Tetsuya Harada's Yamaha TZM250
(Top left) Harada
uses Brembo
carbon discs with
four-piston
Brembo calipers
to stop the
TZM250. (Middle
left) The 90degree V-twin
uses aluminum
rather than
magnesium
crankcases.
(Bottom left)
Yamaha's speeds hifter Is derived
from the Tellert
CTS des ign used
by Jochen
Schmid on the
1993 TZM, but
features a
s moother gear
change than the
German system.
26
injection for many years - the YZR250
first raced with it in Japanese champions hip events back in 1989 - but Yod a
says it's more likely this will appear first
on the 500cc GP bike next season. But
when the little bike does get it, the throttle response surely can't be much better
than it is at present. Twist the wrist out
of turns, an d those powerjets on the flatslide Mikunis deliver vivid picku p, in
spi te of the big 39mm choke sizes . This,
in turn, exposes the Ohlins-shocked rear
suspension to a stiff exam, but for my
second session, after they'd cranked up
a. bit more p reload - okay, a lot more
preload! - for my extra weight, it
stopped bottoming ou t and gave a really
controlled, progressive response that
builds lots of confidence.
.
The fron t Ohlins upside-down fork
then needed the same treatment, patter-:
ing the front wheel around tha t long
downhill sweeper as my extra body
weight unduly compressed the forks
under weight transfer. But, under the
fantastic braking power of tho se twin
Brembo carbon discs (shrouded to keep
the operating temperature up so that
even at the end of that long straight they
still gave instant stopping power), allied
with lots of sensitivity as I gro ped my
way aro und some unfamiliar turns, the
forks coped well. More to the point, the
Yamaha was superbly stable u nder
heavy brakin g thanks, presum ably, to
the 50/50 weigh t distribution. I tried to
ma ke it float the back wheel in the air,
but it wouldn't. Obviously too much
rider weigh t over the rear end...
Ri ding Harada's World Championship winner was one of the most
instructive experiences I've had on a test
track for some time. It proved tha t outright engine power isn't everything, provided you make the most of what you
have; that the ability to spurn convention and do it your own way, is the
secret to indi vidual success; that crafting
the bike to suit the needs of a rider's perhaps unusual tastes and style is crucial;
and that Tetsuya Harada is one hell of a
rider .:and a worthy World Champion.cs
