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/126997
The 1988 Yamaha YSR50 looks more li ke a Grand Prix race bik e t han 'a street-legal motorcycle. r:r-:::--l-:--~~......,--.--~r---~~ Test: 1988 Yamaha YSRSO Big fun on a little bike. By Nate Rauba When th e Yamaha YSR5 0 was released last year, it took the industry by storm. The race: bikelooks of the dim in u tive street machine made it look as though it carne straight fro m the race track and it had the performance t~ match. Unfor" . tunately, Yamaha didn t anneipate th e demand for th e YSR a nd many cus to mers were left a lit in the cold wh en dealers quickl y so ld o u t th eir ent ire allo tments . When you ha ve a good thing goi ng, you don 't cha nge it. a nd that is exactly what Yamaha did with the 1988 YSR50. There is nothing new o n th e '88 YSR50 excep t for a deep er tread pattern in the tires. T he white and red paint sche me o n the fai ring, gas tan k and seat is exactly the sam e. a nd no thing has been done to im prove the 49.3cc two- stroke engine, Yamaha did n 't have to change anythi ng , Last year the YSR50 was Ya maha 's biggest seller, and demand was far g reater tha n the su pp ly. T he ent ire stock of YSR50s sold o ut of Yamaha's wareho use in 22 days , a nd they wer e q uickly snatched from m o st dea lers ' s howroom floors short ly aft er delivery. And th e YSR 50 has no stree t-lega l co m petitio n fro m any of th e other ma nufacturers, Abo u t th e o n ly thi ng that is different for ' 88 is the su pply . Yamaha says that they ha ve gea red up Ior '88 a nd that the YSR wi ll ~e readil y a vailable so more people wi ll be a ble to get th eir hands on th e YSR50 and hav e fun . Fun is what th e YSR50 is design ed for. Its tin y size gives th e rid er a grea ter sen sa tio n o f spee d . even th ough the top spee d is o n ly a bo ut 45 mph. The YSR50 ··is a lso light, making it easy to flick arou nd in th e co rne rs. At the heart of th e YSR 50 is a n air-cooled, single cylinder two- stroke engine. It features Ya maha 's sevenport Torqu e Indu ction cylinde r , tu ned for q u ic k-rev vi n g performance, Yama ha's Au tolube oi l injection system handles the Iubrica tion so you won 't have to mi x two-stro ke oil a nd gas , A 16mm Mik uni carbure tor feeds the cyli nde r, a nd Yama ha 's Energy Induction System (Y.E.I.S.), a small chamber between the carburetor a nd reed valve, is used to boost low and mid-range power. When the reed valve closes, fuel is allowed to flow into the chamber to prevent a reverse pressure wave disturbing carburetion. A close ra tio, five speedtransmis- : Beneath t he bodywork is a serious little motorcycle; the 49.3cc motor is cradled in a rectangular box-section steel frame. sia n transfers the power to the rear wheel and is controlled by a m u ltiplate clutch. T he re c ta ngu la r-sec tion s teel fram e is mu ch like the chass is found o n Yama ha 's fu ll-size sport bikes, and is pa inted silver so th at it loo ks like an alumi n um fra me at first glance. Yama ha 's monocro ss rear suspension wi th bo x-section swin garm also co mes fro m th e YSR 's bigger brothers a nd offers th ree inches of travel. Up front 27mm forks with over six inc hes of tra vel soak up th e bumps. A hydra ul ic disc brak e sto ps the YSR in th e fro nt , while a dru m han dl es th e stoppi ng cho res in th e rear. The sport-tread tires a re mounted o n 12-in ch pressed-s teel d isc wheels with a fou r-sp ok e design, , Rid in g the YSR 50 is pure fun .' Although its sma ll size a nd full-race sea ting position may look cram ped , th e' YSR act ua lly isn 't too unco mfortable. On longer rides our backs go t a little sore from leaning over the clip-on type handlebars, but it