better than, some bikes of more
than 500cc that we have tested
recently…on the other hand, you
can run it down to two and a half
grand, and it won't complain. The
engine is very flexible." The crew
was able to "coax an indicated
95 miles per hour" from the little
250 twin and suggested that
a few minor mods might even
push that needle higher.
The Yamaha 250 had racing in
its bloodline, so the staff was not
surprised that it loved to get out
and play on the mountain roads.
"The brakes, suspension, engine,
transmission and controls all
lend themselves to fast riding,"
they wrote. One of the crew even
found themselves banging bars
with a Lotus Elan (see paragraph
one) in the "swervery" of To-
panga Canyon. The cager was
no match for the Yamaha, which
could be had for one-tenth the
price in 1972.
As with most motorcycles of
this era, the only obstruction that
differentiated them from the '72
Daytona winner of Don Emde
was the little bike's centerstand.
Once they removed it, the lean
angle improved greatly. This was
a frequent gripe in road tests,
and magazine types eventually
willed centerstands away into
the cornfield.
There were no problems with
reliability. No mention of need-
ing to swap out spark plugs.
The staff gave the DS-7 a good
wringing-out, but the bike did not
complain. A canyon road racer at
heart, the 250 "can also be used
for touring…it is very smooth at
all speeds. There are people who
have ridden around the world
on earlier model Yamaha 250
twins."
There was a change afoot for
the Yamaha 250, and it was one
that the crew found puzzling.
They loved the Yamaha's old-
fashioned drum brakes, which
provided excellent feel, no fading
and so on. "What is strange,"
they wrote, "is the fact that
Yamaha is going to disc brakes
next year…seems unnecessary."
They had the same feeling about
the engine performance of the
Yamaha, boldly stating, "You will
never need more power."
Reliable, handles like a racer
and stops on a shiny new dime.
Fast enough. In the end, the staff
couldn't produce a compelling
argument for stepping up to the
350cc version, even if it could be
had for just $84 more. In other
words, the Yamaha DS-7 250
seemed to be the perfect mo-
torcycle, which is probably why
it would soon disappear from
Yamaha's U.S. lineup. We didn't
need more. But we wanted more.
Or, at least, that's what they told
us.
CN
(Left) The 1972
Yamaha DS-7 250
was Yamaha's
definition of
smaller was
better. (Right)
Cycle News was
impressed with
the Yamaha DS-7
250, even if it was
only a 250cc.
VOLUME ISSUE JUNE , P135
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