Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/125790
M N For frustrated road race'rs and those who like to go the Ii.it. 1 N .... Cl> , around Topanga Canyon and was able to pull away in the swervery. The four-wheeled contraption had the upper hand in power, though. There were only two failings that could be found in the road racer that lurks within the Yamaha twin. In some comers, at very high speed (85+ MPH) it was inclined to speed wobble. It was only necessary to roll the throttle off slightly to bring things back into line. Presumably, not too many people will be thrashing it along at this kind of speed anyway. The only other problem that we encountered was the somewhat limited ground clearance. We removed the stands which made a considerable difference in the angle obtainable. What worked even better (and didn't require looking for something to lean the machine on when it was stopped) was pretending you were Paul Smart and climbing off in the turns. The handling and braking of the machine were good enough that we recommended this machine to a friend who was buying his first machine and had _some interest in getting into production road racing eventually. Writers always' seem to get excited abou t the sty ling of the Yamahas. It seems to us that styling is a matter of taste, so we won't direct your opinion on the DS-7's looks. We will say that the fmish is quite good, however. The ignition key goes in either way like a Ford key. It has a plastic head which makes it easier to find in a pocket full of coins and keys. The fork lock key is different from the ignition key wh ich seems unnecessary. The engine stayed pretty clean, but the ends of the one-piece exhaust system showed some oil. It could be that ours was set up a little rich on oil. What little noise there was came from the intake system; good mufflers. The question is: who wants a 250 for $719 when for less than a hundred dollars more $ 7 95) one can own the 350 R5-B that offers more power and all the same running gear. Well, there is the person who doesn't have the extra 100 scoots. Then there is the guy who deson't have $100 worth of in terest in the 350 over the 250. But there are two kinds of people who will want the 250 over the 350. The first is the smart beginner. He knows that the 250 will be adequate for his needs but won't be as likely to get him into situations that he can't figure his way out of. The other happy DS-7 owner will be the guy who really gets into using his machinery on winding back roads or who wan ts to go > 3 .., ~ w Z w -' .(,) > (,) production road racing_ . The man who enjoys pressing his machine to its limits and using all of it will find the 250 to be a better machine than the 350. The man who enjoys finding the righ t gear for every comer, braking hard, keeping the engine on the power, and leaning it until the pegs ground will find the Yamaha 250 to be thr right mount for the road to heaven. It is is a good machine to use to its limits on a road that demands a lot of concentration. How will the DS-7's engine fare under hard running? Well, it's always difficult to predict the long term reliability after a few thousand miles, but we can say that the machine won't break on yo.!, right off. We gave that little engine and transm,sslOn an incredible flogging. Our staff road racer' pried some mountain roads on' the DS-7 with the throttle open and engine screaming. For over an hour at a stretch the engine never saw the underside of five grand. Even with all that thrashing, it never asked for so much as a fresh spark plug. Very impressive. If you are only after power, you will be happy with the 35 O. If you like to go the limit or you are a frustrated road racer, the DS·7 may please you more than the bigger engined machine. CZ Is Competltlye ANYWHERE Expert Nacogdoches, Texas 250Davey Frazer 1st Motoeross 2nd Tyler Simpson June 4,1972 Open Expert 1st Bryan Fox 2nd Ross Hightown Mammoth Mountain, California Motocross June 24-25, 1972 250 Senior 1st Greg Robertson CZ 2nd Gabe Dick CZ It is nimble enough that it can be used lor motoring through trallic to get ,burger, YAMAHA 250 OS-7 SPECtFICATIONS ~~~:~h. ::::::::::::::::::::::': :::::::::::': :::::::::::::::::::::::::;g; :~: ~~:~I~~::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::~:::::::::::::::::::::::::: :~~:~ :~: ~~~T~~p~~itY' :::::::::: ::::::: :::: :::::::: :::::::::: :::: ::::::::::: }~~~: Bore x stroke ....................•................•... , 54 x 54mm l~~fij~~~~c~~~ : ::::::::~ :::~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ::::~ ~ ::::::~ :.:::::.. ~ :~~~:lf~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Engine oil capacity Claimed bhp Claimed torque ~~~~m~:~~~t: , , , , -_ 2,1 qts. ,30 @7,500 21.1 ft,lb.@ 7000 rpm :::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::: :::::::::::::::::~~~}, Ui _ _.' _ Grand Junction, Colorado Desert Scramblers MC Motocross June 4,1972 250 Expert 1st Roy Valasquez CZ 2nd Ray Patton CZ Boise, Idaho Inter AMA Pro. Motocross Open Support Class CZ . 1st Robert Brown 2nd Barry Higgins CZ American Jawa Ltd. 185 Express Street Plainview, Long Island, N.Y. 11803 CZ CZ CZ CZ Tahoe Vista, California AMA Pro Motocross June 18, 1972 Open Class CZ 1st Brad Lackey Bell Mountain, California Hilltoppers Hare Scrambles 1st Overall Jim Fishback 250 CZ Livermore, California CMC North Carabela Series June 18, 1972 250 Senior 1st Henry Holback CZ 2nd Phil Jacobsen CZ 3rd Chris Willems CZ American Jawa Ltd. 3745 Overland Ave. Los Angeles, Ca. 90034 American Jawa Ltd. 7600 Trans·Canada Hwy. Montreal, 377 Canada