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/126604
The engine starts easily with the assistance of the handlebar-mounted choke and is willing to ride away immediately. Yamaha recommends that the bike not be ridden ti ll the engine responds norma lly to the throttle with th e choke off. When you do ride away. you will notice that th e engine does not pull just off idle and must be revved just a litt le to move away from a stop. Midrange power is plentiful and. at midthrottle settings. no other 550cc pulls out of corners with such authority. When the throttle settings become wider. the litt le engine really pumps out the power and the torque. Head-to-head drag races with a 550 Seca found the bikes about even . with the Vision a lot easi er to get off the line. The Seca's sixth gear and more peak (to our seats. anywa y) power would let it pull away sometime after the speedo was resting on the peg. Even with a large passenger. the power is always more than adequate. Yamaha gets an A in ergonomics with this one. The footpeg/seatl handlebar relationship received raves from our testers. Odd. since one is 6'1" and another 5'7 ". The seat feels firm , but two 200-mile days in th e canyons left our testers fresh and without "butt-iris" or sore backs. Comfort was not compromised by , vibration either. the litt le V puts out faint movements but does not vibrate in the normal sense. Suffice it to say that it never became obtrusive. and the mirrors were al ways clear in any situation where we were going slow eno ugh to hazard a glance into them. This is a really fun motorcycle. We don't have a " nor mal" mileage fig, ure because we couldn 't stay away from the canyons long enough to get one. The overall light feel of the bike helps . p ro m o te this feeling. The Vision flicks from side to side with ease and gives the impression of being a great handler. After a few hundred miles a couple of problems become apparent. suspension being the most obvious. The monoshock back end kicks over sharp bumps; this would not be so bad except for the overly soft forks . The back end hi ts a bump and the forks move instead of the rear end. Neither end is air or damping adjustable. and this could be a fatal flaw in the market Yamaha is aiming for. When the Vision is pushed hard. it becomes very hard to carve a smooth arc through a turn. never anything dangerous. but disconcerting nonetheless. The geometry is set up to turn quick in the first p lace. but under load the forks dive and voila, even sharper steering. With air caps the bike would probably handle with the best or better. but without adjustable suspension or a way to change gearing. the bike will not work as a racing tool. A few modifications and the Vision would be an enjoyable canyon companion, but that is the only area in which the Vision can be a stand-out. TheVision does not have the utili ty to compete with the Seca 550 or the KZ550Kawasaki. The permanen t bars do not have enough adj ustment to be comfortable with a sit-up fair in g. The helmet lock requires that your helmet be bounced on the pipes several times. then. once latched. it rests your hat on the hot exhaust pipes. The rear ,suspension is a little stiff. but the Vision could be used for sport touring. These criticisms would be minor if the Vision was in the price range of the competition, but the Vision is $700 more than one of th e 550s it compete against. Kawasaki 's CPz550 is the most likely comparison for the Vision since it is the acknowleged king of the class . List price for the Vision is $350 more than the C Pz, and the "Z" offers adjustable suspension. three disc brakes. a fairing and niceties like black chrome and a detailed engine. Tha t much of a price difference would put shocks and sticky tires on a Cpz and make it even better. Buy a Seca 550 and you would have $450 to p lay with. Yamaha's Vision is going to be , worth the money to many people. High-revving four-cylinders are buzzy; this twin is totally pleasant. Pleasant sensations are what we ride motorcyles for. Maybe if we buy a lot of these this year. Yamaha can fix the suspension and sell them a little cheaper next year. Then they would have the best 550cc ever. in terms of p leasant riding ability. Bottom line time Even though we had complaints wi th the Vision. it is very fun to ride. When you accelerate through the gears hard. it wheelies in the first three gears. It " s through corners. dart carries a passenger quite well and has the most comfortable and useful hand holds for the passenger we have ever encountered. (A little too comfortable. girls preferred them to the rider's waist.) The driveshaft eliminates a couple of the every day hass les of riding a bike. Our Vision started so readily that one tester rode it even in cold weather when his own bike had a fairing simply because it was lik e a puppy - always ready to go play. As a play bike it excels; it's up to you to decide how much that is worth to you. If Yamaha gets defiant and, like the college grad in the beginning of the test. gets the little things under control. then everyone else needs to watch out. So many people will be having "Visions." the competition will think it's the second coming! (top left) Clever hollow hub is on ly noticeable from one side. (above) Carburetor linkages and the shaft power takeoff are on the left side. 5 pacifications Engine Type Bore x stroke Displacement Compression retio Carburetors Air filter Starting system Lubrication system Transmission Clutch Ignition Head light Tail light Four-stroke, liq uid-cooled, DOHC V -twin. 80 x 55mm. 552cc. 10.5:1 . 34mm Mikuni downdraft (aut om ot ive type). Reusable paper, single element. _ Electric start on ly. Wet sump. Five-speed constant mesh. Wet multi-p late. Battery. full transister. 12V, 65W/60W (quartz bulb). 12V. 8W/ 2 7 W x 2 . Chassis Front suspension. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. Oi l damped telescopic. Rear suspension ' Oil damped gas /coil sprung monoshock. Rak e : 26°20' . Trail 116mm. Front tire Dunlop 90/90x18 t ube less. Rear tire Du nlop 1 10 /90x18 tubeless. Dimensions Wheelbasa Ground clearance Weight Fuel tank capacity Oil Capacity Suggested list price 56.9 inches. 5 .3 inches. (claim ed) 4671bs. w /gas and oil. 4 .5 U.S . gallons. 2 .5 U.S. quarts. ~' $3099. 17