600, with no firstor second-gear wheelies to spice up the acceleration. Still, for the majority of riding that the majority of riders do, the SRX is more than adequate; and when you add in its big-Single power surge and pleasant, if slightly too subdued, ex haust burble, you’ve got a machine that washes away its straight-line performance deficiencies and becomes, well, fun to ride.

That fun gets even more intense in the corners. Thanks to a stifif, squaretube steel frame, a suspension that’s compliant without being too soft, triple disc brakes and generous cornering clearance, the SRX is a real backroad scorcher. Just stick it in third or fourth gear, and go.

Which isn’t to say that the SRX is a panacea. It still has that traditional big-Single bugaboo—vibration—despite the use of a counterbalancer in the engine. And the SRX rider has to get things rolling without an electric starter; one or two kicks usually do the trick, but occasionally the engine won’t light off until a goodly number of kicks —and curses —have been expended.

Still, Yamaha is betting that some Americans will look past the SRX’s faults and see it as a modern-day, less-is-more motorcycle: less performance overkill, less technical gadgetry, less 21st-century styling. And, perhaps, more of a motorcycle.

David Edwards