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/1542014
P152 FEATURE I CELEBRATING YAMAHA'S FIRST PRODUCT with the BSA Bantam, Harley- Davidson Hummer and several others. The YA-1 was dropped in 1957, and in 1959, the YA-2 became the YA-3, which was identical except for the addition of an electric starter. Twin Time Also in 1957, Yamaha delivered a king hit with the introduction of the YD-1, a twin-cylinder two- stroke that was an immediate success and set the scene for the following generation of twins that re - ally propelled the company on the road to international fame. Unlike the 125 and 175, the YD-1 was a substantially original de - sign, although the engine had its origins in the Adler MB250. Originally, the plan had been to simply duplicate the Adler similar to what had taken place with the 175 DKW, but the design engineers put forward such a strong case to Kawaka - mi that he authorized them to make their own decisions. The result was not particularly at- tractive, but it was distinctive. The engine retained the 54mm x 54mm bore and stroke of the Adler, with vertically split crankcases that required the crankshafts to be built up in each crankcase and then splined together. A four-speed in place of the earlier remote bowl type. The big difference was in the chassis. Instead of the origi - nal tubular steel frame was a pressed steel frame, made from two halves, welded together. Front suspension was leading link, with a much larger and more powerful front brake. At the rear was a modern swing - ing-arm suspension controlled by two spring/damper units. Weight increased from 207 pounds to 228 pounds, but the economies achieved in the chassis redesign permitted a price drop to 125,000 yen. Missing from the YA-2 was the original red color that had given the YA-1 its Red Dragonfly nickname, replaced with somber black with a rather ugly chrome- plated fuel tank. Considering the tooling costs to produce the YA-1, the creation of the YA-2 so early in the piece was a surprise. However, many feel that Yama - ha wished to break away from the notion that the YA-1 was just another DKW replica, along from the 125, which proved to have inadequate gas flow in the silencer, stifling performance. Yamaha responded by sending every available service person out to YC-1 owners wherever they lived. Armed with a hammer and punch, they simply belted holes into the liner inside the silencer, fixing the problem. With 10.3 horsepower on tap and a top speed of 60 mph, the 175 was appreciably quicker than the 125. Significantly, the YC-1 featured the first Japanese- made monob - loc carburetor. Once again, Yamaha turned to competition to prove its product, and the 175 lined up alongside the 125 at the 1957 Mount Asama hill - climb, with both models winning their classes. Once the 175 was in full production, Yamaha achieved its next target of pro - ducing a total of 1000 units per month along with the YA-1. At about the same time, Ya- maha surprised everyone with the release of the YA-2, which was a completely different mo- torcycle compared to the YA-1. The engine was basically the same (except for the left-side crankcase cover, which was now a more angular shape) but had been tweaked to produce one more horsepower. A new- style monobloc carb was fitted The YA-3 on display at Sugo.