Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

Co « ~ ByTom Culp Almost ten years ago Yamah a in tr oduced it s fir st dirt racer in th e States. It carried th e Sou th ern Califo rn ia infl uence no t o nly in nam e ("Ascot Scrambler " ) but wa s des ign ed exclusively fo r that su perfa st ,smooth track racing. Times change and so d o motorcycles, we hope. T he big thing was IT Scrambles back then; now motocross is w u. W When we p icked up the latest Ya ma ha 25 0 and 360 ~ IX models we gave th em t he old once-over an d got our b asic q ues tio ns answe red. Then we load ed up to fin d some lega l d irt. A s we drov e alo ng my mi nd drift ed b ac k to th at fir st scram b ler, th at evil-h an d lin g YDS- 3 "Ascot" I set up to ch allenge the Honda b arrage at Prado. (T hat's the super-smooth, fas t IT t hat was, th at isn 't , th at some wish was aga in, but it 's gone.) R eality came b ack as we p ulled into t he ga te of o ur lo ca l motocr oss course at Lions Dr ag strip. Alas , cl osed ; hanging more lights for the night races. Shot down alread y. Well there's alw ays tomorrow. When I finally did get the Yammers on th e tig ht little course, two weeks of Scrambles riding had give n me the feel of the b ikes and an understanding of Z .J U >U ... - they 're ra ce-readiness, Looks sometimes can b e d eceiving, but no t here. They are plus in b oth ca t ego ries. T he only d iffer en ces b etw een the two ar e in th e tank striping, th e 25 0 b ein g red and th e 360 b lack . The 2 50 has th e ta ller, narrower fi nning o n th e head and , of course, t h e engine n umbers and b arrel mark ings. The 360 weighs th ree pounds mo re and offers eight mo re horses . The fen ders are of unbreakable plastic; the same ma t eri al is used for the n umber p lat es. The overall eye ap peal of both bikes is great. The outside fin has been polished as have the edges of all other fins . Fine detail w ork. T he alloy wheels are good fo r lightening th ings up but sure are goi ng to play havo c wh en the go ing gets m uddy . T he high tuck ed-in pi pe is th e o nly downfall in workmanship. It's tu cked in the best of an y stocker I've rid den b ut as always p roductio n methods di c tat e th e old pressed-st eel seamed design. A number pl at e also serves as th e he at shield and does the j ob without getting in y o ur wa y . The shield also serves as a cover for the oil injection oil reserve tank which is just a shade on the small side. The tank holds enough oil for j ust two tanks of gas, enough fo r motocross. Fo r enduros and other long-distance races, this will The author looks serious for the camera. The 360 is the one With the blac YAMAHA DT2-MX 250 , RT2-MX 360 SPECIFICATIONS Engine . .•. . ... . •. .. • . • 250 (360) 2 -storke, 7·port . reed vale, singl e-cy l inder Displacement . . . . . . . . . • . . . . • • . . . . . . . • . . 15 .01 cu. in . (21.42 cu . in .1 Max Horsepower 31 bhp @ 8 .000 rpm (39 b hp @ 7.000 rpm) Transmis sion 5 -speed con st ant -mesh Starting system Primar y kick starte r Weight (ne t) .•. •. .. ..... ... .• . •..•. . .• . . . . . . . . •. . . . 224 1 1227 100.) 00. Lubricatio n sy ste m : Au to lube plus gas-oil mix ture. 30:1 Ground C learance 8 .9 inches Wh eelbase . .. ... . . . . .. . . .. . . . .. ... • ••. . • . . . . . . . .. .. 55 .1 in. (55.4 in .1 Overall lengt h . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . .• . . . .8 .27 in . Caster . . . .. . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 59 d egrees T rail 5.5 in. Overall Heigh t . .... .. . .. . .. . . . • . . . . .. . . . . ... . . . . . .. . . . . ... . .44 .5 in . T ir es . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . • .. ... • . .400x18 rear . 300 x21 front Pric e . . . ... . . . . . .. . . . . . . .. .. ... • . . .. .... . . .. .. . . . . . . . .$999 ($1098) p ose a prob lem. Ano th er d isadvantage for the longrunners is the tank size and filler ca p . No t o nly is th e size of the intake hole small but the screw type cap t akes lo ts o f time to undo and th e gaske t will quickly ge t lo st in hurried p it st ops. The front forks are excelle n t while th e rear shocks are the best stock rear units out of Japan I 've run across. The ew allo y conical hubs, a no t h er weight aver, are fitted wi th more than ad equate brakes . As has been the ractice with all the Yam aha dirt bikes inc e the DT -ls, a flo ating rear hub is .ncorporated. This it em is neat when raking over rough ground. It stops all h at hopping and sk ipping th at tends to ut you on your ear. The seat is a comfortable three-quarter-Iength number with little ore than adequate padding but nice d narrow. As has long been the tandard the Yammers come with ikunis, all black, very sharp . Probably he most popular sto ck carb on the rket. The stock 59 degree cast er and .5 in ch trail can easil y be changed since e forks ar e adjustable at th e crowns, noth er plus. All t ypes of co urses are not the same , you kno w. However, not many riders have th e knowledge to experiment wi th frame geo me try so tock is fine. Another nea t item is . e sma ll brake edal, It is only large ' ough to d o th e job, not some bi g 60 b b y thing that

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