My dad had a Yamaha Rx125 for a while. Because we lived on a dead end street it meant lots of fun thrashing it up and down. Had that classic red and black colour scheme too. Nice little bike, wish I could find another one.
I always liked the build quality of the Yamaha engine casting and the subtle touches, Yamaha being a musical instrument manufacturer have a good understanding of alloys and casting metals. Their development of the Adler engine gave them a sold foundation
I still have my late model RX-S. I had one previously which helped get me through college and university. I could not think of a cheaper way to maintain independence. I bought the bike cheap from a friend, and could MOT, tax and insure it for under £100 annually. I was a bit of a born again biker, having passed my test back in 1984, so it made sense to return to bikes. The improvement in weatherproof gear meant that year round use was a feasible undertaking. Thanks for the video! A friend of mine had an LC80; he managed to get a 125LC engine into it😬.
Thank you for taking us back to the 1970s and 1980s in this video. Although I went with Suzuki 2 strokes at the time I did like the Yamaha Speed block design on some of their bikes and the shape of the fuel tamks on some of the Kawasakis too. Great video.
Another banger, brother. My dad always rode Hondas on the street but his go to for off road riding was 2 stroke Yams. He said he ran circles around his buddies Kwakas.
I bought a YL1 when my C15 needed a full rebuild. The tyres were made of black greasy rock and the brake linings from cornflake packet. The suspension was a pogo-stick either end. Once I had fitted Dunlops, Ferodo and Girling, it was a corker. Faster than the C15 (I know that's not saying much!) and like a bicycle round corners with good brakes and roadholding. Wish I had it now but i was a Brit-bike guy and sold it on when I'd rebuilt the C15.
A good friend of my brother had a candy blue RD80LC & my brother a green Kawasaki AR80, they both fitted micron expansion chambers, you could hear them all over the estate where we lived.
The RD 250 LC + RD 350 LC where really iconic, the looked a bit like the production racers from Yamaha, due to the German insurance classes the 350cc was in the same class like the 27hp motorcycles but it was more powerful, lighter, smaller and faster than other bikes of that class, same goes for the 250cc that was placed in the 17hp class.
I had a YL1, Same colour blue. It was very small, but fast as hell, all gears were up, so neutral was at the Bottom, leading to many a red face. I also had a 125 YAS1, with the tea urn air filters, that was quick also. My 1st new bike was a 200 YCS3, electric start, followed by a 350 YR5. In later years, My wife had an RD250LC, but she didn't ride it hard enough, so I would give it a thrash and fill the road with smoke.😂
Love my two strokes tiddlers 84 gp100 soon to be big bore 125 and my rg150 rare bike only for Thailand with 100 brought here to nz 38hp at 12500 180kph limited could do 200 unlimited highly strung little bike has Suzuki exhaust valve system 6 speed basically a road legal rm antisocial i love it🇳🇿
None of the Yamaha small twins 200cc or less including the YL1 used the crank mounted clutch. They were all on the transmission main shaft and quite smooth and reliable. You’re thinking of the pre 1967 250 and 305 models and the road racer TD1 through TD1B that had the grabby crank mounted clutch.
@@bikerdood1100 Well they were wrong. I still have a YL1E and had a CS3B 200. Both had normal clutches on the main shafts. Besides a few small mini bikes and step thru models with auto clutches only the 250s and 305s had the crank mounted clutches until the 1967 YDS5 came out. You can believe that as I was a Yamaha shop tech from 1972 through 1981 and then a service advisor and technical writer for Yamaha Motor USA until my retirement in 2017.
@@guylr7390 interesting because they went into some detail I notice yours is an E which I’d assume is electric start so it may be @ different set up because they had to mount the starter motor drive somewhere so it would have more design changes than a simple change to 12v
Yamaha yg1 sould be on the list a small 2 stroke from the 60,70, history off this machine is unreal from the oil crisesin the USA,UK to cheap running to save money you could do a complete idea on this small bike.. Thankyou for the videos
There’s no doubt, Yamaha made some fantastic two strokes. I don’t recall a bad one amongst them. For one reason or another, I’ve never owned a Yamaha 🤷♀️. Having said that, as I tend to keep my bikes a long time ( compared to some), haven’t actually owned a large number in total considering been riding close to 50 years😱
In a parallel twin, both pistons reach top dead center at the same time. In a parallel twin where the pistons move up and down at the same time, the crankshaft angle is 360 degrees.
Er nope In most British and some Japanese and Italian bikes that is indeed the case but it doesn’t tend to be in Two strokes All in the video had a 180 degree offset which is very much the norm on two stroke parallel twins Villiers included
On a two stroke, a crankshaft angle of 360 degrees would be the same as an angle of 0 degrees. This because the whole sequence of induction, compression, power and exhaust events takes place in a single rotation. A four stroke engine takes two rotations to carry out the same events.
The compression ratios of these units seem amazing low .., is this a reflection of 2 strokes in general and a pre compression due to air / fuel mixture in the crank ..?
Well they generally run fairly low compression ratios They do combust twice as often of course and heating is definitely an issue. They always seem quite sensitive to mixture too,
There was a whole series of Yamaha trail and Dual Sport on-off road bikes sold in the US like the YG5T, L5T the LT1, CT1, the little horizontal arranged single cylinder bikes had rotary valve induction, and had very wide torque curves. I owned a 1966 Twin-Jet 100, I seriously don't agree that it could do more than 50 mph, as I also owned a 1970 Honda Trail 90 and it wasn't much faster than the Honda. It certainly had he soundtrack that made it sound like it was pushing over 60.
I bought a Bridgestone 350 GTR in 1968! Way ahead of the Yamaha. Rotary disc valve intake, 37 hp, 19” wheels, six speed transmission and a suspension close to an English bike. (I had a Norton 650 at the time and no, the Bridgestone didn’t handle as well, but was more reliable) I bought the Bridgestone at a department store for $595.00, couldn’t say no! Too bad the Japanese Motorcycle companies forced Bridgestone to stop making bikes and stick to making tires. The Bridgestone was not as well finished as the Yamaha, but was more comfortable to ride, went faster and stopped more quickly.
Unfortunately Bridgestone did enjoy sales that were strong enough They were pressured by the other big Japanese makes to stop bike manufacture if they wanted sales of their tyres. Tyres were their main business by that point and with sales only so so it seemed an obvious choice
My 1st "real" bike was a 1982 RX50 Midnight Special. Later on I found a 67 125cc twin with dual rear sprockets for street or trails. Niether was very fast but both were a lot of fun and leaps beyond my QT50 noped. I would love to find any of those 3 except old Yamaha parts can be a nightmare to source.
I do own a few RD125LC, today. Both type 10W and 1GU. Pretty close to the RD80LC: they share the same frame. So they are pretty lightweight for a 125cc. Both have 21hp, propelling them to a 130km/h upright and a whooping 140km/h, when I fold myself together. In perspective: I know of a Suzuki LS650 Savage, which did only go a 120km/h, having 27hp. And a Suzuki GS 400, praised for going a 150km/h (also 27hp). And I haven't even optimised the transmission ratio. (140 at 10000rpm. 21hp at 9000rpm.) Fun fact: pls take a look at the front disc of the RD80 and the RD125: the disc on the RD80 is slotted. On the RD125, it's not! Emergenzy braking in heavy rain with an unslotted disc brake: like you just wanted to accelerate. Terrifying! I do have an RD80 disc now, to put on mine. The later TZR 125 4DL had 34hp. Would be fun to put such a motor in there. The size of the rear chain is different. So that would need some mechanic work. Fair waring: that is illegal (at least in Germany)! I'm 63. I don't care very much , anymore ;-)
You featured the Rd125 and overlooked the As1. If you had done your research. Instead of simply reading out the spec sheets. You would have noticed. The As1 is the only road based motorcycle to win a Grand prix world championship. In the hands of Sweden's Kent Andersson. Far more impressive than the Rd125. Wouldn't you agree.
Was grateful to Yamaha back in the 70s, as the cops were busy pulling over young riders on Yams and tended to leave us alone when we were out on our Beezers.
I know I'm not alone but, I love to go on about BS. A video of 5 classic Bridgestones would easily raise their value to kwak triple status. No, maybe not. Keep them secret
My dad had a Yamaha Rx125 for a while. Because we lived on a dead end street it meant lots of fun thrashing it up and down. Had that classic red and black colour scheme too. Nice little bike, wish I could find another one.
We had an RXS100 quite recently, the RS and RX seem much less common today
I always liked the build quality of the Yamaha engine casting and the subtle touches, Yamaha being a musical instrument manufacturer have a good understanding of alloys and casting metals. Their development of the Adler engine gave them a sold foundation
Well there are similarities with Adler it’s true
But many differences too
My first bike was an RD200 in 1981, only had in few months then government brought in the 125 restriction. Then brought a RS100, great fun
Stupid laws 😂
A neighbour had the 200, great sound for essentially a commuter bike
We ran the RXs descendent and it was very tough
Great video.miss my ol RD 125 twin.....
Glad you enjoyed it
Had an RD briefly but it was an LC
Once again you've shown me bikes i didn't know existed .
❤ absolutely beautiful machines
Well we try 😂
I still have my late model RX-S. I had one previously which helped get me through college and university. I could not think of a cheaper way to maintain independence. I bought the bike cheap from a friend, and could MOT, tax and insure it for under £100 annually. I was a bit of a born again biker, having passed my test back in 1984, so it made sense to return to bikes. The improvement in weatherproof gear meant that year round use was a feasible undertaking. Thanks for the video!
A friend of mine had an LC80; he managed to get a 125LC engine into it😬.
They are about as simple as motoring can get teay
Thank you for taking us back to the 1970s and 1980s in this video. Although I went with Suzuki 2 strokes at the time I did like the Yamaha Speed block design on some of their bikes and the shape of the fuel tamks on some of the Kawasakis too. Great video.
Thanks glad it brought back a few memories
Another banger, brother. My dad always rode Hondas on the street but his go to for off road riding was 2 stroke Yams. He said he ran circles around his buddies Kwakas.
👍🏻
Cool 😎
I bought a YL1 when my C15 needed a full rebuild. The tyres were made of black greasy rock and the brake linings from cornflake packet. The suspension was a pogo-stick either end. Once I had fitted Dunlops, Ferodo and Girling, it was a corker. Faster than the C15 (I know that's not saying much!) and like a bicycle round corners with good brakes and roadholding. Wish I had it now but i was a Brit-bike guy and sold it on when I'd rebuilt the C15.
Japanese took some time to gather their heads around cornering , quick though no doubt
A good friend of my brother had a candy blue RD80LC & my brother a green Kawasaki AR80, they both fitted micron expansion chambers, you could hear them all over the estate where we lived.
Ah micron a company much missed
The RD 250 LC + RD 350 LC where really iconic, the looked a bit like the production racers from Yamaha, due to the German insurance classes the 350cc was in the same class like the 27hp motorcycles but it was more powerful, lighter, smaller and faster than other bikes of that class, same goes for the 250cc that was placed in the 17hp class.
In the UK the 350 was used in a one make racing series
Which was interesting 😂
I had a RD50 which i bought for 50 quid and used it for going back and forth to work when there was snow,didnt want to drop my GS1000 😂👍
Well makes perfect sense to me
I used to nick the mother in laws scooter for work
I have no shame
Well not when the weather is crap 😂
Another excellent video. I have to say this. IMO you have the perfect voice for narrating. Hi from Brisbane Australia 🎉🎉🎉
Some would definitely not agree 😂😂
Usually Americans
They only speak Merican
Apparently 😂
Great video. No matter what the size of the bikes...they are all great. Thanks for sharing. Ride safe. Cheers
Absolutely
great selection.
Thanks glad you enjoyed it
I always enjoy your videos on a particular class of bikes, be it British Thumpers or Japanese Screamers 👍
🏍 🚓 🚓 🚓 "Pull over.. Now!!"
Well I love pretty much all bikes
Some more than others of course
@@bikerdood1100 I think the youtube people already figured that out. Lol :-)
@@robinbrowne5419 how very true 😂😂😂
had a yb100 in the mid 80s cost £587 and a free crash helmet couldnt afford a gp100 or 125 and it was a bit slow but got me through my test 🙂
Lot of cash then
I had a YL1, Same colour blue. It was very small, but fast as hell, all gears were up, so neutral was at the Bottom, leading to many a red face. I also had a 125 YAS1, with the tea urn air filters, that was quick also. My 1st new bike was a 200 YCS3, electric start, followed by a 350 YR5. In later years, My wife had an RD250LC, but she didn't ride it hard enough, so I would give it a thrash and fill the road with smoke.😂
Ah so a drum gear box
See it today in some quads I think
Love my two strokes tiddlers 84 gp100 soon to be big bore 125 and my rg150 rare bike only for Thailand with 100 brought here to nz 38hp at 12500 180kph limited could do 200 unlimited highly strung little bike has Suzuki exhaust valve system 6 speed basically a road legal rm antisocial i love it🇳🇿
Tiny bikes can be crazy
My 72 rd125 was surprisingly fast. It was like driving a bicycle at 80 mph
Bit narrow then?
None of the Yamaha small twins 200cc or less including the YL1 used the crank mounted clutch. They were all on the transmission main shaft and quite smooth and reliable. You’re thinking of the pre 1967 250 and 305 models and the road racer TD1 through TD1B that had the grabby crank mounted clutch.
Non of the others agreed bit I can only report my research
The YL1 was pre 67 and I am reading from a contemporary article in Cycle magazine
@@bikerdood1100 Well they were wrong. I still have a YL1E and had a CS3B 200. Both had normal clutches on the main shafts. Besides a few small mini bikes and step thru models with auto clutches only the 250s and 305s had the crank mounted clutches until the 1967 YDS5 came out. You can believe that as I was a Yamaha shop tech from 1972 through 1981 and then a service advisor and technical writer for Yamaha Motor USA until my retirement in 2017.
@@guylr7390 interesting because they went into some detail
I notice yours is an E which I’d assume is electric start so it may be @ different set up because they had to mount the starter motor drive somewhere so it would have more design changes than a simple change to 12v
Yamaha yg1 sould be on the list a small 2 stroke from the 60,70, history off this machine is unreal from the oil crisesin the USA,UK to cheap running to save money you could do a complete idea on this small bike.. Thankyou for the videos
Well you can’t fit everything into a short video
Choices have to be made
There’s no doubt, Yamaha made some fantastic two strokes. I don’t recall a bad one amongst them. For one reason or another, I’ve never owned a Yamaha 🤷♀️. Having said that, as I tend to keep my bikes a long time ( compared to some), haven’t actually owned a large number in total considering been riding close to 50 years😱
We’ve owned a few Yamahas over the years
Some bikes we keep for years others we change more often
In a parallel twin, both pistons reach top dead center at the same time.
In a parallel twin where the pistons move up and down at the same time, the crankshaft angle is 360 degrees.
Er nope
In most British and some Japanese and Italian bikes that is indeed the case but it doesn’t tend to be in Two strokes
All in the video had a 180 degree offset which is very much the norm on two stroke parallel twins
Villiers included
On a two stroke, a crankshaft angle of 360 degrees would be the same as an angle of 0 degrees.
This because the whole sequence of induction, compression, power and exhaust events takes place in a single rotation. A four stroke engine takes two rotations to carry out the same events.
@@derekp2674 well yeh
The compression ratios of these units seem amazing low .., is this a reflection of 2 strokes in general and a pre compression due to air / fuel mixture in the crank ..?
Well they generally run fairly low compression ratios
They do combust twice as often of course and heating is definitely an issue. They always seem quite sensitive to mixture too,
There was a whole series of Yamaha trail and Dual Sport on-off road bikes sold in the US like the YG5T, L5T the LT1, CT1, the little horizontal arranged single cylinder bikes had rotary valve induction, and had very wide torque curves. I owned a 1966 Twin-Jet 100, I seriously don't agree that it could do more than 50 mph, as I also owned a 1970 Honda Trail 90 and it wasn't much faster than the Honda. It certainly had he soundtrack that made it sound like it was pushing over 60.
True but can’t feature em all
I bought a Bridgestone 350 GTR in 1968! Way ahead of the Yamaha. Rotary disc valve intake, 37 hp, 19” wheels, six speed transmission and a suspension close to an English bike. (I had a Norton 650 at the time and no, the Bridgestone didn’t handle as well, but was more reliable) I bought the Bridgestone at a department store for $595.00, couldn’t say no! Too bad the Japanese Motorcycle companies forced Bridgestone to stop making bikes and stick to making tires. The Bridgestone was not as well finished as the Yamaha, but was more comfortable to ride, went faster and stopped more quickly.
Unfortunately Bridgestone did enjoy sales that were strong enough
They were pressured by the other big Japanese makes to stop bike manufacture if they wanted sales of their tyres. Tyres were their main business by that point and with sales only so so it seemed an obvious choice
Did you know that your uncle Brian bought a YL1 new in 1966? Kept it till he bought a car about 1970. That bike was very quick for a 100.
Yep
That’s why I included it
Noisy bloody thing I remember him saying
@@bikerdood1100 It was when we took the baffles out..............
@@johnscotcher9753 why doesn’t that surprise me 😂
My 1st "real" bike was a 1982 RX50 Midnight Special. Later on I found a 67 125cc twin with dual rear sprockets for street or trails. Niether was very fast but both were a lot of fun and leaps beyond my QT50 noped. I would love to find any of those 3 except old Yamaha parts can be a nightmare to source.
Less is more as they say
@@bikerdood1100
Less IS fun, but more is more, and way too damn much is just about perfect!
@@upsidedowndog1256 naaaah
😂
I do own a few RD125LC, today. Both type 10W and 1GU. Pretty close to the RD80LC: they share the same frame. So they are pretty lightweight for a 125cc. Both have 21hp, propelling them to a 130km/h upright and a whooping 140km/h, when I fold myself together.
In perspective: I know of a Suzuki LS650 Savage, which did only go a 120km/h, having 27hp. And a Suzuki GS 400, praised for going a 150km/h (also 27hp). And I haven't even optimised the transmission ratio. (140 at 10000rpm. 21hp at 9000rpm.)
Fun fact: pls take a look at the front disc of the RD80 and the RD125: the disc on the RD80 is slotted. On the RD125, it's not!
Emergenzy braking in heavy rain with an unslotted disc brake: like you just wanted to accelerate. Terrifying! I do have an RD80 disc now, to put on mine.
The later TZR 125 4DL had 34hp. Would be fun to put such a motor in there. The size of the rear chain is different. So that would need some mechanic work. Fair waring: that is illegal (at least in Germany)! I'm 63. I don't care very much , anymore ;-)
It ain’t all about top speed, the Savage is a very different beast. I know which I’d take on a long journey
You featured the Rd125 and overlooked the As1.
If you had done your research. Instead of simply reading out the spec sheets.
You would have noticed. The As1 is the only road based motorcycle to win a Grand prix world championship. In the hands of Sweden's Kent Andersson. Far more impressive than the Rd125. Wouldn't you agree.
🙄
The simple fact that I don’t have film of an As1
May be significant here
Rude comment incidentally
I really want a Twin jet 100cc.
Much more fun than bigger bikes as too many coppers with speed guns & cameras.
Those rosers 😂
You can a ton of fun on a small bike
Was grateful to Yamaha back in the 70s, as the cops were busy pulling over young riders on Yams and tended to leave us alone when we were out on our Beezers.
@@alandavies55 well it’s not like you would have been doing anything interesting 😂😂
@@alandavies55 my 1st motorbike was a D14 Bantam in January 1980. Got pulled over a few times. Then in 1982 I got a Royal star 500 which I still have.
Wot. No Yamaha YB100!
Do try and focus on what’s in there rather than what isn’t 🙄
Can’t put every single bike into a short video 😂
@@bikerdood1100 My mistake. A pathetic attempt at humour. Unsubscribed.
@@clarehennessey3653 Cheers.
@@clarehennessey3653 really ?
Seems a little ott but you’re choice
@@clarehennessey3653 shouldn’t take it so seriously
It’s only TH-cam 😂
ok then, all projects for today are scrapped, it's 50F' (12C' ) , dusting off my kx125, I'm gone for the day, responsibility out the window..!
Seems sensible to me 😂
12 degrees
Positively spring like 👍
ok, got tired already...back in the sofa...
12C? Jeez, that's chilly! It's a warm-ish 44C (111.2F) here in this part of West Aust today... 🥵 Think I'll leave the Guzzi in the shed. 🏖
75% humidity... wish I was in AU.
@@maxxpretzy2557 Not 75% humidity here in WA; it's just 18%, so it's a hot, dry heat.
I know I'm not alone but, I love to go on about BS. A video of 5 classic Bridgestones would easily raise their value to kwak triple status. No, maybe not. Keep them secret
😂😂
Would be nice to cover Bridgestone I’ll admit
They are a very rare site in the UK however.
Think I’ve seen one in recent years